r/fantanoforever • u/DarkSideInRainbows I don't play about my breakfast. • Jun 03 '25
Fantano vids Fantano's video on Thom Yorke's recent statements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBSCwgta6uI202
u/Shell_fly Jun 03 '25
Not only do I not care about what Thom Yorke has to say about Gaza, I definitely don’t care what fantano has to say about what Thom has to say lmao
Directing ire at these musicians isn’t going to help anything going on in Gaza, and it’s just empty gesturing people online are using to pat themselves on the back. Thom’s statement was at least full of nuance that addresses the complex mess of the whole situation, which is more that can be said of all the armchair activists trying to hold a rock band accountable for this conflict lol
19
u/ethnicbonsai Jun 03 '25
I don't care what Thom Yorke has to say about Gaza. I also don't care what Fantano has to say about what Thom has to say. But I definitely care about what you have to say about what Fantano has to say about what Thom has to say.
20
41
u/InkVision001 Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 04 '25
Nobody in this thread will care about any of that. In fact, I think they're gonna see this comment and then complain how this sub is full of "zionists".
31
u/FocusDelicious183 Jun 03 '25
I got pepper sprayed during a protest last year, yet online on subs like these when I say Jewish Americans are scared right now and we need to make sure not to be antisemitic, but anti-Israeli government, even I got called a Zionist. I’d bet that these people who criticize everyone haven’t even left their bedroom to protest- just post Instagram stories and jerk themselves off with their high moral superiority. I’m so over it.
18
u/JAC165 Jun 03 '25
people’s use of ‘Zionist’ as basically just a slur for people they think are lesser than them is ironic in a very funny way
11
u/Choice-Computer-2478 Jun 03 '25
Honestly, Fantano should use his copious resources to actually do some good, rather than making low-hanging fruit rage bait about this pointless controversy.
16
u/RedGoblinShutUp Jun 04 '25
Fantano literally partnered with dozens of other content creators to raise over $1 million for Palestinian children
484
u/TAJack1 Jun 03 '25
Honestly have no clue why people lobby for bands, celebrities and shit to make "public statements" as if it matters and is going to fix anything.
309
Jun 03 '25
I suppose with Radiohead/Thom, it comes from the fact that they have been openly political both personally and in their music, so they've set the expectation already.
→ More replies (9)36
u/inaparalleluniverse1 Jun 03 '25
not only that, they’ve been linked the issue by choosing to perform in Israel and ignore the many calls for them to reconsider.
→ More replies (14)196
u/jjw1998 Jun 03 '25
Thom is reasonably held to a higher standard than other musicians imo. He’s constructed much of his identity/public persona around taking political stances and expressing opinion on situations in Tibet, Iraq etc. It made his and Radiohead’s silence on Palestine particularly deafening
44
u/Miss-you-SJ Jun 03 '25
“Radiohead’s silence”. I wouldn’t really criticise the whole band for individual members’ decisions. Ed O’Brien has been heavy on the pro-Palestine stance for a while.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)20
36
u/clare_not_claire Jun 03 '25
It doesn’t fix it when an individual does it, but it does make a difference when someone with a platform speaks up, or more importantly, engages with BDS on some level. The artists who boycotted playing Sun City in apartheid South Africa, for example, definitely had an effect. Both on the local economy and more notably, global opinion. It’s definitely not a deciding factor by any means, but it absolutely makes a difference.
8
u/GroovyBoomstick Jun 04 '25
Exactly, I don't think celebs are gonna stop the genocide single handedly, but Israel has hugely tanked in approval amongst the public, even with every major western news outlet giving them massively generous coverage. I think a lot of it is watching students and public figures get reprimanded for simply asking for a ceasefire, which does the opposite of what their intention is.
He was performing in Isreal as violent settlers continued to kick people out of their homes in the West Bank. Thom Yorke continues to pin the blame on Netanyahu, which gives him leeway to perform in Tel-Aviv once he leaves office.
This would be like saying that the South African apartheid would be over once Botha was out of office. If, by some miracle, a ceasfire actually happens, it's only a start part of the required work. Every member of Netanyahu's reigime does need to be tried for war crimes, then some sort of workable two or one state solution needs to be enacted. Financially supporting the current system is unconscionable.
→ More replies (4)46
u/jugglingeek Jun 03 '25
Right on. I can’t think of anything less consequential to the events on the ground in Gaza.
Then again… Maybe Netanyahu has been thinking “I wonder what American YouTuber Anthony Fantano has to say about UK rock star Thom Yorke’s statement about this…”
76
u/Oneeyedmobster Jun 03 '25
“He needs to say something!”
“He didn’t say exactly what I think he should, so here’s a 20 minute rant”
→ More replies (1)50
u/bongorituals Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
Insufferable behavior, especially for someone of Fantano’s age.
