Afterthought of the Day: Macklemore

Huge news, people. And I mean HUGE. The “artist” Macklemore has been dropped from his North American tagalong tour with actual artist Ed Sheeran. He was barred from performing at several American venues for his pro-terrorist remarks at MetLife Stadium, and the tour promoter removed him from the remaining U.S. dates. He has since designated himself a champion of both free speech and of the oppressed and downtrodden “Palestinians.” A true hero. A shining example of courage and humility.

To which my first question was… Who is Macklemore?

Thankfully, it didn’t take much research because there simply isn’t much there. Macklemore is apparently a rapper, which is the reason I used quotes in the paragraph above. Rap is neither an art nor music. It’s vulgar nursery rhymes mouthed by infantile adults who can barely master the English language. Andrew Dice Clay was doing it almost 40 years ago, only without the tedious backbeat. There is nothing new or edgy about it, and its heyday was the late ’90s and 2000s.

Now, if other infantile adults want to spend their parents’ money to watch him, that’s fine. And if the crowd wants to bleat along like the sheep they are as he spouts off ignorant, hateful drivel, that’s fine too. But the stadiums he has the privilege of performing in are privately owned. And if the stadium owners decide they don’t want their stages used by pro-Hamas sycophants to spew their filth, that’s fine too.

I’m trying hard to put aside the abysmal depths of unadulterated contempt I hold for any man who wears fur coats and boas, so I’m bottling my emotions and speaking objectively. And objectively speaking, Macklemore is a petulant, cowardly, bigoted, narcissistic leviathan of quivering corpulence whose “thoughts,” dare I degrade that word, aren’t worth the spittle with which he slobbers onto his microphone.

Oh, and other no-name never-will-be acts like Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Lukas Graham, and Finneas also withdrew  from the tour in solidarity. Sounds good. Bye. I’ve spent three sentences on you already, which is three too many.

The only tinge of sadness here is that two of these acts are Irish. Ireland is a beautiful country with lovely people, a proud history, and amazing music. But the culture is largely antisemitic, and has been for some time. It makes no sense to me, but it is what it is. I’ve been there a few times, and in the seedier areas of Belfast and along the border in the north, they’ve been flying “Palestinian” flags for decades.

And it has nothing to do with “Palestine.” Most Irish I’ve spoken with are just as ignorant of the history of Judea as the mainland Europeans. It’s unabashed antisemitism, pure and simple. If Micronesia were to declare war against Israel, the Irish would start flying Micronesian flags.

During the Second World War, Ireland declared neutrality instead of joining the democratic West against Nazi Germany. The IRA attempted to collaborate with the Nazis. Irish Prime Minister Éamon de Valera visited the German envoy to offer his condolences at the news of Hitler’s suicide.

Folks, I’ve always maintained that we should keep an open dialogue with the other side. They’re not all whacked-out leftists. There are moderates, there are fence-sitters, and, yes, there are more hardcore progressive types who are nonetheless open to an open debate in good faith. And I’ll have a discussion with them all day long, and I will feel no disrespect towards them simply for disagreeing with me.

But limits must exist. Boundaries must be upheld.

And I’ve reached the point where if you’re on the wrong side of this particular issue, it’s not worth my effort to talk about it with you. Because there is no reasoning with someone who cannot reason. You are either incapable of following your argument to its logical conclusion of worldwide Islamic domination, or you can, but you’re too brimming with antisemitic hate to care.

If you take the same stance against Jews as Hamas and its Nazi predecessors do, then I have nothing to say to you. I hope one day you see the light, but until then, I’m not wasting my time.

And no, we can’t be friends who simply don’t discuss politics. I can be, and am, friends with liberals. I won’t be friends with Hamas supporters, Holocaust deniers, and shameless bigots.

Morally speaking, it doesn’t get more black-and-white than the Israel/Palestine conflict. There is no ambiguity. There is no middle ground. One side is an open, tolerant, liberal democracy that just wants to be left alone. The other side is the horde of inbred Islamic psychopaths who want to destroy and subjugate the West, starting with Israel but sooner rather than later reaching the hypnotized dullards who comprise Macklemore’s fan base.

Macklemore will not be remembered as a martyr who spoke truth to power. He will be remembered as an insignificant worm whose fifteen minutes of fame were fifteen minutes too many. Still, I don’t wish him harm. And if I were him, I wouldn’t be too bummed about getting booted from a few venues. He can still find plenty of venues willing to provide him a platform for his ignorant hate in places like Islamabad, Gaza City, Mogadishu, Kandahar, Minneapolis, and Dublin.