Although Morrissey had originally decided that his recent musing comparing the recent massacre in Norway to the animals killed in the name of fast food “speaks for itself,” even he seems to have recognized that perhaps his feelings deserve explanation so as not to seem callous. So he’s issued another statement through fan site True To You that elaborates on his ill-timed choice of between-song banter. Not surprisingly, Morrissey remains unrepentant, and sticks to his ideological guns:
The recent killings in Norway were horrific. As usual in such cases, the media give the killer exactly what he wants: worldwide fame. We aren't told the names of the people who were killed — almost as if they are not considered to be important enough, yet the media frenzy to turn the killer into a Jack The Ripper star is…. repulsive. He should be un-named, not photographed, and quietly led away.
The comment I made onstage at Warsaw could be further explained this way: Millions of beings are routinely murdered every single day in order to fund profits for McDonalds and KFCruelty, but because these murders are protected by laws, we are asked to feel indifferent about the killings, and to not even dare question them.
If you quite rightly feel horrified at the Norway killings, then it surely naturally follows that you feel horror at the murder of ANY innocent being. You cannot ignore animal suffering simply because animals "are not us."
As you'll notice, he also gets in a dig at the many media outlets who have used the Norway massacre in order to draw attention to themselves, which is indeed something only the very crass and opportunistic would do. Yes, even if the intentions and ideas behind it are sound, it's probably best for all of us not to do that. [via Pitchfork]