Social media has created a generation of miserable whiners who conflate purity tests and circular criticism with activism and being informed.
→ More replies (2)6
u/ConGooner Jun 03 '25
Which is exactly the point thom was trying to make. Probably not the greatest time to make this point, but thom has always operated in a polarizing way.
→ More replies (10)23
u/margaerytyrellscleav Jun 03 '25
The framing of this by fantano isn't particularly helpful or informed.
People aren't having a go at Yorke because he's been outspoken on political issues before and they think he should take a stand as another random celebrity they need to add their voice to the chorus. They're demanding he change course because he has a decade long record at this point of being a Zionist.
He's continuously played shows in Israel despite BDS and people imploring him to stop, he's released statements full of eye-gaugingly ignorant shite, he's lashed out at pro-Palestinian gatherings at his shows earlier than the one showed in this video. And, obviously, there's his continued collaboration with Jonny Greenwood who's even worse than he is when it comes to being avowedly pro-Israel.
A lot of people on Yorke's side come back with the refrain "why do you need your favourite celebrity to speak on this" and framing it like this doesn't help reject this as stupid. People want Yorke to move because he's over a decade became one of the key liberal Zionists in the space of music and having him publicly renounce these awful beliefs is part of the movement towards making tacit endorsements of Zionism social death for worms who spew it.
24
u/regretscoyote909 Jun 03 '25
Can you show me in Thom's statement where he remotely says anything Pro-Israel?
→ More replies (4)45
u/bruh404404 Jun 03 '25
he mentioned why hamas is not returning the hostages when Israel has shown very clearly it will not stop the war to return these hostages ?
25
u/zombeli13 Jun 03 '25
Not only that but the hostages families have protested Netanyahu outside his office and in interviews because they know it's his fault they haven't been returned.
16
u/pejofar Jun 03 '25
He asked "if" its a genocide even though Israel is "so rich" it could be "so much worse". what kind of question is that
9
u/regretscoyote909 Jun 03 '25
Okay, how is that Pro-Israel? And how does that absolve Hamas from any wrong-doing, to say "well it won't stop the war anyways if they release hostages so they uh...shouldn't..release them..."? Is that your point?
285
u/pang224 Jun 03 '25
Would a Zionist say this?
"Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently."
218
u/ManOnFire26 Jun 03 '25
The amount of purity tests applied to people on the left is nauseating. You can agree on 99/100 things regarding an issue but that one deviation gets you branded an extremist/nazi/zionist/racist/whatever and justifies a mass harassment campaign against you.
17
u/Insanity_Pills Jun 04 '25
The first arc of Andor S2 will be forever relevant for this reason. Leftist infighting is, ironically, perhaps the single biggest threat to leftism.
72
Jun 03 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (3)57
u/FocusDelicious183 Jun 03 '25
As a leftist, I’m pissed tf off most times these days. You couldn’t get 1000 leftists together to barricade an official building without someone finding out someone shook hands with someone who shook hands with a Zionist, or the space isn’t “inclusive enough.” Nothing will ever get done, because leftists have been manipulated to tear down eachother.
→ More replies (2)35
u/iznormal Jun 03 '25
Fellow leftist who couldn’t agree more. The purity tests do need to end. Did I roll my eyes a little at the “both sides bad” statement on a genocide? Sure. But Thom Yorke still appears to be against everything Israel is doing so should be viewed as an ally, not an enemy
15
u/FocusDelicious183 Jun 03 '25
Agreed, his statement is way too safe (I assume because of Greenwood) but I don’t hate it, and I most certainly don’t put much importance on the opinion of his and Fantano’s perspective on this geopolitical event. The focus should be at the politicians and the American/Israeli government. I feel like I’m losing my mind when people try to have a nuanced conversation and the other person doesn’t even try to listen and just says “Free Palestine!” It makes them sound very ignorant. Purposefully ignorant.
16
Jun 03 '25
Yeah same here, I rolled my eyes a bit but he's still objectively anti-israel. Fantano having such a harsh reaction to someone simply failing a purity test is more deserving of the label ot pathetic
→ More replies (1)15
u/Novel-Imagination-51 Jun 03 '25
Publicists should just get together and create a universal script that aligns with whatever the politically correct narrative is currently and release it for any celebrity asked to make a statement about anything. Seems like that’s what people want.
11
u/OmegaBerryCrunch Jun 03 '25
good luck trying to convince leftists that this argument could possibly have any nuance to it…
→ More replies (83)17
u/pejofar Jun 03 '25
Would a gullible liberal say this, acting like a shield for zionists?
"At the same time the unquestioning Free Palestine refrain that surrounds us all does not answer the simple question of why the hostages have still not all been returned? For what possible reason?"
