Morrissey Is the Lena Dunham of Music - The Daily Beast
The British singer came under fire for defending accused predators Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, while Dunham defended her pal accused of rape. The two have plenty in common.
By Stereo Williams.
Excerpt:
"For a generation of music fans, Morrissey came to the fore as an anti-establishment figure alongside The Smiths. The band symbolized the kind of thoughtful outsider that had been disregarded in the days of Margaret Thatcher and economic strife, but Morrissey has always allowed hubris and egotism to run wild. And worse, he has a pattern of romanticizing the despicable. In the 1990s, he was constantly accused of racism based on lyrics, antics and statements.
“Bengali, Bengali / Oh, shelve your Western plans / And understand / Life is hard enough when you belong here,” Morrissey sang on 1988’s “Bengali in Platforms,” sparking accusations of racism and xenophobia. In 1992, he performed at Finsbury Park draped in the union flag, a symbol of the British extreme right, while performing “National Front Disco,” a song that suggested empathy for the skinheads of the National Front. Famously vegan, in 2010 Morrissey dismissed the Chinese as “a subspecies” for their treatment of animals.
There are fans who have defended Morrissey for decades as merely a satirist when his lyrics insinuate bigotry, his controversial statements tend to spark controversy only to subside as he’s lauded for his prowess as a songwriter and an icon of British music, and his musings on British identity are exclamations of national pride as opposed to simmering xenophobia. But Morrissey has spent years showing us exactly who he is. And in dismissing alleged victims of rape and molestation, he’s yet another individual with a platform who has decided that power grants a certain kind of immunity; that scrutiny should be aimed at victims, as opposed to those with the power to abuse.
And sadly, he’s not alone."
Regards,
FWD.
The British singer came under fire for defending accused predators Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, while Dunham defended her pal accused of rape. The two have plenty in common.
By Stereo Williams.
Excerpt:
"For a generation of music fans, Morrissey came to the fore as an anti-establishment figure alongside The Smiths. The band symbolized the kind of thoughtful outsider that had been disregarded in the days of Margaret Thatcher and economic strife, but Morrissey has always allowed hubris and egotism to run wild. And worse, he has a pattern of romanticizing the despicable. In the 1990s, he was constantly accused of racism based on lyrics, antics and statements.
“Bengali, Bengali / Oh, shelve your Western plans / And understand / Life is hard enough when you belong here,” Morrissey sang on 1988’s “Bengali in Platforms,” sparking accusations of racism and xenophobia. In 1992, he performed at Finsbury Park draped in the union flag, a symbol of the British extreme right, while performing “National Front Disco,” a song that suggested empathy for the skinheads of the National Front. Famously vegan, in 2010 Morrissey dismissed the Chinese as “a subspecies” for their treatment of animals.
There are fans who have defended Morrissey for decades as merely a satirist when his lyrics insinuate bigotry, his controversial statements tend to spark controversy only to subside as he’s lauded for his prowess as a songwriter and an icon of British music, and his musings on British identity are exclamations of national pride as opposed to simmering xenophobia. But Morrissey has spent years showing us exactly who he is. And in dismissing alleged victims of rape and molestation, he’s yet another individual with a platform who has decided that power grants a certain kind of immunity; that scrutiny should be aimed at victims, as opposed to those with the power to abuse.
And sadly, he’s not alone."
Regards,
FWD.
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