"Not everybody is absolutely stupid. Why on earth would I be racist, what would I be trying to achieve?"
About this Quote
Morrissey opens with a baited sigh: "Not everybody is absolutely stupid". Its sting isn’t aimed at racists so much as at anyone who thinks he could be one. That’s classic Morrissey posture - the aggrieved contrarian, treating criticism as a failure of audience intelligence rather than a reaction to his choices. It’s less a defense than a dominance move: if you disagree, you’re not just wrong; you’re dumb.
Then comes the pivot into practicality: "Why on earth would I be racist, what would I be trying to achieve?" He frames racism as a strategic project with measurable upside, as if prejudice only counts when it has a clear objective. That’s a slippery reframing. It dodges the more common reality: racism often shows up as reflex, taste, affiliation, or casual hierarchy - not a five-year plan. By demanding a rational motive, he positions himself as too sensible (and too self-interested) to hold ugly views, which is a narrow definition of bigotry that conveniently excludes the messy, ambient kind.
The cultural context matters because Morrissey has repeatedly attracted controversy over nationalist symbolism, immigration comments, and flirtations with far-right-adjacent rhetoric. Against that backdrop, the line reads like preemptive fatigue: a celebrity insisting the discourse itself is the offense. It also banks on an old-pop-star assumption that provocation is misunderstood artistry. The subtext is: I’m being misread, and you’re not clever enough to get me. The irony is that the quote’s contempt makes the denial feel less like clarity and more like deflection.
Then comes the pivot into practicality: "Why on earth would I be racist, what would I be trying to achieve?" He frames racism as a strategic project with measurable upside, as if prejudice only counts when it has a clear objective. That’s a slippery reframing. It dodges the more common reality: racism often shows up as reflex, taste, affiliation, or casual hierarchy - not a five-year plan. By demanding a rational motive, he positions himself as too sensible (and too self-interested) to hold ugly views, which is a narrow definition of bigotry that conveniently excludes the messy, ambient kind.
The cultural context matters because Morrissey has repeatedly attracted controversy over nationalist symbolism, immigration comments, and flirtations with far-right-adjacent rhetoric. Against that backdrop, the line reads like preemptive fatigue: a celebrity insisting the discourse itself is the offense. It also banks on an old-pop-star assumption that provocation is misunderstood artistry. The subtext is: I’m being misread, and you’re not clever enough to get me. The irony is that the quote’s contempt makes the denial feel less like clarity and more like deflection.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|
More Quotes by Steven
Add to List