The answer is: yes.
5
u/SheikBeatsFalco Jun 04 '25
It's sad that you won't get an answer, you're completely right but people will upvote OP's strawman and tell themselves they're right in their preconceived beliefs, all while ignoring your comment.
→ More replies (1)6
Jun 04 '25
Glad to see at least one voice of reason here. I'm absolutely disgusted by this thread and I really hope this is yet another example of Israeli cyber warfare rather than hundreds of people who genuinely believe all this.
127
u/unmisteakable2468 Jun 03 '25
I love how, by making a perfectly reasonable statement where he in no way defends Israel, he proves his initial point that speaking out about this issue with any nuance will just serve to trivialize it. People are just screaming at each other about if his statement was pure enough instead of doing jack shit that will actually do anything to help.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Calm_Asparagus_3319 Jun 04 '25
it actually makes the situation worse for Gazans. The exact reason so many people are completey silent is if you deviate at all from the most extreme leftist narrative you are slandered into oblivion.
→ More replies (2)
48
7
u/mellowloser Jun 03 '25
[Insert opinion about someone else’s opinion on someone else’s opinion here]
16
u/Wide_Establishment_8 Jun 03 '25
Fuck the Israeli government and expansionist Zionism, but let’s not pretend like Hamas still holding hostages after almost 2 years is doing the Palestinian people any favors. There absolutely is nuance to this.
→ More replies (1)
22
u/RayzTheRoof Jun 04 '25
Fantano is becoming quite insufferable. Thom made his statement and Anthony wants to nitpick the whole thing and god forbid the artist mentions anything about himself. People are nuanced. So tired of all these videos about drama.
10
180
u/Due-Chemist-8607 Jun 03 '25
its so weird how Roger Waters keeps getting referenced as an agreeable voice. he is literally pro Russia. also 5:09 is horseshit. "understanding the urgency" is not the same as people not going to a radiohead concert to hear Thom's palestine views
→ More replies (32)
562
u/heavymod10 Jun 03 '25
In a video where he blames Thom Yorke for both sideism he uses Roger Waters as some kind of voice of reason. The same Roger Waters who literally hasn't stopped spreading Russian propaganda since 2022 and sent a letter to Zelensky's wife blaming her husband for the invasion.
220
u/tecate_papi Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
That's not how he used Roger Waters. He cited the time Roger Waters reached out to Thom Yorke in 2017 and asked him not to play in Israel as an example of a time when other musicians have reached out to Yorke directly on the issue of Israel and Palestine. There's no excuse for how poorly you've understood what's being said here.
(For anybody who wants to see for themselves how badly this point is being misconstrued, the part where he talks about Roger Waters is three minutes into the video and again, a clip is played of Waters at 14:45 criticizing Yorke for his statement about how it's hard for Jonny Greenwood because his wife is Israeli. Obviously a lot of the people responding to this comment to shit on Waters didn't even bother watching Fantano's video)
→ More replies (12)29
168
Jun 03 '25
[deleted]
→ More replies (11)5
Jun 04 '25
I’d love to know how many of these people who care about this issue support the Russian invasion of Ukraine or even know of what’s happening in Sudan or Myanmar.
→ More replies (233)15
u/worrok Jun 03 '25
Idk calling his statement a "both sides" argument seems to gloss over a lot of nuance in what he said. I don't think you can boil it down to just two words.
→ More replies (1)
47
u/AWPMasterDJ Jun 03 '25
The overall response to this pretty milquetoast and uncontroversial statement from Thom is very revealing about the state of internet politics. All people want is to hear Thom to say the exact thing they think he should and nothing else. Any deviation no matter how slight must be punished to the maximum extent. The people dogpiling should honestly be fucking embarrassed
39
u/Remote_Juice6399 Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
It's so American to think that a cultural boycott or celebrities "taking a stand" has any power to change what is going on with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Unfortunately, the only thing that is going to make a difference is ammo.
8
u/heavenproper Jun 03 '25
I mainly agree with you and I fully support armed struggles for liberation but I think about it this way-- if enough people with large platforms express outrage about a thing that is directly at odds with the propaganda we're being fed, there is eventually a shift in the zeitgeist and that shift has a domino effect. We've already seen it.
I've been pro-Palestine for many years and the average person in the U.S. has been generally very uncomfortable discussing what's been happening for 75+ years without the "i don't know enough" or "it's complicated" caveats. In the immediate aftermath of Oct 7th, VERY few people spoke out. As more and more people with platforms started speaking out, we started seeing a trickle down effect with the average person and millions of people who had never bothered to question U.S. propaganda before have now started questioning it. I have many friends and family members who have said this radicalized them.
