Dee Snider Says ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ Is Not The Oppressors’ Song

Twisted Sister’s most famous song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ has been the subject of controversy since its release in 1984. Dee Snider recently reminded his followers that it is not a song for the oppressors but the oppressed. He explained the meaning of the song rather aggressively, reflecting how enraged he feels about the misunderstandings.

Although ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It‘s lyrics clearly targets oppression and how people should stand up to oppressive leaders and authorities, many have still misunderstood it. The music video revolves around the oppression of society’s smallest institution’s ‘leader,’ the father. When the father scolds his child, he transforms into Dee Snider and aggressively sings the song.

Even though there were a lot of controversies, the song was used by politicians several times. In 2012, Paul Ryan, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, used the track for his campaign until Snider asked him to stop. Snider then stated that he was planning to vote for Obama and doesn’t support Ryan’s ideas.

In 2015 Donald Trump used it as a theme song for his 2016 presidential campaign and became known as the ‘Trump Fight Song.’ Although Snider gave the song willingly at first, he later decided he didn’t support Trump’s ideas and asked him not to use his song anymore.

Regardless of the backlash he received, Snider always defended the song like his baby and didn’t allow anyone to abuse it. He recently tweeted that the song is about lifting those who have faced injustice or oppression and was not written to inspire the oppressors.

Here is Snider’s tweet:

“Attention: I wrote ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ to lift up the downtrodden. Not inspire the oppressors. Fuck anyone who cares only about what they want and not the greater good. ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ is not your song. It never was, and it never will be!”

The song was also a commercial success as it received Gold certification in the USA, 8x Platinum in Canada, and another Gold in Sweden. It was also a topic of controversy among the states, especially when PMRC wanted the song to be banned because it showed ‘violence’ against parents.

You can see Snider’s tweet below.