Kenan Malik labelling turds

Kenan Malik, in the Guardian asks

where do we draw the line between criticism and bigotry?

Criticism points to a fault, shortcoming, oversight or other type of defect, in a thing or person. Bigotry involves unreasoning hatred of a class of things, or people. Criticism is specific and concerns something essentially individual at a particular time and place. Bigotry is is not primarily concerned with the individual or particular. It is a generalized prejudice or hatred of a class though such hatred may be overridden by exigent circumstances or just plain convenience.

Malik, cretin that he is, takes a different view. 

From the uproar over Lee Anderson’s remarks about the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, being “controlled” by Islamists

Anderson is signaling hatred of Londoners- more particularly those of the brown persuasion. This should go down well with his constituents oop north. 

to the condemnation of slogans used on pro-Palestinian demonstrations,

what's wrong with hating Jews? Didn't Jesus Christ hate Jews? Well, it was either him or Adolf Hitler.  

it is a question at the heart of current debates about Muslims and Jews, Islam and Israel.

Nonsense! What is at the heart of the debate is concern with up-coming elections. Can Hamas hurt the election prospects of Biden, Starmer etc? Probably not. Still, its fun to demonstrate against immigrants- even if we call them 'settler colonialists'. We need to get rid of people with names like Khan and Sunak and Malik and Iyer who are occupying our country from the Thames to the North Sea. 

The distinction between criticism and bigotry should, in principle, be easy to mark.

Criticism can be useful. That which is criticized can be made better 

Discussions about ideas or social practices or public policy should be as unfettered as possible. But when disdain for ideas or policies or practices become transposed into prejudices about people, a red line is crossed.

One man's prejudice is another man's reasoned calculation. I may think that voting Tory in the next general election is foolish because of the appalling track record of the last five Tory PMs. You may feel that I am prejudiced against the Conservative Party. Tenth time lucky- right?  

It’s crossed when castigation of Islamism leads to calls for an end to Muslim immigration.

Nothing wrong with calling for an end to immigration- if only to protect the standard of living of those who have already immigrated or who are descended from those that did.  

Or when denunciation of Israeli actions in Gaza turns into a protest outside a Jewish shop in London.

Both are expressions of anti-Semitism though, no doubt, the former has enabled the latter type of bullying to gain support. 

In practice, though, that line can appear blurry. Claims about “Islamophobia” or “antisemitism” are often wielded in ways designed specifically to erase the distinction between criticism and bigotry, either to suppress dissent or to promote hatred.

Or they are simply true. It is perfectly rational to fear Islam- unless you live in a neighborhood with lots of Muslims, in which case it is the Muslims who are Islamophobic- while hating Jews, homosexuals, Liberals, guys wot went to collidge, Mummy when she tells me to tidy up my rooom, that fucking homosexual liberal wot went to collidge who is now dating the girl I like.  

Such muddying enables some to portray criticism of Islam or of Israel as illegitimate because it is “Islamophobic” or “antisemitic”.

Why is it illegitimate to talk bigoted bollocks? What else does the Guardian do wen it comes to India? 

It also allows those promoting hatred of Muslims or Jews to dismiss condemnation of that hatred as stemming from a desire to avoid censure of Islam or Israel.

But they can do that even better by claiming that those who condemn them are having non-consensual sex with poultry.  

It is for this reason that I have long been a critic of the concept of “Islamophobia”;

Though, since 9/11, lots of peeps shit themselves if a guy who looks like me sits next to them on an aircraft. 

not because bigotry or discrimination against Muslims does not exist,

if it is irrational and harms those who hold such views why not be against 'Islamophobia'. I used to be terribly homophobic, probably because of the AIDS scare back in the Eighties. Indeed, I would only watch Gay porn because my husband insisted.  

but because the term conflates disapproval of ideas and disparagement of people, making it more difficult to challenge the latter.

How? Claustrophobia is like Islamophobia is like Homophobia. Your life becomes better if you overcome such phobias. It is not the case that being claustrophobic makes you a bad person. On the other hand, homosexuality is definitely contagious. Watching Ellen turned me lesbian. 

It is, in my view, more useful to frame such intolerance as “anti-Muslim prejudice” or “bigotry”.

This is a false view if the objection is not specific to Muslims but rather to a section of the population with a higher incidence of an undesirable trait- e.g. killing kaffirs.  

The issue, though, is not one of wording; what matters is less the term employed than the meaning attributed to it.

In which case it doesn't matter what you say. All that matters is how other people choose to interpret your speech- or your silence  

The concept of Islamophobia became popularised in the 1990s, partly through an influential report from the Runnymede Trust thinktank entitled “Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All”.

