Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) recently released his new book “America 51: A Probe Into The Realities That Are Hiding Inside The Greatest Country in The World,” and has shared an excerpt from it via Loudwire. You can check that out below.
“America 51” Excerpt:
This book started out very different.
It started out with a disclaimer about the dangers of foisting a despot like Donald Drumpf (real family name) on this country. It talked about a Hillary victory I was so sure was going to happen. I wasn’t really that invested in her per se—I just didn’t want the Cheeto to win. I had faith that it wouldn’t happen, that most blue-collar people would come to their senses and go the other way. But that never happened—and in fact, it got worse. The GOP, otherwise known as the Republicans, ended up keeping their majority in the Senate and doubling down on their super-majority in the House of Representatives, paving the way for a whole lot of bad defunding to go down. So the presidency and Congress are held by the Republicans, while the Supreme Court — the other third of our three tiers of government — was stuck at eight members because Congress refused to allow Barack Obama to nominate a new judge. Let’s hear it for Gorusch, ladies and gentlemen …
This book started out with some hope that after a Trump scare, the Democrats could reach over and take some of these working-class folks — my folks — and show them that they are in fact their political party. It started out with a vision of seeing the GOP eat a lot of crow for tying their carts to a chauvinistic cocksucker afraid of his own shadow who is easily goaded into saying something pathetic. It had a lot of instances where it would show the GOP for the hypocrites they are: purporting to be for smaller government and yet digging their fingers into just as many programs, grants, and rights as the Democrats do. I wanted to break this shit down like a DJ after a wedding for you all. Then he won. He fucking won. No matter what he’d said or done, no matter how vile and fucked up he was or was going to be, no matter how much he’d lied and lied and lied and fucking lied … he’d won. In the big game at the political table, he’d played his Trump card and beat the house, setting it back a few points, to be sure.
When that happened I walked over to the computer on which I write my books, opened up all the chapters I had already started on, highlighted hours’ worth of words, work, and effort . . . and deleted it all. Highlight. Delete. Start again. It hurt. I was tied up in fucking knots for days, simultaneously catching shit for not doing enough to get the vote out and also ducking flying turds for daring to insinuate that because Trump had won, there would be an outbreak of violence against blacks, Latinos, Muslims, the entire LGBT-plus community, women, and so on. I was harassed for “instigating the violence by suggesting that violence might happen” — which, it correctly turned out, happened whether I’d said anything or not. Swastikas were spray painted on churches and mosques across the country. People were attacked in earnest. Angry white men shouted their contempt for anyone who had the audacity to be neither white nor male on flights and on subway cars. I can say this because there are videos of this happening. There are videos, and NO ONE WAS ARRESTED OR TAKEN TO FUCKING TASK OVER IT. No punishments for obscenity or vocal hate — just wanded, waived, and sent on their way. It lasted for a while, even as the protests mounted and the Trump supporters became just as “snowflake” and “triggered” as the liberals they loved to hate. Time to tuck in and settle down to wait for what was next.
But here’s the thing, and you’re going to think I’m fucking crazy right now: I’m GLAD he won. HOLD YOUR FUCKING HORSES, YOU MOTHER FUCKERS! Before some of you angry lefty pricks start bombarding me with crazy spam and dizzying examples of why the Trump Effect is going to burn this nation into cinders, then piss on those cinders, then stuff those cinders up Melania’s bleached asshole, then grunt those same filthy ashes into a champagne glass, then have those poopy, champagne-ridden, pissy American ashes blown straight up into his own privileged asshole live on C-Span . . . Jesus, sorry about that folks. I really got off on a riff there, Sonny Rollins style. I don’t even remember where the hell I was going with all of that. Was I going to talk about the new First Lady’s nudes? Was I going to talk about those uncomfortable moments between Donald and Ivanka? By the way that whole pissy ashes metaphor takes on a whole new meaning given the “Golden Gate” controversy — oh, Donald …
Anyway, before any of that absolutely happens — and there are great chances that it will — let me explain that sentiment. I’m not happy that this election has divided our country into gnarly tribes of discontent. I’m not happy that some people are scared and others think it is fair game to terrorize. I’m not happy that the protests seem to go on and on because they just keep looking for new reasons to be upset. I’m happy because it set my record straight, sharpened my gaze, and put me back on the path. Check it out.
Yes, Donald Trump is the president (at least for now) — NOT MY PRESIDENT, but The President. That’s not to say that I’ll be happy when the Right tries to take out the various programs that are helping people, like it or not, get through their life. I won’t keep quiet when they add to the deficit because they don’t have any answers better than what is already there, but they won’t admit to it. I also won’t stand by as they try to “scale back” the powers of those who oppose them, like the intelligence communities, the “checks and balances” parts of our governments . . . or the American voting population. If they want a revolution, they’ll fucking get one because they suck at math: WAY MORE PEOPLE VOTED AGAINST TRUMP THAN VOTED FOR HIM, AND HE’D BETTER FUCKING REMEMBER THAT. The Orange Mandate does not exist.
No, I’m glad for different reasons — two reasons, to be exact: because up to that point, this book was a piece of shit, and to be quite honest, so is our two-party system. This book was really just me ranting and raving about how right I was about Trump and the Right and all that shit blah blah blah fucking GET OVER YOURSELF TAYLOR. I was acting exactly like the political party I thought I supported, until I realized that was the very reason that people found it so hard to support that party — not only could they not relate to it, but they felt judged and belittled for not coming off as a shiny shell from the intelligentsia. More down to earth people were siding with an egomaniacal Cheeto than they were a candidate that should have smoked him like a throwaway gang member in Death Wish 2.