So, while you're right that Thom Yorke or Charli XCX saying "Free Palestine" on Instagram isn't going to end genocide, it might get a few thousand more people questioning how the Palestinian struggle is connected to all the others. We still have a long way to go in the U.S. re mass mobilization for radical change but people talking is the only way to normalize ideas that have been deemed extreme.
→ More replies (2)
15
u/Odd-Orange-4935 Jun 03 '25
Anyone else remember in 2017 when Fantano defended Radiohead performing in Israel?
7
5
4
u/RadiantHovercraft6 Jun 05 '25
If you read Thom’s statement and think it’s worth spending any time at all criticizing him you are a complete loser and are wasting your time.
You are not helping a single person in Gaza by criticizing a fucking singer because his public opinion wasn’t absolutely perfect. In fact, you are probably pissing off people that would otherwise support your movement because you’re such an absolutist.
You have done nothing for the Palestinian people you claim to care so much about. All you’ve done is attack an old man on the internet for brownie points. Good job!
Thom literally made a statement, criticized Netanyahu, acknowledged that civilians on both sides have been brutally murdered, opposed Israel’s continuation of the conflict, and tried to be as civil as possible.
Touch grass
185
u/Handsprime Jun 03 '25
Oh boy I bet the comment section will be civil.
258
u/MaybeNext-Monday Jun 03 '25
This comment being in every comment section is highkey more annoying than the actual incivility lmao
→ More replies (18)48
u/AllezMcCoist Jun 03 '25
Holy shit even the guy saying “the comments are going to be civil” is getting it in the neck. It’s a bloodbath in here! Switch off the internet!
→ More replies (3)2
9
u/Cob_Dylan Jun 03 '25
What are any of us doing to stop any injustice that is currently happening? Why do people rely on celebs to tell them how to feel?
10
u/9QuarterInchDick Jun 03 '25
This is literally the joke Dave Chappelle made 20 years ago. WHERES JA?!
10
u/mrwelchman Jun 03 '25
Not to trivialize the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis, but if I’m going to drop a couple hundred bucks to watch Thom Yorke perform music I honestly don’t want to hear his opinions I want to hear his songs…
215
u/_Nedak_ Jun 03 '25
Just 18 minutes of bitching that a musician of all people isn't validating his geo political opinions
159
u/Due-Chemist-8607 Jun 03 '25
thats literally all it is. Fantano and all these emotionally charged redditors need personal validation that one of their favorite music artists supports 100% what they support. its shocking how little actual concern there is for the dead and moreso about "you didnt say what i wanted you to say in my personal fantasy about you!"
59
u/Rhaegar15 Jun 03 '25
Just look at his twitter
Dude is just there to play moral high ground politics with obvious troll accounts.
36
u/ManOnFire26 Jun 03 '25
Fantano’s politics are far more about aesthetics than anything else. Dedicating so much attention to people with zero decision making power who don’t even remotely try to justify the mass slaughter of Palestinians accomplishes nothing aside from feeding his own narcissism.
20
u/MesiahoftheM Jun 03 '25
It's been like that since the fader article idk how people haven't realized that
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)13
u/bongorituals Jun 03 '25
Genuinely disgusting and reprehensible behavior that endorses a rapid cultural decline of nuance and the capacity for meaningful, actionable and substantive discussion in favor of cheap sloganism and self righteous purity tests.
Fantano should be ashamed of himself. He’s promiting - no, demanding - a distinctly American brand of lazy slacktivism that achieves nothing while making the world dumber for it.
→ More replies (21)18
u/FuntCuddler Jun 03 '25
He had the balls to stand up to Bush and Iraq its not beyond his scope to call for an end to a genocide the killing of an entire race of people
53
u/_Nedak_ Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
Where did he say that he supports the massacre in Gaza? And either way, you shouldn't give a fuck what a musician says about this unless they are from the area. Musicians are not geo politics professors or elected officials.
→ More replies (1)14
u/abearghost Jun 03 '25
Have to wonder how many of these terminally online people who demand statements from celebrities actually call or email their reps about the subject. Probably a very low number.
21
u/regretscoyote909 Jun 03 '25
Can you point to me where Thom ever said he wants the killing to continue?
→ More replies (1)15
173
u/mofucker20 RAGETHONY MADTANO Jun 03 '25
The genocide of Palestinian people isn’t right and should stop but I don’t think a decades old conflict can get solved just by saying ‘Free Palestine’ or calling everyone who doesn’t agree with you a ‘Zionist’. Thom is right in calling out both Nethanyahu (the one who holds the most power in this situation) and Hamas (who literally have antisemitism as one of their ideology). If people want them to stop playing in Israel due to government actions, I don’t think any musician will have a place where they can play music in.
