John Dolmayan: System of a Down Is for All of You Whatever Your Politics Are

In recent weeks, we've seen System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan and singer Serj Tankian offer differing political viewpoints, but in a new posting Dolmayan wants to make clear, "Whatever your politics, you are all welcome. System of a Down is for all of you and always will be."

The drummer has been posting frequently, weighing in with his support of Donald Trump, police officers and the differing political views he has with some of his bandmates. But in his latest posting, he addresses all who have been reading his posts with a thank you even to those who disagree with what he says, but still have taken the time to listen. He also says regardless of what viewpoint you have, System of a Down will still be there to bring you together with others through the power of music.

He comments can be read here:

To all the people who disagree with my opinions but still listen to what I have to say and argue respectfully I thank you. I thank you for your passion , I thank you for your heart and most of all I thank you for your different perspectives. As to system fans, some of you have been disheartened by my opinions and that’s affected your love of our music , that’s a shame, don’t be , they are just opinions after all. I accept all of you for who you are as you are and hope you understand disagreeing doesn’t mean not caring for each other. You are why all of us in system have what we have and we owe you a debt of gratitude for sticking with us all these years . Whatever your politics you are all welcome , System of a Down is for all of you and always will be. Music has the power to bring us all together if we can just put differences aside , thank you all I love you all

As you might expect, with singer Serj Tankian also posting very direct viewpoints as well, there were some questions from fans. In the comments for Dolmayan's Instagram post, one person brought up Serj Tankian's recent public statement that if you're a fan of the System song "Temper" and still love Trump, that you're a hypocrite. The drummer defended his bandmate stating, "I hope he was misunderstood when he said that. I don't think he thinks that way."

Another commenter questioned Dolmayan specifically on his thoughts on the band's lyrical content and if he agrees with the messages conveyed, to which the drummer responded, "I agree with some, disagree with others. I try to take the best part of things."