Vilifying the Vylans or: How I learned to stop censoring and call for death to the BBC

The clumsy attempt to silence artists opposing genocide only makes their message louder

~ Stanton Cree ~

Over the last week I found myself in the interesting position of having to navigate the British establishment’s censorship just to listen to a bit of music, watch some TV, and a film. I started my weekend wanting to catch Kneecap‘s Glastonbury set. I had to wait, however, until the BBC uploaded it to iPlayer after caving to government pressure and declining to livestream the group. Having missed Bob Vylan, I then had to search for a recording, as the BBC refused to upload it after an explosion of outrage from politicians and journalists. Next, I had to make time to watch To Kill a War Machine before it will presumably get banned for supporting non-violent direct action terrorism. Finally, I got to watch Gaza: Doctors Under attack on Channel 4 as the BBC, once again, refused to show it.

By now I’m sure you’ve realised the thing that connects all this together is Palestine, and the suppression of anyone or anything that draws attention to the ongoing genocide. Enough has been said about the blatant hypocrisy of the garden-variety ‘Free Speech Warrior’ working to silence those speaking out against racism, sexism, homophobia, and genocide. What we are witnessing now, however, are very obvious examples of state censorship—ironic given those in government are always banging on about a ‘Free Speech crisis‘.

Given my low opinion and regularly validated distrust of government, state censorship isn’t particularly surprising to me. The BBC has traditionally aligned itself with the imperial status quo, and the Labour party is just as much part of the establishment as the Tories. State intervention to deny artists their rights to expression is unfortunately nothing new either—an ongoing example is the cops’ continued gagging of Grime and Drill artists. What I do find astonishing is how quickly the pretence of state non-interference in the arts has been discarded. Politicians and media have shifted from quietly ignoring censorship to openly endorsing it when it comes to Kneecap and Bob Vylan—who have consequently had shows pulled.

What is it that the powers that be find so egregious? Apparently, the idea that genocide is not just wrong but should also be resisted. What’s impressive is the lengths the establishment is going to in order to make such a mundanely moral stance as “stop genocide” seem sinister. The BBC and politicians have rushed to condemn the “antisemitic sentiments” and “hate speech” supposedly expressed by Bob Vylan, but none have bothered to show their work. Exactly what they’re referring to is left to speculation.

Desperate to vilify the Vylans, the BBC’s cultural editor went as far as conflating two separate statements made during the set, which seems to be the basis for further erroneous claims that Bob Vylan were “calling for the death of Israeli troops”. But why let a little thing like context get in the way of a juicy story? The Mail on Sunday went even further, entirely inventing a quote to justify their unhinged front page demand for the state repression of musicians.

Most of the focus has been on the chant of “death to the IDF”, which has been presented without any context even by supposedly unbiased, centrist, and liberal individuals and publications. International law recognises the legitimate use of force against an occupying army. The claim that the chant somehow calls for death to Israelis (let alone all Jews) makes about as much sense as saying that “death to fascism” was a call to kill all Italians. As for antisemitism—it is a common tactic of propagandists to muddy the waters by conflating the Israeli state with its citizenship or with the Jewish people as a whole. By saying an attack on the Israeli military is an attack on all Jews, they are playing right into the hands of Israeli state propaganda.

Bob Vylan have never hidden what they are about. They are aggressively and unapologetically political, snugly fitting within the traditions of both Punk and Rap. Their songs are typical anti-racist and anti-fascist fare and the combination of anarcho-punk with Grime hits hard and doesn’t leave much room for misunderstanding. Glastonbury’s own website describes their shows as “a cathartic experience where rage and protest meets positivity and joy”. Which begs the question, why pretend they didn’t know what they were getting?

Yet now even Glastonbury’s organisers, who have long presented the festival as an open forum for left leaning politics, went from Michael Eavis saying last week that “People that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else” to abruptly following establishment voices in distancing themselves from Bob Vylan. An impressive U-turn after their initial support of their line up. With no remarks regarding acts such as Amyl and the Sniffers, Inhaler, CMAT, and of course, Kneecap, it certainly appears to be a response to political pressure.

The condemnation of Bob Vylans’s supposed ‘incitement to violence’ stinks of exactly the kind of liberal pearl-clutching addressed in the duo’s 2021 song “Pretty Songs”. As a society we have been conditioned to accept the idea that any grave injustice should be passively resisted and that any kind of physical resistance is morally questionable. The irony of the government condemning moral support for militant action, while it actively remilitarises and sells weapons abroad, should not be lost on anyone.

Fortunately, the censorship crusade already seems to be backfiring in the most predictable way. The more power used to suppress the message, the louder it gets. Drawing attention to Bob Vylan, along with Kneecap, Palestine Action and others just increases support for them. The clumsy attempts to demonise these groups further exacerbates the growing rupture between the people and the political establishment.

There is nothing ethically dubious in stating support for the right of victims to fight those carrying out a genocide. To suggest otherwise clearly favours annihilation. Pacifism is merely a pretty ideal that benefits the elite and those who seek to maintain the status quo. The appeal to pacifism and the presupposition that any and all violence is inherently wrong, strikes to the very heart of this storm in a teacup. Bob Vylan are under no obligation to pander to such sensibilities, and neither are we.

Top photo: Brian J. Matis on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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