I attended a YMCA conference in Amsterdam in 1981 with this theme. I suppose Christians were jealous at Islam's success in retaining a hold over young Muslims and tried to get in on the action by claiming to promote tolerance towards it. 

I coined the term 'vaginaphobia' for a similar reason. Sadly this did not enable me to gain access to any vaginas.  

The report acknowledged the term as “not ideal” but thought it “a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or hatred of Islam – and, therefore, to fear or dislike of all or most Muslims”.

In the good old days being a good Christian meant joining the Crusades and killing the vile Saracen. 

Ironically, the “useful shorthand” itself exposes the problem, eliding hostility to beliefs (“dread or hatred of Islam”) with prejudice towards a people (“fear or dislike of all or most Muslims”).

This isn't a problem unless 'most Muslims' don't give a shit about Islam. At one time it was thought that Religion had a low income elasticity of demand. As Muslims or Hindus got richer they would give up going to the Mosque or the Temple. Instead of going to the Holy City of Mecca on pilgrimage, they would go to Mecca the Bingo Hall.  

In 2018, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on British Muslims defined Islamophobia as “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”,

whereas what racists should target is Britishness more particularly Britishness with Muslim characteristics- e.g. wearing a burqa under your bowler hat.  

a clumsy formulation that has nevertheless been adopted by the major political parties apart from the Conservatives.

Registered sex offenders aren't allowed to adopt.  

The APPG report dismissed the “supposed right to criticise Islam” as “another subtle form of anti-Muslim racism”.

Whereas drone striking towel-heads aint subtle at all. 

It argued, too, that “Islamophobia” refers to Muslims being targeted by non-Muslims. Yet, the charge of “Islamophobia” or “hatred” is often aimed by Muslims at other Muslims, from Salman Rushdie to Monica Ali, from Hanif Kureishi to Sooreh Hera, to make their arguments appear illegitimate.

Not if they are being paid by non-Muslims to say Muslims stink big time.  

It is a means of “gatekeeping”, of certain people taking it on themselves to police a community and determine what can be said about it.

Only in the sense that I am 'vagina-keeping' when I watch Lesbian porn. Seriously, vaginas are very fascinating creatures with a rich and complex culture. 

The drive to suppress criticism of Israel and support for Palestinians has been aided by some on the left lacing their anti-Zionism with antisemitic tropes

No. What aids support for Israel is the fact that those who attack it tend to be crazy hate-mongers who also want to kill us.  

The elision of criticism and bigotry works the other way, too: to deflect challenges to hatred. Some commentators have responded to the pushback against Anderson’s conspiracy theories about Khan by claiming that labelling his comments “Islamophobic” is intended “to stop criticism of Islamic extremism”.

Khan is an important Labour politician. Anderson was a Labour councilor who defected to the Tories. It is obvious that he is seeking to get White voters oop North to vote Tory for fear that Khan will forcibly circumcise them and force them to give up bacon. 

The actions of hardline Islamists can have horrifying consequences,

They caused the War on Terror which we lost. But tens of millions of Muslims paid a very high price.  

from forcing a teacher into hiding to the murder of an MP.

which is pretty small potatoes compared to 9/11  

Too often, as with the recent parliamentary mess created by the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, politicians and institutions accede to threats rather than confronting them.

Keir Starmer threatened to behead him- right?  

None of this should lead us to conclude, though, that challenging anti-Muslim bigotry is a distraction from confronting Islamism.

I'd rather challenge anti-Muslim bigotry as displayed by elderly ladies with no significant criminal record. On the other hand, it is true I was on my way to confront Islamism in Yemen when I got distracted by Peppa Pig.  

Opposing the one without opposing the other weakens our ability to challenge either.

No. What weakens our ability to challenge Islamism is the fact that we keep shitting ourselves and running away. Seriously, them jihadis are well hard.  

The historical roots and contemporary manifestations of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred are different.

Any contemporary manifestation of anything has roots all over the fucking place.  

Nevertheless, the charge of “antisemitism” can similarly be deployed to marginalise dissent while also providing racists with an alibi for their racism.

So, next time you get arrested for bashing in the brains of a furriner, tell the pigs that there's this Paki dude who writes for the Guardian who can give you an alibi. 

Take the insistence that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism”.

though it might be simulated or strategic. I am very anti-Iyer because I think it is unfair that all Iyer males have such ginormous dongs with which they can bring women to climax repeatedly. I'm not entirely clear how they do this but think it might involve putting their pee pee in the lady's chee chee place.  

It is a claim that has become increasingly accepted in recent years by mainstream politicians and organisations, from the French National Assembly to the US House of Representatives.

Anti-Zionism is a fucking nuisance. Curb it by all means.  

