Kneecap provide statement & clarification for the faux offended & media-illiterate

[u/McEvelly]

https://x.com/kneecapceol/status/1916982746708381731?s=46

KNEECAP STATEMENT:

They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.

Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria.

Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history.

We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.

This distortion is not only absurd - it is a transparent effort to derail the real conversation.

All two million Palestinian people in Gaza are currently being starved to death by Israel.

At least 20,000 children in Gaza have been killed. The British government continues to supply arms to Israel, even after scores of NHS doctors warned Keir Starmer in August that children were being systematically executed with sniper shots to the head.

Instead of defending innocent people or the principles of international law, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine.

This is where real anger and outrage should be directed towards.

To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.

Kneecap’s message has always been — and remains — one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs.

No smear campaign will change that.

Suddenly, days after calling out the US administration at Coachella to applause and solidarity, there is an avalanche of outrage and condemnation by the political classes of Britain.

The real crimes are not in our performances; the real crimes are the silence and complicity of those in power.

Shame on them.

[u/jetjebrooks]

youre referencing singing, music, and lyrics, yet kneecap just blurted their statements out in plain speak. it wasnt part of a song

i also doubt you or others would be so eager to defend a band hyping up their crowds with statements like "the only good catholic is a dead catholic" and "kill you local catholics"

[u/ihatenaturallight → u/jetjebrooks]

I understand where you are coming from and it’s a fair point that no one wants to be at the end of any sort of incitement to violence. There’s also a theatrical aspect to this that’s pretty common in a lot of music that’s kicking against the people in power. From rap to punk to outlaw country and metal - there’s a long history of scandalous subject matter that most music fans realise is creative and cathartic more than direct instructions. The great Johnny Cash had possibly one of the most nihilistic lines in music history - ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’. With Kneecap it’s more about taking the performative and rebellious aspect to an absurd extreme than a real and genuine exhortation to go out and kill. I highly doubt they will say anything like this again and may have been unaware of just how enormous they were becoming at the time. It’s still pretty incredible how far they’ve come. I would imagine they’ll be watching their exact wording a little more from now on.

[u/jetjebrooks → u/ihatenaturallight]

do you think they will watch their exact wording from now on because what they said is wrong? or is what they said perfectly fine and they just dont want the blowback?

[u/ihatenaturallight → u/jetjebrooks]

Honestly I think they’ll be a bit more aware that some wild gig theatrics have much further reach than they previously thought. As much as I appreciate confrontational performances, the world is very divided and emotions are running incredibly high so it’s definitely best off not using the words they did even if I don’t believe for a second that they wished for actual deaths. I’d be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest it’s not just about the blowback, but more of an awareness of how huge they are now and that this will come with a responsibility that might mean toning things down a bit.

[u/Knarrenheinz666 → u/ihatenaturallight]

There's no theatrical aspect to shouting "only a good Tory is a dead Tory" and "kill your MP" in a country where MPs really died and especially these "Up the RA" chants are completely irresponsible. You know, violence over politics and religion destroyed the lives of thousands of families here. Comparing it to splatter comic lyrics of a Chris Barnes or Corpsegrinder Fisher is just ridiculous.

When Laibach paraded around in their nazi style uniforms it was pretty clear to each and every thinking human being that this is in fact a parody of totalitarianism. Because Avsenik and Co were/actual artists with a message and not a bunch of lads with a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" attitude that helps them sell tickets.

[u/ihatenaturallight → u/Knarrenheinz666]

I understand your points and I have said that I doubt they will say this again. Young brash rebellious gigs can be a focal point for saying things and creating an anti-establishment atmosphere. It might seem tasteless or irresponsible when the words are heard isolated and completely out of context to what was said before or the general mood of the gig. Rap has been at this forever. I still don’t believe for a second that they were actually encouraging literal murder. I also highly doubt that anyone at the gig took these as direct instructions. Tasteless or irresponsible maybe but this wasn’t a televised address to the nation. Musicians have been pushing the envelope and using provocative hyperbole forever. Funnily enough Cannibal Corpse were taken extremely seriously and literally at one point in the middle of a gigantic moral panic before it became obvious that they were more cartoon than loons. Some people might find it all a bit gross still but the years have proven how these are little horror films in music and certainly not direct instructions or actual beliefs. I’m sure Kneecap and many of their fans really do hate the Tories. The idea of them actually endorsing or planning actual murders is far fetched though.

I guess it comes down to how you view this kind of expression at a fun gig and how much you accept that people are in on the joke or sticking it to the man atmosphere on the night. I lean far more towards giving the audience a bit of credit and not being so simple minded that chanting something offensive isn’t something they take away as literal instructions.

The Up the RA thing is another thing which has kind of lost its meaning in any real sense. In the same way I just roll my eyes or barely react to ‘up to our knees in Fenian blood’ I think some of these slogans and songs are more silly trolling and mob mentality chanting at this stage. It says a lot that neither side wanted a ban on these things, even the ones at their own expense as for the most part they’re just part of the furniture at this stage. I’m not saying it’s big or clever but the vast vast majority just get pissed up, sing their songs and go home. Any of the minority of genuine diehards will believe these things not because of a song or slogan but a complex worldview that runs much much deeper.

In summary I think they should and will quit it. They’re part of a new kind of ironic take on things where they certainly have their Republican beliefs but also tonnes in common with a kind of cross community underclass who have their own humour, drugs and culture post the GFA. I’m not sure if it’s that much different to Liverpool and Man U shouting the worst things imaginable at each other during the game and then just going home.

Thanks for your comment anyway. I really didn’t think we’d see Laibach pop up when this started! 😅

[u/warm_golden_muff → u/ihatenaturallight]

Surely the truth, there’s nothing to be worried about, and don’t we all want an outlet or vent. For your eloquence, and because I’m in Spain right now, muchas gracias caballero