First the lunatics took over the asylum, now the children have taken over the playground. After the campus glamping and the race to see who knows least about Middle East politics – the Americans are still winning but Oxford’s coming up fast on the outside – we move on to the summer game of holier-than-thou in which celebrities with clout join activists with heart-on-sleeve consciences in pressuring the country’s leading literary festivals to shoot themselves in the foot.
Yes, and perfectly said. But the fact that it's cultural organizations and everything linked to arts and literature that has been captured by this sick, authoritarian ideology means that culture has been for a long time (long before wokeism appeared) in the hands of the morally righteous, and that it wasn t artistic excellence that was on the minds of those in charge of these institutions. In the US, long before DEI existed, cultural events were all about "diversity" and LGBT. In fact, "diversity" is precisely about the opposite (as a multilingual Romanian, i am as diverse as it comes, but no one cares about this type of diversity in America.
Excellent, as always. The only demurring festival so far I've heard of is the Edinburgh Fringe who will continue with their sponsors for the various loyalty reasons to the ir workers and artists.
> the comedian Nish Kumar told the Hay Festival, I won’t be coming to your party after all
What’s the alternative then, that he’s forced to accept every invitation? The festival decided to react to Nish not coming by getting rid of the sponsors, but he himself can accept or decline any invitation he wants. This isn’t cancel culture at all, except perhaps self cancelling.
I’m genuinely curious then how you would go about applying pressure to stop innocent civilians, especially children, being wantonly slaughtered in this case? What do you think would be activism that wasn’t bullying?
One method would be what Howard suggests which is the freedom of discussion and sharing of ideas, not righteous boycotting of others. "He who is without sin cast the first stone." I doubt boycotting writer's conventions will spare any children's lives. It is a hollow gesture designed to bypass deeper feelings of horror and despair - things needing to be explored and discussed. A boycott is the end of discussion and a sign of a closed mind neither of which are pathways to any viable solution.
Ok and the reason I ask is in the interests of this discussion, but in the case where it’s urgent to save lives and there is no political will to stop this. I personally have friends from Gaza - ordinary decent people - whose family members have been murdered while waiting for aid, whose neighbours have been buried under rubble, who have been too afraid to go out in the street while their houses are being shelled because passers by have been randomly sniped. These are all first hand accounts from people I trust. If there is no political will from any leaders, how does one apply pressure to save fellow humans’ lives?
And, Hamas considers them “collateral damage” and martyrs for the “cause.” This war is being fought under Hamas cowardly rules of engagement. There are no good/bad guys here, all hands are bloody. I doubt there is a “political” solution to such primal and ideological savagery. You are seeking a rational solution to an irrational situation that has festered for at least a hundred years. As Gestalt psychologist Fritz Perls pointed out: “Nothing changes until it becomes what it actually is.” We are witnessing a primal savagery we would rather deny, but all of us are called to witness and acknowledge the horror of our collective shadow. We must not look away…
I don’t think I can actually live with myself if I don’t do what small things I can to stop this happening. I find it impossible to see my friends or loved ones as collateral damage. Even if I didn’t know anyone there I couldn’t. And it has nothing to do with hatred of any one but a horror of seeing people especially children in the states in which I’ve seen them with no meaningful intercession on their behalf. It has nothing to do with a desire to bully but an acute awareness of the sacredness of human life. And a deep fear of what will happen to us as people if we can normalise and even excuse the crossing with complete impunity of red lines that keep our civilisation safe.
You may not be able to see Palestinian civilians as collateral damage or martyrs for the 'cause', but Hamas certainly can. Radical Islam which emerged after WWII was shaped by Palestinians in conjunction with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. There is no "meaningful intercession" in Gaza because Palestinians have been barred from entering surrounding Arab countries because they bring their radicalism with them. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon have closed their borders to them and left them to suffer the consequences of their violent actions. After 76 years of its existence, Hamas still denies Israel's right to exist leaving only the options of ethnic cleansing or genocide. Palestine's suffering is largely self-inflicted leaving the question as to how much do they need to suffer until they consider other options.
