Are Morrissey's Comments Racist?

Sturgell

Are Morrissey's Comments Racist?

Posted over 2 years ago

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Morrissey

Morrissey is suing British music magazine NME for defamation, claiming the publication twisted his words in a recent interview to make him appear racist.Morrissey was quoted by the magazine as saying he would no longer live in Britain because an "immigration explosion" was stripping his native land of its identity."The gates are flooded, and anybody can have access to England and join in," he reportedly said."Other countries have held on to their basic identity yet it seems to me that England was thrown away."According to a statement on his official Website (true-to-you.net), Morrissey demanded that NME issue a public apology for the piece by Thursday. When the magazine failed to come through, he initiated legal proceeding

NME fired back:"We can confirm we have received two writs from Morrissey's legal representatives pertaining to NME and its editor Conor McNicholas," a spokesman for the magazine said on Friday."NME takes this matter—and the issues it highlights—extremely seriously, and we are currently in discussion with our own legal representatives."McNicholas defended the piece, saying that it was not intended to portray Morrissey as a racist."Obviously no one is accusing Morrissey of racism—that would be mad given what Morrissey says—but we do say that the language Morrissey uses is very unhelpful at a time of great tensions," McNichols said."MORE HERE":CH[CH]http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20071130/en_music_eo/1a2e7b3194a9_41d5_9402_b659b826371a

Comments (22)

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dondeluxe says tough one...i think it was more in line with oi/skin/rude boy roots....more about english identity then white/anglo indentity. but i cant stand the smiths/morrissey so i should prob shut the fuck up. brown and proud. don

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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Jo says I don't think he was being racist; as a foreigner in the UK, I perceived his comments as to express his gripe with 'English' or 'British' culture being allowed or perhaps even made to disappear, rather than any 'foreign' cultures taking over Britain in any way. I understand the difference is in the nuance, but nonetheless significantly different in perspective. That said, if I perceived his comments correctly, as a foreign onlooker onto British culture, I can see where he is coming from. Unfortunately not everyone may understand that nuance, and perceive his remarks as racist.

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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brendanhalpin says If that's what he actually said, it's pretty hard to defend. That bit about the gates being flooded and anybody can join in--seems pretty clearly anti-immigrant. I'd be interested to hear how Moz feels that was "twisted".

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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asrati says Whether or not Morrissey is a lowdown white supremacist is a question that's been bobbing up since at least "Bengali in Platforms", from his first solo record "Viva Hate", which contains the line "Shelve your Western plans ... 'cause life is hard enough when you belong here." And then there's the later "National Front Disco" with its celebratory melody and ambiguous lyrics. Is Morrissey merely "quoting" his character(s) when he sings "England for the English"? I read not so long ago that over the past decade Morrissey has acquired a significant Latino audience in the states. Who knows? Maybe he's realized he could alienate his brown friends here by appearing to slam the brown intruders back home.

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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wdog says ok, perhaps it's time for the self-appointed arbiters of all that is PC to take a pill. I'm not so sure what is so offensive about someone mourning the loss of a traditional cultural identity.. I mean, we make a national pastime of it in Canada.. we have laws for f*ck sake that "protect" the distinct society of Quebec.. ..so, now Morrissey just remarks on his sense of the loss of his England, and we're in a panic that somehow that makes him a racist... Thank God we have the thought police to help us decide what is or is not acceptable to say publicly.. Lord help him should he write his next song about his Teddy Bear "Mohammed".

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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asrati says CROSS-REFERENCING: http://mog.com/walkingthecow/blog_post/128307

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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Jo says wdog, brilliant comment, kudos!

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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FluxCapacitor says “The gates are flooded, and anybody can have access to England and join in.” Lucky him. Morrissey (and Marr) were born in Manchester to Irish immigrants.

Permalink posted 12/03/2007
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Jo says As said, I seriously don't think Moz's gripe is with the immigrants, or with foreign cultures 'taking over' Britain, it's with the politically correct brigade allowing (and perhaps wanting?) for any signs of 'British' or 'English' culture to be made to disappear; NME twisted these remarks into anti-immigrant, anti-foreign and therefore possibly racist remarks, whereas his nuance indicated quite the contrary of just that. Does it take a foreign immigrant (like myself) in the UK to understand that?

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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FluxCapacitor says Jo, as an Irish guy who wrote for an English tabloid for two years, my feeling is that Morrissey _is_ being stitched up by the magazine, who have editorialised around his quotes in an attempt to make an anti-racism statement (NME have been running an anti-racism campaign throughout the year). The clue is in the credits of the article: "Interview - Tim Jonze; Words - NME". However, I believe the tapes and transcripts will show that Morrissey's quotes are accurate (indeed, most newspapers have reprinted them without fear of censure), and he talked at length about immigration, rather than political correctness. In fact, I could not find any mention, or indeed nuances, regarding political correctness in the large excerpts published on "Times Online.":http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2967758.ece?token=null&offset=0 Still, there's no proof that his "flooded" comments are motivated by hatred for other races. Therefore, my gripe is with his hypocrisy, as outlined above. Needless to say, I look forward to the court case.

