Gerard Way: ‘Voting has never been so extremely vital’

'Do it for the 1% chance you are wrong'

Gerard Way has spoken out with a lengthy plea to urge US citizens to take part in the upcoming election, saying that ‘voting has been so extremely vital’.

The former My Chemical Romance turned solo star took to his ‘Morning Pages‘ blog on his official website to open up about Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton’s race to become President.

“I’m almost 40 and I can’t remember a time in my life where voting felt so extremely vital,” he said. “I, like many people, used to feel that voting didn’t matter, but I’ve come around on it. I basically said to myself, ‘Let’s say that you are 99% right that voting doesn’t matter, but there is the 1% chance you are wrong…’.

Advertisement

“I’m voting for the 1% chance that I was wrong back in the day. I’m voting because we must do what we can. In fact, sometimes, all you have is your vote. Sure, you can be involved in other ways, like writing your elected officials, protesting, petitions, and things of that nature – and they do work sometimes, as we’ve just seen with the DEA temporarily lifting a ban on a plant that helps people that are addicted to opioids wean themselves off.”

He went on to slam politicians and government officials for allowing themselves to be corrupted by pharmaceutical companies.

“This is a step in the right direction, at least for now, and maybe one day the DEA will finally break the cycle of representing the best interests of Big Pharma, as a growing number of people are becoming hip to that which has been going on for many years,” Way wrote. “Too many people are gripped in the powerful hold of prescription painkillers, and we need to seek every alternative option as the corporations continue to lobby for getting more pills in our hands. Our pain makes them rich, so they see no reason to stop. And my heart goes out to people who are caught in this situation.”

Way went on to urge all US citizens to make the most of democracy in any form they could, adding: “In my opinion, I feel it comes down to the vote you are allowed. And we are allowed to vote in other ways other than politically. Disagree with some form of entertainment? You can vote by not throwing money at it. Want to see something succeed? You can do the opposite, and say it with the funds you are allowed. Vocal support can be helpful at times, but with the way the world works, the only thing the powers that be seem to understand is either cash or votes. That has been my understanding from taking note of how things do actually change over time. We need to put the right people in office. We need to support the teams and artists that speak to us.

“So voting is important, and I urge you to do it. If you think it doesn’t matter, just do it for the 1% chance you might be wrong.”

Advertisement

Fans recently reacted with disappointment after an announcement from My Chemical Romance turned out to be the reissue of ‘The Black Parade’ to celebrate the album’s 10th anniversary – which falls later this month.

Meanwhile, Gerard Way is said to be working on his second solo album, the follow-up to ‘Hesitant Alien‘.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories