There Is A Light That Must Be Switched On - Morrissey talks to John Riggers Apr. 2018 - M. Central

A huge interview - brace yourselves. Bowie, politics, animal welfare, more politics...
Album underway... Possible gigs (Austria/Finland) in July and much more:
(copied here in full incase it vanishes and as it's easier to read).

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http://www.morrisseycentral.com/messagesfrommorrissey/there-is-a-light-that-must-be-switched-on

JOHN: Thanks for talking to me because I know you don’t talk to the press anymore. I can guess the reasons why, but can you explain them now?

MORRISSEY: Yes. There is simply no point. They don’t print what you say, and they print what you didn’t say. There’s hardly any point in me being there! The function of reporting has disappeared. Now, all journalists are megastars and the only aim of their interview is to express and establish their own personal views, and to hell with whatever the interviewee says.

JOHN: So why have you agreed to talk to me?

MORRISSEY: Because you’re not from The Guardian.

JOHN: SPIN magazine have recently termed you a fascist. I’ve never known SPIN be so aggressive towards anyone before. I am very shocked by SPIN. Are you aware of their accusation?

MORRISSEY: Yes, and I will be interested to see how they explain themselves in court. It’s unfortunate to take any publication to court, but sometimes you must, and this is one of those times because otherwise the press can succeed in dictating an ugly view, which they fully realize can place you in danger.

JOHN: Why do you think the press suddenly see you as a difficult figure?

MORRISSEY: Because I speak from the heart. The mainstream media will only encourage pop artists who have nothing to say. We are meant to keep our nose out of politics even though we are all living, breathing humans and as much a part of 2018 life as anyone else.

JOHN: You are 59 next month, is this a concern?

MORRISSEY: We might as well call it 60 and get it over with.

JOHN: How old are you in your heart?

MORRISSEY: Good question! 165.

JOHN: Did you ever think your social theories would be as much sought after as your songs?

MORRISSEY: They were always one and the same thing.

JOHN: You have been accused of supporting Brexit by the press. Why are they so concerned, do you think?

MORRISSEY: Accused is the correct word! It isn’t possible to be congratulated for supporting Brexit, is it? That should tell you all you need to know about the outstanding lack of neutrality within the British press. It’s all a pointless argument anyway because, as you’ve surely noticed, Brexit did not happen. The EUwouldn’t allow it to happen. It is now a dead issue. The people said Leave but the EUsaid no. People wanted to leave the EU because of the complete erosion of freedom under EU rules, and the fair-minded majority now see in even more frightening ways how very much they are hated by the EU, not to mention the British political elite. How England is today is a country that is not leaving the EU. Hungary, Italy, Finland and Poland will leave before the UK is allowed to. A second referendum is muttered about but people don’t realize how a second referendum will see an ever higher percentage of people voting Leave. What then? A third referendum?

JOHN: Did you actually vote to leave?

MORRISSEY: No, I haven’t ever voted. I don’t have sufficient faith in the circus of politics … and … you can see why! It is a moral disaster on every level. Even Tesco wouldn’t employ Diane Abbott.

JOHN: Your music explains fully how you feel, and your audience is now more dedicated to you than ever before. Is this why you continue? I remember you were talking about retirement in 1992!

MORRISSEY: Unfortunately I cannot retire from myself! If I could, I would!

JOHN: Do you still listen to The Smiths?

MORRISSEY: No. It was beautiful, but it’s gone. My pride is with Low In High School, World Peace Is None Of Your Business, Years Of Refusal, Ringleader Of the Tormentors, You Are The Quarry, Swords, Southpaw Grammar, Your Arsenal, Vauxhall and I … they are me, whereas The Smiths was a great but simplistic time. I cannot imagine my life without those solo albums, yes, and even Maladjusted ! I love them so much.

JOHN: You didn’t mention Viva Hate or Kill Uncle ?

MORRISSEY: I wasn’t ready. I rushed in too quickly. It was my fault.

JOHN: Your solo musicians receive no support from the press.