Zionism is a set of ideas and social practices.

No. It is support for Israel regardless of any other ideas or social practices a person may have 

Yet, many who insist that Islam, as a set of beliefs and practices, should be open to robust challenge

where do they do that insisting? Teheran? Yemen?  

refuse to countenance similar scrutiny of Zionism.

would they countenance a colonoscopy instead? How about a CAT scan carried out by actual cats? In never hurts to ask.                         

In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

a Hitler tribute band. The Holocaust was one of Adolf's biggest hits

formally adopted its “working definition of antisemitism”, a definition that has been embraced by many governments, universities and civil institutions.

Useless tossers.  

It has also become, in the despairing words of one of its own drafters, Kenneth Stern, “a blunt instrument to label anyone an antisemite”.

Why not just call them wankers?  

For Stern, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate,

i.e. a useless tosser. You want to study hate, go talk to guys with Swastika tattoos on their foreheads.  

the IHRA definition was never meant to be a “hate speech code” but developed rather to help monitor antisemitism. It has, however, become a means by which supporters of Israel now “go after pro-Palestinian speech”.

Do they do it with machetes? If not, they don't matter. Hate only matters if it results in bloodshed. Nobody cares that I hate smart, good looking, people. To be frank, I'm not too crazy about stupid, ugly, people.  Basically, so long as you are dead and buried at least six feet under the ground, you are all right with me. 

“As a Zionist, I don’t agree with some of the speech,” Stern notes, but such speech “should be answered, not suppressed”.

Try calling this dude in the middle of the time to discuss Gaza. He soon decides not to answer or takes legal action to suppress the nuisance.  

This is particularly so because “there is a deep internal Jewish conflict about … attitude[s] toward Israel”.

Jews will argue about anything with each other. Get your pecker out and ask them to give you a bris, and suddenly they can't get out of the restaurant fast enough. Anyway, that's why I was sacked from my position as a waiter at the Golders Green Tandoori. 

“For many Jews,” Stern points out, “Zionism, and what it means for Palestinians, is irreconcilable with what Judaism says about treating the stranger or repairing the world.”

It was the Zionists who were strangers in Palestine. Come to think of it- Joshua too would have been a stranger. That didn't end well for the Philistines.  

Again, blurring the line between criticism and bigotry facilitates gatekeeping,

is what bouncers at biker bars often say- thinks nobody at all 

in this case by making dissenting Jewish voices seem illegitimate.

What makes those dissenting voices seem even more illegitimate is saying 'yo' momma's a ho'. Not an expensive ho. She gets paid in dog biscuits. That's why you look like a Pekinese.'  

The drive to suppress criticism of Israel and support for Palestinians

is utterly pointless. Israel will either thrive or collapse on the basis of military and economic power.  

has been aided by some on the left lacing their anti-Zionism with antisemitic tropes.

more particularly after they laced their coffee with Whiskey.  

And, mirroring the tactics of anti-Muslim bigots,

the ones who spent billions drone striking Muslims in remote deserts and mountains? 

too many dismiss criticism of their antisemitism as a kind of Zionist shield against scrutiny.

which is still better than dismissing such criticism on the grounds that Holy Scripture demands the extermination of the Jewish people coz they are all homosexuals and are putting stuff in tap-water which is causing my dick to shrink.  

Anti-Zionism is not necessarily antisemitic; but it can be, and too often is.

Similarly, if someone shits on your head, that shit is not necessarily brown. What concerns you is that it should not happen too often. Like being shat upon, anti-Zionism is a fucking nuisance. It should be curbed.  

The answer is not to label all expressions of anti-Zionism as antisemitic

why not get a job labelling turds instead?  

but to call out the latter,

this turd looks like Adolf Hiter. Hey guys! Come and look at this turd I've just labelled! Such naches my parents will be getting when they find out what their little boy achieved today at work!  

while acknowledging the legitimacy of the former.

this turd is a totes legit piece of shit.  

In the polarised debate about antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry,

even one debater would be one too many 

too many who rightly condemn antisemitism are less robust in challenging bigotry against Muslims.

Jews are smart and do useful stuff. Muslims- not so much.  

And too many of those who excoriate anti-Muslim bigotry turn a blind eye to the hatred of Jews.

not to mention the deaf ear they turn to suggestions that they should just fuck off and die.  

In both cases, blurring the line between criticism of ideas and bigotry against people narrows debate and nurtures hatred.

There is no fucking debate here. There are just a bunch of tossers pretending their opinions matter. What nurtures hatred is killing people or grabbing their property or encouraging others to do so. Nobody cares how or why you label turds or decide if they are legitimately shit.