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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TylerDurden says but I hope he gets toasted on his hypocrisy though, hateful words toward other races boil my bloods..

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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TylerDurden says Immigration is a big problem a lot of places, and to feel your home country is being flooded is a reasonable feeling if it affecting you...but it's not affecting him in his nice home I'm sure, it's not like he works with the immigrants or it's not like they affect his money...... On the other hand, how do you think all us Americans came to be...My great-great-great grandparents came to America from Ireland and Sweden, and humped like rabbits.....not neccesarily bad... I do sincerely hope that He really said it and it's not another magazine twisting celebrities words to get a few extra buck, because that piises me off.... Tyler

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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HelenMarie says “The gates are flooded, and anybody can have access to -England- America and join in.” Let's get used to it Mr. Morrisey the world is growing and culture is changing. The government is responsible for the structure for those wanting to relocate and the people are responsible for the culture therein, we all have to be flexible. In addition, the stars really have to be careful with their words for fear of being misinterpreted.

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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I am says Fervent nationalist - Yes Racist - No What is so wrong about voicing that kind of opinion?

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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wdog says Immigration is a complex phenomenon.. however, historically, dominant cultures were much less tolerant of having to adapt to immigrant cultural variations - rightly or wrongly.. With the advent of advanced concepts of human rights and respect for cultural differences, however, and with the massive influx of cultures wholly different from the judeo-christian philosophies dominating the west - it is more than understandable that the existing cultural fabric is going to be stretched.. and it strikes me that attacking anyone for simply expressing their feelings is sort of counter-productive to peaceful assimilation of the old and the new.. this is particularly so when the reality is that we have radical fundamentalist dogma being espoused in western Europe and North America, including notions of religious and cultural genocide for any non-Muslims, under the protection of the very freedoms that are routinely withheld Muslim theocracies. To put it bluntly - can we not understand the frustration of a citizen of a country who provides the freedom for Omar Brooks to publicly declare to the citizens of England "I come to slaughter all of you", yet at the same time, reads of a teacher being threatened with prison and lashing in Sudan for naming a teddy bear "Mohammed"?

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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vannatta says If culture is only about Us vs. Them - on any level - then, if possible, I will walk the Earth "cultureless..." In a global economy citizenship will become about who is giving you the best "deal" for your taxes, the most freedom, the best health care, and the best education at the right price (which if you really do like tax revenue - should be free for all - just like health care) - knowing this, the countries will align themselves politically as well, and merge much more progressively (and completely) than the EU - or anything else we've ever seen. Peace, Van

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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Shud33 says Sooner or later nobody is going to have freedom of speech due to hyper sensitive people. This is B.S...

Permalink posted 12/04/2007
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HelenMarie says Can I just reiterate... "Morrissey is suing British music magazine NME" Either he's regretful, if he was quoted correctly...or he thinks the twisted quotes are offensive and doesn't want to seem inconsiderate in the matter. He's the one making a bit of a stink.

Permalink posted 12/05/2007
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I am says I didn't think about it before Adam, but I should have referenced this post in my last one. Would have been a good offset to the perception of racism going on in my neck of the woods.

Permalink posted 12/06/2007
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NWADOC says Ugh. Not one of his greater moments... Of all the times for Moz to pull a Clapton on us, when he's in the middle of a comeback...

Permalink posted 12/10/2007
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Charlie Boy says McNicholas is a creepy idiot, and shouldn't be left in charge of a great British musical institution like the NME. This is typically irresponsible. Who would read the NME these days anyway? I remember how awesome it was in the 80s, a real bastion of good music and great writing and flying the indie flag. Now it's just sensational rubbish about Doherty's smack problem, Amy's smack problem, etc. Shameful. No wonder the music biz is in trouble.

Permalink posted 12/11/2007
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christheskins says Cheers for the Times Online link Fluxcapacitor.. I think i'll stick with my intial reaction ,which is that this is mostly about Mozza being a bit high-minded,and insular ,lamenting the erosion of the "Englishness" he chronicled ,"back in the day".Dont forget The Smith's success came over twenty years ago He's getting nostalgic about his initial mega-stardom. When he was slim and androgynous, and had a bunch of daffs stuffed down his trousers. So it is just silly self-importance,coloured by age, juxtaposed with the current NME editor revisiting Morrissey's previous "flirtations" with nationalist imagery ,and ,as you say, "stitching him up". Niether side has done themselves any favours...

Permalink posted 12/11/2007