Henry Rollins On Donald Trump: "A Bored Rich Guy Just Being Crass"

“I’m not a Trump fan at all, but he will say what’s on his mind. Like, ‘No more Muslims!’” Rollins snorted, amused. "You just said that. And of course in this country, a lot of people agree. Trump, one day he held up his cellphone and said, ‘Here’s Lindsey Graham’s number!’ I could not not laugh. That was FUNNY. He would be a disastrous president, but at the same time I don’t think he wants to be president. I think he’s a bored rich guy just being crass.”

- Actor/activist (and all-around hottie) Henry Rollins on Donald Trump's bid for the White House

Henry Rollins: Bend Over America, Here Comes President Trump

I've written before about the very smart, very articulate writing of Black Flag front man Henry Rollins.

He recently wrote an essay for LAWeekly that completely captures the cynical zeitgeist of GOP politics regarding Donald Trump.

I encourage you to read the entire piece, but here's just a sample.

In a nation of hundreds of millions of people, there is one man born to lead. A man who stands head and shoulders above the rest. A lone alpha who burns incandescent in a vast wasteland of darkness.

When asked to serve in Vietnam, he said no and took a deferment. He took a few of them, actually, because he is his own man.

He got married. The merger didn’t work. She was fired. So was the next one. It’s business, not personal — like America!

He has overcome adversity. Like bankruptcy. And with an almost Michelangelo-like genius, he conquered the K2 challenge of his hair.

He is what America needs. A man with so much self-confidence that, if you put him in the Oval Office, some of it will no doubt trickle down to you.

Who is this man who will put all other world leaders in their place? The same man who just read a cellphone number, allegedly Lindsey Graham’s private line, out loud so the world could hear. (Hey, I laughed.) This man is America.

So bend over, relax and hold onto something solid, because here he comes — here comes Donald Trump 2016. And when he puts it in, you’ll know who your daddy is.

Henry Rollins On SCOTUS Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage

Henry Rollins gets down to the honest truth about folks reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage.

Writing for LA Weekly, he offers this clarity:

There were no losers, in my opinion. To those who disagree with same-sex marriage because it offends their faith, I would say your beliefs are still yours to have. The wisdom, peace and clarity that faith has allowed you to have are still intact. No word of any religious text has been changed or its power reduced. There is a lot of room in America; it allows all to move freely.

All the wedding photographs popping up on the Internet should be enough to convince anyone that this was a great decision. Take Jack Evans and George Harris, for example — together for 54 years, in Texas of all places, finally able to get hitched.

I am looking at them now. The skies have not darkened with locusts and tomorrow there will be traffic. I do believe we will be OK.

Hit this link to read the full essay. Rollins continues to open eyes, minds, and hopefully, some hearts.

Parody: Henry Rollins Puts His Own Touch On Madonna's "Cherish" Video

Henry Rollins (radio show host, former frontman for Black Flag and LGBT ally) puts his own spin on the classic Madonna video "Cherish."

(h/t Boy Culture)

RuPaul Drives... Henry Rollins part 2

Who doesn't love smart as a whip, tough as nails Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins?

The LGBT ally took a spin with RuPaul Drives last July, but the episode was so popular the producers have released more of the traveling conversation.

In this installment they discuss an invaluable piece of advice that Rollins received from a close friend who called him out for always staying busy.

Henry Rollins to haters - "America is on the move, you are not"

(Source)

From pretty brilliant and badass Henry Rollins:

Bad news for the Haters Dept:

You realize that all those obnoxious 16-year-olds you see everywhere, texting their friends who are standing next to them, will be able to vote in the 2016 elections.

Do you think you will be able to sell them on your anti-gay/anti-woman/anti-brown/black platform?

Do you think they want to end up like you?

I bet they don't.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said that you all have to stop being teh stupid party.  I don't think you can do it.

How did equality become political?  Because you can't handle science, change or the truth.

America is on the move, you are not.

"RuPaul Drives..." with Henry Rollins

RuPaul is behind the wheel, and picking up passengers on the streets of Hollywood! RuPaul Drives... is the brand-new webseries produced by World of Wonder.

"Everyone in LA needs a lift, spiritually and physically," said the Supermodel of the World. "From drag racing to a leisure drive, I always enjoy being behind the wheel." The concept is simple: Every episode RuPaul will chauffeur a special guest vagabond with no clear destination in sight. These drifters paint the town with she-larious moments, sprinkled with bite size gems of RuPaul's wisdom.

In the newest episode, Ru picks up hottie renaissance man, lead singer of Black Flag & LGBT ally Henry Rollins, and takes him to go pick up some art.

Along the way they talk about relationships - with fans and with lovers.

Read more at: http://worldofwonder.net/

Henry Rollins on the misguided outrage by the losers of DOMA demise

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly, addresses the opponents of marriage equality who lost their minds over the fall of DOMA last week:

"Bad News for the Haters Dept.: You realize that all those obnoxious 16-year-olds you see everywhere, texting their friends who are standing next to them, will be able to vote in the 2016 elections. Do you think you will be able to sell them on your anti-gay/anti-woman/anti-brown/black platform? Do you think they want to end up like you? I bet they don't. Gov. Bobby Jindal said that you all have to stop being the stupid party. I don't think you can do it. How did equality become political? Because you can't handle science, change or the truth. America is on the move, you are not."

[snip]

"The demise of DOMA, while great, is also a smack to the hornet's nest and there will be a whirlwind to reap, so please, prepare for many challenges up the road. The pushback will be considerable. America is changing and, historically, we don't handle it well.

