In a time where mass protests world wide are taking place due to mandatory vaccinations and required passports for Covid 19, it is good to see someone in pop culture taking a stand against the efforts to control the choices of the human population worldwide.
Eric Clapton, a rockstar known for hits like “Wonderful Tonight”, “Layla” & “Lay Down Sally”, amongst many other hits spanning generations and decades, has decided to stand up in his own way against mandatory vaccination efforts. He recently issued a statement saying that he will not perform music at any venue requiring the audience to be vaccinated before coming to see a show.
Clapton says, “Following the PM’s (Prime Minister Boris Johnson of The United Kingdom) announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021, I feel honor-bound to make an announcement of my own. I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present. Unless there is a provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show.”
Back in May, after getting the Astrazeneca vaccine himself, Clapton spoke about how he suffered a series of severe reactions to getting the shot. Despite his own vaccination and current survival from the Covid 19 pandemic, he continues to support the free will choice of all people as to whether or not to get vaccinated themselves.
Just recently, Clapton released a new song with Van Morrison about this freedom and his views on being against global societal lockdowns. The song is called “Stand and Deliver” with lyrics written saying,
“Do you wanna be a free man
Or do you wanna be a slave?
Do you wanna wear these chains
Until you’re lying in the grave?”
Another verse in the song continues further to read,
“Magna Carta, Bill of Rights
The Constitution, what’s it worth?
You know they’re gonna grind us down
Until it really hurts.
Is this a sovereign nation
Or just a police state?
You better look out, people
Before it gets too late”
Earlier on in the pandemic, Eric Clapton had previously stated that, “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”
Just this past weekend, mass protests have broken out around the world by people standing up against Covid 19 vaccination mandates and vaccine passport requirements. New videos online show thousands and thousands gathered in cities such as London, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Rome, Naples and Milan, as well as many other cities across Europe. In Paris, riot police fired teargas into the crowds with the most intense protests taking place. France’s Interior Ministry states in the Epoch Times that around 160,000 people participated in the protest this weekend.
Could we see the same happen in the United States? So far, freedom still exists here with both the vaccine remaining a preference choice and passports not existing. Mask mandates exist in many states and businesses across the nation. Some businesses have mandated vaccination, such as some hospitals and even some bars and restaurants now asking for proof of vaccination. Even NFL coach Rick Dennison of the Minnesota Vikings has recently been fired for refusing the vaccine. Rhetoric discriminating against the unvaccinated is increasing, while thousands who have been vaccinated are still becoming sick or even, in some cases, dying from the virus. With all of this, we will just have to see what the future holds for the United States.