(written by Terry MacNeil, on December 4-5, 2023)

Before I begin, I must emphasize that I’ve been a fan of the heavy metal band Slayer for most of my life. They’re pretty much the only metal band I (as an adult) still love to listen to. And I am quite certain Slayer never was a racist band.

I must also emphasize, that (as a white male) I was INCREDIBLY ignorant when I was in high school and university. Back then, I thought racism had disappeared in the USA – after Jim Crow was outlawed. And I thought racism had never been a problem in Canada. Needless to say, I had no idea whatsoever of what constitutes “White Privilege” – and even if I had, I would’ve concluded that white privilege does not exist. If my parents had known I was so ignorant, they would’ve kicked my arse.

As for Slayer, they ran into controversy on their “Undisputed Attitude” album (released in 1996, which was mostly punk rock songs that were covered by Slayer). Most Slayer fans hate punk rock, and most Slayer fans did not enjoy “Undisputed Attitude”. Personally, I LOVE “Undisputed Attitude”, even though I don’t consider it a “true” Slayer album. But I must point out – punk rock is my fave kind of rock, and I am NOT a metal fan. But I digress.

The controversy of the “Undisputed Attitude” album centred on a Minor Threat song called “Guilty of Being White”. For the last couple of decades, I thought the song was about a white man complaining about being criticized by parts of American society – for the sins of the USA’s past (such as slavery, genocide, economic injustice/exploitation, etc). For Slayer’s cover of the song, they changed the final line from “Guilty of Being White” to “Guilty of Being Right” – which led many people to believe that Slayer was endorsing the viewpoint of whiny whites. According to Wikipedia, Slayer claimed to not be endorsing any racist viewpoint – but that they were ridiculing it. As far as this issue goes, I am giving Slayer the benefit of the doubt. That said, I’m betting Slayer wouldn’t have changed that line in the song – if “Undisputed Attitude” had been released during the first presidential campaign of Donald Trump (or during the years since).

And now, we get back to me. As a teenager, and later a young adult, I interpreted the song “Guilty of Being White” not as being racist – but that it was about whites (in general) being unfairly criticized for “being white”. Back then, I (as a white dude) did (absurdly) feel as though I was under attack and being unfairly criticized by segments of Canadian society (especially by racial minorities), and by anti-racists in general. In a way, it felt as though the song was about me. It took me a LONG time to smarten up – and to reject the racism of my youth. More than anything else, it was anarchism that saved me from my ignorance, self-centredness, and idiocy. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.

As for the song “Guilty of Being White” – yesterday I got one hell of a surprise when I saw on Wikipedia what the song was originally about. Back in the day, Minor Threat’s lead singer Ian MacKaye was a white student at a majority black high school – and was getting bullied (by blacks) for the sins of white Americans (in general) committed long ago. So I consider it a non-racist song – but that it is NOT a song being critical of white racists (as I had incorrectly assumed it was). Oh dear. The things you learn on the internet! Ⓐ