British musician Morrissey had some harsh words for a number of British politicians and their dealing with Monday’s terrorist attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. It was there that Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British native of Libyan decent, carried out a suicide bombing with homemade explosives, killing 22 people and wounding 64 others; 20 are still listed in critical condition as of Wednesday.
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“Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke,” Morrissey posted on his Facebook. “The anger is monumental. For what reason will this ever stop.”
He added: “Theresa May says such attacks ‘will not break us’, but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues. Also, ‘will not break us’ means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken – thanks all the same, Theresa.”
Morrissey went on to criticize London Mayor Sadiq Khan for insisting that “London is united with Manchester” but not condemning—in Morrissey’s view—the Islamic State, who have claimed responsibility for the attack.
He continued by saying that Queen Elizabeth “receives absurd praise for her ‘strong words’ against the attack, yet she does not cancel today’s garden party at Buckingham Palace – for which no criticism is allowed in the Britain of free press.”
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Morrissey, who is a Manchester native, also criticized Manchester’s Mayer, Andy Burnham, for stating the attack was the work of an “extremist”, to which Morrissey added: “An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?”
“In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially saw what we all say in private,” he concluded. “Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections.”
Morrissey’s former band member, Johnny Marr, remained silent about Monday’s tragedy during a concert at Albert Hall in his hometown of Manchester. But Broken Social Scene, the band Marr was performing with, had a more sympathetic approach to the attack before going into their song “Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl.”
“Thank you for showing up. Thank you for coming out tonight. What’s most important is tonight we’re here together, all of us,” the band told the audience. “That’s what we could do, and that’s what we’re doing, so thank you Manchester. We’re so happy. There’s no other place we’d rather be than here with you. To start this show, to show you how we love your town, there’s a man who I love dearly who’s come out to play for you. He is your city, he is your legend, please give it up for Mr. Johnny Marr.”
