Billy Bragg: long statement re: Morrissey on Facebook (7 July, 2019)




"Last Sunday, while much of the British media were lauding Stormzy’s Glastonbury headline show as epoch defining, Morrissey posted a white supremacist video on his website, accompanied by the comment ‘Nothing But Blue Skies for Stormzy...The Gallows for Morrissey’. The nine minute clip lifted footage from the grime star’s Pyramid Stage performance while arguing that the British establishment are using him to promote multiculturalism at the expense of white culture.

The YouTube channel of the video’s author contains other clips expressing , among other things, homophobia, racism and misogyny - left wing women of colour are a favourite target for his ire. There are also clips expounding the Great Replacement Theory, a far right conspiracy trope which holds that there is a plot of obliterate the white populations of Europe and North America through mass immigration and cultural warfare.

My first thought was to wonder what kind of websites Morrissey must be trawling in order to be able to find and repost this clip on the same day that it appeared online? I came home from Glastonbury expecting to see some angry responses to his endorsement of white supremacism. Instead, the NME published an interview with Brandon Flowers in which the Killers lead singer proclaimed that Morrissey was still “a king”, despite being in what Flowers recognised was “hot water” over his bigoted comments.

As the week progressed, I kept waiting for some reaction to the white supremacist video, yet none was forthcoming. Every time I googled Morrissey, up would pop another article from a music website echoing the NME’s original headline: ‘The Killers Brandon Flowers on Morrissey: ‘He’s Still A King’. I’m well aware from personal experience how easy it is for an artist to find something you’ve said in the context of a longer discourse turned into an inflammatory headline that doesn’t reflect your genuine views on the subject at hand, but I have to wonder if Flowers really understands the ramifications of Morrissey’s expressions of support for the far right For Britain Party?

As the writer of the powerful Killers song ‘Land of the Free’, does he know that For Britain wants to build the kind of barriers to immigration that Flowers condemns in that lyric?
Party leader Anne Marie Walters maintains ties with Generation Identity, the group who both inspired and received funds from the gunman who murdered 50 worshippers at a Christchurch mosque. How does that sit with the condemnation of mass murder by lone gunman in ‘Land of the Free’?

As an explicitly anti-Muslim party, For Britain opposes the religious slaughter of animals without the use of a stun gun, a policy that has given Morrissey a fig leaf of respectability, allowing him to claim he supports them on animal welfare grounds. Yet if that is his primary concern, why does he not support the UK’s Animal Welfare Party, which stood candidates in the recent European elections?

Among their policies, the AWF also aim to prohibit non-stun slaughter. If his only interest was to end this practice, he could have achieved this without the taint of Islamophobia by endorsing them. They are a tiny party, but Morrissey’s vocal support would have given the animal rights movement a huge boost of publicity ahead of the polls.

Instead, he expresses support for anti-Muslim provocateurs, posts white supremacist videos and, when challenged, clutches his pearls and cries “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me”. His recent claim that “as a so-called entertainer, I have no rights” is a ridiculous position made all the more troubling by the fact that it is a common trope among right-wing reactionaries.

The notion that certain individuals are not allowed to say certain things is spurious, not least because it is most often invoked after they’ve made their offensive comments. Look closely at their claims and you’ll find that what they are actually complaining about is the fact that they have been challenged.

The concept of freedom pushed by the new generation of free speech warriors maintains that the individual has the right to say whatever they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want, with no comeback. If that is the definition of freedom, then one need look no further than Donald Trump’s Twitter feed as our generation’s beacon of liberty. Perhaps Lady Liberty should be replaced in New York Harbour with a colossal sculpture of the Donald, wearing a toga, holding a gaslight.

Worryingly, Morrissey’s reaction to being challenged over his support of For Britain, his willingness to double down rather than apologise for any offence caused, suggests a commitment to a bigotry that tarnishes his persona as the champion of the outsider. Where once he offered solace to the victims of a cruel and unjust world, he now seems to have joined the bullies waiting outside the school gates.

As an activist, I’m appalled by this transformation, but as a Smiths fan, I’m heartbroken.

It was Johnny Marr’s amazing guitar that drew me to the band, but I grasped that Morrissey was an exceptional lyricist when I heard ‘Reel Around the Fountain’. Ironically, it was a line that he had stolen that won my affections. “I dreamt about you last night and I fell out of bed twice” is spoken by Jimmy, the black sailor, to his white teenage lover, Jo, in Sheila Delaney’s play ‘A Taste of Honey’.