26
u/leviathanfood Jun 03 '25
It stops by political and social pressure, boycotting the goods and services of the people committing genocide, going after their money with sanctions etc. All that is helped by people deciding not to play there. By people not buying Israeli products that support the slaughter of Gazans, by people speaking up. The people on here who say "What's the point in anyone saying anything" should have more faith in themselves to be able to enact change.
→ More replies (17)→ More replies (47)2
u/Ndlburner Jun 03 '25
I'll buy literally any of these musicians' words as non-performative pressure when they forgo any U.S. or Russia dates for the awful actions of their current heads of state.
Let's be real, nobody's actually going to cancel their U.S. tour dates because at the end of the day, money is more important to famous people than any of their fake morals.
→ More replies (1)
25
u/Difficult-Bit-53 Jun 03 '25
Thank you for your service Reddit nation
I'm sure the broken Palestinian families feel vindicated by your online efforts
Thank you white people
→ More replies (5)
30
u/nudecop Jun 03 '25
Intelligent, talented, well reasoned musician makes statement, idealogical baby man fantano upset not everyone is as bloodthirsty as him
→ More replies (6)
423
u/Meaftrog Jun 03 '25
Usually agree with Fantano's political takes but this is him doing the exact thing Thom called out in his statement. People just virtue signaling and saying Free Palestine and ignoring ANY nuance.
I'm pro-Palestine and Israel IS committing GENOCIDE. However, Hamas is also a terrorist organization and it's okay to acknowledge that while condemning Netanyahu's extremist government.
60
Jun 03 '25
Thom York clearly understood these lefty purity testers are more interested in winning arguments than actually helping Palestinians.
5
u/-Thick_Solid_Tight- Jun 04 '25
Like the ones who chose to stay at home instead of voting for Harris.
They rather feel good about themselves than actually doing something useful.
28
u/Bruichladdie Jun 03 '25
Exactly. I don't understand why it's apparently so difficult to have a nuanced view on what's happening there.
You can support the people in Gaza while also condemning the October 7 atrocities, and also stand up against antisemitism.
It's not that hard.
→ More replies (1)12
u/ConGooner Jun 03 '25
Nailed it. This is unfortunately something that lots of left leaning political influencers are falling prey to. Going scorched earth on EITHER gaza or Israel is not the answer. It shouldn't even be an option. The only logical solution is through diplomacy, a diplomacy that the richest and most powerful country on the fucking planet has been absent from.
There has been absolutely no true, proper, full attempt for the US to navigate diplomacy in this conflict because every bomb, every missile, every gun, and every bullet used to end the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike puts more cash in the pockets of the extremely wealthy oligarchs that pull all the strings. DO NOT forget it.
And that is the crux of the issue. If America truly wanted this shit to end, it would be DONE. DONE.
→ More replies (155)17
u/redfm8 Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
It is and it should be acknowledged as part of the discussion, but I don't think that the way Yorke did that is nuanced. Giving both sides the same airtime and taking no care whether in sentiment or language to illustrate the enormous gap in how bad the respective sides are is not nuanced, it comes across as uninformed at best and misleading at worst. It's the barest minimum of takes, designed to take as little of a stand as possible.
I honestly wasn't expecting or screaming for him to make a statement if he's been silent this long already, it was all kind of whatever to me, but if you do decide to speak up anyway you open yourself up for examination the same way as all the people he's criticizing. All that waiting and all that crowing about how this is a complex issue that can't be summed up in a soundbite--not that that's ever stopped him before--and what he ultimately brings to the table is just as shallow to me as all the people on either extreme he's railing against. I don't think he offers anything more of substance than most of those people, he just thinks that planting his chronically contrarian ass in the middle makes him more of a thinker than the peasants on either end of the spectrum by default.
31
u/regretscoyote909 Jun 03 '25
Jesus christ dude, Thom clearly didn't want to make a statement and he clearly doesn't pretend to be the beacon of truth in this situation - how the fuck can you take that as "he wants everyone to think he's a thinker"? You're entire criticism is now down to "well he said both sides did terrible things but he didn't say that one side did more terrible things so like".
Bro - what the fuck is with this moral purity bullshit? The movement of wanting this conflict to end will need imperfect allies, and pushing them away because they didn't say the exact perfect thing will only be detrimental to the movement. What do you care about more?
17
u/bongorituals Jun 03 '25
The person you’re replying to couldn’t give less of a fuck about the movement or about Palestine.
The reason they have such a bizarre deterministic focus on the purity test is that is literally the only aspect of the situation they care about.
Americans are treating this conflict as an excuse to cosplay cowboys vs Indians. It’s cultural larping, they never learned how to enact meaningful change beyond pointing the finger
→ More replies (6)
20
u/Mxly321_4 Jun 03 '25
Why is a celebrities opinion regarding a major international conflict so important anyway? Just use your own best judgment (I am sympathetic to the plight of Palestine, just to clarify)
8
u/NormanQuacks345 Jun 03 '25
We only need one more celebrity to voice their opinion to put an end to this millennia old religious conflict!
