The thing is he talks earlier on about having empathy for people but, his wife apart, the only person I see him showing empathy towards is the fucking queen of all people! And bookending a query about trans rights with a story of how you once worried you were growing tits, honestly I don't even know what to say about that!
If I'm being charitable—that his, um, provocative statements are just meant to outrage and nothing else—he's stuck as a kneejerk contrarian, lacking any true commitment to principles beyond self-interest or -amusement. That's the best case scenario. Otherwise he really is slipping into that ugly cultural fascism. Enjoy sharing a fanbase with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent, Johnny.
When was the last time he actually said anything you agreed with? I'd have to go back 30 years plus.
In terms of politics, I couldn't pinpoint anything in particular, but, yeah, I'll bet it does go back to the 80s. Until the five or six years, I was able to accept that he was more just conservative than me—e.g., his admiration for Bush Jr—but he's drifted, sincerely or not, into really ugly territory. You don't claim to be empathetic and then in the next breath disparage transgender people.
I don't have to like his current political mindset and care less about hearing him constantly moan and groan. But insincerity is my least favourable trait in a person. But then I wonder if he was ever genuinely sincere or just playing his role and taking the piss.
That's where I'm at. Has he changed or did I want to see in him something that wasn't there?
It's like he enjoys being an outsider and is happy to be seen as some kind of agent provocateur but in reality he is just another old bore. Really tedious old whinge bag.
He comes off as a needy media addict—pay attention to me, I'm still radical old Johnny Rotten who'll tell hard truths! But he's just a lazy asshole who'd rather punch down than advocate for the genuinely marginalized.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Lydon's rhetoric is almost indistinguishable from any random Lauren Boebert supporter at this point. Awesome stuff.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
Yeah, for whatever his faults Joe (and I think Mick too, who obviously hasn't gone down these dark roads) was guided by a basic sense of human empathy that would prevent this nonsense.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
Yeah, for whatever his faults Joe (and I think Mick too, who obviously hasn't gone down these dark roads) was guided by a basic sense of human empathy that would prevent this nonsense.
Yeah but then John was never really about empathy. Unless it was his own situation. His lyrics were often self centered. It's "I wanna be anarchy" "I wanna Be Me" "I am the the anti-christ" ...."please don't be waiting for me". Other than "we like noise it's our choice" which Steve wrote and "We don't care" which Glen wrote it's all pretty much "I" "I'm going down down you're dragging me down"
"Animal an animal I ain't no animal" not too many "we're"
or "us" "I'm in love with myself, my beautiful selfish".
Last edited by Marky Dread on 14 Jun 2022, 3:59am, edited 1 time in total.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
Yeah, for whatever his faults Joe (and I think Mick too, who obviously hasn't gone down these dark roads) was guided by a basic sense of human empathy that would prevent this nonsense.
Absolutely and another major difference is both Joe and Mick could laugh at themselves and had a proper sense of humour, Mick in particular was (is!) sharp as a tack. And whatever else you say about Joe, he was never ever boring. I could read or listen to him all day and all of the night, as the song goes!
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
Yeah, for whatever his faults Joe (and I think Mick too, who obviously hasn't gone down these dark roads) was guided by a basic sense of human empathy that would prevent this nonsense.
Yeah but then John was never really about empathy. Unless it was his own situation. His lyrics were often self centered. It's "I wanna be anarchy" "I wanna Be Me" "I am the the anti-christ" ...."please don't be waiting for me". Other than "we like noise it's our choice" which Steve wrote and "We don't care" which Glen wrote it's all pretty much "I" "I'm going down down you're dragging me down"
"Animal an animal I ain't no animal" not too many "we're"
or "us" "I'm in love with myself, my beautiful selfish".
That first-person singular isn't necessarily a fault or proof of rabid selfishness, but added to everything else about the man, yeah, that is a bit telling!
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Of course we can't prove anything, but I'd bet the farm that Joe wouldn't have gone down this horrible road. He may have been a soggy liberal who played at being a leftist, but I feel confident he would have recognized fascism when he saw it and been revolted by it all.
Totally. And even if for some farfetched reason he didn't recognize the fascism, he certainly would have been able to recognize assholes.
It's harder and harder to remain an atheist when things like that happen.