If everything is controversial than nothing is

Kneecap at the end of outrage

Have you been following the Kneecap situation?

You might recall that during my latest visit to Belfast my friends chastised me for failing to watch the Kneecap movie. So when we got back to the States I watched the film and flipped for it.

As I wrote back in March, Kneecap the film is a somewhat fictionalized origin story of the Belfast techno punk band that raps in Irish. Let that combination of words sink in for a minute. Or, go watch the movie.

Kneecap the band is a boozy blokey trio that weaves provocative political messages into their lyrics. Everything about the band is provocative from the tri-color balaclava the DJ wears to its enthusiasm for excess to the name of the band itself.

During the Troubles, the IRA would punish those it deemed traitors by placing a weapon against the back of the knee and blowing out the kneecap. It’s a non-life threatening injury but those who’d been kneecapped were scarred for life and marked for life by their limp. Another horrible example of the kind of cruelty people get up to in sectarian blood feuds.

Kneecap is unapologetically political. Its members uses the most powerful tool at their disposal to get their message across: language, particularly the Irish language, but they are equally unequivocal in English as well.

After Kneecap the movie won six awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts it posted the message “We’ll trade you six BAFTAS for the six counties.” A reminder that nationalists in the north of Ireland have always condemned the British as occupiers. Such inflammatory language fell out of favor before, during, after the Good Friday Agreement because it tends to rile up extremists.

But Kneecap doesn’t care. It puts BRITS OUT on its merch and thumbs its nose at the British government every chance it gets.

When I heard that Kneecap was coming to the US I was disappointed that all the shows had sold out so quickly, but I wasn’t too worried. With the Trump administration going full Gestapo at the borders and revoking visas for purely punitive reasons, I figured there was no chance in hell they would let a band as outspoken as Kneecap into the country for its dates at Coachella.

I felt this way not because of its stance against the British, but because of its support of Palestine. I don’t want to turn this edition of Message from the Underworld into a treatise on the diplomatic relations between Northern Ireland and Palestine but there has always been solidarity between the Irish and Palestinian people. The Irish are outspoken when it comes to Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land, the oppression of its people, and the creation of an apartheid state because the same thing was done to them by the British for 800 fucking years.

So I was shocked when the US let Kneecap into the country. All you have to do is spend a few seconds scrolling Kneecap’s Instagram page to find messages of support for the people of Gaza.

Kneecap, photo by Peadar Ó Goill

Kneecap, to absolutely no one’s surprise, was the most outspoken of all the artists at Coachella, topping even Keith’s “army of Luigis” quote, displaying in big bold letters the message: FUCK ISRAEL. FREE PALESTINE.

Of course, this created an uproar in the MAGA-sphere, creating all kinds of pearl-clutching responses from the right in the US and the UK, resulting in smear campaigns against Kneecap.

The instigators dug up videos where one of the members of Kneecap is alleged to be saying “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah,” which prompted the band to release a statement that they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah, they support the people of Gaza, and condemn Israel for committing genocide.

At home, detractors found footage of one of the members shouting “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP,” prompting more statements, more denials.

Daniel Lambert, the band’s manager spoke to the press and absolutely killed it, calling these ongoing attacks on Kneecap a concerted effort to discredit the band after delivering a message that resonated with concertgoers.

“You have a band being held to a higher moral account than politicians,” Lambert said.

It was so refreshing to see someone, a manager for a musical act no less, not get sucked into the far right’s bad faith spin machine, and stand up for the band and what it believes in.

No, the members of Kneecap aren’t terrorists. Condemning genocide doesn’t make you a terrorist. Standing up for what you believe in doesn’t make you a terrorist.

You know what makes you a terrorist? Carrying out attacks on unarmed civilians. Bombing hospitals. Bombing schools. Raiding people’s houses at dawn and rousting them out of their houses.

The right has severely miscalculated in its attacks on Kneecap. The band isn’t going to lose support for its beliefs. Some gigs may get cancelled, but more will be added. Kneecap’s art is intertwined with its values. You can’t separate them. All these attacks are doing is bringing more attention to the band and providing them with more opportunities to spread their message.

Kneecap doesn’t feel what it’s doing is all that controversial. Condemning genocide shouldn’t be controversial. Standing up for the oppressed shouldn’t be controversial.

The right have done their best to make everything controversial. Wanting a better life for yourself in America shouldn’t be controversial. Trans people existing shouldn’t be controversial. Standing up for children being bombed in hospitals and schools shouldn’t be controversial. Because if everything is controversial than nothing is, which is how they get away with these atrocities.

Every day a new controversy to gin up outrage and spin the attention away from where it belongs.

But it’s not working anymore. I think Kneecap’s performance at Coachella represents a tipping point where the real outrage drowns out the fake. Where the desire to stand on the right side of history is stronger than any so-called culture war.

Free Palestine. Fuck ICE. Fight fascism.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this newsletter you might also like my latest novel about healthcare vigilantes Make It Stop, or the paperback edition of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records, or my book with Bad Religion, or my book with Keith Morris. I have more books and zines for sale here. And if you’ve read all of those, consider checking out my latest collaboration The Witch’s Door and the anthology Eight Very Bad Nights.

Message from the Underworld comes out every Wednesday and is always available for free, but paid subscribers also get my deepest gratitude and Orca Alert! on most Sundays. It’s a weekly round-up of links about art, culture, crime, and killer whales.