Tom Petty Said He Couldn’t Save the World, Just ‘B**** About’ Its Problems
Tom Petty often addressed the problems he saw with the world in music and interviews, but he didn’t believe he could save it. He used his platform to bring attention to a number of issues, but he doubted his ability to change things. He joked that all he could do was bemoan the world’s problems.
Tom Petty revealed the societal problems that he found unforgivable
Years after releasing his album Southern Accents, Petty apologized for the use of the Confederate flag as a promotional tool, calling it “downright stupid.” He said that he grew to regret the choice and understood how it might have hurt people. In a statement he released to Rolling Stone, he pointed out some other issues.
“Beyond the flag issue, we’re living in a time that I never thought we’d see,” he said. “The way we’re losing Black men and citizens in general is horrific. What’s going on in society is unforgivable. As a country, we should be more concerned with why the police are getting away with targeting Black men and killing them for no reason. That’s a bigger issue than the flag.”
He believed there was little sense to many of modern society’s problems.
“Years from now, people will look back on today and say, ‘You mean we privatized the prisons so there’s no profit unless the prison is full?'” he said. “You’d think someone in kindergarten could figure out how stupid that is. We’re creating so many of our own problems.”
Tom Petty said that he couldn’t fix the world’s problems
Petty put his worldview into his music, so for his 2014 album Hypnotic Eye, he addressed inequality, celebrity culture, and technology.
“I remember when people made a living and were quite happy and didn’t even want a swimming pool but they were fine,” he told Uncut in 2014. “You could do an honest day’s work, support your family and maybe even own your own home – you could get by nicely. And as that’s been taken away, a desperation creeps in. Then you have the media trying to hypnotize them by telling them, ‘No, you should be rich or you’re nothing. If you’re not dressing like Kim Kardashian, you’re nothing.’ And that offends me.”
He noted that while he worried about the future, he didn’t think he could do much to save the world.
“I can’t save the world,” he said. “I can only b**** about it!”
He used his platform to bring attention to various issues
Petty didn’t describe himself as a political person, but he made his personal beliefs clear.
“I’m not really a political person but I am a practical one,” he said. “It is easy to see the good guys and the bad guys right now even though the good guys are a little gray.”
He spoke out publicly against the war in Iraq, and many of his songs carried anti-war messages. In 1979, he performed in the No Nukes concert. He also was vocal about his support for protecting the environment as early as the 1980s.
