You might think that pop music has lost the ability to generate real political controversies in its Anglo-American heartlands. The idea of a mainstream monoculture into which underground rock or rap artists can cross over has given way to a fractured landscape where even the biggest stars have to fight for people’s attention.
Instead of watching bands perform on Top of the Pops or MTV, everyone can generate their own customized playlist on Spotify or YouTube, ranging across time and space as they please. It’s hard to imagine the Sex Pistols or Public Enemy having the same impact in a digital age.
But the British political establishment has now demonstrated that you can still attract national attention by taking a stand, if that stand is against genocide in Gaza. Trumped-up charges of “supporting terrorism” against a member of Kneecap, the Irish-language rap group from Belfast, are a transparent attempt to punish Kneecap for defending the right of Palestinians to exist.
This exercise in lawfare comes just as the British government is trying to distance itself from the horrors that Israel has been inflicting upon the people of Gaza. A joint statement from the leaders of Britain, France, and Canada threatened “concrete actions” if Israel does not call off its murderous rampage in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter.
The “abhorrent language” and “egregious actions” to which the statement refers have been defining characteristics of the Israeli attack on Gaza from the very start. The only people in British public life who can speak with any moral authority are the ones who have consistently opposed one of the century’s great crimes.
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Auteur: Daniel Finn