As you point out, Palestine and Hamas have burned their bridges with much of the world and it was they who crossed the "red line" when attacking Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. Once one breaks the pact with the rest of civilization it is very difficult to cross back and regain trust. Germany accomplished this after WWII, but only after utter defeat and devastation. Perhaps that is where Palestine needs to go to start anew. Any illusions of a 'quick fix' have been permanently shattered and Palestine will not be allowed to continue its legacy of festering Islamism.
But you don’t discuss israels’s role in all this. Immediately you go to speak as if it is Hamas has carpet bombed Gaza. Israel has a choice in how it responded. What is your opinion on that? Regarding the red line of October 7th I have a number of questions about that. People were being killed and taken hostage by Israel in the months and years leading up to that. Why should that not have been a red line? Thousands of innocent people are being held hostage in Israeli jails. Many of those released in the hostage exchange last year have been recaptured without charge. Gazans tried to protest peacefully a few years ago in the Great March of Return only to be shot. New evidence shows that Israel knew about the imminent Hamas attack and not only let it happen, but removed their forces from the Gaza border and told anyone who spoke up about it to shut up or they’d be prosecuted. And let’s not even start on the fact that Hamas was funded by Israel, described by Smotrich as an asset. This in spite of their initial charter (which was later modified) There have been previous red flag attacks by Israel in the past such as bombing their own embassy in London, so we know they are capable of this. But my main question is how can you frame your response in a term that states Palestinians are doing this to themselves? They are not. Israel is doing this and Israel has a choice on how to respond. It does not have to shatter international law and commit ethnic cleaning (unless that was the goal all along)
Here DownUnder , our arts festivals have also descended into the “ writers’ front for the expulsion of Jews, sorry liberation of Palestine”.
All in the artistic/ creative community are at risk of being cancelled.
I fear for the future.
Excellent as always. However I do think you were perhaps being a little over generous when you referred to Nish Kumar as a comedian.
As someone who's made me laugh, I'm very disappointed with Nish Kumar. I would expect a comedian to have a better sense of the ridiculous.
Superb albeit terrifying, as always.
Yes, and perfectly said. But the fact that it's cultural organizations and everything linked to arts and literature that has been captured by this sick, authoritarian ideology means that culture has been for a long time (long before wokeism appeared) in the hands of the morally righteous, and that it wasn t artistic excellence that was on the minds of those in charge of these institutions. In the US, long before DEI existed, cultural events were all about "diversity" and LGBT. In fact, "diversity" is precisely about the opposite (as a multilingual Romanian, i am as diverse as it comes, but no one cares about this type of diversity in America.
Wonderful. Jacobson is essential. Without him, we fellow writers would be the poorer.
Oh, this is good. Yes, thank you.
Bravo Howard! Well said.
Please liken this comment to a standing ovation.
Excellent, as always. The only demurring festival so far I've heard of is the Edinburgh Fringe who will continue with their sponsors for the various loyalty reasons to the ir workers and artists.
> the comedian Nish Kumar told the Hay Festival, I won’t be coming to your party after all
What’s the alternative then, that he’s forced to accept every invitation? The festival decided to react to Nish not coming by getting rid of the sponsors, but he himself can accept or decline any invitation he wants. This isn’t cancel culture at all, except perhaps self cancelling.
I’m genuinely curious then how you would go about applying pressure to stop innocent civilians, especially children, being wantonly slaughtered in this case? What do you think would be activism that wasn’t bullying?
Some people used to be close friends. I can't speak with them now.
One method would be what Howard suggests which is the freedom of discussion and sharing of ideas, not righteous boycotting of others. "He who is without sin cast the first stone." I doubt boycotting writer's conventions will spare any children's lives. It is a hollow gesture designed to bypass deeper feelings of horror and despair - things needing to be explored and discussed. A boycott is the end of discussion and a sign of a closed mind neither of which are pathways to any viable solution.
