So many people defending Morrissey's racist statement

[davidt]

Yes, I think everyone agrees about the tone. He meant it to be derogatory, no question.

Among those who think he chose the word very carefully, there seem to be two main camps. One group thinks he meant it literally, meaning he's a racist. The other thinks he isn't racist but used the word to generate publicity to sell records. Since you think he chose his words carefully, which side do you favor? Or do you think he had another intention behind his word choice, and if so, what would it be?

Not being pushy, I've just been curious to know your opinion.

I am on the side that Morrissey is not racist (but perhaps could use some racial sensitivity courses) and there is a pattern of provocative statements for press right around a record release or tour. What sort of racist would he be with so many fans that are of a racial minority?

I think a better way to address the topic would have been the way he addressed the topic of British Guards wearing real fur hats. He sounded calm and directly addressed a concern. He did not say anything close to 'you can help but think English people are a sub-species', which of couse would have sounded ridiculous.

I appreciate that you expressed your opinion and are open to others.

 

[Worm]

I am on the side that Morrissey is not racist (but perhaps could use some racial sensitivity courses) and there is a pattern of provocative statements for press right around a record release or tour. What sort of racist would he be with so many fans that are of a racial minority?

I think a better way to address the topic would have been the way he addressed the topic of British Guards wearing real fur hats. He sounded calm and directly addressed a concern. He did not say anything close to 'you can help but think English people are a sub-species', which of couse would have sounded ridiculous.

I appreciate that you expressed your opinion and are open to others.

Thanks, David, much appreciated. While I don't agree with every detail of your answers, I would nevertheless be thrilled if your answer became the one "official" statement which permanently ended the debate. I would prefer any rational, sensible response over the foolish "he's racist" nonsense.

 

[Uncleskinny]

I think I pretty much echo what David said. I posted earlier in another thread that I was bored with all this on Sunday. We've been here before, why should we be surprised? I think more than anything else Morrissey may regret the clumsy way he delivered his point. I know what he wanted to say, you know what he wanted to say, but more than anything else, he knew what he wanted to say. Obviously he isn't a racist. One other thing to say - The Guardian knew what they were doing too. What did he get on Saturday - a full page article aside from the interview? Phil andd Phillipa Space of Private Eye would have been proud.

P.

 

[goinghome]

Deepak Chopra talks about the imminent release of his new book on Islam's founding prophet, Muhammad. It's just called Muhammad.

http://www.atheistmedia.com/2010/09/deepak-chopra-writes-fictional.html

Chopra is a great saleman and is criticised for his publicity skills as much as he is praised for his promotion of healthy peaceful ways of living.

The thing about this book is that, because it's a fictionalised, but at the same time, fairly realistic warts n' all account (main character married girl aged 6 etc), he's been warned that his life may very well be in fatweh-style danger.

He could have just not written it but apparently he believes he's bringing something to the table that'll help educate the world about Islam and thus reduce fears, prejudice etc.

Similarly Morrissey knowingly puts his reputation on the line to take a stance against torture of animals. Maybe it's his Irish blood - the Irish mean it, man!

 

[ThinkOfMeKindlyLV]

Well, Obama's the worst president I've ever seen, and all across America the vast majority agrees with me. Since you don't live in America, I can understand that you don't much care that the current single-party Democrat rule of Obama/Pelosi/Reid is wrecking this country. .

Well I live in America you f***er and I am so sick and tired of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid "axis of evil" bullshit that is based in absolutely no reality at all. You are so god damn delusional you need to get your head out of your ass and change the channel because Fox news is not doing a damn thing for your intelligence. And furthermore you fail to acknowledge the absolute racism that Obama is facing by those piece of shit Tea Baggers who didn't give a rats ass when Bush was running up deficits. But you're here lamenting Morrissey's. It's laughable. The deficits, the economy...it's all of a sudden a major issue... only it isn't...because we all know the real reason he is hated by SOME and it's because he is black. Never has a president been treated with such disrespect before. I know. I have assholes in my own family who are so racist that they cannot even see straight. They tell me I am so blind that I can't even see the fact that he is a muslim from Kenya! Idiots. Harry Reid is my senator and he is a wonderful person who has done so much for Nevada and if he loses because of fools like you, this state is going to be worse off than before. Besides the fact we'll be the laughing stock of the country.

"vast majority" my ass. "vast majority" if you watch Fox all day and listen to bullshit talk radio. Pretty soon the "minority" will be the "vast majority" and it scares the hell out of Glenn Beck groupies.

