Rock stars gone good

I flip a lot of shit towards celebrities for the brainless crap which they willingingly inflict on the public. But when folks do good, it's important to recognize that as well. And Tom Morello (currently of Audioslave, formerly of Rage Against the Machine) and Ben Harper have done good by me:

Tom Morello was among approximately 400 protesters arrested early Thursday evening during a march to raise awareness for immigrant hotel workers' rights.

The Audioslave guitarist, who performed under his Nightwatchman alias at a rally before the march, was charged with unlawful assembly for refusing to move from Century Boulevard, the main entry road to Los Angeles International Airport.

"In these political dark ages, it's important for us to stand up for one another," Morello told MTV News before the march. "These hotel workers by the airport make 20 percent less wages than hotel workers around the rest of Los Angeles. We're here to express our solidarity with them, to help them unionize and to help them close the gap between their sub-poverty wages and the millions and millions of dollars the people who own these hotels make."

>snip<

"This is how things have changed, is by people on the lower rungs of society standing up," Morello said. "People have been arrested in this country for a woman's right to vote. People have been arrested in this country for desegregated lunch counters. Those things didn't come about because of the wisdom of presidents — they came about because of average ordinary working people standing up for their rights. I think all the working people on the streets, even the police, have much more in common with each other than the people who own these hotels and are ripping off their workers."

At the rally, Morello performed a song about protests that included the chorus, "For the union men and women, stand up and stand strong."

Morello's friend and fellow activist Ben Harper also performed, beginning his three-song set with "Better Way" (sample lyric: "What good is a man/ Who won't take a stand"). Harper participated in part of the march but was not arrested.

"Having [Morello and Harper] here helps young people understand how important this is," Ana Mendez, a banquet server at the Hilton Hotel LAX, said during the rally. "We want to elevate these jobs to be first-class citizen jobs, not low-poverty wage jobs."

Glad to have them on our side