I have read The Quietus for years, but now I may have to rethink that. I really hate one sided opinion pieces and this one really pissed me off:
Why It's Time To Ditch Your Morrissey-Loving Friend David Stubbs , July 4th, 2019 08:28
If Morrissey was running for political office or was asking for more of a commitment from his fans in support of his questionable ideas I might think about it all more. Instead he makes a few comments and people seem to think they know what he is thinking. I like some Republicans even though we disagree about a lot. I like people that aren't Christian. I can separate issues from the people and engage in discussions without having a change of die attitude about them. Back people into a corner and often they defend and fight for things that even they aren't really sure of.
Now this guy, David Stubbs, thinks I should disown friends over this which is SO HYPOCRITICAL. He is engaging in Nationalism of ideas rather than race - but ultimately both will end in the same puritanical fire. He is also making a HUGE assumption that artists that haven't declared their opinions are somehow "safe" or he just assumes agree with him. I call this stupidity.
I am not naive. I do not forgive people for being racist. I don't forgive myself for those moments frustration that give rise to racist feelings in myself. I also don't disown or disassociate people for those reasons because we all need a chance to grow, change, improve, learn empathy, etc....
I am sure that David Stubbs is far from perfect in his life and to write something so chaffing and unforgiving is unforgivable. "He who casts the first stone" and "people who live in glass house shouldn't throw stones" .... It really isn't worth any more of my time to research where his "sins" are - I'm sure they are their just as mine are.
This argument about boycotting an artist for some element of their personal life is similar to the city boycotts over laws like the bathroom one. I found the better argument to be Dolly Parton's about not punishing the good people for acts of the misguided and how you have to engage with people to win them over - not disavow them.
A better article would be one reaching out to Morrissey to dialogue about why he feels the way he does. What do his comments really mean. Get beyond soundbites. I don't think Morrissey has that deep of a desire to push any of these hot button issues because his comments, even in "friendly" interviews are shallow and lack detail. If he isn't really invested why are people reacting in such extremes.
Maybe write an open letter to Morrissey about how his comments and positions are hurtful and ask for some justification and clarity of his ideology. He is free to respond or not. I would expect something flippant and pithy - and not helpful if he commented at all. But it would be better journalism in my opinion.
I think I've given more attention to this now than I ever wanted to. I would personally just like to ignore most of the things artists do outside of their art. I generally just skip over or tune out songs that have topics that bother me if the rest of the album is "good". I have no issue watching a Kevin Spacey movie or listening to Michael Jackson but I would be happy to see either of them pay for their crimes as well. These are separate issues to me. If you can't separate them yourself - fine - but don't be mad at me because I can.
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