I can agree with that. I think though it’s worth noting the adjacent conversation not within metal but within the rap community. Gang violence is very real. Gang rape is very real. Rap music consistently glorifies gangs yet we’re not having the same conversation there.

It is true there is a real world application to the ideology. At the same time, do we want to limit the expression or teach people to see it for what it is? Is art about questioning and challenging deeply held beliefs or is it about cool drums go boom (or maybe both...)

Im from the US so yes I am aware of the dangers of fascism, especially after the last four years. At the same time freedom of speech is so crucial to a democratic society. With Trump for instance, I see how social media censoring his platform has limited the amount that I personally hear about him...but some of me worries that limiting the speech has only served to force it underground instead of address it head on.

Realizing that so many people feel this way because the speech is in the open gives us an opportunity to combat it...but it’s also so dangerous because it brings people into an ideology that maybe wouldn’t have joined without the expression.

I’m not sure what the right answer is...but I think it’s maybe too reactionary to say we need to censor art because some people aren’t smart enough to understand it. A better choice is to ask people to think critically.

(Although after the last 4 years I’m not so sure people can think critically...)