By Darren Young
Fat Mike hates George Bush. The front man of NOFX has made speeches, given interviews, and even released 2003’s The War On Errorism to condemn the cowboy in the whitehouse, just in case anyone had trouble picking up on it. Having vigorously campaigned for the punk rock lifestyle since 1983 and against the Bush administration since 22003, Fat Mike has now aimed the vitriol torpedoes at Christianity. Don’t mistake the change in topic for fickleness, though. His anger towards the government has not abated; he just blames the Christians for Bush.
Up until the release of The War On Errorism, NOFX had remained politically neutral, seldom speaking up in public on partisan issues. Fat Mike claims he had nothing important to say. Then George Bush was elected.
“My anger has definitely switched from conservative Republicans to the religious right,” Fat Mike explains. “I’ve talked to a lot of Republicans that don’t like the Bush administration who are educated, clear-thinking people. Christians on the other hand are just fucking clueless. A big reason that Bush won is because Christians tell their people to vote for Bush.”
If even Republicans are expressing discontent with the Bush administration, then where are the votes coming from? According to the venerable Fat Mike, Christians are unable to think for themselves, and when instructed to cast a ballot, they follow orders–no matter who’s name is next to the check-box. This is a prominent driving-force on NOFX’s latest album, Wolves In Wolves’ Clothing–Christians are sheep that have no capacity to question their faith or think clearly.
“I think that the Jewish religion is a thinking religion, a questioning religion,” says Fat Mike. “Christians just follow, and that’s what pisses me off about it so much. There is no room for discussion or debate.”
Fat Mike, being Jewish, is a man of debate by his own logic. There have even been accounts of him arguing with audience members at NOFX shows in the middle of a set. Typically these arguments end with fans licking their tongue-lash wounds, having given up in the face of Mike’s verbal onslaught. Taking Sun-Tsu’s advice, Mike keeps his enemies closer, even going so far as to attend a Christian Bible study as a break from rocking out on the Warped Tour.
“I was talking so much shit about these Christian bands that are playing on the stage next to me,” admits Fat Mike. “I figured I should meet them and see what they are all about. Mostly, what I saw was people feeling guilty about themselves. They feel guilty because they can’t be as good as Jesus Christ. You can’t feel bad about yourself for trying to be a good person. It’s so backwards.”
It’s opinions like this that have drawn the ire of NOFX fans, even causing some to leave shows early. Well aware that he’s ostracising the people who pay his bills, Mike still shows no sign of changing his attitude. Some things are more important.
“On the contrary, it makes me happy,” says Fat Mike. “Our t-shirt guy says that a couple of minutes after I say something really bad about Christians, people leave. They just want to see a show and have a good time, not to be offended.”
While it could be criticised as being offensive for the sake of being offensive, Fat Mike still holds fast by his ideology. Unhappy with both church and state, joined or seperated, in no particular order, Fat Mike just wants them all to fry. Whether it’s burning down Bush, the church, or both, Fat Mike continues on with his punk-rock jihad, microphone held high at the front of the army.