Posts Tagged ‘Free Speech’
Glastonbury Cancels showing of pro-Corbyn film, the Big Lie.
Man who’d been suspended from the Labour Party for Anti-Semitism talks of “forces of darkness'” and then stood against Labour in the 2019 Election.
“Glastonbury Festival has said that it stands “against all forms of discrimination” after cancelling a screening of a film about former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Glastonbury cancels screening of Jeremy Corbyn film booked ‘in good faith’ Independent.
Titled Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie and produced by Platform Films, the film was due to be shown at the arts festival’s Pilton Palais cinema on Sunday (25 June).
The film aims to challenge accusations of antisemitism made against Corbyn throughout his political career, claiming to “explore a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears”.
It is narrated by left-wing Jewish comedian Alexei Sayle (author of ‘The Communist Party of Britain, (Marxist-Leninist) ate my brains and political judgement‘), and features contributions from writer Jackie Walker and filmmaker Ken Loach.”
Her ladyship Jackie Walker comments:
More from one of Britain’s most famous Vegans and ‘anti-Zionists’.
The list of people involved in the film signals a problem, including people like Walker and her partner Graham Bash who, whatever their other qualities as long-standing activists, fell out with many people on the left over the issue of anti-Semitism, or rather the denial that this is an issue of significane. Both have been excluded from Labour. Moshe Machover’s involvement in the Labour Party was peripheral; he is closely identified with the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee)/Weekly Worker. As for Loach, where to begin where to end? After a few years as a Labour member he was expelled in 2021. Poor old Andrew Murray appears, although the former Corbyn adviser took a little distance from the first public showing on this very Blog.
One can be completely opposed to such exclusions without endorsing the theme of the documentary fiml, that, “Starmer is portrayed as corrupt, craven and “leading a lawless party” who will stop at nothing to purge the left – accusing and suspending many left-wing members as antisemites. The film suggests that anti-Semitism was the smear that stuck and so therefore was utilised to bring about the downfall of the Corbyn project.”
Others thought the JVL and people like Bash and Walker considered that with Corbyn leading Labour the party would give a priority to ‘anti-Zionism’ on a level, say, with the fight against apartheid in South Africa. This did not happen for many reasons, let us begin with the nature of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza strip. Then of course if we want to be internationalists the Middle East problems caused by the Syrian regime and the genocidal Islamic state, ISIS, not to mention the oppression of Kurds, look more pressing. They became more and more intemperate. Some of them expressed clearly anti-Semitic views.
It appears that the issue is that the way it was presented this would have looked like a quasi-official endorsement from Glastonbury, scene of a quasi -legendary appearance by Jeremy Corbyn in 2017.
Why did Glastonbury only pull controversial Corbyn film after backlash? Tom Belger. Labour List.
“You could be forgiven for hoping the left could unite in condemnation in response, whatever one’s views on the Corbyn project. Corbyn himself did not tweet about it yesterday (and did not appear in the film). But the level of bile and denial directed online yesterday at Mason – a one-time Corbyn ally, rather than a right-wing critic – signals once again how far there is to go in rooting out antisemitism on the left. LabourList has approached the filmmakers for comment. Dorset Eye quotes film producer Norman Thomas calling allegations of antisemitism “without any foundation… a total lie” and noting some interviewees were Jewish. He also claimed the film’s withdrawal amounted to “rank censorship”. “
Conway Hall Cancels Galloway’s Tankie Vatnik Fest.
We all feel his pain. Thoughts and Prayers.
One day, you too may be silenced, shadow-banned, deplatformed. There will be nobody left to protest. And if they did protest their demands would be censored. Silenced. You have gone quietly into this goodnight. #cancelled#cancelculture
Royal Row Re-Ignites as Woke Fights Back.
We all Feel their Pain.
One of the figures of the early bourgeois public sphere was Mrs Miggins. She ran a pie shop but moved into the coffee house business as they became a site of ‘refined’ assembly. As Habermas suggested they engaged in debates relevant to their shared experience (in political, economic and other terms). Some commentators have claimed that the origin of what the German critical theorist called the “ideal speech situation’ (Ideale Sprechsituatione) emerged in this discursive space.
1. Every subject with the competence to speak and act is allowed to take part in a discourse.
2a. Everyone is allowed to question any assertion whatever.
2b. Everyone is allowed to introduce any assertion whatever into the discourse.
2c. Everyone is allowed to express their attitudes, desires and needs without any hesitation.
3. No speaker may be prevented, by internal or external coercion, from exercising his rights as laid down in (1) and (2)
In the British historical documentary series, Blackadder the 3rd (which is believed to have been inspired by the New Left Review editor Perry Anderson’s otherwise long forgotten research into why Britain did not develop along the lines of the “normal bourgeois paradigm” ) this episode made its mark. “In “Dish and Dishonesty” she is seen talking to Blackadder about the election and says she thinks it is unfair that she is not allowed to vote, to which he replies “Of course it’s not fair! And a damn good thing, too: Give the likes of Baldrick the vote, and we’ll be back to cavorting Druids, death by stoning, and dung for dinner.”
One can only observe that Anderson, and his crusty comrade Tom Nairn, may well have been on to something about the failure of a discursive ideal situationist revolution. Yet, given the kind of thing one, alas witnesses in France (Zemmour) and the US (Trump) these days, they too fall far short of the Ideale Sprechsituatione.
One can only be thankful that in launching an appeal for a new Monster Raving organisation Cde Green’s Open Letter to’ Jeremy’ avoids these pitfalls. Public discourse needs higher standards so that we can accomplish our modern revolution and cast off the legacy of the days of Mrs Miggins.
His Blog today is a model, of kinds.
Open Letter to Jeremy Corbyn – The Time Has Come to Break With the Labour Party
Dear Jeremy,
…
I don’t say that you were the main culprit in the defeat of the Corbyn Project. That accolade belongs to Jon Lansman of Momentum and John MacDonnell with a supporting role by Owen Jones.
…
It is time for you to make a clean break with Starmer’s Labour Party and lead the fight for a socialist party that stands for the interests of ordinary working class people. In the process you will encourage some of your colleagues to also make a break. The Labour Party stands for war, poverty and continued privatisation. It is time for you to make amends for the failure to fight the Right when it was possible.
In solidarity,
Tony Greenstein
Tendance Coatesy 