THE MESSAGE COULD BE STRANGE BUT REAL, IF YOU PAY SOME ATTENTION TO IT

[lovingboth]

In fact it was just another 419 spam in my inbox, but it did make me think:

The Tories complaining about a proposed Labour poster with their leader as a flying pig, because it is offensive to his Jewish faith... would that be the same Tory party that depicted the active Christian, Tony Blair, as a demon?

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Good point! Must propogate!

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

There is actually a difference.

People said that depicting not one but two Jewish minsters as pigs was anti-semitic and sent the message that people should hate Jews. No-one uses images of known Christians as demons to slag off all Christians.

Mind you I agree that it's not anti-semitic because among other reasons the Jewish faith doesn't think pigs are unclean (you can't eat them, but are allowed to touch them). If the ministers had been Muslim it would have been different - but what are the odds of getting two Muslim ministers?

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

They've complained the other poster (Howard swinging a watch and trying to hypnotise the voters into accepting the statement "Ican spend the same money twice") depicts him as Shylock.

It's like they not only don't have anything sensible to counter these slogans with, but they're kinda addicted to the same stupid complaint.

Personally I'd have thought reminding the people who haven't become UKIP or BNP voters yet that Howard and Letwin are Jewish (fsvo, in Letwin's case) would be a daft thing to do anyway...

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

It's political correctness gone mad!

[lovingboth]

I meant to post this on Friday, when the Evening Standard covered the fuss over the flying pigs, but one or two things (see next post) got in the way.

Cynical me wonders if this is the Labour Party getting some cheap publicity for a campaign they can deny ever actually running.

[badriya.livejournal.com]

Everyone knows they are Jewish. The Shylock poster was thought to be subliminal suggestion, comparing Howard to Shylock. He's shown in the same pose as Ron Moody when he played Shylock.

Bringing their religion into it is not done because the 'Dirty Dozen', Blair's campaign managers, are anti-semitic, but because they think they can tap into any anti-semetic feelings there are in the country. Since attacks on synagogues and other Jewish buildings are increasing in number it probably seems like a good bet.

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

Reaction in my office was, contrastingly, "But they're not Jewish, are they?" so I'd disagree that it's common knowledge.

And according to the IMDB (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0600531/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9cm9uIG1vb2R5fGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=20) Ron Moody hasn't played Shylock on film, are you referring to a stage production?

[badriya.livejournal.com]

I think I mean Fagin. I saw the poster of Moody and Howard and thought Shylock, but as Ian pointed out it was Fagin.

[lovingboth]

I've not seen the proposed poster, but I have heard the picture of Howard as a hypnotist being compared to two characters: Fagin and Shylock, and assorted Tories have said those two used hypnotism.

Problem is neither did! Dickens certainly had characters who were, but he became interested in 'mesmerism' a couple of years after Oliver Twist was published.

Ah - seen it. I'm not convinced. It's a hypnotist.

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

I guess the problem is that the negative stereotype that gets used for an older jewish man is characters who are sinister and manipulative (Fagin, Shylock) and whom have something of the night about them, whereas the stereotype for leaders of the Tory party...