 

[Anaesthesine]

Well I live in America you f***er and I am so sick and tired of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid "axis of evil" bullshit that is based in absolutely no reality at all. You are so god damn delusional you need to get your head out of your ass and change the channel because Fox news is not doing a damn thing for your intelligence. And furthermore you fail to acknowledge the absolute racism that Obama is facing by those piece of shit Tea Baggers who didn't give a rats ass when Bush was running up deficits. But you're here lamenting Morrissey's. It's laughable. The deficits, the economy...it's all of a sudden a major issue... only it isn't...because we all know the real reason he is hated by SOME and it's because he is black. Never has a president been treated with such disrespect before. I know. I have assholes in my own family who are so racist that they cannot even see straight. They tell me I am so blind that I can't even see the fact that he is a muslim from Kenya! Idiots. Harry Reid is my senator and he is a wonderful person who has done so much for Nevada and if he loses because of fools like you, this state is going to be worse off than before. Besides the fact we'll be the laughing stock of the country.

"vast majority" my ass. "vast majority" if you watch Fox all day and listen to bullshit talk radio. Pretty soon the "minority" will be the "vast majority" and it scares the hell out of Glenn Beck groupies.

It feels like doesn't it?

 

[Worm]

Maybe it's his Irish blood - the Irish mean it, man!

You mean the way Oscar Wilde "misplaced" his Irish accent a few weeks after arriving at Oxford?

 

[Worm]

It feels like doesn't it?

In recent a Gallup Poll, Obama, Pelosi, and Biden were three of the five most unpopular politicians in the country. Bush and Palin were #1 and #2, though.

 

[goinghome]

You mean the way Oscar Wilde "misplaced" his Irish accent a few weeks after arriving at Oxford?

Chill, bro

A US police officer was on exchange in County Tipperary in Ireland with the Garda as part of a new law enforcement program between the two countries. One day the sergeant informed him they’d be stopping cars looking for suspicious characters.

The day was going along with nothing to report until an older man pulled up in a small Ford van. He seemed agitated and the American officer was immediately suspicious.

“Where are you travelling to today?” asked the officer. The older man angrily mumbled something the officer couldn’t understand and tightened his hands on the wheel. The alarm bells went off in the officer’s head and he reached for his baton, backing away from the car and saying,

“Sir, I can’t understand you – could you please step out of the vehicle.” At this the man became quite angry and turned to the officer, yelling at him,

“I SAID I’ve just come from KILLING A MAN and now I’m off to KILL A BOY!! Now feck off and let me on with me business!!”

The officer immediately arrested the older man on suspicion of murder and brought him in for questioning. Instead of the praise he expected, the Irish garda sergeant uncuffed the suspect as soon as he saw him and, after just a few words, let him go with an apology before sternly taking the American officer aside.

“That man is Paddy O’Loughlin,” said the sergeant, “he’s well known to ourselves, runs a local delivery business – he’s harmless.”

“But – what about his confession to murder?!” protested the yankee officer. The sergeant hefted a tired sigh.

“Paddy might not be a very polite man – and he shouldn’t have yelled at you – but you really need to learn the names of the local areas here.” The sergeant then pointed to a map on the wall where the American saw his mistake.

The American officer had stopped Paddy directly on his daily route between Kilnaman and Killaboy, County Tipperary.

 

[Worm]

The American officer had stopped Paddy directly on his daily route between Kilnaman and Killaboy, County Tipperary.

"We have everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language".

 

[goinghome]

"We have everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language".

Oscar Wilde - http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Oscar_Wilde - is much more Anglicised by ancestry than Morrissey. His mother even claimed that her maiden name, Elgee, derived from early Italien Alighieri, making her supposedly a relation to Dante.

Such suppositions may well be open very soon to scientific exploration if an article in today's paper is to be believed:

"Scientists have mapped the DNA of an Irish person – an anonymous male volunteer – for the first time. Now the challenge is to find out which of the 300,000 previously unrecorded genetic variations is unique to, or typical of, Ireland. We predict some of the findings...http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0911/1224278612992.html :

 

[Vauxhall95]

I would think he chose to be blunt to bring attention to what's going on in China, even if the choice of words put him in a negative light. Carefully thought out PCisms wouldn't garner the attention he wanted on the issue(?)

