Daily Mail Morrissey article "Bonfire Of Teenagers" & Manchester Bombing (October 27, 2022)

Richard LittleJohn best know as the conservative poster boy reviews Morrissey Bonfire of teenagers.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Why should we go easy on Islamist killers? Singer Morrissey rejects the ubiquitous 'turn another cheek' response. And quite right, too - dailymail.co.uk

But sadly I feel it misses the point & makes him out to be some sort of pop star for the Far Right.

But again what do you expect from the Daily Mail.

October 29, 2022:
Now a Central post:

TURNABOUT: - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - TURNABOUT:

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

 

[rubbersoul]

Everyone on the right called him it. At its peak it was universal - even when they used him for a few culture war pieces.

It's thawing now because people are starting to suspect it isn't true - but Central's posting habits could sink him - American white nationalists are promoting him on their website because of Black Pigeon Speaks.

Launching an album in Amercica with American racists on his website - when it'll get attention because of Miley Cyrus etc - is sabotage on an epic scale.

Edit - for some added context - Central is promoting him to people who are struggling to lose their hatred of Catholics, think South Americans are rapists and criminals who should be sent back to South America (so that includes most of his band), hate drag queens and think the LGBTQ+ community are rapists who are grooming children - so the only way this is coming from Morrissey is if he's lost his mind.

I think you're reading too much into this, tbh. Sam or whoever runs central probably just posts any old shite that's vaguely complimentary about Morrissey because hardly anyone is these days. I don't think it's any indication of Morrissey's political stance. A few odd posts on a website full of random crap aren't going to "sink him".

 

[Sandy_Jay_1111 ☯️]

Just playing into the elites hands divide and conquer,the msm will say he is racist like with Elvis and sheep believe, so our lad is now intertwined with the United Snakesssss they want him to shut up and croak his influence not the music is a threat to their control.
"tell the truth even if your voice shakes"

 

[Sandy_Jay_1111 ☯️]

All the publications you mention referenced Morrissey's apparent support for a purportedly 'far right' party called For Britain, all in the context no doubt of Morrissey being 'controversial' and contrarian. None of those publications claimed him as their own for doing so. I'm not aware of any of those publications supporting For Britain. None of those publications called him racist, or suggested that his apparent support for For Britain meant he must be racist. Only the left did that.
Hopefully SER at some point will stop posting shite on Moz Central - perhaps on that we can agree.

Moz central is a vile weird as hell site and does he endorse what goes on there - odd vibes

 

[gashonthenail]

Of course they wouldn't claim him as their own - they condemned him - or tried to defend him by implying that he was just racist the way anyone's stubborn old Uncle might be.

The Evening Standard & the Financial Times also called him far right, racist etc. They're right-wing.

Again, citations would be helpful. In the ES's recent review of Moz's Brixton Academy show, for example, there is no accusation that Moz is or may be racist. They make mention of his 'anti-immigration comments' and 'support of far-right political parties' but nothing about his being racist. They don't even call him far right. I'm not aware of any of the publications you mention ever calling Moz racist or accusing him directly of being far right. But we all know the left do that all the time. It's also perhaps an indication of just how woke the mainstream media in the UK have become, that a paper like the ES that is described by media watch websites as centre-right begin their review of the Brixton Academy show by discussing the need to separate Morrissey's music from his supposed 'politics'. Bizarre. These are strange times we live in. And the Financial Times is described by media watch websites as centre, not right wing. I'm not aware that they have ever accused Morrissey of being racist or far right. Again, they may have alluded to his support for For Britain, and comments on immigration, but no more than that. Whereas the Guardian and the NME...we know the rest.

Morrissey at Brixton Academy review: surprisingly fuss-free and formulaic

While controversy often swirls around the former Smiths frontman, this gig largely sidestepped the rambling rants and focused on the music behind the man

www.standard.co.uk

 

[Malarkey]

I think you're reading too much into this, tbh. Sam or whoever runs central probably just posts any old shite that's vaguely complimentary about Morrissey because hardly anyone is these days. I don't think it's any indication of Morrissey's political stance. A few odd posts on a website full of random crap aren't going to "sink him".

Hopefully! The tour was great. The new songs are catchy. He's looking healthy.

