tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post6405253419470480631..comments2024-03-28T09:33:26.444+00:00Comments on No Rock And Roll Fun: Morrissey: "I'm not a racist"Simon Hayes Budgenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-13518638042100550182007-12-08T23:42:00.000+00:002007-12-08T23:42:00.000+00:00Amer: Someone can also post twenty times arguing t...Amer: Someone can also post twenty times arguing to the contrary, while not making it true. Do you have any actual new arguments to add to this discussion?<BR/><BR/>And if you've read the entire NME article, feel free to quote anything new from there that you feel adds needed context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-57920899073395149462007-12-08T18:34:00.000+00:002007-12-08T18:34:00.000+00:00Someone can post on this blog 20 times that Morris...Someone can post on this blog 20 times that Morrissey said that we were being "swamped" by immigrants.<BR/><BR/>However many times they post it, it doesn't make it true that he said that.<BR/><BR/>Maybe they should read the NME article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-81755071719410195052007-12-06T07:36:00.000+00:002007-12-06T07:36:00.000+00:00I think, Rachel, it's more likely to be the first ...I think, Rachel, it's more likely to be the first of those two - back in 2002, when Dannii not only said she could "understand" why the French were supporting LePen but also "observed" that there were signs in Arabic in some parts of Australia, the reaction was smaller (just generally, not simply round here) because people weren't as emotionally invested in her. I think there was as much surprise that the editor of the Independent was interviewing her in GQ as at her views.<BR/><BR/>Of course, when Jo O'Meara sat around cackling and making up limericks with 'paki' in them, there was a similar burst of fans who desperately clung to anything they could think of to 'prove' that Jo wasn't a racist bully.Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-59557042141697845312007-12-05T23:33:00.000+00:002007-12-05T23:33:00.000+00:00Karlt: Personally, I wasn't reading NRRF then, but...Karlt: Personally, I wasn't reading NRRF then, but I did a search out of curiosity for the aforementioned Minogue comments and found the "one girl, a Muslim, was shaking" comment regarding "The X-Factor" but that's pretty tame compared to Morrissey's latest bout of foot-in-mouth. There _was_ also all the stuff about Jean Marie LePen and the BNP's support, but that was in 2002.<BR/><BR/>Which tells us one of two things: folks don't care half as much about Minogue as Morrissey, or Simon's gotten a lot more readers over the years. Or possibly both...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-27734820404773917642007-12-05T09:54:00.000+00:002007-12-05T09:54:00.000+00:00Hey Simon, Did you get this many comments when Dan...Hey Simon, Did you get this many comments when Dannii Minogue said more or less the same sort of thing a year or so ago?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-60412663860404799222007-12-05T01:51:00.000+00:002007-12-05T01:51:00.000+00:00anon: "so 'foreign customs' like honour killings, ...anon: "so 'foreign customs' like honour killings, sharia law, female foetal abortion, blood feuds, female circumcision = all good?"<BR/><BR/>Unlike my joke of a president, I don't believe in marching into other countries and demanding that the natives change their ways to suit me. If you are referring to these specific customs being brought to England, show me where I said that immigrants should have the right to break the laws of the country that they move to. When I spoke of 'foreign customs', I was thinking of, say, a Hindu woman choosing to wear her sari. What _you_ came up with says a lot about your view of those savage, inferior foreigners.<BR/><BR/>anon: "what about the sheer impact of lots more people coming to live in your local area?" <BR/><BR/>That would actually be a valid point to explore, whether by Morrissey or anyone else. Unfortunately, Morrissey instead makes very broad statements without any data to back himself up. If one fails to explain themselves adequately, one shouldn't be surprised at the ease with which they get labelled.<BR/><BR/>Simon: "That you assume that immigrants are just taking rather than contributing to the national good says it all, really." <BR/><BR/>Agreed. In this debate, there has been the constant implied assumption that immigrants all flout English law by bringing customs like bringing female circumcision with them, and that they all refuse to contribute by getting jobs. Concerns about adequate resources because of more people--regardless of their origin--is one thing, automatically assuming that they're all worthless layabouts is another thing entirely.<BR/><BR/>anon: "And yes while the victims of such practices are undoubtedly immigrants, who pays for their treatment, for their support, for their rehabilitation? Everyone does - yes, other migrants too [those who pay tax]."<BR/><BR/>And you see this as unfair. But what about the costs for treatment and rehabilitation visited upon the taxpayer by white native-born English? You must also feel that it's unfair that your taxes go to pay for the treatment of white heroin addicts and white football hooligans, yes? Or for anything that afflicts someone in a way that doesn't affect _you_..or is it one set of rules for whites, another for non-whites? Going by this logic, I'd be justified in complaining about my tax money going toward medical treatment and education of any and all children, since I don't have any. You also don't seem to be considering that many of foreign origin can and do pay taxes, and so at some point will be helping to help pay for _you_ in some fashion.<BR/><BR/>anon: "It is not racist to acknowledge that migration has led to the import of certain cultural practices which do not fit into our country, or culture."<BR/><BR/>It is if you are speaking of customs that do no harm and are not even breaking the law. But I find it difficult to believe that there is some huge epidemic of people coming to England and then expecting to practice _all_ of the same customs that they did in their land of origin, even the ones that are in direct violation of English law.<BR/><BR/>Simon: "But Morrissey didn't say 'Ooh, I'm worried that there are some negative aspects to practices some migrants use' - his argument was specifically about British culture being swamped by outsiders."<BR/><BR/>Says it all right there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-68842560489596708242007-12-04T23:44:00.000+00:002007-12-04T23:44:00.000+00:00Boyfriend:Well done for winning our spot prize for...Boyfriend:<BR/><BR/>Well done for winning our spot prize for first 'lazy stereotyped sneer at Guardian readers' - your monogrammed Daily Telegraph wine club is in the post.<BR/><BR/>In what way did I suggest that Female Genital Mutilation is "alright"? I don't know if you're really don't understand the point, so I'll try to explain one more time in as simple terms as possible:<BR/><BR/>Morrissey says 'Britain is losing its identity because the nation is being swamped' (I'm paraphrasing)<BR/><BR/>People who actually live in Britain say 'that's not true'<BR/><BR/>You say 'what about female genital mutilation, eh? that's happening in Britain'<BR/><BR/>I respond that, yes, it does happen in a limited but still distressing number of cases, but it's not a cultural trend that has spread beyond a few immigrant communitites - that the occurrences of FGM in the UK haven't displaced any aspect of British identity at all. Which, you might recall, was what Morrissey was supposedly so worried about in the first place.<BR/><BR/><I>I'm perplexed by your assertion that this is happening "alongside the dominant culture, not becoming part of it, or supplanting it."<BR/>What is Britain's "dominant culture?" Is it the same thing you dismiss as a 'a never-specified "identity"'? Or your implicitly sceptical mentions of 'Britain' and 'English ways'?</I><BR/><BR/>Are you really perplexed by that or merely employing a rhetorical device? Let me try and explain that simply, too:<BR/><BR/>when I refer to 'a never specified identity', I mean that Morrissey and many of his supporters talk about Britain losing its identity without ever offering up a vision of what it is they feel to be under threat. We might have laughed at John Major and his old maids pedaling to church when we heard about them while we lived on an estate populated by murderers on licence cycling from deal to deal, but at least Major was able to articulate what he saw as 'Britishness', divorced from reality though that vision may have been.<BR/><BR/>You are right to pull me up on the use of 'dominant culture' - that should be pluralised, of course, as there are many. Perhaps that's why you don't understand why it's possible to say there are some groups who live within the nation without becoming part of the myriad of larger communities which make up the nation.<BR/><BR/><I>Either there is a dominant culture in this country, one which of course racists think should be defended at all costs, or there isn't.</I><BR/><BR/>You're progressing from a misreading of my point: what I doubt is the existence of a 'Britain' that Morrissey seems to believe in, not that there are some aspects of British culture that are more dominant than others. <BR/><BR/><I>This, of course, may be your point, but I simply don't see how you can also use it as a defence that migration has not changed Britain.</I><BR/><BR/>Who said migration hasn't changed Britain? Of course migration has changed Britain - I wouldn't be living in Britain if it hadn't; my wife wouldn't, my aunt wouldn't; half the people I work with wouldn't. Morrissey, bless him, wouldn't have experienced Carry On films if migration hadn't <I>changed</I> Britain. But part of what I believe British culture to be is that, for five thousand years, it has welcomed forces from without, absorbed, changed, adapted. British culture isn't <I>swamped</I> by foreign accents on Knightsbridge streets - that's precisely what it is, in a large part. Morrissey believes immigration swamps; I believe it nourishes.<BR/><BR/><I>It's an *example* of *a* negative aspect of migration - Britain has essentially imported a third world problem and that problem is now our own.</I><BR/><BR/>You see, I think this is the problem: I think that female genital mutilation is a crime against human rights wherever it takes place; I think it's all our problems regardless of it happens in Highbury or Somalia.<BR/><BR/>Yes, migration can bring with it problems - nobody's denying that. But Morrissey didn't say "Ooh, I'm worried that there are some negative aspects to practices some migrants use" - his argument was specifically about British culture being swamped by outsiders. That's what I'm calling him on.Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-57979394083829687882007-12-04T22:42:00.000+00:002007-12-04T22:42:00.000+00:00"No one's claiming it's wine and roses" - well the..."No one's claiming it's wine and roses" - well they kind of are !<BR/><BR/>Defend Morrissey - sorry but that's bollocks. He used poorly-chosen words. Were they racist? Quite possibly. The ramblings of a washed up, addled old expat about as in touch with the real world as the Queen Mother? Definitely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-18498712324708266912007-12-04T22:35:00.000+00:002007-12-04T22:35:00.000+00:00"Taking place in immigrant communities"? Oh, thats..."Taking place in immigrant communities"? Oh, thats ok then ! One happy rainbow nation under a groove. Doesn't quite fit in with true multiculturalism though does it? Or make for a terribly healthy society?<BR/><BR/>I raised the example in answer to Rachel Summers' suggestion that "Foreign accents and customs...how is this a problem". And yes while the victims of such practices are undoubtedly immigrants, who pays for their treatment, for their support, for their rehabilitation? Everyone does - yes, other migrants too [those who pay tax]. It's an *example* of *a* negative aspect of migration - Britain has essentially imported a third world problem and that problem is now our own. There are dozens of other examples, that obviously is one of the more serious. It is not racist to acknowledge that migration has led to the import of certain cultural practices which do not fit into our country, or culture. And its not enough to wave down from your chichi little Highbury loft over the morning Guardian and "shrug your shoulders" at the concerns of the real world. <BR/><BR/>I'm perplexed by your assertion that this is happening "alongside the dominant culture, not becoming part of it, or supplanting it." <BR/>What is Britain's "dominant culture?" Is it the same thing you dismiss as a 'a never-specified "identity"'? Or your implicitly sceptical mentions of 'Britain' and 'English ways'? <BR/><BR/>Either there is a dominant culture in this country, one which of course racists think should be defended at all costs, or there isn't. Which way do you want it? Something "never-specified" can hardly be threatened, can it? This, of course, may be your point, but I simply don't see how you can also use it as a defence that migration has not changed Britain. Even if you do agree that a british culture exists, how do you even reconcile the idea of immigration happening "alongside... not becoming part of it". It's not the strongest endorsement of multiculturalism I've heard, to put it mildly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-17279359183694872532007-12-04T22:28:00.000+00:002007-12-04T22:28:00.000+00:00The real issue, boyfriend, is Morrissey's overt ra...The real issue, boyfriend, is Morrissey's overt racism, and his pathetic deflections and denials thereof. No-one's claiming that it's all wine and roses elsewhere, but that doesn't excuse him. But I suspect that you'd defend Morrissey's behaviour if he were goose-stepping around in a moustache.ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13462118851964861754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-6776473629013522182007-12-04T21:10:00.000+00:002007-12-04T21:10:00.000+00:00boyfriend:Except your links prove the complete opp...boyfriend:<BR/><BR/>Except your links prove the complete opposite to Morrissey's case.<BR/><BR/>Morrissey claims that British culture is being "swamped" by immigration - that those who come in are obliterating the native British way of doing things, whatever that is.<BR/><BR/>However, the report you link to talks about an abhorrent practice taking place <I>in immigrant communities</I>. If we're to believe Morrissey, if the 'English ways' were being forced out by this swamping, you'd expect to see evidence of FGM spreading to other communities. It hasn't happened. This is something happening in Britain, yes. And it's unpleasant. But it's alongside the dominant culture, not becoming part of it, or supplanting it.<BR/><BR/>Indeed, I'd suggest that the passing of two pieces of liberal legislation in 1985 and 2004, coupled with serious investigations by the Met Police (resulting in no prosecutions) is probably exactly the sort of leftist, well-intenioned, benevolent paternalism that many people would have expected in post-war, Carry On England.<BR/><BR/>As for the report on BBC News site you link to, you might have been better off linking to the actual <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_10_07_migration.pdf" REL="nofollow">Regional Consulation on Impacts Of Migration</A> [pdf document link] which, away from the reading of David Davis, actually is a very mild read. Some of the regions welcome the younger profile of current migration; the North West points out migrants account for 13% of all NHS staff in their region; worries are expressed that some migrants are living in bad housing in some places; yes, there's been a small rise in low-level crime in some places, yes, there's been a rise in translation costs, but generally it's a pretty positive document, not a sky is falling prognosis.Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-3113886951599763102007-12-04T20:18:00.000+00:002007-12-04T20:18:00.000+00:00Sorry those links are: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/...Sorry those links are: <BR/><A>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7048205.stm</A><BR/> and <A>http://www.fgmnetwork.org/gonews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1192046597&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-73955343536830212322007-12-04T20:16:00.000+00:002007-12-04T20:16:00.000+00:00Simon; yet again a real issue is knocked aside as ...Simon; yet again a real issue is knocked aside as a joke.<BR/>http://www.fgmnetwork.org/gonews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1192046597&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&<BR/><BR/><BR/>21,000 girls at risk in the UK, according to that report. 66,000 women affected by it. I don't knwo how many are currently on Equity's books under the comedy acting section.<BR/><BR/><BR/>What I object to is the glib "shrug" which Rachel suggests is the way we should deal with "foreign customs". Clearly some foreign values are abhorrent to a modern, secular democracy. Sharia Law for example. Yet rightful or justified objections to such are all to often suffocated beneath the cosy blanket of multiculturalism. This unquestioning "foreign customs: so what?" approach has stifled debate and allowed this issue to become so politically charged. <BR/><BR/>As for my "assumption" about immigration and public services; well then I must have imagined stories such as this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7048205.stmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-42621679215095729332007-12-04T19:57:00.000+00:002007-12-04T19:57:00.000+00:00Even more embarrassing for the archaic old codger,...Even more embarrassing for the archaic old codger, it seems that despite his criticism of Jonze for not knowing where Knightsbridge is, Mozzer himself seems to believe that it's the road what Harrod's is on. It's a bit rich of him to criticise Jonze for not being completely au fait with an A-Z when Mozzer doesn't know that Harrod's is on Brompton Road. Two can play at this nitpicking misdirection game.ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13462118851964861754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-60825954763471108602007-12-04T17:31:00.000+00:002007-12-04T17:31:00.000+00:00boyfriend in a coma:Leave aside the accents and cu...boyfriend in a coma:<BR/><BR/><I>Leave aside the accents and customs for a moment, what about the sheer impact of lots more people coming to live in your local area? How about the shortages of housing, education, healthcare and other essential services that this brings?</I><BR/><BR/>But equally, what about the shortages in education, healthcare and housing if we threw out (or had refused entry to) the immigrants working on building sites, in the NHS, and other essential services? That you assume that immigrants are just taking rather than contributing to the national good says it all, really.<BR/><BR/>And <I>female circumcision, female foetal abotions and honour killings</I>? Are you really suggesting that, as a result of immigration, Britain has turned from a nation of slightly drunk comedy actors to one where female circumcision has become the norm?Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-58603138088373322002007-12-04T13:39:00.000+00:002007-12-04T13:39:00.000+00:00Anonymous:"I very much get the impression that..."...Anonymous:<BR/><BR/>"I very much get the impression that..." - my, it's surprising how this debate brings out so many people comfortably jumping to conclusions.<BR/><BR/>What sort of debate about immigration isn't racist? How about a socialist one where, instead of complaining about the accents you hear on your way to Harrods, the limits to immigration are based on needs and abilities?<BR/><BR/>How about a debate where the language isn't about "influxes" and "flooding" and panics about a never-specified "identity" being lost in a nation whose very strength is drawn from five thousands years as a crossroads for the world?<BR/><BR/>I do reject the argument that "immigration is detrimental", but not because it's a racist argument (it isn't, not necessarily) but because it's simply wrong. And a little pathetic. But then that's probably my French ancestry.Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-77647119483599205682007-12-04T13:35:00.000+00:002007-12-04T13:35:00.000+00:00Rachel - so "foreign customs" like honour killings...Rachel - so "foreign customs" like honour killings, sharia law, female foetal abortion, blood feuds, female circumcision = all good? <BR/>...<BR/><BR/>"the higher commonality of said accents and customs" - ie. different people, more of them. <BR/><BR/>Leave aside the accents and customs for a moment, what about the sheer impact of lots more people coming to live in your local area? How about the shortages of housing, education, healthcare and other essential services that this brings? <BR/><BR/>Both are worth more than a cursory "shrug" of the shoulders, don't you think? I'd be genuinely interested to hear how you would engage with such negative aspects without appearing racist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-63774546337491774312007-12-04T13:33:00.000+00:002007-12-04T13:33:00.000+00:00You know I couldn't last:Aha. Yes, calling people ...You know I couldn't last:<BR/><BR/>Aha. Yes, calling people on their views of immigration is "playing into the hands of the BNP" - whereas, of course, saying that "Britain is flooded" isn't.<BR/><BR/>Now, you can argue that Morrissey's position on immigration is correct, you can argue that its incorrect, but I don't think you can argue that it isn't racist - he's conjuring an "us" that is being overwhelmed by a "them". Your definition of racism is simply too narrow. <BR/><BR/>I find it irritating that you accuse me of "bandying [racism] as an accusation". The implication that I've gleefully latched onto some sort of stone-throwing without so much as a thought is somewhat insulting; apart from anything, in posts on this subject I've been careful to argue against seeing 'racism' as a solid, single force.<BR/><BR/>Your assertion that "racism is the 21st century witchcraft" is almost amusing it's so ahistorical. Witchcraft accusations were directed at outsiders in a society (often, though not always, older, single women, or people new to the village or town) who were adopted as easy scapegoats around whose punishment communal order could be reaffirmed. Being accused of racism isn't like being accused of witchcraft. Being singled out for a kicking, or frozen out of a community, because your skin colour, parentage or language is different is.<BR/><BR/>Your invoking of Charles Hawtrey as being an example of the 'Britain' Morrissey laments is interesting: a man who was legally barred from expressing his sexuality, a chronic alcoholic whose illness was laughed at rather than treated; who was routinely exploited by his employers. Its worth noting, as well, that the Carry On films went into decline in the mid 1970s because Britain had changed, and they hadn't. Which suggests that, if this is Morrissey's England, it had vanished by 1975 (Just before Carry On Behind), which makes blaming immigration in 2007 for its loss seem a little odd.<BR/><BR/>Likewise, Suzie Burchill, whose time on Coronation Street coincided with Weatherfield being apparently the only northern mill town in all of England without a black resident. <BR/><BR/>Having said that, there were, of course, the Cheveskis who predated Burchill on Corrie by a few years - but then, that can't be right, can it; aren't the Poles in England part of the "swamping" which is wiping out the England of Burchill?<BR/><BR/>He hasn't committed a crime. He hasn't advocated repatriation. Nobody has suggested that he has. What he says does fit well within the law - but then, nobdy has called for his arrest. What people would like him to do would be to actually talk about what he believes, rather than drop broad statements about gates and influxes and then howl when people pick him up on it. <BR/><BR/>He had the opportunity to do that in his statement; all he did was show off his DVD collection.