The problem is Morrissey is not "media savvy" (as we know he refuses to read newspapers and watch the news, he claims) and underestimates how the words become the news while tangential stories on "While we're here, why don't we take a closer look at China's record on animal abuse" don't get written. Not one single article I've read on this racist brouhaha even mentions the title/airdate of the TV contents he was referring to!

The word is full of crashing hacks!

Not media savvy? He dropped the statement to let everyone know "I'm still vaguely alive" and look at me and what a fuss I can cause and at my age - by the way I'm unsigned! Any takers? Look at the shitstorm I can still create with one sentence! Just imagine the amount of publicity around the next album!

No, he's a marketing genius. Anyway, it would be nice for someone to sign him for one last album.

 

[jeane]

The problem is Morrissey is not "media savvy" (as we know he refuses to read newspapers and watch the news, he claims) and underestimates how the words become the news while tangential stories on "While we're here, why don't we take a closer look at China's record on animal abuse" don't get written.

i think you underestimate him. the fact that he said "did you see on the news..." in addition to only recently having written an eloquent letter to ed about bears and their hats surely leads one to believe that he is very media aware.

i can't remember the exact wording but didn't linder in tiobm say something along the lines that he is very aware of the image he creates?

 

[moggy]

So if he had said:

"You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are inhumane.” - would that be racist?

Let me tell you, Morrissey doesn't care if the people who mistreat animals are Chinese, English or Finnish. To him those people are uncivilized beings - or 'subspecies' - as he poetically put it.

And of course his choice of word was meant to provoke. But writing this off as 'racist' is rather superficial in my opinion.

I think that says everything about this subject. Hes never used a mild word when a more extreme word will do. He does do it to get a reaction and succeeds.....long may it continue.

There is a alternative of course

" No it's just more lock jawed pop stars
Thicker than pig shit, Nothing to convey
They're so scared to show intelligence
It might smear their lovely career "

 

[King Leer]

If he thought by saying that that even one paragraph of ink, let alone standalone articles, would be devoted to the animal welfare situation in China he's not media savvy. It won't help sell albums either (the people who now refuse to buy because of what he said will probably cancel out any extra copies due to his name being out there again).

But Morrissey's definitely right that it's so easy to be controversial.

In terms of animal rights he's probably up on the latest but otherwise there's little evidence he's caught up on or even interested in current events, which is part of his charm.

i think you underestimate him. the fact that he said "did you see on the news..." in addition to only recently having written an eloquent letter to ed about bears and their hats surely leads one to believe that he is very media aware.

i can't remember the exact wording but didn't linder in tiobm say something along the lines that he is very aware of the image he creates?

 

[jeane]

If he thought by saying that that even one paragraph of ink, let alone standalone articles, would be devoted to the animal welfare situation in China he's not media savvy.

haha, i think that's the essence of the main debate isn't it? his intention?

In terms of animal rights he's probably up on the latest but otherwise there's little evidence he's caught up on or even interested in current events, which is part of his charm.

hmmm, perhaps.....

 

[Mozzaa]

if Moz is racist so what? stop reading his interviews, stop buying his music i think most people have stopped giving a toss it's just the same wondering about his sexuality... if he's gay he's gay, he's just expressing himself. He likes playing with fire, let him if he gets burned one day he does, he knows what he's saying no matter how out of context it is or isn't taken...i don't think people defending him or the people taking offence are going to change his mind, there are more important things in life than Moz's racial likes/dislikes, I just find it really annoying when people read SO much into things. EVERYONE discriminates EVERYONE, wether it be behind closed doors or in peoples faces...

 

[platypus]

It's funny to me that, when Morrissey bribed Love Music Hate Racism, they became a popular political organization on this forum. I recall threads titled "Love Morrissey Hate Racism", etc. The lefty types of this forum quickly embraced this group without looking much into them. I attacked that group at the time and would never want anything to do with them.

It's funny to me that you don't realize no one cares.

 

[moggy]

In recent a Gallup Poll, Obama, Pelosi, and Biden were three of the five most unpopular politicians in the country. Bush and Palin were #1 and #2, though.

God.......if we get palin and david milliband in power WW3 is around the corner.

 

[mauve21]

I was very interested to read what David Tseng had to say
about Morrissey's statement.
However, I am not going to defend what Morrissey said as he is
a grown man who can speak only for himself.
Also, that doesn't mean I don't still adore him. It's just that
there are horrible things going on all the time all over the world and
slandering a nation's people does not help one person or one animal.
I feel deep sorrow for suffering caused and I just wish
people would bloody well behave themselves.