Dee Snider doesn’t fit into any neat political boxes.
He rails against GOP hero Gov. Ron DeSantis and has spent decades defending free speech. He couldn’t sustain his ’80s-era fame with Twisted Sister, but he’s remained in the spotlight via his bond with former free speech hero Howard Stern and by weighing in on culture war spats.
He did just that this weekend and the reverberations could be profound. And he did so by rallying beside a fellow rock legend.
Paul Stanley kicked over a hornet’s nest, and then stomped all over it, via Twitter over the weekend.
The KISS mainstay said parents should wait until their children are 18 before approving life-altering, irreversible surgery to “affirm” their preferred gender. Stanley’s note wasn’t vicious or blunt. He spoke eloquently of his beliefs in a way that hardly screamed rock ‘n’ roll.
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) April 30, 2023
“Some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad.”
You know what? There was a time where I “felt pretty” too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions! Well said.
Snider led the gender-bending aesthetic during the ’80s glam metal days and, apparently, that carried over from his teen years.
Snider elaborated on his beliefs in subsequent Tweets after followers raged against his opinion.
I’m not, Elle. Parents need to be less reactionary; Right and Left. No need to steer the child in either direction. Let the kid figure it out for themselves knowing their family is supportive.
I had a vet/cop hardass dad who, while he shook his head A LOT…let me do my thing. https://t.co/qyDJabWijb
— Dee Snider
(@deesnider) May 1, 2023
Been there lived that.
You all do know who you’re talking to, right? https://t.co/rtfxagAIpP
— Dee Snider
This story is far from over.
Their combined comments may coax others to speak out in agreement. In recent years though, many rockers have either hidden their contrarian views or spoken out with the progressive mainstream.
Few have assailed free speech suppression across the culture. When rockers Tim Pool and Five Times August got booted from Bandcamp for speaking their minds no major stars rose to their defense, for example.
We also could see either Snider, Stanley or both backpedal on their comments fearing career backlash. They’ve seen how the far Left turned literary icon J.K. Rowling into a pariah for not agreeing with every element of the trans movement.
Death threats may haunt them moving forward as they have with Rowling.
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