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Thom Yorke publishes letter on Gaza conflict and it's more thoughtful than any politician

He was being harassed by fans from both sides of the debate.

Wikpedia, Instagram, Canva

Thom Yorke posts a statement.

In October of 2024, Radiohead front man Thom Yorke was crooning his electric songs in dreamy blue and pink light on-stage in Melbourne, Australia, when a man from the crowd began screaming about war. "Do you condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza? Already 200,000, half of them children," he yelled.

Thom pauses, then responds, "Come up here and say that. Don't stand there like a coward; come here and say it."

Many in the crowd scream for Thom to ignore the heckler, though some pile on. He continues, "You want to piss on everybody’s night? OK, you do it, see you later," and then leaves the stage. He returns soon after the crowd chants his name and sings Radiohead's "Karma Police," met with exhilaration.

-Thom Yorke on stagewww.youtube.com, CNN

In a piece about the incident for NBC News, Patrick Smith notes, "Radiohead has faced criticism in the past for playing gigs in Israel and not joining a boycott of the country by some artists." Smith also shares a statement Yorke made in 2017 at a concert in Tel Aviv: "We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders, not building them."

Unfortunately, those border walls have only gotten higher in the divide between human beings, as of late. The art of nuance, historical context, and listening to one another has somehow been lost among the memes and soundbites.

Yorke has now made a lengthy, thoughtful statement which he released on Instagram in order to, as he writes, "fill in the blanks" and to address the constant online (and in-person) bullying.

He begins his note, referencing what happened at the show: "Some guy shouting at me from the dark last year when I was picking up a guitar to sing the final song alone in front of 9000 people in Melbourne didn’t really seem like the best moment to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”

He shares that his silence following the incident has allowed people to put words in his mouth. "My attempt to show respect for all those who are suffering, and those who have died, and to not trivialize it in a few words has allowed other opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks."

Yorke is now ready to make sure there are no gaps in his beliefs. He writes, "I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped, and that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease."

But he notes this is not a one-sided conflict. "At the same time, the unquestioning Free Palestine refrain that surrounds us does not answer the simple question of why the hostages have still not all been returned? For what possible reason? Why did Hamas choose the truly horrific acts of October 7th? The answer seems obvious, and I believe Hamas chooses too to hide behind the suffering of its people, in an equally cynical fashion for their own purposes.”

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

He then addresses the polarization happening due to the easy spread of misinformation on social media. "Social media witch-hunts (nothing new) on either side, pressurizing artists and whoever they feel like that week to make statements, etc., do very little except heighten tension, fear, and over-simplification of what are complex problems that merit proper face-to-face debate by people who genuinely wish the killing to stop and an understanding to be found.

This kind of deliberate polarization does not serve our fellow human beings and perpetuates a constant ‘us and them’ mentality. It destroys hope and maintains a sense of isolation, the very things that extremists use to maintain their position. We facilitate their hiding in plain sight if we assume that the extremists and the people they claim to represent are one and the same, indivisible."

Yorke makes it clear that he understands the helplessness that many feel when watching the news coverage of today's world. "I sympathize completely with the desire to ‘do something’ when we are witnessing such horrific suffering on our devices every day. It completely makes sense. But I now think it is a dangerous illusion to believe reposting, or one or two line messages are meaningful, especially if it is to condemn your fellow human beings. There are unintended consequences."

But he warns that keyboard justice warriors dehumanize one another. "It is shouting from the darkness. It is not looking people in the eye when you speak. It is making dangerous assumptions. It is not debate and it is not critical thinking."

He later ends with an acknowledgement that he won't be able to please everyone. "I am sure that, to this point, what I have written here will in no way satisfy those who choose to target myself or those I work with, they will spend time picking holes and looking for reasons to continue, we are an opportunity not to be missed, no doubt, and by either side.

I have written this in the simple hope that I can join with the many millions of others praying for this suffering, isolation and death to stop, praying that we can collectively regain our humanity and dignity and our ability to reach understanding… that one day soon this darkness will have passed."