 

[Malarkey]

Again, citations would be helpful. In the ES's recent review of Moz's Brixton Academy show, for example, there is no accusation that Moz is or may be racist. They make mention of his 'anti-immigration comments' and 'support of far-right political parties' but nothing about his being racist. They don't even call him far right. I'm not aware of any of the publications you mention ever calling Moz racist or accusing him directly of being far right. But we all know the left do that all the time. It's also perhaps an indication of just how woke the mainstream media in the UK have become, that a paper like the ES that is described by media watch websites as centre-right begin their review of the Brixton Academy show by discussing the need to separate Morrissey's music from his supposed 'politics'. Bizarre. These are strange times we live in. And the Financial Times is described by media watch websites as centre, not right wing. I'm not aware that they have ever accused Morrissey of being racist or far right. Again, they may have alluded to his support for For Britain, and comments on immigration, but no more than that. Whereas the Guardian and the NME...we know the rest.

Morrissey at Brixton Academy review: surprisingly fuss-free and formulaic

While controversy often swirls around the former Smiths frontman, this gig largely sidestepped the rambling rants and focused on the music behind the man

www.standard.co.uk

Far right and racist are synonymous.

I assumed you were British?

He was even denounced by the Mumford, which was a cheek.

 

[BookishBoy]

Yes - because the song itself has chosen not to highlight anything but a feeling of anger at an atrocity. The gig comments were quite awkward & seemed like a way of saying he'd feel the same about any murder regardless of backgrounds.

Goodness me.

I would gently suggest that you've chosen to interpret both the song and his comments before performing it in incredibly bad faith, in order to keep your own viewpoint from being negated.

 

[Malarkey]

Goodness me.

I would gently suggest that you've chosen to interpret both the song and his comments before performing it in incredibly bad faith, in order to keep your own viewpoint from being negated.

In bad faith?

What line in the song would lead to a discussion of Islam or immigration?

And he also chose not to mention Islam or immigration in his comments before the song & linked it to another crime. In Brixton he mentioned John Charles de Menezes, who was killed by the police.

 

[Anonymous]

Moz central is a vile weird as hell site and does he endorse what goes on there - odd vibes

Of course he endorses what is posted in his named site. It doesn't matter who posts it or why. It's not the intention that counts now, it's the perception.

 

[Aubrey McFate]

Moz central is a vile weird as hell site and does he endorse what goes on there - odd vibes

Yes, this is what it all comes down to. Malarkey and Samsa are right in that the site gives help to those who want to make Morrissey out as senile or right-wing. And it's way beneath Morrissey (or his site curator) to link to Richard Littlejohn or Paul Joseph Watson.

If the excuse is that S.E. Rayner has an internet Tourette's where he just links to anytime anyone mentions Morrissey, that's fine. I'm still not sure it's true, though. I don't think it would happen if Jamie Oliver praised Bonfire of Teenagers on Twitter.

The casual observer will assume Messages from Morrissey to be actual messages from Morrissey, but even still, the site is such a bizarre collage that I don't know how much it hurts him. Probably not as much as Malarkey thinks. He did get a record deal.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Not sure how Moz has ever promoted the 'alt right'? He briefly promoted For Britain in the UK, almost certainly mostly due to their policy to ban halal slaughter, but I really don't see how SER posting a Youtube video that references Morrissey on Moz Central can be viewed as promoting anyone, other than Morrissey.
Immigration is a subject that the far right has always liked to exploit for their own ends. In response, the left's attitude is - well, let's not talk about it then. Whereas for most people, it's a subject that's important, and a subject they want to talk about. And they don't think it's racist to want to control it. It's clearly a subject that Moz is not scared to talk about. It may be that his talking about it has aroused the interest of a few unsavoury characters - Richard Littlejohn being perhaps a rather insipid example, but clearly SER is not too interested in the history of anyone he posts on Moz Central - the only criterion is that they reference Moz, even if it's a scrawling on a toilet wall. And I don't think people like Littlejohn see Morrissey as 'one of their own'. As someone growing up in the UK, I know a little about the history of Littlejohn and his style of journalism. I have absolutely no idea about the history of Morgoth's Review or Black Pigeon - I don't think SER does either, we can leave it to Malarkey to investigate, but both postings were interesting in their comments about Moz, especially the one comparing Morrissey and Stormzy (something everybody with a brain was thinking at the time but was afraid to say) - as the saying goes, even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. No one was promoting them. They could be vile racists, they could be just loners with body odour and a laptop. I don't think most of us care. They made a video that referenced Morrissey, so SER posted the video on Moz Central. How's that a liability?

