Welcome To The Occupation

Quick history lesson: In the ’80s, during President Ronald Reagan’s administration, the U.S. supported right-wing dictators in El Salvador and Guatemala and secretly funded anti-Communist contra fighters in Nicaragua, all of this under a zero-tolerance policy towards groups with communist leadership. These civil wars – with one side backed by American money, training and weaponry – were violent conflicts that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. The American-supported, right-wing organizations were responsible for the majority (though not all) of the carnage, including human rights abuses such as the murder, rape and torture of innocent civilians.

“It was a secret little Vietnam we had going on down there and it’s not like we were saving anyone from anything,” R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck said in 33 Revolutions Per Minute. “It was wrong. It was just plain wrong.”

The band had been compelled by their interest to include songs about these conflicts on consecutive albums. “Green Grow The Rushes,” on 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction, referenced the U.S.’s economic involvement. “The Flowers of Guatemala,” on 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant, drew an allegory to the widespread violence by way of lyrics about a toxic flower, or mushroom, which covered the country.


Read More: R.E.M.’s Anger Comes Into Focus on ‘Welcome to the Occupation’: The Story Behind Every ‘Document’ Song