MORRISSEY: Last year I did an interview with The Times newspaper and the piece emerged with an enormous photograph of The Smiths … who weren’t even mentioned in the conversation! I must live with it. There can never be enough detail to look beyond The Smiths, or to write a headline that wasn’t a Smiths song. I don’t think it’s a hateful gesture to keep pulling me back to 1983, but there’s certainly a morbid sentimentality. It’s a bit like referring to David Bowie only in relation to The Laughing Gnome.

JOHN: You didn’t seem to mourn the death of David Bowie?

MORRISSEY: Oh. What was I supposed to do?

JOHN: People associate you with one another, yet I’m not sure why.

MORRISSEY: I am surprised that people whose entire life has been the music industry manage to live as long as they do. There’s something mentally crushing about persistently placing yourself before people for their approval. As a matter of fact, I absolutely love to sing. You’d never guess, would you?

JOHN: Your last album was dedicated to Dick Gregory, yet a question of racism has always chased you through the press.

MORRISSEY: People accuse, yes, but they can’t penetrate or illuminate. The sole point of all of those NME slurs was to turn my audience against me. I recall one NME piece many years ago which addressed its readers with ”we just can’t turn you off him, can we ?”. That said it all. And as far as racism goes, the modern Loony Left seem to forget that Hitler was Left wing! But of course, we are all called racist now, and the word is actually meaningless. It’s just a way of changing the subject. When someone calls you racist, what they are saying is ”hmm, you actually have a point, and I don’t know how to answer it, so perhaps if I distract you by calling you a bigot we’ll both forget how enlightened your comment was.”

JOHN: What are your thoughts on the upcoming UK elections?

MORRISSEY: They are local elections but people use their vote with national party figures in mind. UKIP is dead, and Nigel Farage aided their downfall by supporting Henry Bolton. Theresa May was always a Prime Minister uninvited. She is incapable of leadership. She cannot say her own name unless it’s written down on a cue card in front of her. I recall her speech on Eid al-Adhar, and how she referred to it as a ”joyous celebration” … as millions of animals had their throats slit to mark the occasion. I wondered what kind of compassion she could possibly have. The answer is none. However, the Conservatives conserve nothing in modern Britain. In fact, they are the prime destructors of British heritage. Labour are no different from the Conservatives in that they do not object to FGM, halal slaughter, child marriage, and so on. There is no moral clarity with these people, and you shouldn’t vote in a certain way simply because you always have. Do you have the nerve to vote differently? If you have any concern for animal welfare, for example, you cannot possibly vote for either Conservatives or Labour, because both parties support halal slaughter, which, as we all know, is evil. Furthermore, halal slaughter requires certification that can only be given by supporters of ISIS, and yet in England we have halal meat served in hospitals and schools! UKlaw is pointless!

(images below of halal slaughter: the animal bleeds to death very slowly).
[not pictured]

JOHN: Will animal abuse ever stop?

MORRISSEY: Yes. Walk into any major supermarket and you will see how cow’s milk has shrank into to a small corner whilst alternative milks have taken over. Even people who don’t care about animal welfare would rather have rice, oat or cashew milk. The same has happened to eggs. It’s very difficult to locate them now in a supermarket. Obviously I wouldn’t ever buy eggs, but it’s worth taking note of these things.

JOHN: But halal is done in the name of religion.

MORRISSEY: Most murder is! But animals rights must come before religion. Religion must cease to be the ONLY word. I am not interested in what people did ten thousand years ago. I am concerned about what is happening today.

JOHN: Kosher is also very cruel.

MORRISSEY: Very. It, too, must be banned. I am not saying that stunned slaughter is acceptable, because it couldn’t ever be. If you use the term ‘humane slaughter’ then you might as well talk in terms of ‘humane rape’.
People sound very stupid when they mention ‘humane slaughter’.

JOHN: A lot of people can’t afford a vegan diet.

MORRISSEY: I think the point is that we cease to put ourselves first. It is not about what we frivolously want. Every animal even during slaughter fights and kicks until its very last breath. It has one instinct and that is to survive. I stopped watching television because of animal death commercials. I couldn’t allow that into my living space for one more day. I feel liberated without it. They won’t show cigarette commercials but it’s OK to show butchered lambs? And to laugh about it?