It’s a liability because these people are considered alt-right and, as you put it, unsavory. By posting clips and articles by these people, it looks as if Team Moz is proud to be mentioned by them. And if you are proud to be lauded by the alt-right, most people will probably not think highly of you. If you’re that careless, don’t complain about the backlash.

And what exactly has Moz ever said about immigration as such?

 

[Riordan]

Are you lot seriously calling The Daily Mail far right? It's a rag granted and Littlejohn is a pure prick but they're hardly 'far right'. The daily mail website is one of the most visited websites in the UK (top 10), is the majority of the UK far right?

 

[gashonthenail]

It’s a liability because these people are considered alt-right and, as you put it, unsavory. By posting clips and articles by these people, it looks as if Team Moz is proud to be mentioned by them. And if you are proud to be lauded by the alt-right, most people will probably not think highly of you. If you’re that careless, don’t complain about the backlash.

And what exactly has Moz ever said about immigration as such?

Oh come on, mate, his interviews can all be found online for everyone to read again and make their own mind up. We know what spin the left have put on his interviews - from the likes of Billy Bragg and many others.
People must make their own minds up about the things Morrissey has said. You and Malarkey might be right - it's possible that his interviews have been misinterpreted and that Moz believes in open borders and the wonders of mass immigration - and penned Bonfire as an ode to the benefits of diversity. And if you really think that - good luck to you.

 

[Fion s]

Oh come on, mate, his interviews can all be found online for everyone to read again and make their own mind up. We know what spin the left have put on his interviews - from the likes of Billy Bragg and many others.
People must make their own minds up about the things Morrissey has said. You and Malarkey might be right - it's possible that his interviews have been misinterpreted and that Moz believes in open borders and the wonders of mass immigration - and penned Bonfire as an ode to the benefits of diversity. And if you really think that - good luck to you.

The song is neither pro nor anti diversity, it's anti terrorism.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Oh come on, mate, his interviews can all be found online for everyone to read again and make their own mind up. We know what spin the left have put on his interviews - from the likes of Billy Bragg and many others.
People must make their own minds up about the things Morrissey has said. You and Malarkey might be right - it's possible that his interviews have been misinterpreted and that Moz believes in open borders and the wonders of mass immigration - and penned Bonfire as an ode to the benefits of diversity. And if you really think that - good luck to you.

Not really what I said, as you probably know. I don't know why you resort to being evasive and silly. I ask again, what has Moz ever said about immigration as such? I know the media and the PC have him out to be the second coming of Hitler, and that the alt-right love that stuff and tries to portray him as their posterboy, but I'm not sure what he really thinks of immigration as such. I'm sure he doesn't want open borders (very few people do), but I'd be equally surprised if he was for building walls ála Trump. He's very much a global citizen, after all.

 

[Malarkey]

Oh come on, mate, his interviews can all be found online for everyone to read again and make their own mind up. We know what spin the left have put on his interviews - from the likes of Billy Bragg and many others.
People must make their own minds up about the things Morrissey has said. You and Malarkey might be right - it's possible that his interviews have been misinterpreted and that Moz believes in open borders and the wonders of mass immigration - and penned Bonfire as an ode to the benefits of diversity. And if you really think that - good luck to you.

There's nothing in the song about diversity, immigration or borders.

And he wrote a pro-immigration song:



In Mexico
I went for a walk to inhale
The tranquil, cool, lover's air
But I could sense the hate
From the Lone Star state
And a small voice said
"What can we do?"

It seems if you're rich and you're white
You'll be alright
I just don't see why
This should be so
If you're rich and you're white
You'll be alright
I just don't see why
This should be so

 

[Gregor Samsa]

"[I call] for every shade and persuasion … we shall always be alongside each other - everyone's culture of value."
- Morrissey, May 2019

 

[gashonthenail]

There's nothing in the song about diversity, immigration or borders.

