Muslim sensitivities

Boebert, a high-energy, pro-gun conservative was addressing some supporters when she recalled sharing an elevator at the Capitol with Omar.

She noticed an alarmed-looking police officer sprinting toward them just as the elevator door was closing. “What’s happening? I look to my left, and there she is: Ilhan Omar. And I said, well, she doesn’t have a backpack, we should be fine.”

Boebert continued: “the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.”

Is that offensive? Maybe. I am pretty sure that it is intended to be offensive. I am certain, however, that it is also funny. At least, I certainly found it funny.

The regime media, however, and such spokesmen as former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock are (or are pretending to be) in a tizzy of indignation over Boebert’s remarks.

Indeed, the outrage machine has been cranked up to eleven over Boebert’s comments.

I find this a little odd since Boebert is well known for her incendiary rhetoric—it is part of what makes her so refreshing—and has often referred to Ilhan Omar as a member of the “jihad squad.”

This time, though, she seems to have crossed a line, touched some third rail of politics, or [insert your favorite cliché here].

And Boebert, to my regret, seems to agree. On Friday, she issued this apology:

“I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/rude-words-spoken-about-ilhan-omar-fake-outrage-and-an-unneeded-apology_4127758.html

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Cancel culture in China

FANS OF HUO ZUN were dismayed in August when images of the pop star were blurred out during a performance on “Call Me By Fire”, a popular Chinese reality show. Mr Huo’s hands were visible during some sequences. But when he came into the frame it appeared as if he was standing in a puff of smoke enveloping his body. “Fogging”, as it is known, has become a sight common on the Chinese internet in recent years. Censorship rules require actors who have committed crimes be blurred out, or completely erased when possible.

Mr Huo’s offence was a public breakup with his girlfriend earlier in the year. He had violated no law. But that was enough for the government to deem him an unsavoury character, unfit to appear in public. Internet users are increasingly affected by a spurt of Communist Party cancel culture targeting ever more innocuous behaviour. The broad aim of the campaign, which has been going on for the past six months, is to cleanse Chinese cyberspace of entertainment at odds with socialist values.

There appear to be two targets. The first is a business model with 4.9trn ($767bn) of annual revenues, the fan economy, that has sprung up around internet celebrities, fan groups and streaming platforms. In the most recent set of rules, issued in late November, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said that brand campaigns featuring celebrities will be allowed to show advertisements only in designated ad spaces. And from now on, China’s huge fan groups, often with millions of fans apiece, are to come under close monitoring by the authorities.

The second target of the CAC’s campaign is celebrity itself. The new rules create an official blacklist of celebrities that bans all mention of the names included. This will formalise the treatment that Mr Huo and many other stars have received after committing social improprieties or wrongdoing such as tax evasion. Permanent cancellation is becoming part of China’s entertainment landscape. On November 23rd the China Association of Performing Arts published a list of 88 internet celebrities who had committed some form of transgression. A common offence was showing support for Kris Wu, arrested this year on suspicion of rape. Weibo, a Twitter-like service, was forced to ban 145 celebrity accounts in August for infractions such as “insulting and slandering martyrs and inciting illegal gatherings”.

https://www.economist.com/business/communist-party-cancel-culture-targets-internet-celebrities/21806541

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)

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