AUDIOSLAVE’s TOM MORELLO and SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer SERJ TANKIAN have risked arrest to help the homeless people of SANTA MONICA.
As previously reported, the pair have formed the activist group ‘Axis Of Justice’, working together to raise awareness of various political and social issues across the world.
The friends appeared at a press conference in Santa Monica, speaking out against a city ruling which they believe places restrictions on programs which distribute food to the needy in the local area.
Tom Morello told MTV news: “When Axis of Justice first heard of this law, we said the first day it goes into effect, lunch is on us. We’ll continue to do it in defiance of the law. I’m not worried police are going to show up and arrest us, I’m worried homeless people are going to be hungry tonight.
“This is a tremendously cruel law that criminalises compassion. In a city as wealthy as Santa Monica, there’s no reason everybody shouldn’t have a home and enough to eat, along with the appropriate job training or mental heath services or drug or alcohol rehabilitation, whatever they need to get back on their feet. Those are the things the city council should be focusing on, not trying to deny hungry people food.”
Local groups now have to abide by the codes of restaurants if they want to hand out food, something that is impossible, according to organisers.
Serj Tankian said: “I don’t understand. The homeless have never been a problem. Businesses want the homeless out of the way because it doesn’t look good. This is Los Angeles — it has to look good. In reality, it’s not stopping business. Their sales are at record highs. It doesn’t matter. The truth of the matter is it’s going to leave these people starving.”
After handing out the food, Morello and Tankian marched through the local streets in protest.