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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Whatever his supporters think, criticism of Corbyn is not a Blairite plot | Whatever his supporters think, criticism of Corbyn is not a Blairite plot |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.” Remember when those words were a fun White Stripes chant? Now it’s just the thing I mutter sadly when I read the news. Last week, Corbyn was forced to say sorry for something he did on Facebook, after a comment he made in 2012 in support of a grotesquely antisemitic mural resurfaced. Corbyn’s original comment was dreadful both because it was supporting an antisemitic work, and because it implied the “art” was too edgy for the mainstream – the last refuge of the talentless hack. | “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.” Remember when those words were a fun White Stripes chant? Now it’s just the thing I mutter sadly when I read the news. Last week, Corbyn was forced to say sorry for something he did on Facebook, after a comment he made in 2012 in support of a grotesquely antisemitic mural resurfaced. Corbyn’s original comment was dreadful both because it was supporting an antisemitic work, and because it implied the “art” was too edgy for the mainstream – the last refuge of the talentless hack. |
| Corbyn’s ‘regret’ over an antisemitic mural doesn’t go remotely far enough | Matthew d’Ancona | Corbyn’s ‘regret’ over an antisemitic mural doesn’t go remotely far enough | Matthew d’Ancona |
| In his apology this weekend, Corbyn regretted that he didn’t look more closely at the image before writing the comment. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Corbyn is actively antisemitic, I just think he’s very good at shouting about the things he wants to shout about (such as austerity, inequality or cuts to the NHS), but very bad at talking about murkier, more difficult questions (such as Brexit, antisemitism within the Labour party or foreign policy). He won’t tackle antisemitism seriously because it’s likely to split the party (and not the good split of Blairites v the Chosen People) – and ultimately cohesion within the far left is what he will prioritise. | In his apology this weekend, Corbyn regretted that he didn’t look more closely at the image before writing the comment. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Corbyn is actively antisemitic, I just think he’s very good at shouting about the things he wants to shout about (such as austerity, inequality or cuts to the NHS), but very bad at talking about murkier, more difficult questions (such as Brexit, antisemitism within the Labour party or foreign policy). He won’t tackle antisemitism seriously because it’s likely to split the party (and not the good split of Blairites v the Chosen People) – and ultimately cohesion within the far left is what he will prioritise. |
| But Corbyn isn’t really the problem – to me, he’s a flawed politician who is a symptom of our fractured politics. For evidence, look no further than the odious hashtag that started circulating after Corbyn’s apology: #PredictTheNextCorbynSmear. I know Corbyn isn’t responsible for every hashtag that uses his name, and I know there are plenty of people who broadly support him but found this hashtag to be utterly hideous – I don’t want to tar every single Corbyn supporter with the Canary brush. But there is a vocal minority who can only see events – from the antisemitic row and Corbyn’s handling of the Salisbury attack to the confusion over Brexit – through a prism that translates any legitimate criticism into a Blairite, neoliberal plot. | But Corbyn isn’t really the problem – to me, he’s a flawed politician who is a symptom of our fractured politics. For evidence, look no further than the odious hashtag that started circulating after Corbyn’s apology: #PredictTheNextCorbynSmear. I know Corbyn isn’t responsible for every hashtag that uses his name, and I know there are plenty of people who broadly support him but found this hashtag to be utterly hideous – I don’t want to tar every single Corbyn supporter with the Canary brush. But there is a vocal minority who can only see events – from the antisemitic row and Corbyn’s handling of the Salisbury attack to the confusion over Brexit – through a prism that translates any legitimate criticism into a Blairite, neoliberal plot. |
| In their eyes, there’s no way that true Jewish Labour supporters could get upset about this – they must be faking their outrage to build support for a hated centrist, egged on by the Israel lobby. It’s a prism that demands loyalty above rationality, which turns would-be allies into enemies, which reduces brilliant Labour MPs such as Luciana Berger, who has been fighting against food poverty and corporate health and safety loopholes for years, into supposed stooges, ripe for antisemitic abuse. | In their eyes, there’s no way that true Jewish Labour supporters could get upset about this – they must be faking their outrage to build support for a hated centrist, egged on by the Israel lobby. It’s a prism that demands loyalty above rationality, which turns would-be allies into enemies, which reduces brilliant Labour MPs such as Luciana Berger, who has been fighting against food poverty and corporate health and safety loopholes for years, into supposed stooges, ripe for antisemitic abuse. |