Ok and the reason I ask is in the interests of this discussion, but in the case where it’s urgent to save lives and there is no political will to stop this. I personally have friends from Gaza - ordinary decent people - whose family members have been murdered while waiting for aid, whose neighbours have been buried under rubble, who have been too afraid to go out in the street while their houses are being shelled because passers by have been randomly sniped. These are all first hand accounts from people I trust. If there is no political will from any leaders, how does one apply pressure to save fellow humans’ lives?
And, Hamas considers them “collateral damage” and martyrs for the “cause.” This war is being fought under Hamas cowardly rules of engagement. There are no good/bad guys here, all hands are bloody. I doubt there is a “political” solution to such primal and ideological savagery. You are seeking a rational solution to an irrational situation that has festered for at least a hundred years. As Gestalt psychologist Fritz Perls pointed out: “Nothing changes until it becomes what it actually is.” We are witnessing a primal savagery we would rather deny, but all of us are called to witness and acknowledge the horror of our collective shadow. We must not look away…
I don’t think I can actually live with myself if I don’t do what small things I can to stop this happening. I find it impossible to see my friends or loved ones as collateral damage. Even if I didn’t know anyone there I couldn’t. And it has nothing to do with hatred of any one but a horror of seeing people especially children in the states in which I’ve seen them with no meaningful intercession on their behalf. It has nothing to do with a desire to bully but an acute awareness of the sacredness of human life. And a deep fear of what will happen to us as people if we can normalise and even excuse the crossing with complete impunity of red lines that keep our civilisation safe.
You may not be able to see Palestinian civilians as collateral damage or martyrs for the 'cause', but Hamas certainly can. Radical Islam which emerged after WWII was shaped by Palestinians in conjunction with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. There is no "meaningful intercession" in Gaza because Palestinians have been barred from entering surrounding Arab countries because they bring their radicalism with them. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon have closed their borders to them and left them to suffer the consequences of their violent actions. After 76 years of its existence, Hamas still denies Israel's right to exist leaving only the options of ethnic cleansing or genocide. Palestine's suffering is largely self-inflicted leaving the question as to how much do they need to suffer until they consider other options.
As you point out, Palestine and Hamas have burned their bridges with much of the world and it was they who crossed the "red line" when attacking Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. Once one breaks the pact with the rest of civilization it is very difficult to cross back and regain trust. Germany accomplished this after WWII, but only after utter defeat and devastation. Perhaps that is where Palestine needs to go to start anew. Any illusions of a 'quick fix' have been permanently shattered and Palestine will not be allowed to continue its legacy of festering Islamism.
https://johnhardman.substack.com/p/hitlers-grand-mufti
But you don’t discuss israels’s role in all this. Immediately you go to speak as if it is Hamas has carpet bombed Gaza. Israel has a choice in how it responded. What is your opinion on that? Regarding the red line of October 7th I have a number of questions about that. People were being killed and taken hostage by Israel in the months and years leading up to that. Why should that not have been a red line? Thousands of innocent people are being held hostage in Israeli jails. Many of those released in the hostage exchange last year have been recaptured without charge. Gazans tried to protest peacefully a few years ago in the Great March of Return only to be shot. New evidence shows that Israel knew about the imminent Hamas attack and not only let it happen, but removed their forces from the Gaza border and told anyone who spoke up about it to shut up or they’d be prosecuted. And let’s not even start on the fact that Hamas was funded by Israel, described by Smotrich as an asset. This in spite of their initial charter (which was later modified) There have been previous red flag attacks by Israel in the past such as bombing their own embassy in London, so we know they are capable of this. But my main question is how can you frame your response in a term that states Palestinians are doing this to themselves? They are not. Israel is doing this and Israel has a choice on how to respond. It does not have to shatter international law and commit ethnic cleaning (unless that was the goal all along)