The 1961 movie, starring Rita Tushingham was an early example of a post-war British society that would embrace multi-racial relationships (and homosexuality too). By pilfering that particular line for the song, Morrissey was placing the Smiths in the great tradition of northern working class culture that may have been in the gutter, but was looking at the stars. Yet, by posting a white supremacist video in which he is quoted as saying “Everyone prefers their own race”, Morrissey undermines that line, erasing Jo and Jimmy and all those misfit lovers to whom the Smiths once gave so much encouragement.

A week has passed since the video appeared on Morrissey’s website and nothing has been written in the media to challenge his position. Today it was reported that research by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK based anti-extremist organisation, reveals that the Great Replacement Theory is being promoted so effectively by the far right that it is entering mainstream political discourse.

That Morrissey is helping to spread this idea - which inspired the Christchurch mosque murderer - is beyond doubt. Those who claim that this has no relevance to his stature as an artist should ask themselves if, by demanding that we separate the singer from the song, they too are helping to propagate this racist creed."


Regards,
FWD.

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One thing that makes it difficult to make sense of anti-Morrissey posts is the general expectation that if you support X then you must support Y and Z that people who support X normally support else you're somehow an outcast.

It seems to me that, with Morrissey, a whole lot of people hear that he supports X, feel great about it, and then get very angry when they find out that he rejects Y and Z.

I get that political parties need to bundle policies because they need to have a platform that many people can vote for, but why is this expected of individuals?

Anyway, whatever you think of Morrissey, I don't find it all inconsistent that he would advocate for Britain remaining a semblance of Britishness (whatever that is) as a paramount concern. Half the country voted for Brexit, so it's not an outlandish view. If everywhere becomes like everywhere else, then it's true that you've gained diversity in a macro sense, but you've lost it in a micro sense. It doesn't surprise me at all that Morrissey would reject globalization (which is essentially what "make everywhere like everywhere else" is all about - the efficiency in selling the same stuff to the same people in the

same way).

The other school of thought is Moz sold himself to the not very clever Mexican audience, then decided to aim low for the UK and Europe.
 
Well done, Billy. At last someone, somewhere has the balls to call out Morrissey regarding his active involvement and support of hate incitement. The involvement isn't direct, as Billy made clear, but Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties is having an impact; an negative impact. Just look at the level of racist, homophobic entryism into this forum?

The racists and dog whistlers in here will immediately rubbish what Billy has to say; none will write as eloquently or with as much passion.

Only yesterday both Reelfountain and Hoffman made homophobic comments, comments that later one of them attempted to described as humorous. They were not humorous but attacks on LGBT people, who apparently, have no right to shove their sexuality in society's face and who should return to the shadows. If you've ever experienced direct homophobia I can assure you it's no joking matter. In tandem with their abject racism these racist entryists have changed the very nature of this forum. They flood threads with racist or dog whistling statements with indecent haste changing the very nature of every thread.

Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties has emboldened these racists to believe they have a home in this forum. Do they?

Your earnestness knows no limits. It's actually hilarious.
 
If it was only a theory............why do the numbers keep going up .............and up...........and up............and up.....

What Leftist would like you to believe is that while whites may indeed becoming a minority, there is no conspiracy behind it. It's something that is "just happening".
Which is a lie. It's happening as a direct result of government policy. People are making it happen.
 
Morrissey makes a few comments and you all lose your mind.
Absolutely hilarious. You little girls get triggered so easily. He's toying with you.
 
Church must be out? The entryists have arrived in number. Or, is there just one of them with several profiles?
 
He's 100% spot-on on all points. Though the racist bastards on here will disagree.

You couldn't give a damn if people are racist or not, you just want to stick the boot in to Morrissey.
Racist or not (strongly preferably not), they're Morrissey fans on a Morrissey fan-site.
You're not a Morrissey fan on a Morrissey fan-site.
Racists have no place in society, you have no place here.
 
Morgoth's Review responds....



And there you have it .... a messiah for: f***fountain, Hatemann and IKnowHowIGotMyHate.

One of many sewers that attempt to spread discontent, racism, homophobia and class war. You'll note the brave author of this 'blog' doesn't put his real name to it. Maybe it's Hofmann? If that's his real name?
 
Well done, Billy. At last someone, somewhere has the balls to call out Morrissey regarding his active involvement and support of hate incitement. The involvement isn't direct, as Billy made clear, but Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties is having an impact; an negative impact. Just look at the level of racist, homophobic entryism into this forum?

