From ANDRAS JONES: On December 12^th 2018 DAVID ROVICS was the musical guest on the first Radio8Ball I’d recorded in Olympia in over three years. During the recording of this episode DANNY KELLY of the Olympia band The Hinges launched an anti-semitic online attack against me, pre-emptively accusing me of using my show to call him an “anti-semite” and encouraging his friends to support him in targeting me. If you can’t tell the difference between addressing anti-semitism and calling someone an anti-semite you might have a hard time with this episode, and maybe it’s something you should learn about. That certainly applies to those who joined Danny Kelly’s attack against me, one which he knew was untrue a couple of days after he posted it because his friend David Rovics wrote to him at my request to tell him as much, but Danny did not correct his lies or encourage his friends to stop attacking me. He did post a wonderful example of virtue signaling (seen in the Failed State video below), proclaiming his love and support for his Jewish friends “ALWAYS” while directing his friends to attack a Jewish man who made the mistake of asking him if he’d like to discuss anti-semitism. That was a couple of months ago and I’ve been alternately dreading and looking forward to this day when the truth of what actually was discussed on this episode comes out and those who were motivated by Danny’s lies abut me are forced to admit that they participated in an unwarranted anti-semitic attack and apologize for doing so, potentially starting the conversation about anti-semitism we need to have in Olympia, or….well, we shall see.

Listen now as David Rovics and I engage in a respectful conversation about anti-semitism where neither of us insults or abuses or dehumanizes the other. This is the kind of conversation I could have had with Danny Kelly if he hadn’t chosen to project his shadow onto me, escalate the situation, and gleefully support the attacks his post inspired. You’ll notice that I never say Danny’s name during this episode. Oh I’ll write it in this blog as my context but I don’t use my show to talk about other people. Our readings are personal an, as much it might feel good to call Danny and his friends out on the show, that would be a betrayal of the format. As I wrote to Danny privately about this issue, I am ready and willing to make this ugliness into a happy story when he is ready to engage in a public dialogue about this incident. Until then, I will simply display the ugliness of Danny’s words and invite the community to decided if we support public attacks against Jews based upon lies or if we are ready to include anti-semitism in the catalog of isms which must be dismantled if we believe in the principles of equality and inclusion.

Over the course of the next 8 days this drama will play out in slow motion as the context to Pop Oracle sessions with Jim Page, Elana Freeland, Dan Epstein, Rick Fellows and Skyler Blake, culminating in the moment when, during the session, I first saw Danny’s attack (posted with this blog) and asked my own question about it after Brett Clubbe was unable to attend. Those who have no agenda to protect will recognize this episode as the offering it is, while I’m sure those who would prefer to keep lashing out in ignorance will do so. I would apologize to David for getting him wrapped up in this drama but he’s no stranger to controversy. Far more than owing him an apology I feel overwhelming gratitude for his participation. There is far more peace to be found in a respectful face to face disagreement between artists than in all the online advocacy for your friends who would weaponize your loyalty against an innocent person.

Today’s randomly chosen Pop Oracle song from Jon Auer, recorded on Radio8Ball on KAOS seems a perfect compliment to this conversation with David (and with my community).

POP ORACLE Song of The Day (February 2, 2019): JON AUER “Conversation”

NOTE 3/4/19: For those who are interested in gaining a greater understanding of anti-semitism here is a solid presentation on the topic offered by SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) in Olympia.

Failed State

When you’re working two jobs and living in a tent
When a house costs a million bucks and you can’t pay the rent
When politicians say they’ll help but it keeps getting worse
Each time the landlord lobby pulls the strings of the purse
When the human right to housing isn’t even part of the debate
You know you’re living in a failed state

When millions of citizens are spending half their lives
Locked up in a prison for trying to survive
When laws must be broken just to have a place to stay
When the prisons pay the senators to look the other way
If you have to be a criminal to put food on your plate

When you’re facing climate breakdown, when the trees are all
on fire
When half the country’s underwater, when a climate change
denier
Runs the nation and the opposition party
Votes for oil rigs and pipelines, this is not so much a country
As it is a corporation, buckling under its weight

When your nation is an empire facing daily blowback
And the only thing your leaders can think to do is attack
Bipartisan consensus that we need to spend
700 billion before the year’s end
On a military budget to make America great

When almost every day some psycho with a gun
Has to open fire on a crowd before it’s done
When a music festival becomes a free fire zone
And all they can say is it’s OK now, he was acting alone

Buy some armor, pray to God and hide behind a gate

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