JOHN: Don’t you ever wonder if your views have held your career back?

MORRISSEY: Nothing I say is provocative. They are just facts.

JOHN: You say you have never known a British political party that represents your views.

MORRISSEY: There is a new party called For Britain. They have the best approach to animal welfare, whereas no other party even bothers to mention animal welfare. The EU will not protect animals from halal or kosher practice. For Britain seem to say what many British people are currently thinking, which is why the BBC or Channel 4 News will not acknowledge them, because, well, For Britain would change British politics forever … and we can’t have that! If you love animals, you really cannot vote Labour or Conservative. Give animals a break. They’ve done enough for you. Let them live.

JOHN: Your recent tour was magnificent. You seemed very happy.

MORRISSEY: I am!

JOHN: What about a new album?

MORRISSEY: It is under way.

JOHN: Some people objected to your new song Israel.

MORRISSEY: Most did not. It doesn’t do to constantly consider the feelings of those who are determined to hate you eternally. I’m not here for them.

JOHN: The music is much stronger than I can ever remember. I couldn’t imagine The Smiths being so varied or so powerful.

MORRISSEY: The Smiths were explosive during the Rank tour. Before that, we were all fumbling about - me, especially. My voice wasn’t great. The music was always solid.

JOHN: I Wish You Lonely and Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up On The Stage are your best ever songs. David Bowie was not writing great songs at this period of his career.

MORRISSEY: I’ve said this previously but I don’t think I have the same lyrical concerns as other singers or writers, so it’s difficult to compare. Everyone, I assume, does their best.

JOHN: I Bury The Living is a shocking song because it is a taboo subject - the idea that a solider might enjoy war and killing. As always, the tabloids attacked you for this song.

MORRISSEY: The tabloids would attack me if I reversed global warming. I once made a comment about China and of course The Guardian attacked me, but the next day David Cameron said more or less the same thing about China and The Guardian praised him! So, you see, personal bias is usually at the root.

JOHN: Spent The Day In Bed was a big radio hit. Was this a good feeling? It’s been a long time since I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris.

MORRISSEY: It’s still an incredible feeling to be driving along and suddenly your song comes on the radio. I actually stop breathing.

JOHN: Will you stay with BMG?

MORRISSEY: Well, they have very high walls. I think they haven’t had it easy with me because the songs are not pop pap and therefore radio isn’t automatically obliging. My career, if it is a career, is measured in minutes.

JOHN: What do you mean?

MORRISSEY: I mean that I can only plan minute by minute. My legs are all I have to hold me up. (laughs)

JOHN: Are you healthy?

MORRISSEY: No. I’d like to play sports and swim and so forth but such places are usually full of people holding iPhones, and of course, before you know it there’s a shot of you on someone’s Facebook clinging to the parallel bars.

JOHN: You had a bad time with Der Speigel newspaper in Germany. I heard the tapes and the interviewer sounded agreeable and happy with you, but then she wrote an ugly piece. What is the point of this, do you think?

MORRISSEY: Genuine hate? Well, I think a lot of writers are genuinely embarrassed to say ”I really enjoy your music, and you are unique and you look great” - this is thought not to be useful journalism. In order to be thought to be a good writer it seems to me that you must bury your subject. This is also true of biography. You must write with no forgiveness about pop artists who probably saved your life at some stage.

JOHN: Low In High School has a boy on the front holding a sign which says AXE THE MONARCHY. Why did you feel the need to say this again?

MORRISSEY: It wasn’t actually my idea! The photograph was a big surprise to me and I momentarily thought it was very funny. We were in a situation where artwork needed to be handed over instantly in order to meet a release deadline. I wish I’d had a bit longer to get it right. Often, as with Southpaw Grammar and World of Morrissey, there isn’t actually a striking photograph of me to go on the cover. Sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.

JOHN: What is your favourite sleeve, and worst favourite?

MORRISSEY: I didn’t ever like the original Kill Uncle or Southpaw Grammar, or Maladjusted - which was the worst. My favourite is the Greatest Hits image. People think I meticulously design the album sleeves myself, but I don’t.

