Tom Morello posts Photoshopped pic of infamous 'Dukes Of Hazzard' car, replaces Confederate flag with rainbow banner
The Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello is not just known for his famously inventive and creative exploits on the electric guitar. Besides his politically charged music, Morello has always been a spark for social change, exhorting his fans and followers to be a positive influence in their communities. Morello even took his activism to the next level with System of a Down's Serj Tankian by co-founding Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization aimed at fighting for social justice and reform at the grassroots level. He's also not above trolling misguided fans who remonstrate with him for spreading sociopolitical awareness, well aware that dispelling ignorance is the best way to come together as a forward-thinking society.
So in the wake of the recent Black Lives Matter protests and June being Pride Month 2020, the 56-year-old musician decided to take on two birds with one stone. On June 14, Tom Morello posted a picture of the infamous 'Dukes Of Hazzard' car, the 1969 Dodge Charger known to millions of TV viewers as "General Lee" with a minor photoshop alteration. Instead of the notorious Confederate flag that usually appeared on the roof of General Lee (it has sparked criticism and controversy in the past for its ties to the Civil War-era South), the polarizing flag had been replaced with a much more positive image. In the new photoshopped picture that has been doing the rounds on the Internet, we see the 'Dukes Of Hazzard' stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider posing next to the General Lee with a Gay Pride rainbow flag replacing the Confederate flag, in all its multi-colored glory.
It's often said a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is a timely image and message for our modern, turbulent times. With this social media post, Morello was not only expressing his solidarity with the often maligned LGBTQIA++ community, but was also stamping out a controversial symbol of hated, racism, and white supremacy. He accompanied his social media post with the caption, "I feel a change in the air. #happyprideyall🌈❤️💛💙💜💗"
He even took the time to lovingly respond to offended fans who didn't like the spirit of the post. After all, the Confederate flag is still being used in the South as a symbol of heritage and pride (The swastika wasn't used by the Nazis exclusively either). One fan said, "Listen I like your music dude but [middle finger emoji]." Morello responded in a positive manner, saying, "Listen, I truly appreciate that you like my music, but GAY pride is 10,000 times more awesome than CONFEDERATE pride my brother!"The musician added, "It's basically a 'love' vs 'hate' deal. As far as muscle cars go? We are TOGETHER on that. #LetsBuild."
When another fan complained, "You ruined the General Lee," Tom Morello hilariously responded, "You misspelled 'improved.'"
Plenty of fans were all in support of Morello's positive message, saying, "Nothing but love! Glad to see all the musicians supporting love! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜"
Another follower had a new brilliant nickname for the General Lee, saying "Ha, this is amazing! I like the General Glee much better now. 😂 🌈"
As another fan concluded, "So true Tom, ignorance still needs to be quashed by any means necessary. At the moment the whole world is experiencing so much hurt and conflict that my dream is for music 🎶 to bring us all together and go forward."