Äskettäin viininjuontitempauksellaan kohauttanut Pearl Jam -laulaja Eddie Vedder on taas uutisotsikoissa. Yhtye esiintyi Englannin Milton Keynesissa 11. heinäkuuta ja Vedderin lavapuheet ovat nostattaneet kummastusta ja vihanpuuskia – etenkin Israelissa.
Israelilaisten mukaan Vedder syyttää heitä sodan sytyttämisestä ja vieraan maan valtaamisesta väkivalloin. Esimerkiksi Pearl Jamia Israelin-keikkaa aikaisemmin peräänkuuluttanut radio-dj Ben Red on kääntänyt kelkkansa täysin. Mies sanoi kuulijoilleen muun muassa seuraavaa: ”Eddie Vedder, your true face is finally being revealed. You are invited not to come here. I personally do not want to see you and I will erase the Facebook page calling on bringing Pearl Jam to Israel, but not before I expose who you really are.”
Tällainen oli Vedderin ”erilaisia tulkintoja mahdollistava” puhe:
”What the fuck? What the fuck? We can have this many people having a peaceful time. We can have modern technology. We can reach our friends. We know what they’re thinking before they’re thinking it. The advertisers know what we’re thinking before we’re thinking it. We have technology — all this in our hands. At the same time that something this positive is happening, at the same fucking time, not even that far away, they’re fucking dropping bombs on each other. What the fucking fuck?
I swear to fucking God, there are people out there who are looking for a reason to kill! They’re looking for a reason to go across borders and take over land that doesn’t belong to them. They should get the fuck out, and mind their own fucking business… Everyone wants the same goddamn thing: to have our children, eat, procreate, draw a painting, make some art, listen to music, fuck some more, have another baby, eat, work, eat, work, love, love, love, everyone’s the fuckin’ same! So why are people at war? Stop the fucking shit, now! Now! Now! We don’t want to give them our money. We don’t want to give them our taxes to drop bombs on children! Now! No more! Now!”