Dave Matthews has expressed his outrage and disgust towards the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of Renee Nicole Good's tragic shooting in Minneapolis. In a lengthy video message posted on his official social channels, the South Africa-born singer took aim at what he perceives as a "monsters" running the show.
Matthews began by acknowledging the privilege that comes with being a taxpaying citizen and expressed gratitude for his community and neighbors. However, he quickly turned to criticizing how taxpayers' dollars are spent. "If they spend my taxes on bridges and national parks and maintaining highways, libraries, raising the minimum wage, paying nurses, free university for people who can't afford it, free healthcare, things that are reasonable," he said.
Matthews then took a sharp turn, denouncing what his tax dollars shouldn't be used for. "I don't want my taxes to go toward invading foreign countries over false premises, kidnapping presidents to steal their natural resources and threatening to do it to other countries, claiming somehow sovereign nations belong to us," he stated, calling the current administration "entitled and revolting."
The singer also voiced his outrage towards ICE and its actions. "I don't want my taxes to pay for ICE, masked thugs roaming our streets, terrorizing communities and ripping families apart. We should be taking care of each other. We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be throwing people to the ground."
Matthews then spoke about Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by a masked ICE agent earlier this week. He expressed shock and dismay at the Trump administration's response to the shooting. "This administration, these people who are trying to tell us not to believe what we see... it is so horrific," he said.
Matthews concluded his video message with strong language, calling high-ranking members of the Trump administration "just deeply, deeply dishonest people." He also echoed sentiments shared by other artists following Good's death: "These are dark times. Fuck ICE."
In essence, Dave Matthews has made it clear that he stands against policies and actions he perceives as unjust and morally reprehensible. His passionate outburst serves as a call to action for those who, like him, are committed to fighting for social justice and human rights.
Matthews began by acknowledging the privilege that comes with being a taxpaying citizen and expressed gratitude for his community and neighbors. However, he quickly turned to criticizing how taxpayers' dollars are spent. "If they spend my taxes on bridges and national parks and maintaining highways, libraries, raising the minimum wage, paying nurses, free university for people who can't afford it, free healthcare, things that are reasonable," he said.
Matthews then took a sharp turn, denouncing what his tax dollars shouldn't be used for. "I don't want my taxes to go toward invading foreign countries over false premises, kidnapping presidents to steal their natural resources and threatening to do it to other countries, claiming somehow sovereign nations belong to us," he stated, calling the current administration "entitled and revolting."
The singer also voiced his outrage towards ICE and its actions. "I don't want my taxes to pay for ICE, masked thugs roaming our streets, terrorizing communities and ripping families apart. We should be taking care of each other. We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be throwing people to the ground."
Matthews then spoke about Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by a masked ICE agent earlier this week. He expressed shock and dismay at the Trump administration's response to the shooting. "This administration, these people who are trying to tell us not to believe what we see... it is so horrific," he said.
Matthews concluded his video message with strong language, calling high-ranking members of the Trump administration "just deeply, deeply dishonest people." He also echoed sentiments shared by other artists following Good's death: "These are dark times. Fuck ICE."
In essence, Dave Matthews has made it clear that he stands against policies and actions he perceives as unjust and morally reprehensible. His passionate outburst serves as a call to action for those who, like him, are committed to fighting for social justice and human rights.
This is so messed up! I'm still trying to process how we let this happen in our country... all these people losing their lives at the hands of ICE and the government. And Dave Matthews is right, where do we even start? We can't just sit back and watch as people are ripped from their families and communities because of some misguided policy. It's like he said, "These are dark times" 
... but I believe we can make a change if we stand together. We need to hold our politicians accountable for the money they spend on us, it's crazy that they're using our taxes to fuel this kind of injustice. 
it's disgusting how they're using taxpayer dollars to do nothing but hurt people and destroy communities. Renee Nicole Good's death was a total tragedy and I'm still trying to process how the Trump admin is responding to it like, what are they even doing? trying to silence people who speak out against their racist policies? no way, dude. Dave Matthews said it best - we shouldn't be throwing people to the ground, we should be housing the homeless and taking care of each other 
his rant about how we should be using our tax dollars for actual good stuff like free healthcare and university tuition instead of invading other countries or supporting ICE is EVERYTHING 
i'm so inspired by his passion and conviction. he's right, these policies are monstrous and we need more people speaking out against them 
. Still, I gotta respect his passion – it's clear he's hurting over Renee's death 
.