Guitarist quits Mumford & Sons to 'speak freely' on politics

[Demovictory9]

LONDON (AP) — Winston Marshall, a founding member of folk-rock group Mumford & Sons, announced Thursday that is leaving the band so that he can “speak freely” about political issues.

Marshall took a break from the band in March after sparking a social media storm by tweeting admiration for “Unmasked,” a book by right-wing writer-activist Andy Ngo that attacked far-left militant groups collectively known as antifa.

Marshall was accused online of endorsing the far right, but said Thursday that “nothing could be further from the truth. I condemn unequivocally all political extremism, be it of the Right or Left.”

Marshall, who plays guitar and banjo with the group, said his bandmates had “invited me to continue with them,” but he had decided to leave so that he could “speak freely without them suffering the consequences.”

https://apnews.com/article/europe-entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-fd8c24396fb818558a9c95c7724d12bf

[Tommy Carcetti]

1. Damn, looks like it's now just Mumford & Son. nt

[Aristus]

2. "Far-left militant groups collectively known as antifa."

Wow. That's not a biased description or anything...

[WHITT]

9. Indeed

Not to mention there are no "militant groups collectively known as antifa".

[belpejic]

17. Exactly

Where exactly can I find this "antifa"? Who is its leader? Where is its website? What is the group's mission statement?

Good thing my town of 1,000 now has built walls around its perimeter with fully-armed, 24-7 patrols to protect us from marauding antifa hordes. The next nearest town is ten miles away and we have established a communications protocol with them to alert them if antifa attacks us first or vice versa.

We will not let these commie bastards defeat us.

Sarcasm!

But I actually know people in small, rural, red state towns who really do think they're at risk of being invaded by antifa, whatever antifa may be. What is wrong with these people? Right wing propaganda is extremely effective, I guess.

[Mike Nelson]

3. Huh?

... they are still successful and making lots of money, I thought...

... speaking for myself, I wouldn't quit making millions so I could go on Twitter to praise politicians and express unpopular opinions. But, that's just Me...

[ChubbyStar]

11. I'm thinking he didn't quit on his own

This is oddly worded and telling:

Marshall, who plays guitar and banjo with the group, said his bandmates had “invited me to continue with them,” but he had decided to leave so that he could “speak freely without them suffering the consequences.”

My feeling is the band told him to knock off his shit and if he did he could stay. Marshall probably said no and they said GET THE FUCK OUT. That is my take YMMV.

[underpants]

4. Like every Mumford song I got 1/3 thru this story and found it derivative and forced

But hey good luck to the guy. Sounds like a piece of crap to me.

[dchill]

7. Exactamundo!

I know, my reply is a Fonzie derivative.

[tonedevil]

16. LOL /nt

[abqtommy]

5. I will agree with the comment "I condemn unequivocally all political extremism, be it of the

Right or Left", since those extremes are Fascism and Communism and history and current events
show that they are naturally allied with each other.

[WHITT]

8. But Seems It's A Lie

[Caliman73]

12. Really?

Fascism and Communism naturally allied?

You can certainly argue that they share tendencies toward authoritarian actions. You can also argue that they both hate centrism, but allies?

Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression pact before WW2, but that wasn't an alliance. It was a convenience. They were mortal enemies and the bloodiest, most horrific fighting of the war took place on the eastern front.

Communism is definitely not aligned with Fascism.

If you are implying that Stein, and Putin, and Sarandon, etc... have been attacking Democratic candidates and they are "the radical left", well you are wrong there too. Putin is a Fascist. His country, while it was nominally communist before the USSR fell, is now very much Capitalist which is the antithesis of leftism (socialism, communism, etc...) Stein was an opportunist and Sarandon is a dumbass. To be sure, far leftists do not typically like Liberalism and centrism because in their eyes, it perpetuates Capitalism, which they see as the root of all evil, but they are not aligned with Fascism.

[ZonkerHarris]

21. um, the lie is the musician's condemnation. you misunderstood the comment. the Mumford is a

far right winger who pretends to condemn extremism.
But thanks for the lecture anyway.

[Caliman73]

23. Read comment 5 again.

The poster is agreeing with the band member and stating the reason for the agreement.

The title of the post is I agree with .....

[fishwax]

13. how do current events show that fascism and communism are naturally allied with each other?

[ChubbyStar]

19. They don't n/t

[gratuitous]

6. This isn't an airport, Mr. Marshall

No need to announce your departure.

But I will say that hitching your political philosophy to Andy Ngo is a really dumb move.

[underpants]

10. 😆

Spot on.

[Caliman73]

14. So he condemns extremism from BOTH right and left, but...

He likes Andy Ngo, a jagoff far right extremist. Yeah, I buy that. Usually when someone says I don't like extremism on Either side, then cites a far right person, it means that they like far right. Far left, not so much.

So now this guy can go hang out with Ted Nugent and Van Morrison.

[Casady1]

15. I heard a couple of their albums

basically put me to sleep.

[ZonkerHarris]

18. He can tour with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent on the county fair circuit.

[ChubbyStar]

20. Fair Circuit?

The parking lot of the Four Seasons Landscaping Co is more likely.

[ZonkerHarris]

22. They can headline on a Tuesday at the Des Moines County Fair but there's a tractor pull on the

weekend

[Initech]

24. Andy Ngo is a journalist in the same way that a pile of shit is manure.

People absolutely deserve every bit of shit they get for thinking this lunatic has any sort of credibility.

[ChubbyStar]

25. Milkshake anyone?

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[maxsolomon]

26. Oh noes.

Where will they ever find another dude that can play guitar and banjo?

Andy Ngo is a POS provocateur.