Now Aaranovitch joins the stoppers*
One of the great things about the internet is that you can read the Sunday papers that you wouldn't normally buy, and without having to leave the house. So each morning I (ashamedly) look at the NOW headline, the Sunday-Times' magazine sections and the Observers' comment pages. Today I thought the latter would be particularly interesting, as might David Aaranovitch follow Johann Hari's lead and change (to put it mildly) his stance on the invasion of Iraq?He doesn't let us down:
"It was there for you"
he begins, presumambly gently childing the Iraqis for not taking advantage of the Liberation offered by the US forces. Old habits die hard.
"These days you can't have even half a parade without an audience of piddlers standing by, contributing their own kind of rain. "
Now he's getting into his stride. By this he must mean the 'piddlers' are the pro-war lobby, which he was, unfairly hurling accusations against the anti-war marchers, of which he is now to become?
"An American TV series that was apparently enjoyed by millions for a decade comes to an end, and for every appreciative obituarist there seem to be two critics sneering. 'Friends? Not in my name!' "
Even more oblique, but I suspect here he is denouncing the American public as seeing the ongoing war since 1991 against as merely a TV series, not caring for the human costs. Now the systematic torture in Iraq has meant the 'show' has come to an end, and yet still the 'critics', presumably the 'neoconservatives' won't let it go. The last line is a particularly clever joke on the anti-war slogan, 'not in my name', whereby David is telling his former 'Friends' the neo-conservatives, that he is now a Stopper.
I can't pretend to understand the next few paragraphs, but this is a cracker. The gloves come off.
"There are criticisms you can make about the sitcom, of course, though my 14-year-old daughter warned me last night not to 'diss' it. In her opinion, not only was it full of very funny characters whom she has loved, but it also meant something to her. The speech, the haircuts and everything. "
Immediately he vents his full fury on the American bungling, calling it a 'sitcom', or situation comedy. He cleverly invokes his daughter, reminding us of Jacques Chirac's pertinent question of Tony Blair, 'What will Leo think?'. His daughter remains in the pro-war lobby, but only because to her it is funny, with 'characters she has loved' (Don Rumsfeld?), the 'speech' (surely Bush's tortured syntax?), the 'haircuts' (a subtle reference to Paul Wolfowitz's thatch) and 'everything' (a wonderfully delicate way of damning the whole Project for the New American Century).
Aaranovitch has joined the Stoppers*.
* 'Stopper' is an invented term of abuse derivating from Harry's Place. For a full explanation see dsquared's comment here.
posted by Matthew @ 5/09/2004 10:03:00 AM
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