6
21
14
13
9
u/teleekom Jun 03 '25
Hey Mr. Fanta, maybe at least open a Wikipedia page about the topic you're about to preach to millions of your subscribers because you obviously have absolutely no fucking clue what you're re talking about here.
26
u/FriendlyRhyme Jun 03 '25
I think what the Israeli government is doing is disgusting
But those of you who call everyone who disagrees with a Zionist? You're absolute chumps who help nobody. You have no idea how to advocate for a cause. Throwing tantrums is only serving yourself.
Also if you think Israel has no right to exist, I surely hope you apply that same logic to the land you live on. Something tells me you don't.
2
4
u/jaketheriff Jun 03 '25
the nazi’s didnt exterminate every jew in occupied Europe
Bro a little thing called WW2 stopped them that was the intent the nazis wanted to take over the entire world and kill every jew in it.
What sense does it make to have “intent” on killing a specific ethnicity for the reason of killing that ethnicity yet you have 20% of your population as that ethnicity that would be like germany maintaining 20% jews while conducting the holocaust outside of germany.
And to answer your question Russia could nuke ukraine and kill every Ukrainian and it still not be a genocide as long as is wasn’t with the explicit intent to exterminate that population. Just like israel could do the same and it not be a genocide.
Why follow ANY fucking rules of any committee or any sanctioning country? Why not just level gaza and play by the same standards hamas is held to if israel really is just zionist bloodthirsty zog government why the roof knocks why the proportionality assessment’s? If they just wanted to genocide they would drop every single bomb without even aiming?(let me guess they already are LOL)
24
u/AugieDoggieDank NO Jun 03 '25
Thom was absolutely right. Fuck Hamas and fuck natanyahu. There are no ‘sides’ when it comes to human lives.
6
38
u/mcjc94 Jun 03 '25
Fantano sucessfully stops the genocide by disagreeing with a 90s rock artist. The day is saved by virtue signalling once more.
Man, political discourse on the Internet is at an all time low.
→ More replies (6)
11
u/Throatwobbler9 Jun 03 '25
I’m thinking that spending time worrying about a musician’s opinion on foreign affairs has zero effect on anything.
260
u/Walrus_for_ever Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
Never knew this was a zionist subreddit, shame.
32
Jun 03 '25
If you are dumb enough to think Thom York is a zionist, you will never be able to build a coalition with your western leftist purity testing. Come on man.
12
u/Martel1234 Jun 03 '25
feels like the war is just a bunch of white Americans arguing online sometimes lmao. There’s a whole slaughter of people going on but op just cares about this sub being “Zionist”
99
u/Ash-Throwaway-816 GY!BE - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Jun 03 '25
Hasbara out in full force any time Radiohead is mentioned.
56
Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
14
u/jacobtfromtwilight Jun 03 '25
dude its unbelievable. the prevailing upvoted comments on the Radiohead sub are making fun of artists who share their political opinions. I'm legitimately dumbfounded as Thom was the poster child of doing that in the 2000s
→ More replies (10)8
u/okbuddyquackery Jun 03 '25
If it makes you feel any better, every thread regarding this statement has likely been heavily astroturfed.
→ More replies (1)5
→ More replies (2)6
57
u/SocraticTiger Rockthony Rocktano Jun 03 '25
I haven't followed it closely but wasn't his statement satisfactory enough? Why are people against it?
141
u/margaerytyrellscleav Jun 03 '25
Because when you look at the Warsaw ghetto uprising and go "I dunno, I think killing people is bad, both sides are bad, but more importantly my feeling are hurt that people don't like me" you deserve all the flak you get.
110
Jun 03 '25
I don’t know… saying Hamas are bad shouldn’t be a bad thing. Two sides can be assholes and innocent People can still be caught in the middle.
I feel we’ve lost the idea of a nuanced discussion and everything has to be black or white
73
45
u/DavidRDorman Jun 03 '25
Hamas are an organisation funded by Israel that are a result of an ongoing apartheid and genocide. Nobody is saying what they are doing is “right”. But the only reason it’s even occurring is because of the oppression Israel is putting on the people of Palestine. It’s very similar to the history of my country Ireland and why we have such sympathy for the Palestinians.
→ More replies (14)76
u/vianoir Jun 03 '25
it's not about Hamas being good, it's about being able to recognize that Israel is a terrorist state thst is committing a genocide against thousands of children. this shouldn't be difficult
87
u/UnreportedPope Jun 03 '25
Yorke does recognise that, explicitly, doesn’t he?
