{"id":22241,"date":"2016-08-09T21:36:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T20:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=22241"},"modified":"2019-04-25T12:41:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T11:41:37","slug":"fear-and-loathing-self-styled-outlaw-nahko-bear-on-trump-mass-shootings-and-gun-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/08\/fear-and-loathing-self-styled-outlaw-nahko-bear-on-trump-mass-shootings-and-gun-control\/","title":{"rendered":"FEAR AND LOATHING – Self-Styled Outlaw Nahko Bear on Trump, Mass Shootings And Gun Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nahko<\/h4>\n

Musician and activist Nahko Bear has accused Donald Trump of playing the politics of fear in his campaign for the US Presidency.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nahko, who is part Apache Native American, said Trump\u2019s remarks about Muslims and Mexicans \u2018absolutely\u2019 risked stirring the embers of a race war that \u2018has been waging since the beginning of time\u2019.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Hawaii-based performer, who starts the UK-leg of his European tour this week, spoke of his pain at the fatal shootings of eight police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge and the high profile police shootings of young black men which preceded them.<\/p>\n

In an email chat with Matt Catchpole <\/strong>he expressed his fears that we have not seen the last of such killings and accused Trump of \u2018harnessing fear\u2019 to garner support for his bid for the White House.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTo fear another man for his race, religion and creed has got us where we are today. We live in a country built on it,\u201d he warned. \u201cBlack and brown folks have been in a race war for ages, even against our own.\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What began as a simple profile of the man and his music became transformed by events.<\/p>\n

As our emails criss-crossed the Atlantic, two ex-military veterans –\u00a0Micah Johnson (25) and Gavin Long (29) – were taking the law into their hands in a savage response to the high profile killings of black men by police, one of which was captured on video by his partner and streamed live on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\"picture
picture by Mikography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nahko\u2019s background has been extensively documented and leaves him well-placed to comment on the situation facing America today.<\/p>\n

He was conceived as a result of sexual violence, after his mother \u2013 a Native American victim of human trafficking \u2013 was raped by his Puerto Rican father.<\/p>\n

She had been forced\u00a0into prostitution at the age of just 14 by his grandmother.<\/p>\n

Nahko confronts his origins in the song So Thankful<\/em><\/strong> from Nahko and Medicine for the People<\/strong>\u2019s 2013 album Dark As Night<\/em><\/strong>, which contains the line:<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018I never thought I’d give thanks for rape, but that’s how I got here today.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Given up for adoption, Nahko eventually tracked down his biological mother and both have campaigned against human trafficking through groups, such as Willow Way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a cause he\u2019s intensely passionate about.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHuman trafficking is the second largest growing industry in the world today,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere are an estimated 12 million slaves in that industry today and less than 0.4% of them have been identified.\u00a0The average age of these trafficked victims is 12-14 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Groups like \u00a0Willow Way<\/a> <\/span>\u00a0help to flush out the \u201cblack market pimps\u201d as Nahko calls them and provide safe houses and shelters for child victims.<\/p>\n

\"3344a93a0a95bdf168e9181610493d5d\"<\/p>\n

Nahko openly condemns both the Dallas and Baton Rouge attacks, and also the high profile fatal shootings of two black men by police, which reportedly fuelled the attackers\u2019 desire for revenge.<\/p>\n

In the first incident in July, Alton Sterling (37) was shot dead in Baton Rouge, despite video which apparently showed police had him restrained on the ground immediately before the fatal shots were fired.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0day later, the last moments of Philandro Castile (32) were streamed live on Facebook after he was shot by a white officer, in St Paul, Minnesota, while, it\u2019s claimed, he was reaching for his gun permit.<\/p>\n

He had reportedly been stopped because his car had a broken tail light and his partner\u2019s young child was in the car at the time of the shooting<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere is nothing fair to discuss here,\u201d Nahko asserts.\u00a0\u201cIt doesn’t help our journey to justice when gunmen fire at random and kill police officers.\u00a0 But, neither does {the lack of} a single indictment or any kind of punishment for any of these officers with blood on their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nahko argues that increasing numbers of Americans feel disenfranchised, let down by politicians and law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are afraid of those that are supposed to protect us,\u201d he told me in the days before Texas and Baton Rouge: \u201cThey keep shooting us and no one is held responsible.\u00a0 That is the horribly sad part.\u00a0 We are numb to these stories now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like many others, Nahko argues the recent shootings have their roots in racial fears and stereotyping going back to the time of slavery.<\/p>\n

He says figures like Trump, who\u2019s stated that he wants to \u2018build a wall\u201d to keep out Mexicans and has threatened to ban Muslims from entering the US, are feeding on these fears.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThese are the times we are meant to fear religious fanatics,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u201cThe irony, of course, is that to ‘them’ we are a big bully. \u00a0 We preach freedom and justice for all, when we are slaves to a broken system and injustice is served with a round of applause.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nahko is equally critical of America\u2019s reluctance to get to grips with gun control, which could reduce the incidence and death toll of attacks like Dallas and Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

Tellingly, after 49 people were shot dead in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, Trump suggested, on the Howie Carr show, the result would have been different if some of those in the club had been able to return fire.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt’s hard to say what could happen if Trump takes office,\u201d Nahko says. \u201cIf he had his way, everybody would carry a firearm.\u00a0 That doesn’t sound like ‘make America safe again’ to me at all.\u00a0 More like ‘make America fear again\u2019.\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The failure of politicians has, says Nahko, led to the rise of people power movements like Black Lives Matter<\/strong>\u00a0and the \u2018We Are the 99 per cent\u2019 Occupy<\/strong> movement.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe have re-mobilised in a different capacity,\u201d he explains. \u201cOur trust has been broken time and time again by police and political \u2018leaders\u2019.\u00a0 They can\u2019t shoot us all, but they will try.\u00a0 And we will keep pushing and praying.\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He is full of praise for an effort by Black Lives Matter to build bridges with law enforcement in Wichita, Kansas (see CBS report here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBlack Lives Matter and the police department had a cookout instead of a rally \u00a0 They ate, danced, and had a Q&A led by the chief of police.\u00a0 He actually quoted Gandhi by saying ‘the change begins with me\u2019. \u00a0Now that’s what we’re talking about!\u201d Nahko enthuses.\u00a0\u201cReal community building to wash away the guilt and shaming and arrive in a paradigm completely shifted.\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"nahko-320x402-circle\"<\/p>\n

Activism and engagement is what Nahko is all about, he describes his latest album Hoka<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> as \u2018a call to action\u2019 and hopes it will further his concept of \u2018real talk music\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt just means music that is raw, filled with experiential truths, and offers social commentary for a generation hungry to dialogue,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A staunch advocate of the healing power of music \u2013 he even calls it \u2018medicine\u2019 \u2013 Nahko is unafraid to turn a mirror on his most tragic and painful personal experiences.<\/p>\n

Before re-connecting with his mother, he was given up for adoption.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, one of the lucky ones, he was brought up by a middle class family, who encouraged his gift for music, introducing him to the piano at an early stage.<\/p>\n

As he grew older, he grew restless, eventually leaving home at 17 to travel up and down the West Coast between Alaska and Louisiana.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI learned a new form of art: living without borders. \u00a0\u00a0Without the fear of living \u2018without\u2019 and just living for the moment,\u201d he says of those times.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Eventually he dropped anchor in Hawaii, working at a communal farm, where he admits he\u2019d still be happily toiling if it wasn\u2019t for his music.<\/p>\n

But more tragic news was to emerge after he met relatives of his biological father.<\/p>\n

\"nahko-bear\"<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI met my Dad\u2019s family in 2009 and found out he had been murdered,\u201d he explains almost matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What happened next is chronicled in the song and video San Quentin<\/em><\/strong> from his current album (see below).<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until 2013 that I had the crazy idea to go meet the man that killed him and forgive him.\u00a0 It could have been either way – but, he was ready and open to hearing me out, which was huge and unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up sitting with him for four hours.\u00a0 It was very emotional and insightful to the truth and also lead me to understand my next steps to helping my family forgive and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nahko now intends to meet up with the man again, this time on the outside.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI do plan to find him in the Philippines now that he has been granted parole with help from my family,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Such astonishing forgiveness has its roots in Nahko\u2019s own particular brand of spirituality, which is drawn from his Native American roots.<\/p>\n

Some of his statements can appear idealistic, even a tad naive, but he\u2019s the first to admit he\u2019s not yet the finished article.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI guess I see myself as just a regular dude trying to find my place in the world, learning how to give back to creation and live in harmony with it,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nahko’s\u00a0love of environmental causes, mistrust of corporate culture and laudable desire to open up a dialogue with his fans, show an acute and inquiring mind.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s angry at the \u201cmess of injustice we live in,\u201d \u2013 not least towards Native American people – but his message is constructive and sincere, rather than nihilistic and cynical.<\/p>\n

Describing himself as an outlaw, because of his unconventional approach to promotion and touring, he considers himself neither rebel, nor role model.<\/p>\n

\n

“I don\u2019t take my influence on the world lightly, but I\u2019ve never been a fan of titles,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Instead he appeals to others to join him in doing their bit to bring about change.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere is a serious need in our country and world for the warriors to step up and take on their respected roles in the changing of the times,\u201d he argues.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery movement needs a soundtrack and that is what we are providing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n