JOHN: With your views on the monarchy, why did you recently play The Royal Albert Hall, Alexandra Palace and even The London Palladium? Your mother was in the Royal Box, apparently?

MORRISSEY: Yes, my mother, whose name is also Elizabeth, was in the Royal Box. I think those halls belong to all of us. I also think you are asking me if I have softened towards monarchy?

JOHN: No, but, you’ve asked yourself, so go ahead!

MORRISSEY: Well, you know, even a passion to save the planet can start to tire out a bit. I am not fiendish where the House of Windsor is concerned. I resent being ordered to be in awe. I resent the assumption that I must be relentlessly engaged in being in awe of power and money. The House of Windsor represents the strictest social inequality, but I have, I think, expressed my opinion many times, and I don’t feel the need to go on about it, and I wish no ill to anyone. I have been invited to Buckingham Palace three times, did you know? Charles once sent a signed note. If I get a fourth invitation I will go. It seems rude not to! (laughs) I am certain I could persuade Anne that eating horses isn’t a nice thing to do.

JOHN: But you persist with animal welfare?

MORRISSEY: Because animals have no voice. If animals spoke English then no one would eat them. You see, racism is at its most abhorrent in relation to eating animals. If you eat animals, isn’t it a display of hatred for a certain species? And what gives you the right to eat another species or race? Would you eat people from Sri Lanka?

JOHN: In The Bullfighter Dies you are happy because the bullfighter has been killed by the bull.

MORRISSEY: I am applauding the bull. From every angle the torture of the bull is staged. The bullfighter is a spectacular failure who cannot actually fight the bull without a mass of weapons and a host of helpers, whereas the bull stands alone. No one can possibly believe that this is sport. They say ’oh, but it is tradition’, well, yes, but murder has a long tradition in Spain, should we celebrate that, also? A Murder Festival?

JOHN: London has become a murder capital recently.

MORRISSEY: London is debased. The Mayor of London tells us about ”Neighborhood policin ” - what is ‘policin’? He tells us London is an ”amazin ” city. What is ‘amazin’? This is the Mayor of London! And he cannot talk properly! I saw an interview where he was discussing mental health, and he repeatedly said ”men’el ” … he could not say the words ‘mental health’. The Mayor of London! Civilisation is over!

JOHN: But why do you think so many people are being killed in London?

MORRISSEY: London is second only to Bangladesh for acid attacks. All of the attacks are non-white, and so they cannot be truthfully addressed by the British government or the Met Police or the BBC because of political correctness. What this means is that the perpetrator is considered to be as much of a victim as the actual victim. We live in the Age of Atrocity.

JOHN: Since you have so much to say on many subjects, why do you not appear on television interviews?

MORRISSEY: Haven’t you heard of people like Cathy Newman or Jo Coburn? They don’t discuss, they insult. If all fails they’ll conclude the interview by calling your grandmother a fat slob. Diverse opinion is banned in England, debate is over. The most offensive thing you can do in modern Britain is to have an opinion and to talk clearly.

JOHN: How can we be saved?

MORRISSEY: Music is your only friend.

JOHN: When will you play more concerts?

MORRISSEY: I believe Austria and Finland are on course for July.

JOHN: Thank you, and most especially for World Peace Is None Of Your Business.

The interview motherlode!
Regards,
FWD.

Initial source for update:
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Posted by Harsh Truth:

Interview is credited as follows:

© John Riggers / Alamist, Morrissey Fans Of Portugal (publication September 2018)
Special thanks to Morrissey for this interview, and also to Christian Berret, and to Mariella.
Please do not reproduce interview without permission, John Riggers care of www.morrisseycentral.com.
Also thank you to Sam Esty Rayner.
Photograph of Gustavo Manzur’s two daughters Rigel and Kia taken by Gustavo Manzur, 2017.
Layout and design by Mariella.


Media coverage:
 
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Beware the novelist
 
Those stats you provided aren't real. You obviously spend too much time on the internet.
I didn't provide them. That was someone else - and I thank them for doing it. You have no hard evidence of your argument. You even come out with the wild fact that socialism and fascism are brothers. You are the sort of fan that Morrissey now sadly deserves. None of the fans who like me bought the album on the first day of release are sticking around now the master of sweeping generalisations has his doting boneheads trying to justify his actions by providing no evidence and swearing at people as their only real means of arguing their point. Either that or you're just a troll.
 
I didn't provide them. That was someone else - and I thank them for doing it. You have no hard evidence of your argument. You even come out with the wild fact that socialism and fascism are brothers. You are the sort of fan that Morrissey now sadly deserves. None of the fans who like me bought the album on the first day of release are sticking around now the master of sweeping generalisations has his doting boneheads trying to justify his actions by providing no evidence and swearing at people as their only real means of arguing their point. Either that or you're just a troll.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-halted-teenager-admits-killing-nurse-47.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5490449/Acid-attack-moped-mugger-jailed-10-years.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/31d73aa9-073d-41f0-8169-bc81d49a92f0
https://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/fulham-acid-attack-two-jailed-14024469
Here's some typical acid attacks in London. Usual run of the mill. Check the perpetrators. Oh, and enjoy. You deluded twit.
 
There surely should be a ban on that acid and more control. It should be treated like plutonium. I noticed swedish nazis all wore safety lab glasses at the latest rally.
 
Not true. Source: https://libcom.org/library/basic-principles-marxism-critique-sociale

The Basic Principles of Marxism – Critique Sociale

Marxism is a way of thinking critically, but it is not a “system”: “I have never established a ‘socialist system’”, Karl Marx wrote in his “Notes on Adolph Wagner's Lehrbuch der politischen Ökonomie” (1880). Marxism is analysis of the development of the world as it is, a method that must forge an intimate connection between practice and theory.

Here are the basic principles of Marxism:

• Opposition to an economic system based on inequality and on the alienation and exploitation of the majority (by means of the system of wage labor), a system whose purpose is to obtain profits for some people rather than satisfying the needs of all. This describes capitalism, but one can obviously imagine other systems that would present similar essential characteristics, to which Marxists would be equally opposed.

For the transformation of society, Marxism considers that a revolutionary process that will lead to a society based on cooperation and the free distribution of goods and provision of services is necessary.

• “The emancipation of the workers must be the task of the workers themselves.” This is principle is inherent to real Marxism, which implies democracy and self-emancipation; it also means that democracy is the indispensable foundation for a new society (called socialism or communism). This society, liberated from the diverse forms of domination, will have to be freely constructed by its members.

• Internationalism, which is simultaneously the recognition of the common interests of the workers of the entire world and of the need to struggle on a world scale, and of the goal of abolishing nations in the transition to a human world community.

• The knowledge and analysis of History (the materialist conception of history).

• The recognition of the existence of social classes that divide men and women into distinct segments of the population; the recognition of the profound inequalities and injustices that separate these classes; and the recognition that as long as society is divided into classes, there will be conflicts between these classes (the class struggle).

As a result, while they participate in the day-to-day class struggle of the workers, Marxists work on behalf of a reorganization of society that will put an end to this class division.

• The free exercise of the critical spirit. “Doubt everything”, Marx said; for the goal is to perceive reality as it is, in order to understand it better and thus to transform it.

These principles, or some of them, could very well be embraced by other political and social tendencies: if this is the case, then so much the better! Marxism does not attempt to isolate itself, quite the contrary: the goal is to contribute to the constitution of a movement of all of society for the creation of “an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all” (Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto).

The problem with Marx principles, perfect in their theoretical formulation and so tempting as they are for good hearted people, is that nobody -until now- could take them to the practice just as they were formulated with good results for people's welfare (except for the rulers of the governments, they became rich very quickly). Even more, they were used to justify the origin of the worst dictatorships of our time. I would go for principles not so perfect in theory but with better results in practice, that is, basic principles that guarantee people a worthy life, not an endless torture. To get started, no single theory can comprise the complexity of the whole social and political life of all human groups during all the stages of their evolution. I would begin doubting of mere intellectual theories to design viable government systems for everybody and everywhere if Marx "doubt of everything" rule had to be accomplished.
 
Which one strips freedom? Both of them - in reality, not your fantasy bubble.
Socialism as a system is not about stripping freedom. There were a few examples throughout history of erroneously applied socialism, but that's like saying "Democracy is about freedom-stripping because North Korea calls itself democratic." It's a terrible guilt by association fallacy.
 
The word racist is meaningless nowadays, by the way. It's part of the weaponised jargon of the elite. In my opinion anybody who still uses those tired old terms is part of a sub-species. Vile is fine - quite Mozesque in fact. I'm loving the way so many weak, stupid people are wetting their beds over this interview. These are the kind of interviews that once upon a time you expected from your heroes. Honest, interesting, slightly-controversial conversations that you don't get enough of these days. Why? Because we're living in very orthodox times. You follow the agenda or else. What agenda? Consult your social media to find out. People are walking around taped at the mouth and shackled and they don't even realise it.

"It's part of the weaponised jargon of the elite."

No, it's a word used to point out that someone is prejudiced towards brown people. Learn what words mean.

"I'm loving the way so many weak, stupid people are wetting their beds over this interview. "

It's not weak nor stupid to be empathetic to brown people. It takes guts to do that.

"Honest, interesting, slightly-controversial conversations that you don't get enough of these days. Why? Because we're living in very orthodox times."

No, it's not honest or interesting. It's not controversial based on how interesting it is. It's controversial because it's a f***ing lie, and an obvious one at that. Morrissey knows nothing about politics, his views are entirely misinformed.
 
I’m a 47-year-old British white guy. I voted ‘remain’ in the referendum. I’m not a big fan of the EU, but I’m also not prepared to chance a massive leap into the dark, taking the entire country with me. I consider myself ‘left wing’. I’d voted Labour all my life, but then Tony Blair took us into a disastrous and unjustifiable conflict in Iraq and I stopped voting Labour and began voting for various fringe parties that reflected the most important of my views. I’ve started voting Labour again, now that the party represents “democracy as something other than a vending machine dispensing several slightly different flavours of privilege”, to quote Alan Moore.

I’m one half of what is currently referred to as ‘a mixed marriage’. My wife is British Indian, born and raised here. Her parents came to the UK from India in the 1960s. I have two ‘mixed race’ children. I’m an atheist. My wife is a Hindu.

Racism is something I’ve seen for myself. And even though I can’t really say I’ve experienced it directly, I’ve certainly felt the aftershocks and walked dumbstruck through the wreckage. Racism, it really goes without saying, is disgusting.

But life’s a bit funny.

My wife’s godmother was a raging racist from Anglesey. She didn’t like black people. She didn’t like Indian people. She didn’t like Pakistani people. And don’t get her started on the bloody English! She demonstrated no reluctance in sharing her views with anyone who could bear to listen. There are no excuses and there is no explaining this away: she was a fully paid-up racist. Yet she befriended an Indian man in Liverpool in the 1960s and became a doting godmother to his children. You’d like to think this would have brought about some kind of Road to Damascus transformation, but no. She remained a committed racist her entire life. She just thought the Indian people she knew and loved were ‘not like them others’. When I first met her and it became apparent in short order she was to the right of Enoch Powell, I mentioned this to my wife in a shell-shocked whisper. “I know,” she said. “It’s funny, isn’t it?”

My grandad was not quite as racist as my wife’s godmother but he could easily have met her halfway. And yet his best friend was a Chinese bloke called Jimmy. They were on the same darts team. Jimmy hated the Japanese with a passion.

My father-in-law knows a thing or two about racism. At work, he had his tyres slashed and ‘NF’ scratched into the bonnet of his car. Given the car was in a secure car park, it could only have been carried out by one of his colleagues. In the run-up to the Toxteth riots, he was repeatedly ‘stopped and searched’ by the police who, thanks to new ‘sus laws’, were victimising anyone with even slightly pigmented skin. A former employer (an educated professional) once told him he’d only give him a reference if he went back to India. This is just a sample of what he had to endure. And yet he befriended a raging racist from Anglesey, and entrusted his two children to her care when he and his wife were working shifts and when they had to return to Delhi for three weeks due to a family emergency.

What’s more, despite being an immigrant and his direct experience of racism, my father-in-law holds some views which I find questionable. He is an intelligent, educated and spiritual man, but he voted ‘leave’ in the referendum because he thinks uncontrolled immigration is bad for the country. He is particularly concerned about Islamic immigration. He once told me that it isn’t really possible to trust a Muslim because, ultimately, their devotion to Allah trumps everything. He thinks it would be no bad thing if there were a moratorium on Islamic immigration. My father-in-law’s Islamophobia is complex and historic (ask him about it and he’ll start talking about events centuries gone, about Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, the Delhi Sultanate etc etc) but it’s still Islamophobia. And yet his best friend is a Muslim, a Muslim whose son is a human rights lawyer fighting precisely the kind of prejudice voiced by my father-in-law.

One of my wife’s closest friends is so casually racist he’s oblivious to the fact. My wife chides him for it, but he rolls his eyes and talks about ‘political correctness’. Depending on her mood, my wife finds this irritating, infuriating or funny. When his wife died, over a year ago now, my wife was his shoulder to cry on.

I don’t know if it’s just me, encountering all these messy iterations of racism which can’t be simply distilled into racist=baddie, but I seriously doubt it. I think it may well be the norm.

I’d like to be able to say all racists are c***s and should be expelled into the Outer Darkness, but I can’t. I’d like to be able to say there’s no such thing as ‘a bit racist’ because racism is an absolute position and stains every fibre of a person’s character, but I can’t. I’d like to be able to say that I could never be friends with a racist, never even tolerate their presence, but that just isn’t true. Should I be ashamed of myself? I don’t know.

Without all the messy iteration of racism I’ve encountered and continue to encounter, there would be a lot fewer eyebrow-raising, what-the-f*** moments in my life. And I’m quite fond of those moments. I think a life of level eyebrows is not much of a life at all.

Morrissey has been my go-to guy for eyebrow-raising, what-the-f*** moments since about 1987.

Do I think he’s racist? Absolutely not.

Does he express opinions that on a Venn diagram would overlap with those of a racist? Yep.

Does he express opinions that might give comfort to a racist? Yep.

Does he express opinions that I disagree with and find troubling? Yep.

Does he say things that are ill-informed, ignorant and just plain wrong? Yep.

Do I wish he’d just stop expressing these opinions? Nope.

Do I find him exhausting? Oh, Christ, yes.

People are a bumbling mess of good and bad and everything in between. And Morrissey, more than any other artist, has, with honesty and fearlessness, explored, embraced, exposed and expressed that bumbling mess. That’s why I started listening all those years ago, and it’s why I’m still listening now.
 
I’m a 47-year-old British white guy. I voted ‘remain’ in the referendum. I’m not a big fan of the EU, but I’m also not prepared to chance a massive leap into the dark, taking the entire country with me. I consider myself ‘left wing’. I’d voted Labour all my life, but then Tony Blair took us into a disastrous and unjustifiable conflict in Iraq and I stopped voting Labour and began voting for various fringe parties that reflected the most important of my views. I’ve started voting Labour again, now that the party represents “democracy as something other than a vending machine dispensing several slightly different flavours of privilege”, to quote Alan Moore.

I’m one half of what is currently referred to as ‘a mixed marriage’. My wife is British Indian, born and raised here. Her parents came to the UK from India in the 1960s. I have two ‘mixed race’ children. I’m an atheist. My wife is a Hindu.

Racism is something I’ve seen for myself. And even though I can’t really say I’ve experienced it directly, I’ve certainly felt the aftershocks and walked dumbstruck through the wreckage. Racism, it really goes without saying, is disgusting.

But life’s a bit funny.

My wife’s godmother was a raging racist from Anglesey. She didn’t like black people. She didn’t like Indian people. She didn’t like Pakistani people. And don’t get her started on the bloody English! She demonstrated no reluctance in sharing her views with anyone who could bear to listen. There are no excuses and there is no explaining this away: she was a fully paid-up racist. Yet she befriended an Indian man in Liverpool in the 1960s and became a doting godmother to his children. You’d like to think this would have brought about some kind of Road to Damascus transformation, but no. She remained a committed racist her entire life. She just thought the Indian people she knew and loved were ‘not like them others’. When I first met her and it became apparent in short order she was to the right of Enoch Powell, I mentioned this to my wife in a shell-shocked whisper. “I know,” she said. “It’s funny, isn’t it?”