On the subreddit r/Radiohead, there are already thousands of comments. One person asks, "This parasocial obsession with making celebrities take sides on political issues is so weird. Why aren't they allowed to have privacy for their own beliefs?"

Another answers, "Because some people want the celebrities to tell them what to think. Not having a definitive answer is a discomfort too hard to bear for them. They feel entitled to have the answer now because their identity is entwined with the celebrities. They don't want to feel the disappointment that these celebrities are just humans who don't think exactly like they do."

This Redditor discusses how complicated the history of the world is, and questions why Thom Yorke (and other celebrities) seem forced into commenting about events of which they are not experts: "The reality is this is a hundred-year-long conflict with a deep and complicated history.

There's no simple black-and-white answer of "Palestine good, Israel bad." Obviously Israel should not indiscriminately kill civilians, but they also cannot allow Hamas to terrorize their population.

I still have no clue what people hoped to accomplish by making Thom say something about it. He's neither an expert nor an especially influential person in this sphere. Other than making you feel good that your favorite musician agrees with your political stance... what does this accomplish?"

In a more hopeful message, this commenter says: "His music says a lot but the direct words in this message are also beautiful, thoughtful, and reinforcing. Thank you Thom. Much respect."



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I am a black man and interviewed a former white supremacist. It was a powerful experience.

I'm a black man who just spoke with a former white supremacist. He wasn't quite what I expected.

I have to admit that when my phone rang, I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety and nervousness that I haven't experienced in years.

Am I really going to conduct this interview? Can a white supremacist truly be reformed? Do I really want to hear his story?

Maybe this would be a complete waste of time, but I took a deep breath and listened to everything because I knew it was possible I could learn something from him.

The first thing I learned: The path to joining a hate group doesn't always pass through a dramatic moment.

Arno Michaelis was born in Milwaukee. He described himself as "an angry, bored teenager with a habit of provoking people." Similar to how some misguided inner-city kids turn to gangs, Arno began to embrace the white power narrative because it made him feel powerful.

"The swastika appealed to me because everyone else was so repulsed by it," he told me. "As a bully who lashed out at other kids rather than face the suffering I felt growing up in an alcoholic household, I distanced myself from my family and familiarized myself with hate and violence. The white power narrative gave it all a heroic context."

 

Arno as an angry teen. Photo via Arno Michaelis, used with permission.

Arno was introduced to the white power skinhead scene through music; he listened to bands that preached racial hate. He received an adrenaline rush from participating in antisocial behavior and quickly became addicted to the movement and its mission. Not long afterward, it came to define him.

 In the world of white supremacy, this man could put his resume up against anybody.

He was a founding member of the Northern Hammerskins, which went on to become part of Hammerskin Nation, "the best organized, most widely dispersed, and most dangerous skinhead group known," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups. He was also the lead vocalist for a white power metal band called Centurion, a group that sold over 20,000 records in the mid-1990s.

It seemed as if his life would be nothing but a cesspool of hatred and bigotry.

Then one moment changed him: He was thrust into single fatherhood.

 

Arno's daughter Mija giving hugs to her pet rabbit. Photo via Arno Michaelis, used with permission.

"I was with my daughter's mother for about six months before we decided it was our duty as white people to bring white children into the world," said Arno, who was 21 when his daughter was born. "By the time she was a little over a year old, my relationship with her mother ended," he said. "That's when I made the decision to be a good dad first and foremost. Living a life filled with hate just wasn't possible if I wanted to do that."

"That's when I made the decision to be a good dad first and foremost. Living a life filled with hate just wasn't possible if I wanted to do that."

Shortly thereafter, he felt a strange emotion that he never experienced before.

 Empathy.

He became more in-tune with the feelings of his fellow humans. In doing so, he acknowledged that he was causing pain to others due to his own pain.

"I knew what I was doing was wrong all along, but I poured all of my energy into suppressing that knowledge," he said. "At the time, all I was doing was fleeing a fire I lit, leaving a trail of gasoline behind me. It was a soul-exhausting, self-created hell. Raising my daughter helped me come to grips with that."

