Otep Take Aim at NRA with ‘Shelter in Place’ Video
Otep frontwoman Otep Shamaya has never held her tongue when addressing social and political issues ranging from gender hating to government hypocrisy. Today, she made one of her brashest statements yet by releasing a graphically violent video for the anti-NRA song "Shelter in Place" from her self-titled band's new album Kult 45.
The clip, directed by Otep and shot by PR Brown, features imagery of Shamaya rocking a school desk and singing into the barrel of a handgun, as well as scenes of simulated shootings by students and other gun enthusiasts. The chant-along vocal is, "Hey, hey, NRA / How many kids did you kill today."
"The video for 'Shelter in Place' challenges the NRA's irrational claim that 'only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun,'" Shamaya said. "It aims the blame of mass murders of our children in school shootings directly on the NRA, not necessarily its members, but the administration who continue to fight for people on Terrorist Watch Lists to own a gun. Why? It's my belief the more murders that occur, the more money they make from weapons manufacturers and increases in membership which strengthens their ability to be a political power that continues to frighten the Republican owned Congress."
The confrontational artist insists politicians are just as guilty as the NRA for adding fear to the fire and stoking the flames of violence by not taking legislative action to prevent school shootings and other killings. "The number of mass murders of children in schools by gun violence is our national shame, yet the Republican owned Congress (and shills for the NRA) have done nothing, not a single thing, to protect our kids," she said. "In contrast, when ONE man attempted to detonate a shoe bomb on board a plane in flight, legislation was enacted to protect people from this SINGLE attempt of failed terrorism. Now all of us have to remove our shoes before boarding a flight. All of us have to be searched and x-rayed."
Shamaya doesn't see the NRA as a gun advocacy group, she views them as some of the most dangerous terrorists facing our nation. since they profit from the proliferation of school shootings and gun violence. "The NRA may have begun as an advocacy group for the Second Amendment but it's my belief they have regressed into something akin to a homegrown terrorist organization that benefits from mass murders both financially and as a political power," she said. "This is completely unacceptable. Enough is enough. Our children deserve better. And their safety and the safety of their teachers are worth fighting for."
Check out a 20-plus video about the making of the Kult 45 album below.
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