My grandad was not quite as racist as my wife’s godmother but he could easily have met her halfway. And yet his best friend was a Chinese bloke called Jimmy. They were on the same darts team. Jimmy hated the Japanese with a passion.

My father-in-law knows a thing or two about racism. At work, he had his tyres slashed and ‘NF’ scratched into the bonnet of his car. Given the car was in a secure car park, it could only have been carried out by one of his colleagues. In the run-up to the Toxteth riots, he was repeatedly ‘stopped and searched’ by the police who, thanks to new ‘sus laws’, were victimising anyone with even slightly pigmented skin. A former employer (an educated professional) once told him he’d only give him a reference if he went back to India. This is just a sample of what he had to endure. And yet he befriended a raging racist from Anglesey, and entrusted his two children to her care when he and his wife were working shifts and when they had to return to Delhi for three weeks due to a family emergency.

What’s more, despite being an immigrant and his direct experience of racism, my father-in-law holds some views which I find questionable. He is an intelligent, educated and spiritual man, but he voted ‘leave’ in the referendum because he thinks uncontrolled immigration is bad for the country. He is particularly concerned about Islamic immigration. He once told me that it isn’t really possible to trust a Muslim because, ultimately, their devotion to Allah trumps everything. He thinks it would be no bad thing if there were a moratorium on Islamic immigration. My father-in-law’s Islamophobia is complex and historic (ask him about it and he’ll start talking about events centuries gone, about Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, the Delhi Sultanate etc etc) but it’s still Islamophobia. And yet his best friend is a Muslim, a Muslim whose son is a human rights lawyer fighting precisely the kind of prejudice voiced by my father-in-law.

One of my wife’s closest friends is so casually racist he’s oblivious to the fact. My wife chides him for it, but he rolls his eyes and talks about ‘political correctness’. Depending on her mood, my wife finds this irritating, infuriating or funny. When his wife died, over a year ago now, my wife was his shoulder to cry on.

I don’t know if it’s just me, encountering all these messy iterations of racism which can’t be simply distilled into racist=baddie, but I seriously doubt it. I think it may well be the norm.

I’d like to be able to say all racists are c***s and should be expelled into the Outer Darkness, but I can’t. I’d like to be able to say there’s no such thing as ‘a bit racist’ because racism is an absolute position and stains every fibre of a person’s character, but I can’t. I’d like to be able to say that I could never be friends with a racist, never even tolerate their presence, but that just isn’t true. Should I be ashamed of myself? I don’t know.

Without all the messy iteration of racism I’ve encountered and continue to encounter, there would be a lot fewer eyebrow-raising, what-the-f*** moments in my life. And I’m quite fond of those moments. I think a life of level eyebrows is not much of a life at all.

Morrissey has been my go-to guy for eyebrow-raising, what-the-f*** moments since about 1987.

Do I think he’s racist? Absolutely not.

Does he express opinions that on a Venn diagram would overlap with those of a racist? Yep.

Does he express opinions that might give comfort to a racist? Yep.

Does he express opinions that I disagree with and find troubling? Yep.

Does he say things that are ill-informed, ignorant and just plain wrong? Yep.

Do I wish he’d just stop expressing these opinions? Nope.

Do I find him exhausting? Oh, Christ, yes.

People are a bumbling mess of good and bad and everything in between. And Morrissey, more than any other artist, has, with honesty and fearlessness, explored, embraced, exposed and expressed that bumbling mess. That’s why I started listening all those years ago, and it’s why I’m still listening now.
Brilliant, informative, fascinating post. You have done what nobody else has so far managed, which is to raise the debate to another level.
 
Brilliant, informative, fascinating post. You have done what nobody else has so far managed, which is to raise the debate to another level.
Thanks!
 
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