THREAD | My Thoughts On Bob Vylan 🔴
The media has lost the plot after a few hurty words at Glastonbury.
Let's talk about what's really going on here... 👇🏾
Firstly, the context.
Over 50,000 Gazans have been murdered by the IDF over the last 18 months.
Men, women and children are being slaughtered EVERY DAY while queuing for food.
Bob Vylan are fundamentally good blokes who have speaking out against the genocide in Gaza – and fake punks – since Day One.
It's now mainstream and easy to tweet "Free Palestine."
This definitely was not the case a year ago, where it carried a great deal of professional risk.
At Glastonbury, Bob Vylan said:
"DEATH, DEATH TO THE IDF!"
"From the river to the sea, Palestine must be – will be – free. Insha Allah."
Inevitably, this has caused a media spasm...
Bob Vylan ticks all the boxes for manufactured media #outrage:
He's mixed race, tall, muscular, tattooed, physically imposing, has the sort of hair that both confuses and intimidates white people, and shouts about class and race.
And most importantly: he's intelligent.
Both the BBC and Glastonbury have referred to Bob Vylan's comments as "offensive" and "anti-semitic."
Keir Starmer described it as "appalling hate speech."
Ofcom say the BBC have "questions to answer."
The US State Department have revoked Bob Vylan's visa.
"Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country."
Funny, because a few hundred years of American history of taught us that the glorification of violence is an American value...
Anyway.
The Media-Political Industrial Complex is working overtime to stick it to Bob Vylan. 🥲
It appeals to racists, gains votes from Reform, pleases the IOF lobby, and wins ratings. ✅️
Lots of softball questions for politicians on BBC Breakfast over a croissant and orange juice.
But it's all a distraction. 😯
The IOF playbook has been transparent for years: deny, deflect, deny again, blame Hamas, deny again.
They co-opt servile politicians and gullible media to serve the IOF agenda.
Compare and contrast this to the soft, deferential, uncritical, neutral, presented-as-fact manner which the media portrays the IOF view:
The fact is that the IDF have a body count of 50,000+ in Gaza. 🤯
The IDF are ACTIVELY RECRUITING British citizens to partake in the genocide in Gaza.
As far as I'm aware, Bob Vylan's hurty words have claimed ZERO lives...
At least 80 UK citizens were known to have been serving in the IDF in 2023.
At least 30 UK settlers were known to have been part of the settler movement in The West Bank, committing to ethnic cleansing.
Where's the #outrage for that? 🤔
The truth is, there is a two-tier justice system... ⚖️
PoC who step out of line will always be easy prey for media and politicians alike.
Meanwhile, British citizens can go on holiday to Gaza, don an IDF uniform, commit war crimes, then return to a hero's welcome. 😳
If media and politicians condemned the IDF's ACTION of murdering children as much as they condemned Bob Vylan's REACTION for wishing death upon the IDF, we wouldn't have space for this fallout.
And we wouldn't witness the suffering of a new Hind Rajab, every day.
An important aspect is that Bob Vylan's addition of "Insha Allah" raised the Muslim Threat Level to DEFCON 1. ⚠️
The implication of the media coverage is simple:
"DEATH TO HAMAS!" would not have been met with wall-to-wall coverage from UK Lawyers For Hamas.
TL; DR:
"Death to the IDF" chanters should NOT be prosecuted before IDF soldiers.
It's a unique moment in history where we have a Mass Gaslighting Event, in the face of first-hand, live-streamed video evidence.
Free Bob Vylan. 🔴
Free Palestine. 🇵🇸
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