David Draiman, the frontman for heavy metal band Disturbed, has been one of the most active pro-Israel celebrities on Twitter. In fact, it was his pro-Israel activism there that caught my attention, leading to me asking him to guest post on Israellycool. David gracefully agreed, posting this well-received post on antisemitism.
As an outspoken defender of Israel and the Jews online, David not surprisingly encountered many antisemitic and Israel-hating trolls. Sadly, it seems the trolls have gotten to David, and he has quit Twitter (hat tip: JethroSteve).
For several years, Disturbed frontman David Draiman has been one of the most interesting musicians to follow via social networking. Offering a combination of humorous posts, informational news-related items and opinionated commentary on issues of importance in his world, Draiman’s Twitter account has been a must-follow. However his passionate support of his Israeli heritage and commentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict and outspoken viewpoints on other hot button issues has riled up a few followers and led to some heated discussions. And while Draiman has given as good as he’s gotten, it appears that he’s tired of the social media drama.
In an interview with Minneapolis’ 93X, the rocker revealed that he’s decided to delete his Twitter account. “I’m done with social media, personally,” explained the singer. “And it had nothing to do with the record. It happened to be coincidental, but it had nothing to do with the record.”
He adds, “Social media has become a playground for trolls, a playground for these people who prey on one another. You can’t get anything decent done on there anymore; you just open yourself up to constant attack. And I’m just done with it. I’m done with it. I hope that the couple of years of my being as involved in it as I was meant something to people. I hope that they gleaned something from it, or took something away from it, or at least were entertained or something, because, now, I’m becoming a recluse.”
Draiman continues, “At the end of the day, what people want from me is to get up there on that stage and make them feel powerful and give them a release for an hour and a half or two hours every once in a while. And if I’m still able to do that, hopefully I’m still making people happy.”
A search of Draiman’s Twitter account reveals that the page no longer exists.
David, thank you for doing what you did. I’m sorry the trolls tired you out, but I hope you change your mind one of these days and return to swatting them. In the meantime, you are always welcome to guest post on Israellycool.