The racists and dog whistlers in here will immediately rubbish what Billy has to say; none will write as eloquently or with as much passion.

Only yesterday both Reelfountain and Hoffman made homophobic comments, comments that later one of them attempted to described as humorous. They were not humorous but attacks on LGBT people, who apparently, have no right to shove their sexuality in society's face and who should return to the shadows. If you've ever experienced direct homophobia I can assure you it's no joking matter. In tandem with their abject racism these racist entryists have changed the very nature of this forum. They flood threads with racist or dog whistling statements with indecent haste changing the very nature of every thread.

Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties has emboldened these racists to believe they have a home in this forum. Do they?

Very well said. I couldn't agree more.
 
Well done, Billy. At last someone, somewhere has the balls to call out Morrissey regarding his active involvement and support of hate incitement. The involvement isn't direct, as Billy made clear, but Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties is having an impact; an negative impact. Just look at the level of racist, homophobic entryism into this forum?

The racists and dog whistlers in here will immediately rubbish what Billy has to say; none will write as eloquently or with as much passion.

Only yesterday both Reelfountain and Hoffman made homophobic comments, comments that later one of them attempted to described as humorous. They were not humorous but attacks on LGBT people, who apparently, have no right to shove their sexuality in society's face and who should return to the shadows. If you've ever experienced direct homophobia I can assure you it's no joking matter. In tandem with their abject racism these racist entryists have changed the very nature of this forum. They flood threads with racist or dog whistling statements with indecent haste changing the very nature of every thread.

Morrissey's endorsement of alt-right views/organisation/political parties has emboldened these racists to believe they have a home in this forum. Do they?

You must be new to this site.

For years, folks have been posting hate and promoting violence be done to Morrissey on this site.


So, words, freedom of speech and all.





:straightface:
 
Stormzy - I mean ffs? Totally symbolic of how dumbed down and junk British culture has become. McDonalds, KFC, superhero movies, and Stormzy. Modern life really is rubbish.
 
You'll note the brave author of this 'blog' doesn't put his real name to it.

Neither did Voltaire or any of the authors of The Federalist Papers. The Bolshevics all used pseudonyms: Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky... None of those were their real name. If political dissidents were all required to use their real names, we would all still be living under absolute monarchies.
 
Worryingly, Morrissey’s reaction to being challenged over his support of For Britain, his willingness to double down rather than apologise for any offence caused, suggests a commitment to a bigotry that tarnishes his persona as the champion of the outsider. Where once he offered solace to the victims of a cruel and unjust world, he now seems to have joined the bullies waiting outside the school gates.

Nail on head.
 
Morrissey is standing up for what is right and denying Islam. Bragg has bought into the established brain washing. Again!! Why would a gay man want to welcome Islam into his country when they say he should die?? Bragg is splitting hairs over if Morrissey is racist, meanwhile he’s backing a religion that says to kill gays! I’m a liberal but I just don’t get this part of the left that wants to defend Islam and it’s anti gay and anti woman ways. You’re no liberal if you do!

I'm not a fan of Islam, but I don't understand why people keep making this point as if it's clever. Some crazy Muslims advocate killing gay people the same way some crazy Christians do, but the Bible is the only major holy book of the two religions that expressly says gay people should be killed. And before someone cries "That's just the Old Testament!", although nowhere in the New Testament outright calls for gay people to be killed, Paul (New Testament) has nothing but contempt for them and basically says their punishment is fitting. Plus, the Old Testament is still part of the Bible.
 
Worryingly, Morrissey’s reaction to being challenged over his support of For Britain, his willingness to double down rather than apologise for any offence caused, suggests a commitment to a bigotry that tarnishes his persona as the champion of the outsider. Where once he offered solace to the victims of a cruel and unjust world, he now seems to have joined the bullies waiting outside the school gates.

Nail on head.

What about the cruelty of terrorism?......human beings, men, women and children's bodies blown apart.......if championing them isn't the champion of the outsider.......i don't know what is.
 
I'm not a fan of Islam, but I don't understand why people keep making this point as if it's clever. Some crazy Muslims advocate killing gay people the same way some crazy Christians do, but the Bible is the only major holy book of the two religions that expressly says gay people should be killed. And before someone cries "That's just the Old Testament!", although nowhere in the New Testament outright calls for gay people to be killed, Paul (New Testament) has nothing but contempt for them and basically says their punishment is fitting. Plus, the Old Testament is still part of the Bible.

Church going Christians are not blowing up half of Europe. Christians are not destroying Sweden as we speak.
 

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