Banned

Above: The Smiths, in the person of Johnny Marr, has told David Cameron he is "forbidden" to like their music.

This was reported on the Guardian website in an article by Jo Adetunji:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/dec/03/johnny-marr-david-cameron-twitter

You might argue that David Cameron is big enough and powerful enough to be able to defend himself, but hearing this news made me uneasy. If Johnny Marr is going to ban Conservatives from liking his music what other groups might he ban? Scientologists are an unpopular group - is it OK for The Smiths to ban them? An interview by John Harris in the Guardian hinted that The Smiths were not keen on black people or Chinese people so are these groups going to be "banned"? What does Johnny Marr's ban consist of anyway? Banned from attending The Smiths concerts? Banned from buying The Smiths music? Banned from standing outside Salford Lads Club? Banned from walking in the streets after 8pm? Banned from owning property? Banned from working in the professions? Banned from parks, restaurants and swimming pools? Banned from owning electrical/optical equipment, bicycles, typewriters or records? Banned from cinema, theatre, concerts, exhibitions, beaches and holiday resorts? Banned from owning dogs, cats and birds?

Where does this sort of thing end? (this is a rhetorical question, we already know where it ends).

Anyway, the voting patterns among young people during the 1980s were such that a good proportion (30% to 40%) of The Smiths music sales must have been to Conservative voters - is Johnny Marr proposing to give this money back?



Above: the news was also reported on the Daily Mirror website.

One of the most depressing aspects of the post-election period has been the lazy way in which the left has jumped into strident opposition mode. Opposition for opposition's sake and the noisier the better. Ed Miliband is trying to say interesting things and develop new ideas but no-one is listening to him.