<BR/><BR/>Yes, he does pale into insignifcance besides the tabloid press. But "he's not as bad as the Daily Express" is hardly a ringing endorsement of anyone's position, is it?Simon Hayes Budgenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084524317888577404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-85356748896162369142007-12-04T13:28:00.000+00:002007-12-04T13:28:00.000+00:00"but much of his thought on immigration is racist"..."but much of his thought on immigration is racist"<BR/><BR/>So can you explain exactly what style of thought on immigration you would not consider racist? <BR/><BR/>I get the distinct impression you're from the school of thought where any argument that dares claim immigration has a detrimental effect on the country, is a racist argument.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-53821161539632379112007-12-04T12:39:00.000+00:002007-12-04T12:39:00.000+00:00Agreed on Morrissey sounding like a "sad old bitte...Agreed on Morrissey sounding like a "sad old bitter man" (where's Nicky Wire when you actually need him?)...he's only pushing 50, too.<BR/><BR/>Latest apologist anon: stating that Britain has a "national identity" (i.e., white) and implying that it's a shame that immigration and multiculturalism is changing that, is most certainly racism. Hell, that's essentially the BNP's platform.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if Morrissey is racist <I>per se</I>, but he has a long history of dubious comments that, at the very least, are incredibly poorly worded. Some say that he's just pointing out facts; the difference is that while some of us shrug and go "So? Foreign accents and customs...how is this a problem?", some seem to feel that the higher commonality of said accents and customs _is_ in itself a problem and therefore an undesirable alternative to a "purer" Britain of yesterday.<BR/><BR/>It all depends upon whether one believes that this "lost land that he romanticises" was better in days of yore without all the foreigners, and if the increasing prevalence of foreign accents and different skin colouration somehow worsens things. If one <I>does</I> feel that a completely homogenous all-white ("traditionalist") culture is superior to a modern, ethnically diverse one, sorry--that's racism, albeit unintentionally so. And by your own definition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-35693199151140452992007-12-04T12:03:00.000+00:002007-12-04T12:03:00.000+00:00I think what Morrisey is trying to say is that it'...I think what Morrisey is trying to say is that it's not that he's a racist: It's just that the NME was better in the old days and you could leave your front door open and the coppers are getting younger an that doctor he had to see for the trouble in his back bottom was as black as your hat.<BR/><BR/>How old is he again?Mikeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09639836396121576665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930103.post-8538211197438531352007-12-04T11:56:00.000+00:002007-12-04T11:56:00.000+00:00I think a lot of the coverage of this story is ver...I think a lot of the coverage of this story is verging on the demented. Saying Britain is losing its identity and its gates are flooded is <B>not</B> a racist statement. It's a belief that Morrissey or anyone else is perfectly entitled to without the weight of criticism we're seeing now. Racism is the belief that enthic differences define one's superiority over others. Plain and simple. "Racism" is the 21st Century "Witchcraft" of The Crucible, and its wilful bandying as an accusation does its cause no favours at all. <BR/><BR/>Morrissey might well adhere to right of centre views on immigration, but that's not a crime. He's not advocating anyone be 'sent back to where they came from'. He might well believe that some of our national identity is being lost to multiculturalism, and perhaps he'd be right. The conjecture is surely over whether this is a positive or negative national evolution. Either belief is completely acceptable, according to the law, providing you're not inciting any kind of hatred. Lamenting the past is not necessarily throwing bricks through the window of the present. <BR/><BR/>Morrissey might not live here anymore but he remains as 'British' an artist as any we've produced, and the Britain he evokes in his work is a traditionalist view, the Britain of Charles Hawtrey and Suzie Burchill. It is this lost land that he romanticises, an ambiguity he'd perhaps have been wise to avoid given his <I>"-ist and -ism" </I>history with the NME, but vilifying a man for statements that frankly pale into insignificance behind daily scaremongering headlines in the Mail and the Express, is wrong. Ultimately, people tut-tutting at racist finger-pointing plays into the hands of the BNP and their ilk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com