The song is a provocative collection of reactionary attacks on the poor, disguised with phony populist appeals and denunciations of “rich men” in northern cities.
“rich men” in “northern cities” is a familiar trope to the antisemitic right. Leading Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has held regular campaign events which target “globalists,” a far-right code word for Jews, who supposedly are seeking to attack America.
Are globalists and rich people only Jewish though? Not at all.
I think people are really stretching to call it anti-semitic.
I don’t like how the song addresses people with welfare but I definitely wouldn’t call it racist or anti -semitic. However that’s just my own opinion and people can form whatever conclusions they want.
It’s just part of the code. “Globalist” is often especially about Jewish banking families, eg Rothchilds or Soros. Similar to how “urban” in the US is often code for ‘black,’ even though most of the people who live in urban areas are white. Dog whistles: words that communicate specific meaning within a community without being recognized by the larger population.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up into this,” Anthony said. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I’m one of them. It’s aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here, like that we’re trying to present the same message.”
But the line about:
Well, God, if you’re five-foot-three and you’re three-hundred pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of Fudge Rounds
seems a bit hateful unless that’s supposed to be a metaphor for “fat cats”. The CNN article thinks it’s a metaphor:
“though it has also courted controversy for its lyrics referring to politicians as “obese,” welfare recipients “milking” the system,”
But the antisemitic connotations seem like a stretch to me. To assuming that criticism of capitalists is automatically antisemitic seems pretty antisemitic to me in it’s own right.
Well, God, if you’re five-foot-three and you’re three-hundred pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of Fudge Rounds
Given the rest of the singer’s lyrics and their general rhetoric, I think that line is more about a welfare system that does nothing to address the reasons one is in poverty in the first place while rich men degrade those who are in it as if it’s somehow a poor person’s fault for being poor.
Rather than degrading the obese poor buying snack cakes with food stamps, I think the implication is more likely that taxes ought to pay for good nutritious food, help getting healthy, and help finding work, so that people can start relying on themselves instead of the government. That’s the vibe I get from the guy.
But the antisemitic connotations seem like a stretch to me. To [assume] that criticism of capitalists is automatically antisemitic seems pretty antisemitic to me in it’s own right.
I agree completely. People are far too quick these days to pull the antisemitism card, and from this article, it reads as highly disingenuous. I don’t see anything racist in the song either, and indeed the article in the OP does not even contain the words race, racism, or racist, despite its presence in the title. Paired with its oddly forceful and off-topic accusations of Ukraine as a hotbed of fascism, it’s clear that website is little more than a useless tabloid rag.
You mean the article that rolls its eyes at humanitarian efforts, #MeToo, and leftist support of oppressed minorities? The article that literally blames the US for the invasion of Ukraine?
Also, you caught that it’s Trump who was talking about globalists, right? It’s easy to miss because the article is intentionally trying to get you to miss it.
not many know it. which is why it’s bs to assume he had all of this prior knowledge. they clearly are building the accusations first and then forcing it into the lyrics.
Literally in the article you clearly didn’t read:
https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/globalist
Are globalists and rich people only Jewish though? Not at all.
I think people are really stretching to call it anti-semitic.
I don’t like how the song addresses people with welfare but I definitely wouldn’t call it racist or anti -semitic. However that’s just my own opinion and people can form whatever conclusions they want.
It’s just part of the code. “Globalist” is often especially about Jewish banking families, eg Rothchilds or Soros. Similar to how “urban” in the US is often code for ‘black,’ even though most of the people who live in urban areas are white. Dog whistles: words that communicate specific meaning within a community without being recognized by the larger population.
Except that it’s Trump who’s being quoted as saying ‘globalists’ in this mess of an article, not Anthony.
The singer does seem to be trying to distance himself from the conservative implications:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/entertainment/oliver-anthony-song-response/index.html
But the line about:
seems a bit hateful unless that’s supposed to be a metaphor for “fat cats”. The CNN article thinks it’s a metaphor:
But the antisemitic connotations seem like a stretch to me. To assuming that criticism of capitalists is automatically antisemitic seems pretty antisemitic to me in it’s own right.
Given the rest of the singer’s lyrics and their general rhetoric, I think that line is more about a welfare system that does nothing to address the reasons one is in poverty in the first place while rich men degrade those who are in it as if it’s somehow a poor person’s fault for being poor.
Rather than degrading the obese poor buying snack cakes with food stamps, I think the implication is more likely that taxes ought to pay for good nutritious food, help getting healthy, and help finding work, so that people can start relying on themselves instead of the government. That’s the vibe I get from the guy.
I agree completely. People are far too quick these days to pull the antisemitism card, and from this article, it reads as highly disingenuous. I don’t see anything racist in the song either, and indeed the article in the OP does not even contain the words race, racism, or racist, despite its presence in the title. Paired with its oddly forceful and off-topic accusations of Ukraine as a hotbed of fascism, it’s clear that website is little more than a useless tabloid rag.
You mean the article that rolls its eyes at humanitarian efforts, #MeToo, and leftist support of oppressed minorities? The article that literally blames the US for the invasion of Ukraine?
Also, you caught that it’s Trump who was talking about globalists, right? It’s easy to miss because the article is intentionally trying to get you to miss it.
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That’s pretty explicitly antisemitic…
🤦♂️
Damn, I knew none of this. Which is of course the point.
not many know it. which is why it’s bs to assume he had all of this prior knowledge. they clearly are building the accusations first and then forcing it into the lyrics.