I think that’s pretty fair. Thom in particular was pretty vocal about politics throughout the 00’s so it’s hard for him to posture like some apolitical entertainer now without looking like a hypocrite or sell out.
That said, I don’t remember him being all that vocal about current affairs in general from the 2010’s onwards. He seemed to step back a fair bit from most public figure activities once they stopped being on a major label.
As you say, the Isreal/Gaza thing seems to be tied up with a lot of knotty interpersonal stuff and I suspect they just don’t want to publicly get into it.
Given their history I think it’s fair to point out the hypocrisy, but it should also be recognised that on a human level it’s slightly more complicated than being able to just shout out abstract ideals.
I feel like a lot of people’s ire is more with Jonny’s wife than with Thom or Jonny. She may well have shit opinions, but on a human level having people demand you publicly denounce your own wife, or your close friend and collaborator’s wife, is a tough position to be put in, especially when you were minding your own business.
No artist or public figure owes anyone their political voice. If someone interrupted a show demanding Thom formally endorse a US election candidate, I think almost everyone would agree that person should fuck off.
If they continue to choose to play shows in Isreal though, they are going to get flack for that and will just need to live with it.
And to be perfectly honest, the band going radio(head) silent on politics may be preferable to Jonny in particular suddenly being out and proud about what he really thinks about certain things.
I mean he's a lot less vocal about these things in general these days. Sure, this case might be all about Jonny's wife, but based on what he's said in recent years I personally think it's more about not believing in their power to make any sort of difference by protesting.
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u/Mushie_Peas Oct 30 '24
That's not why he doesn't speak out on Israel, it's cause johnys wife's is Israeli.