As the plague of authoritarianism spreads, we must all pick a side
One of the great lessons in warfare is that your actions alone do not affect the outcome of a conflict. The enemy has a say in the matter, whether you like it or not. Likewise, they say there are two sides to every story, meaning that both parties in a conflict will have different perspectives on, or reactions to, the events occurring, but the one thing you can’t do, is pretend to be neutral, to claim you have no opinion, no side to take. This position is no longer available, if it ever was.
Global sentiment has become one of if you’re not with us, you’re against us, and everyone is forced to pick a side, whether they want to or not, on just about everything. There are no safe spaces for neutrality, no room for sitting in the middle of the road with traffic whizzing by on either side. Politics is not something you can choose to be involved with or not, because politics shapes our reality. We are involved regardless of whether or not we think we are. This seemed to be the lesson on the books this week, a lesson recording artist and soft-spoken ginger, Ed Sheeran, was forced to learn the hard way.
It all started when Macklemore, the white rapper from Seattle, used his time on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, to declare his support for the Palestinian people. He didn’t say anything inflammatory or even terribly controversial, in fact going out of his way to head off any accusations of antisemitism against what he called his “Jewish brothers and sisters.”
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” he told the audience. “I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
He went on to address the Jewish members of his audience, “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love; for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.”
This simple statement was deemed offensive by several Israeli-backed advocacy groups who went on to pressure people like Robert Kraft, the Trump-supporting, prostitute-visiting, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium. Kraft reportedly told Sheeran and his promoter that their tour dates at Gillette would be canceled unless Macklemore was dropped from the ticket, a pretty rare and extreme overreach on the part of a stadium owner.
If you want more detail, there are plenty of well-reported stories out there, and I urge to seek them out and read for yourself. In short, all the opening acts, including Sheeran’s own backup band, quit the tour. What I want to talk about is the cultural fallout that came after, and the backlash against Sheeran’s timidity in the face of obvious bullying by Israel and the hard Right.
The rich and powerful begin to believe their own hype and think they can pick on whomever they like with impunity, and are often surprised when it backfires.
The irony of the Right’s tactics to suppress free speech is almost always that the very thing they wish to censor, takes on a life of its own and ends up with a massive, global spotlight that wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t made such a big deal out of it. The old Streisand Effect, where making a fuss about something most weren’t going to notice, suddenly becomes the very thing everyone is talking about.
Macklemore wasn’t exactly a household name, or even a big star. He had a small hit, with a song about tolerance for gay people, and another about the joys of thrift shopping. He’s not exactly a controversial character. He was, in fact, one of several opening acts you’ve probably never even heard of, supporting a headliner who is himself, rather milquetoast and bland, talking to a crowd of young, apolitical music fans. His reach was limited and the message extremely tame, but that’s why Kraft and his Zionist backers, decided he would be the perfect scapegoat to make an example of. Sheeran isn’t a powerhouse, despite his global fame, and Macklemore is a nobody. Surely, they could easily get rid of a nobody.
This is the fun part of authoritarianism. The rich and powerful begin to believe their own hype and think they can pick on whomever they like with impunity, and are often surprised when it backfires. Look at Trump’s attempt to keep Jimmy Kimmel from interviewing Democratic candidate James Talarico, an epic failure if ever there was one. A paltry number of people would have ordinarily tuned in to watch a Texas politician running for Congress on late night television. He’s not even a controversial figure, but more of a choir boy studying to be a minister, asking what would Jesus do. Not your typical late night fodder, or anything remotely radical.
By bullying the network into submission, Trump and his minions elevated the interview to a cultural touchstone and must-see TV. What might have been a short interview seen by a few hundred thousand, turned into a 20 minute interview that has been widely shared, and at this writing, has been viewed nearly 12 million times. Before the interview, a lot of Americans weren’t even sure what the candidate’s name was, and now we can all spell it.
Not taking a side in any sort of power struggle, automatically puts you in the camp of supporting the oppressor, not the oppressed. Claiming neutrality is the same as offering your support for those in power. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Trump’s GOP, Netanyahu’s Israel, or Putin’s Russia. You either stand for democracy, the rule of law, the sovereignty of a nation, and the humanity of a people, or you stand with authoritarians, dictators, and despots. There is no middle ground, no safe spaces, no neutral positions to be had.
You either stand up to bullies, or you get into bed with them. Ed Sheeran would be wise to rethink his position and decide which side of history he wants to be remembered being on. History is not kind to the collaborators of oppressive regimes.