And he wrote a pro-immigration song:



In Mexico
I went for a walk to inhale
The tranquil, cool, lover's air
But I could sense the hate
From the Lone Star state
And a small voice said
"What can we do?"

It seems if you're rich and you're white
You'll be alright
I just don't see why
This should be so
If you're rich and you're white
You'll be alright
I just don't see why
This should be so

Is 'Mexico' pro-immigration? Not obviously so. It's a reflective lyric about the relationship between Mexico and its richer neighbour to the north, and not related to any obvious historical event to pin it down in any way. It alludes to all sorts of issues, but there is no explicit pro-immigration message. Not that that would be a bad thing. I think everyone would agree that immigration is a good thing.

Bonfire is about an historical event - when a young man called Salman Abedi blew himself up in Manchester Arena killing 23 people, including himself, and wounding 1017 people. Abedi's father was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a Salafi jihadist organisation proscribed by the United Nations, and father and son fought for the group in Libya in 2011. Abedi's parents, both born in Tripoli, remained in Libya in 2011, while 17-year-old Abedi returned to live in the UK. He took a gap year in 2014, when he returned with his brother Hashem to Libya to live with his parents. Abedi was injured in Ajdabiya that year while fighting for an Islamist group. The brothers were rescued from Tripoli by the Royal Navy survey ship HMS Enterprise in August 2014 as part of a group of 110 British citizens as the Libyan civil war erupted, taken to Malta and flown back to the UK.
He never should have been allowed back in to the UK. He should have been left to rot in Tripoli. When he was back in the UK, of course, there were repeated warnings that he was an Islamist extremist. After the bombing, one of his other brothers was allowed to fly out of the UK and disappear, despite being summoned to give evidence. If someone I loved had died in that bombing, forgiveness and not looking back in anger would be the last thing on my mind.

 

[goinghome]

The Banshees of Inisherin is wonderful. Martin McDonagh as a writer seems to be getting better with each movie he makes. I love the way the script is so pared down that the viewer is free to see in the story all sorts of allusions and allegories on so many different levels. For me, there is an obvious allegory in the movie about the importance of holding on to civility and not 'cancelling' people - because without civility and dialogue human society can very quickly descend into cruelty and barbarism. That is an important message in these troubled times.
I can't imagine Morrissey would be delighted to have the support of Richard Littlejohn. Anyone old enough will remember his rabid anti-gay stance in the 1980s, against the backdrop of Clause 28. But it is an indication of how social attitudes have changed in the past 30 years that Littlejohn would mention Morrissey with praise. And it also an indication perhaps of just how much hatred of the West has grown on the left in the past decade that people as far apart as Morrissey and Littlejohn now seem to find themselves sharing similar ground with regard to their attitude towards the supposed benefits of diversity and cultural relativism.

Thank you for that great review, gashonthenail. I saw the film yesterday. The scenery is stunning, the acting outstanding, and the action sometimes shocking, emotional, hysterical and troubling; sometimes tender, calm and plain. Characters often come across as helplessly irrational, which is probably closer to reality in general. Your observations about civility and cancel culture are so thoughtful. I think another strong theme is nature versus culture, and an implication that culture comes at a cost to nature, particularly in the remark made by Colm about God no longer caring whether creatures like the miniature donkey pull through, which is when everything went wrong.

Strong stuff for sure. Friendly strife: that can also be eased by interested outsiders, or exacerbated when exposed to the Littlejohns of this world

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Let's remember that in the Manchester bombing case, a security guard witnessed the killer and thought him suspicious, but didn't intervene as he was worried he'd be accused of being racist. That's where this culture of denial has led us, and it's appropriate for Morrissey to call it out.

Yes, this is important but you have to remember, you gotta be a bit of a dumb c*** to think something is dodgy but not report it when you have human lives at play, no matter what anyone says to you.
What kind of men have England got now?
So yes, I agree the "woke" culture is BS and is dangerous. I also think this guard has found a nice excuse for being a weak coward of a man with blood on his hands.
Do your f***ing job mate