MANGLED | shazaam

Killing in the name of

Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Uh

Killing in the name of
Killing in the name of

Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya
But now you do what they told ya
Well now you do what they told ya

Those who died are justified
For wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
You justify those that died
By wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified
For wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
You justify those who died
By wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites

Killing in the name of
Killing in the name of

Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
Now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control
And now you do what they told ya

Those who died are justified
For wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
You justify those that died
By wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified
For wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
You justify those that died
By wearing the badge
They're the chosen whites
Come on

Uh
Yeah
Come on
Uh

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me
Motherfucker
Uh

M̡̛̳̟̤̳͍͖͊̓̃̂͋̎̚͠͝A̜͖̝̥̰̍̃͐̈́̅̕͞N̷̢̢̝̰̞͙̋́͒͆̋̏͠G̶̟̜͖̤̎̊̔̉͑͘͟Ĺ̡͔̳͍̮͙̼͎͕̊̅̕͞E̸̯̘̼̺̙͒̍̾̈̓͜D̵̢̠̲̠̪̀̏͑̾̂̂͝ Ŗ̼͖̘̬̙̫̭̍̂̐̆͂̾Ḙ̴̮̪̖̰̺̼͈̥͋̍̆̾̏̈́̓ͅÁ̴̹̺̜͙̻͙̮͎̦̠̑̎̃̇̓͗̽̊L̴̢̬̲͎͆̈́̅̆̈̏͐͟I̵̟̯͙̞̣͉̰͙̔̈́̾͟͞͡T̶̨̡̺̟̫̫̈́̃̋̈́̓̇I̷̡̧̡̳͇͉̱͇̥͗̀̿́͗̚͡͞E̵͎̥̼̮̫̲̼̣̬͆̓͂̀͐̆̾͢͡S̨͎̯͇̠̓͑̅̂͢͡

Does the spread of information the internet provides make forms of critique, revolt, satire etc more susceptible to misuse and misinterpretation? Does it widen the gaps between individual realities and histories? What does it do to the effectiveness or role of cultural work and discourse?

What causes this kind of mangled form of reality? How can this level of misunderstanding and deviation from the original purpose or meaning happen, and happen so quickly? It is similar to a kind of appropriation and lack of understanding that occurs over thousands of years and great distances and cultures. But it happens so rapidly now. 4 years ago, when Donald Trump was elected president of the United States of America, the bar next to my house was a huge supporter of Trump. They hosted rallies that attracted large crowds and media attention that flooded over to our driveway. The bar is very close to our home, we share a wall with only a 6 to 8 foot gap. We are so close that I have to go through the bar to reach the circuit breaker to my home. The rallies and events felt like it leaked into our home and we felt invaded. On the night he was elected, I climbed up to my roof to observe them. I heard a familiar chant, it was a quote from a famous Dave Chappelle skit being used out of context to celebrate the election of Trump. I was bewildered, wondering if they knew that the original context of what they were quoting was of satire and critique of American racism.

These kind of mangled realities are frightening. Nothing is sacred, and everything is meaningless.

Think about what Rage Against The Machine and Dave Chappelle and his skit show on comedy central actually stood for, and against. Think about the messages they communicated in relation to these two examples being presented. In retrospect, in 2020, it is quite special that they existed. Rock radio stations played Rage Against the Machine's anthems of revolution on the radio for all to hear. Compare that to the music you hear on the radio now. Think about the Dave Chappelle Show and how revolutionary it was and its impact on culture. Now think of the television shows we have now.

How has the transfer of information and culture changed since then? How is information used? How is it weaponized? How do we interact and utilize information we are exposed to? Who controls the information and modes of passing it along? Why do these mangled realities exist?

And what does this mean for humanity's future?

Trump is out of office, but what will this change really? A change of figure head is microscopic compared to the mangled state of human consciousness.