Jeff Mangum, Kathleen Hanna, R.E.M., and more have endorsed net neutrality
Net neutrality is one of the great issues facing modern society, at least as far as the Internet is concerned, but it has been consistently held back by one small problem: It’s kind of hard to understand. We know Netflix is one of the good guys, and it wants to make sure that everyone’s House Of Cards binges don’t get interrupted this weekend by slow download speeds. On the other side, as always, are the cable companies and Internet providers who think they can get richer and richer by systematically destroying everything that brings us happiness—like, you know, the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on net neutrality this Thursday but, frankly, we’re still a bit confused.
Luckily, we don’t have to understand any of this, because a bunch of awesome music people have gotten together to announce how they feel about net neutrality, and so we might as well just agree with them. So how awesome are these music people? Well, they’re about as awesome as it gets, and they’ve all signed an open letter to the FCC that pledges their support for net neutrality.
How could net neutrality’s opponents, like Republican Senator John Thune, top that? Has he ever recorded an album that’s as good as In The Aeroplane Over The Sea? Is he even referred to as the J.D. Salinger of anything? Look, we’re not saying you should base every decision you make on what a bunch of alternative rockers have to say, but it couldn’t possibly hurt to consult them every once in a while—even if most of their advice will be to retire from public life for long periods of time.
The full letter, which is addressed to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, is below. Make sure to hit “ctrl+f” to find your favorite musicians!