| This is in no way exclusively a “far left” problem. We all have our prisms through which we see politics. In America, Trump voters see any criticism of their hapless president as an attack on themselves, and any controversy as created by the establishment. That’s how evangelical Christians can ignore allegations of affairs with porn stars, as they are surely just a ploy to get a religion-hating Democrat in the White House. And there are few prisms as dogmatic and as swivel-eyed as the one through which the Daily Mail and the rest of the hard right view Brexit. For them, there are no legitimate concerns about the Irish border, or about the future of British trade, or about a spike in hate crimes – it must instead be a part of a Soros-funded campaign to keep our passports pink. | This is in no way exclusively a “far left” problem. We all have our prisms through which we see politics. In America, Trump voters see any criticism of their hapless president as an attack on themselves, and any controversy as created by the establishment. That’s how evangelical Christians can ignore allegations of affairs with porn stars, as they are surely just a ploy to get a religion-hating Democrat in the White House. And there are few prisms as dogmatic and as swivel-eyed as the one through which the Daily Mail and the rest of the hard right view Brexit. For them, there are no legitimate concerns about the Irish border, or about the future of British trade, or about a spike in hate crimes – it must instead be a part of a Soros-funded campaign to keep our passports pink. |
| Sadly, remainers have their own prism: Brexit becomes the punchbag for everything, blinding us to wider problems, and making us see everything as a dumb binary choice between leave and remain. Any tiny slight is seen as evidence of corruption: Andrew Adonis recently tweeted that the BBC had a pro-Brexit bias because it didn’t carry a mention of a march he was on – a march I read about on the BBC website in an article that mentioned Adonis by name. For someone with the title “Lord Adonis”, he is weirdly fragile. | Sadly, remainers have their own prism: Brexit becomes the punchbag for everything, blinding us to wider problems, and making us see everything as a dumb binary choice between leave and remain. Any tiny slight is seen as evidence of corruption: Andrew Adonis recently tweeted that the BBC had a pro-Brexit bias because it didn’t carry a mention of a march he was on – a march I read about on the BBC website in an article that mentioned Adonis by name. For someone with the title “Lord Adonis”, he is weirdly fragile. |
| It’s easier to point to a conspiracy theory than face up to the bigger problems within your own 'movement' | It’s easier to point to a conspiracy theory than face up to the bigger problems within your own 'movement' |
| These prisms are easy. It’s easier to point to a conspiracy theory than face up to the bigger problems within your own “movement”. For Brexiteers, it’s easier to scream “betrayal” at anyone and everything than face up to the fact that your campaign was built on lies that are now impossible to deliver. | These prisms are easy. It’s easier to point to a conspiracy theory than face up to the bigger problems within your own “movement”. For Brexiteers, it’s easier to scream “betrayal” at anyone and everything than face up to the fact that your campaign was built on lies that are now impossible to deliver. |
| For remainers, it’s easier to shout about Russia hacking the campaign, or Cambridge Analytica, than to focus on why so many impoverished people felt so angry at the status quo that they would want to commit such an act of self-harm. | For remainers, it’s easier to shout about Russia hacking the campaign, or Cambridge Analytica, than to focus on why so many impoverished people felt so angry at the status quo that they would want to commit such an act of self-harm. |
| And for the far left, it’s easier to concoct tales of establishment smears than it is to root out the disturbing pockets of antisemitism that the leadership has ignored. At some point, though, it becomes unsustainable. At some point, we all have to break free from our prisms. | And for the far left, it’s easier to concoct tales of establishment smears than it is to root out the disturbing pockets of antisemitism that the leadership has ignored. At some point, though, it becomes unsustainable. At some point, we all have to break free from our prisms. |
| • Jack Bernhardt is a comedy writer and occasional performer | • Jack Bernhardt is a comedy writer and occasional performer |
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