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Neil Young at Desert Trip, October 2016. (Getty)
Neil Young has published a long piece—signed by himself and Daryl Hannah—on his Facebook page regarding the Standing Rock protests and our "surprise president" Donald Trump. This isn't the first time he's spoken out against the pipeline—in September, the musician released a video for his protest song "Indian Givers."
In his post on Monday, he writes of a recent visit to Standing Rock, and asks President Obama to call off the "militarized local and state law enforcement agencies and National Guard, who are seemingly acting to protect the interests of the Dakota Access Pipeline profiteer... Step in and end the violence against the peaceful water protectors at Standing Rock immediately."
He then moves on to President-elect Trump, who he refers to as our "surprise president," stating, quite wonderfully, that he is a racist who will never be our leader:
Like water on the garden of activism, America’s surprise president brings a bounty of opportunity. The great issues of our time are now brightly illuminated and people are becoming more aware of them than ever, from sea to shining sea, from Standing Rock to Wall Street. The surprise president elect was not the winner of the popular vote, does not have a mandate for the change of ideals envisioned. Keep in mind, close to over two million more people voted for another candidate.
Nor is the surprise president the leader of the free world. Two hundred of the worlds nations believe in science, above the profits of the oil, gas and coal industries, and are committed to working together to protect the future from an unchecked climate crisis.
The surprise president claims he does not believe in climate science nor the threats it presents and his actions and words reflect that claim in tangible and dangerous ways.
Do not be intimidated by the surprise presidents' cabinet appointees as they descend the golden escalator. Those who behave in racist ways are not your leaders. The golden tower is not yours. The White House is your house.