"The Supreme Court's DOMA decision was good, but the best part of the story is how it got to their door. That was you and me never shutting up, never relenting and never being satisfied for too long."

Read the entire essay at LA Weekly

Henry Rollins on marriage equality

In a post called "Gay Marriage is Punk Rock" at LA Weekly, former Black Flag frontman and perennial ally Henry Rollins celebrates marriage equality in Washington State and wonders when we'll finally be able to just call same-sex nuptials what they are: "marriage," no prefix, no suffix, no "othering."

"Hats off to Washington state where, recently, hundreds of same-sex couples were legally married. I am elated as much as I am frustrated by why this country refuses to wake up and smell the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. I feel for everyone who wanted to get married for so long and were made to feel so bad about who they are. I feel worse for all the Americans in the large number of remaining states still waiting for their turn to enjoy the freedoms and protections bestowed upon them by their very citizenship.


"There is still a long way to go. Marriage equality is a term so ridiculous on its face that when you hear it mentioned, you would think you were in Riyadh. Years from now, perhaps we can lose the equality part, the same-sex part and call it what it is -- marriage. As much as the homophobes, an ever-thinning herd, whines and screeches, the earth is shifting underneath their feet and things are getting better all the time. This is going to be an incredible century. Didn't get off to a very good start but we are making some bold and exciting strides forward." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

Henry Rollins encourages young people to travel the world

"I beg young people to travel. If you don't have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown, eat interesting food, dig some interesting people, have an adventure, be careful."

"Come back and you're going to see your country differently, you're going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You're going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It's not what Tom Friedman writes about, I'm sorry. You're going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water."

"And so, there are lessons that you can't get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people - Americans and Europeans - come back and go "ohhhhh."

"And the lightbulb goes on."

- Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins new book of photographic essays: "Occupants"

Terrific interview with Henry Rollins on Advocate.com by Winston Gieseke. Rollins is famous for being the sexy frontman for the punk group Black Flag. He's also an extremely articulate spoken word artist, writer, photographer and LGBT ally.

Hoping to inspire positive action, the rocker-writer-actor-activist-spoken word poet has unleashed the visual fruits of these efforts in his first photo book, Occupants. Accompanying the images are essays in the former Black Flag front man’s unmistakably forthright and often angry voice.

Here is an excerpt from the interview. I encourage you to read the entire interview on Advocate.com.

One of the most pervasive themes I took from the book was resilience, which in a very different context is something the gay community is familiar with.
Yeah, you’d have to be.

But does having seen so much destruction in the world make something like the fight for marriage equality seem insignificant in scale?
No, it makes it part of a rich tapestry of what keeps me optimistic about humans. As deplorable as some of these locations have been, the upshot of all of it is, it makes me like people more. I see how heartbreakingly friendly these people can be and how they will always skew towards dignity, generosity, and compassion — even when their surroundings are abysmal. And that, to me, is marriage equality and civil rights for gay people in America.

You’ve been very vocal in your support.
I personally think all marriages are crazy, in that I would never be able to give half my record collection away just because of some stupid contract I signed, but I think Bill and Leon should be able to take that mad plunge if they see fit to do so. If you’re lucky enough to find someone that you wanted to make that wild promise with, who the hell is anyone to stop you? This is what the Founding Fathers — who Michele Bachmann says she loves so much but seems to know so little about — were strangling each other over in hot rooms in Philadelphia all those summers ago. This is what so many people took a musket ball in the face for. And this country should be the leader on all of that.

Henry Rollins new photography book "Occupants"

Via The Advocate: For 25 years, Henry Rollins has been traveling the world photographing areas of conflict. And he’s often troubled by what he sees. “My main sentiment coming back from a lot of it is, I’m offended,” he says. “I’m offended at what the West does and how the West washes up on these shores and manifests itself.”

Hoping to inspire action, Rollins has unleashed the visual fruits of these efforts in his first photo book, Occupants (Chicago Review Press). Featuring jaw-dropping images from locales ranging from Afghanistan to Siberia, the book offers an unflinching look at the human condition in extreme places around the world. Accompanying the images are essays in Rollins’s unmistakably forthright and often angry voice.

I've always been a fan of Henry Rollins.  For all the gruff exterior of a rocker, he's extremely well-spoken and articulate.  And his world view is very sophisticated.  I highly recommend exploring any artistic endeavor he brings to the table.

Here are just a couple of his photos with his own captioning.

Rollins: This one shot luckily captured the energy of the Mopti children
that I wanted to show.

Rollins: "During the Bush administration, I took photos of any anti-Bush sentiment
outside of America I could find."

Henry Rollins: "Same sex marriage is constitutional"

Henry Rollins writing for Vanity Fair: "When things threaten to become too constitutional, thankfully, there’s someone like John Boehner, owner of every third tear cried in America, to step in and attempt to push America back into the good old days of darkness. Rather than shoulder the awesome burden of creating some damned jobs in America, he goes for the easy cheap shot of going after gay Americans. Again."

"Of course same sex marriage is constitutional! The right to be yourself, to pursue life, liberty, and property, is protected several ways over several amendments. John Boehner should know this."

"Damn, congressman, we’re trying to get up the road here. Either lay out a plan for job creation for all of us to see or get out of the way. You are the Speaker of the House. Scratching around in the ancient dirt of repellent prejudice instead of tackling the real issues is amateur hour. You have a plan? Now’s the time."