Phil Anselmo complained about a fan who brought a Confederate flag to a Pantera last Friday, the 26th. Having been involved in a serious racism incident for making a Nazi salute on stage a few years ago, the vocalist spoke out against the use of the symbol at the show.
According to Blabbermouth , the band was already in the final stretch of their show in Sofia, Bulgaria, when they addressed a fan who was supposedly carrying a Confederate flag. “There’s a person over there holding that symbol and trying to ruin the show; I repudiate, I reject that damn flag. Sorry. It’s ridiculous, man. Keep politics out of things, it sucks,” they said.
In recordings of Anselmo's speech available online, we can also see that bassist Rex Brown expressed dissatisfaction with the symbol and made a "no" gesture towards the fan in question. Despite this, the images do not show the person in the audience.
In January of this year, Pantera's shows in Germany were canceled at the simultaneous German festivals Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park due to Anselmo's Nazi salute in 2016. The band rescheduled solo shows in Germany a few months later.
Black Panther and the Confederate flag of the United States.
Pantera has used the Confederate flag as stage decoration, including on one of the guitars of the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell . Official band merchandise featuring the flag was sold until 2015, when controversies resulted in the removal of the items from the official store , although it is still easy to find the "Hesher Dream" model online. According to the band, the flag was used because of the influence of bands from the southern United States, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd , without racist connotations.
The controversial Confederate emblem in the United States is understood as a symbol of hatred because it represents the Confederate States during the Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. At the time, the Confederacy was fighting against the abolition of slavery for Black people.
As the BBC , the Confederate flag of the USA was adopted by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other advocates of racial segregation in the country.
READ ALSO: Pantera: current reunion-tribute lineup may release new music