In addition to the love for his daughter, the immense power of empathy also came to the rescue.

"I realized we are all human beings, entirely capable of engaging each other outside of the construct of race," he said. "Once this connection happens, it becomes contagious. When we see ourselves in others, hate and violence no longer make sense. Understanding and love take over."

"When we see ourselves in others, hate and violence no longer make sense. Understanding and love take over."

The healing process started. He would evolve into a man his daughter would be proud of.

But Arno wasn't done.

A depraved act of hatred moved him to speak out against his old life.

On Aug. 5, 2012, a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, rocked the community and the country. The shooter, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, was reportedly a member of the Northern Hammerskins, the skinhead group Arno helped create.

 

Sikhs mourn the 2012 temple shooting in Wisconsin. Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images.

Feeling inspired to do something positive, Arno contacted Pardeep Kaleka, whose father was the last person murdered in the shooting. They were both members of a network that is against violent extremism, and they decided to meet in person.

Arno said they both experienced some anxiety at first, but it soon dissipated after they found common ground as dads. They both have children and found plenty to talk about. "We sat down for dinner and talked until they kicked us out an hour after the place closed," Arno said.

 Although the two men began to build a bond, how could Pardeep forgive the people in the white power movement who were responsible for his father's murder?

It wasn't easy, according to Pardeep.

"It has taken me a while to get to the point where I am today," he said. "Forgiveness is a way for me to take the power back from the ones who tried to take it from me.

He said his Sikh faith helped him cope with the tragedy, including the philosophy known as Chardi Kala, which he translated as "relentless optimism." At the same time, he wants to be proactive about stopping hate. "We'll either create the world that we want, or one will be created for us," he said.

Pardeep now describes Arno as his "friend, brother, psychiatrist, and teacher." With a combined passion to improve the world, this unlikely team runs Serve2Unite.org, an organization that Arno described as "created to defy hate and violence by bringing people of all backgrounds together."

 

Pardeep and Arno remembering the shooting in August 2012. Photo via Arno Michaelis, used with permission.

Serve2Unite students and educators have created community art projects and block parties, book drives for incarcerated people, and peace-themed PSAs. Regardless of the task at hand, the goal of the organization remains the same: Bring people together by celebrating our similarities.

And the young men and women they lead are completely on board with the mission.

 

Today, Arno teaches kids to have zero tolerance for intolerance. Photo via Arno Michaelis, used with permission.

What message does a former white supremacist have for other racists (overt, closeted, or otherwise)?

"I've lived as they have," he said. "What they're doing isn't living. Racism sucks. It's a crappy excuse for existence, and completely unnecessary."

 As I listened to Arno tell his story, one thing kept coming to mind: Empathy is the key to stopping racism.

Anyone has the capability to feel empathy if they choose to — for everyone from our tactless neighbor to psychopaths and narcissists. But we have to keep it real with ourselves about what the absence of empathy looks like.

A lack of empathy leads people to dismiss Muslims as extremists bent on harming our country when the reality is the overwhelming majority of them are peaceful and loving (and homegrown extremists have caused more deaths in America since 9/11 than any other extremist group).

"We'll either create the world that we want, or one will be created for us."

A lack of empathy leads people to believe that minorities constantly whine about being victimized by society, when the reality is many of us (minorities) feel hopeless and crave understanding.

A lack of empathy leads minorities to believe that white people are clueless, blinded by their white privilege, when the reality is many of them empathize with us and want to end racism, too.

We can use empathy to eliminate the us-versus-them mentality that plagues our society.

If a former white supremacist can teach us anything, it's that we are way more similar than we are different, and it's time to embrace that.

 After speaking with Arno, I'm sold that a person with his dark past can be reformed. 100% sold. This man is intelligent and charismatic, and he's now dedicating his life to ending racism and bigotry. He's the kind of man I would want to be friends with.

And that's definitely not what I expected.

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