I cannot leave off recording on this 'day of all days', i.e. Queen's Birthday (weekend), both in Aotearoa-New Zealand and the United Kingdom - and perhaps even throughout the British Commonwealth itself, I don't actually know - in the aftermath of the horrific scenes and sounds we've 'all' witnessed on our TV screens and radios (and no doubt innumerable other modern devices and computer gadgetry)...emanating out of London, England over the last 36 or so hours...
...that my one-time 'faith in' or at least deepest respect for a former (musical/lyrical genius) 'hero' of mine has all of a sudden taken a dive... .
Or let me immediately correct that: over the past two weeks (I can't quite recall exactly when) I learnt something which may well - permanently - change my view of a certain major 'popstar' irrevocably and forever. Sadly I heard it mentioned (upon Jim Mora's esteemed weekly afternoon 'Panel' on RNZ Radio in God's Own) that a singer-songwriter I'd loved and admired for decades (probably three-quarters/four-fifths plus of my entire life depending obviously upon when I first 'encountered' him in my childhood years) has a shameful 'secret' in the past; though evidently it's 'on the public record' so its actual 'secrecy' may be a moot or contested point. Irrespective, it was a real shock to my system as it were to hear that my hero has feet of clay - to put it nicely (and as tactfully as possible).
Though I owe it to him (as with any figure, whether personally known or only admired at a (great) distance) to check out all the ins and outs of this public 'revelation', I've little doubt, from the person (i.e. the aforementioned Mr Mora, no doubt also and equally a fan of this 'gentleman' his whole life long) the info came down the grapevine through, that it's factual...at least in essence (though the context involved is perhaps less certain or up for debate or interpretation). Essentially being such a species of unwelcome knowledge I'd managed to thus far successfully push it back into the recesses of my consciousness. But on as I say this 'day of all days', and in light of what's just 'gone down' once again in the U.K., it has sprung back - involuntarily - into my conscious awareness. And so repress or suppress the matter I can no longer do - to my deepest regret.
So who is the individual I'm alluding to, and thus far successfully and circumspectly avoiding 'naming' (and therefore shaming, if only in my own small way)? I'll keep you guessing a little longer, by adding that - for some reason or t'other, *unbeknownst even to me, quite frankly - I've generally lived up to only one half of my blogsite mandate. That is, I've freely bestowed bouquets 'with favour toward none', but have desisted bestowing brickbats 'with fear of none'. Well, today that tendency must of necessity be deviated from.
Yes, upon this day of days of British nationalism and patriotism, of loyalty and pride - though I well realize that some of the former are veritably oftentimes the 'refuge of a scoundrel', and the latter can be confused with one's own mistaken biases and prejudices - all I can do is state that anyone who sanctions in any way, shape or form the killing of innocent people in the name of religion (or any ideology), or even 'merely' 'justifies' the aforementioned by refusing to condemn it when given more than adequate opportunity, thereby offers his (or her) own stamp of approval to that death decree. Just as those on British streets (and no doubt elsewhere, especially the Middle East) publicly demanding the deaths/killing of the Danish cartoonists (and their supporters) back in 2005 for creating/publishing/reading/circulating and approving of cartoons generally considered insulting to the Islamic religion or more correctly its founder 'Mohammed' were likewise guilty of.
So who has apparently done such a thing? In this instance, who has publicly (in some form or other) lent his own rather weighty (as in very influential) support to such a death edict, to wit one imposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran back in the late eighties (I believe) upon the person of well-known British writer Salman Rushdie? By effectively - if indirectly - apparently asserting that his adopted religion has every right to pursue death upon the grounds of blasphemy of any such person determined to have insulted that religion, my childhood (and lifetime) musical hero (I've always found 'icon' distasteful) Cat Stevens, now going by his new Muslim name of Yusuf Islam, has apparently done just that. And we're all the losers. Shame upon you CS/YI...if that is indeed verily what you did say, and still maintain.
*Except perhaps (if only subconsciously) I like to focus upon the positive in people, and find doing the opposite somewhat distasteful - unlike some radio talkback hosts (and assorted other political/ideological partisans) I'm quite familiar with!
No comments:
Post a Comment