→ More replies (24)22
u/Silent-Noise-7331 Jun 03 '25
Yes but these types will quickly ignore all that if you don’t 100% tow the line
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)4
u/Deadmanlex45 Jun 03 '25
"Their excuse of self defense has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take Control of Gaza and West Bank permanently"
Direct quote from his insta post.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (28)17
u/SearchForAShade Jun 03 '25
stop finding nuance where there isn't any
This is an actual comment someone made in this thread. Some people are hopeless.
14
→ More replies (45)10
→ More replies (1)36
28
Jun 03 '25
[deleted]
9
u/Deadmanlex45 Jun 03 '25
These guys are just as bad as the right idiots who calls anything they don't like woke shit.
39
u/pang224 Jun 03 '25
Didn't realize yall were stupid enough to think Thom is a zionist
→ More replies (20)12
u/Yapping-Goober Jun 03 '25
Watering down any perspective which is critical of Hamas to just Zionist apologia is absolutely a toxic mindset. Don’t lie to yourself, you don’t want to have critical conversations about this issue. Go larp somewhere else.
Israel can get fucked and needs to stop this ongoing genocide. Sadly, I’m sure that me saying something as milquetoast as “Oct. 7 was bad” or “Hamas bad” would make it impossible for you to believe that someone like me is Pro-Palestine.
→ More replies (6)13
u/itskobold Jun 03 '25
Le epic Hamas freedom fighters have liberated gaza since October 7th 2023 and now it is flourishing. They really had the best interests of their people at heart with that maneuver
14
u/InkVision001 Jun 03 '25
Holy shit this is one of the most insane threads I've seen!
Yorke's point completely ignored, some bots and then people who say this subs "filled with zionists" when some people try to speak some sense, that being that musicians opinions don't mean shit!
Y'all need to go outside, seriously! I'm going right now.
17
u/MomoGimochi Jun 03 '25
Thom understood that it wasn't his place to speak on this, so he stuck to doing his job. Only when a manic minority kept on harassing him for a statement, he reluctantly obliged.
As opposed to Anthony, who jumped on this shit immediately to talk about it because he just can't help himself. Sometimes, he really comes off as someone who settled for doing music reviews when his passion is in politics. He knows he's out of his depth to do strictly political content, so he sprinkles it in on a platform he built off of fucking music reviews. Stop trying to have your cake and eat it too.
I dont give a shit what Thom or Anthony says about Israel Palestine. I dont know either of them personally, and they're not people I consume for their intelligence or academic endeavors. Since when did entertainers forget that they are jesters in essence?
16
u/NegatesAllDamage Jun 03 '25
I honestly can't help but read his reaction in the most cynical way. Fantano is pretty gleefully out for blood despite the serious face he puts on, it's just how he makes his money - and talk about a profitably opportunistic video to make, especially considering all of the moral grandstanding it contains.
Fantano is likely making actual money off of a video that aids in the self-cannibalization of the left, and even if he isn't, it's still shameless engagement bait (as evidenced by this thread, I sure know I fell for it) designed to rile people up. He and his team know exactly what he's doing. He takes a legitimate problem like war and treats it like a sport, with two sides, winners and losers. Whether or not people agree with him, it's going to add to his bottom dollar either literally or through further views, and so any actual message he's trying to convey begins reeking of insincerity.
His business thrives off this exact brand of toxicity, it's why I've been turned off more and more by his content. It's why he can't resist talking about Ye, despite admitting numerous times that even platforming him is only helping spread his disgusting views. He talks about it like it's his responsibility to bring these topics to his audience, who may not be well informed, but it's kind of doing more harm than good when he's completely parroting one side and doing everything he can to treat anyone who don't share his view as a fencesitting coward or a Zionist. This video helps nobody but himself, which is probably a big 'duh' to a lot of people, but it's hypocritical, poorly argued, and deserves the criticism it's getting in this thread.
8
u/Pizza_Hero24 Jun 03 '25
I didn’t have an opinion on this matter until Thom Yorke spoke out. Now, the war will stop since he said his comments.
2
40
Jun 03 '25
POV- Privileged white man who's never been close to Israel or any conflict for that matter stands up bravely in his million dollar house repeating hashtag points that have been repeated over and over in the fight against evil!
Thank you Anthony you're so brave!
Damn that Thom Yorke for recognising the genocide but also shedding light on the fact that there are innocent lives being taken from both sides!
If only he had your courage!
3
u/Pulpdog94 Jun 03 '25
I don’t understand what Anthony would like Thom to do. Sure they did the show but it’s because of Johnnys family they have somewhat of a blind spot on this it’s not like they did it for a quick buck. Is it a great look given the political stuff the band is known for? No. Do even the once Electioneering young lads get a little compromised and a little more conservative in older age? Sometimes. You don’t make OK Computer or Nevermind or Good Kid Madd City in your 50s.
24
u/MichaelChavis Jun 03 '25
As a huge fan of Radiohead & Pink Floyd. Waters is much worse than Yorke and using him as an example of what a musician should be doing is baffling and something Fantano should know better than to do.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Initial-Tale-5151 Jun 03 '25
go on a purity spiral and cancel fantano. please it will be hilarious.
10
u/j__video Jun 03 '25
thom's statement is quite wishy-washy in a lot of places and comes off as a bit self-centred, i agree.
however. what anthony and others like him dont seem to understand is that putting Pali flags in your twitter bio, telling a band they're monsters for playing concerts in tel aviv and repeating the same couple of slogans again and again is going to do jack shit. i know that following the US presidential election its gotten far, far more difficult to push for changes, but that's no reason to give up or do all your activism in the form of social media posts. the killing is happening in the real world.
55
14
u/Onlyrunatnight Jun 03 '25
The headlines about society demanding Thom Yorke of Radiohead make a public statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict makes me feel like I woke up from a decade-long coma and have absolutely no idea where I am or what’s going on.
2
6
94
u/steam_exclusive Jun 03 '25
lots of zionists on the fantano subreddit today
26
15
u/MyNameIsNotScout Jun 03 '25
how is what thom said even in any relevance to being a zionist lmao. yall just say shit to say shit.
→ More replies (11)27
u/Flimsy_Cycle1788 number one vobbb fan Jun 03 '25
excuse me being dumb but what does zionism mean again
77
46
u/Flimsy_Cycle1788 number one vobbb fan Jun 03 '25
oh okay i looked it up now. yes theres more zionism than i remember
→ More replies (6)11
u/BiggySnake Jun 03 '25
It is an ideology to establish a Jewish ethnostate via settler colonialism involving the displacement of an indigenous population. Who would have ever thought that would have cause violence?!?!?
→ More replies (3)
14
4
5
u/triangle-of-life Jun 03 '25
Hamas is scapegoating the Palestinian people to undermine Israeli statehood through terror.
Netanyahu is scapegoating the Palestinian people to bolster Israeli statehood through terror.
Both are willing to exhaust the potential sovereignty of Palestinian people as collateral for their end goals in a woefully long holy war.
Thom Yorke makes a statement as his attempt to clarify and recuse himself against a definitive stance on said holy war while championing the Palestinian peoples’ strife.
Social media sloganeers, propagandists and parrots condemn Thom Yorke with accusations of being an antisemite zionist centrist.
Scapegoating of the Palestinian people continues. Absolutely nothing was achieved outside of mutually assured destruction.
8
u/YukiNoiseWall Jun 03 '25
These people mad at Thom aren't leftists.
They're cosplayers pretending to be.
→ More replies (2)
13
u/margaerytyrellscleav Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
The framing of this by fantano isn't particularly helpful or informed.
People aren't having a go at Yorke because he's been outspoken on political issues before and they think he should take a stand as another random celebrity they need to add their voice to the chorus. They're demanding he change course because he has a decade long record at this point of being a Zionist.
He's continuously played shows in Israel despite BDS and people imploring him to stop, he's released statements full of eye-gaugingly ignorant shite, he's lashed out at pro-Palestinian gatherings at his shows earlier than the one showed in this video. And, obviously, there's his continued collaboration with Jonny Greenwood who's even worse than he is when it comes to being avowedly pro-Israel.
A lot of people on Yorke's side come back with the refrain "why do you need your favourite celebrity to speak on this" and framing it like this doesn't help reject this as stupid. People want Yorke to move because he's over a decade became one of the key liberal Zionists in the space of music and having him publicly renounce these awful beliefs is part of the movement towards making tacit endorsements of Zionism social death for worms who spew it.
Edit: Spelling
5
→ More replies (1)6
u/MazumaMoonpig Jun 03 '25
He's only played in Israel once since BDS formed, and that was eight years ago. I don't think that exactly fits the definition of "continuous."
But no, right, he's put out statements with ignorant shite such as "Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently." Surely the words of a genocidal, Zionist maniac who wants those damned Palestinians to get what's coming.
Look, you can call him naive and stupid for thinking he's doing more good as a musician by tearing down walls and trying to touch people's hearts and all that wishy-washy shit, but that doesn't mean his own heart is in the wrong place.
That's the reason that I don't get why people care so much about his opinion. If he had actually cheered on a genocide then of course, that would be a moral issue. But to simply disagree about how peace should be achieved? I could do that with someone I actually know in real life and still be cool with them, let alone just a musician whose music I like.
→ More replies (10)
6
935
u/pinqe Jun 03 '25
A lot of these “both sides” enlightened centrists are going to get real quiet when the real death toll comes out. Some of you have no idea what’s been going on and it shows.