Zombie: A Song's Renaissance That Wasn't
The clarity that the 21st century is missing in the wake of October 7th can be found in the 1993 Cranberries' anti-terror hit.
On March 20th, 1993, the IRA planted two bombs on Bridge Street in Warrington — an industrial town in Cheshire, England. Soon after, they called the authorities to declare a bomb warning. Thirty minutes later, before the police could identify the location of the threat, both bombs went off only 100 yards apart, with citizens running away from the first explosion and directly into the second.
Two died and 54 were injured — and those two victims were children: three-year-old Jonathan Ball who had been shopping for a Mother’s Day card with his babysitter, and 12-year-old Tim Parry, who died in the hospital five days later.
A day later, the IRA issued this statement:
“Responsibility for the tragic and deeply regrettable death and injuries caused in Warrington yesterday lies squarely at the door of those in the British authorities who deliberately failed to act on precise and adequate warnings.”
(Unsurprisingly, Hamas adopted this tactic and blamed the deaths of Israeli hostages Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two children, four-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir, on “Zionist air strikes.”)
In the wake of October 7th — the worst attack on Jewish people that we have witnessed since the Holocaust — I can’t help but think of the IRA’s 1993 statement and their failed attempted to gaslight the public into blaming the British authorities, and how that differs from the public’s response to Hamas. If we were living in a more rational era, it would not be unreasonable to hearken back to the days post-9/11 when all in the West had the clarity to condemn that unspeakable, horrific attack on our people and the values we all hold dear — but that isn’t what happened in the two months since October 7th’s pogrom.
Instead, we are left with a house divided — not by political lines, but by those who value reason and truth vs. those who insist on categorizing all of history and current geopolitical events under the umbrella of “colonizer and colonized” — ironically, with no regard for historical accuracy, but rather determining the innocent and guilty parties based on the perceived color of their skin and the prosperity (or lack thereof) of their economy.
And it is this very argument that may be the catalyst by which the Woke fall from their pedestals.
Prior to October 7th, moderate Democrats had previously been too fearful to call out the pitfalls of Woke ideology due to potentially devastating professional and personal repercussions of cancellation, or they didn’t think the ideology was wrong — after all, the ideas of diversity, inclusivity, etc., aren’t bad goals to aim for — however, it is both the execution and policing of those ideas that is dangerous to democracy and represents the populist faction of the Left.
Just as the Alt Right has hijacked the Republican Party, the Far Left has done so with the Democratic Party as well — and it turns out that if you go far enough in either direction, you end up meeting the other side and finding that both extremes are antisemites, as none of us can forget the Tiki Torch Nazis of Charlottesville in 2017.
While both extremes manipulate words and adopt the actions and/or behaviors of totalitarian regimes, the Far Left took it upon itself to Divide and Conquer — the oldest trick in totalitarianism’s book — and they have carried it out with the gusto of a toddler’s meltdown at a Michelin-star restaurant. None of us can look away or even begin to try to carry on a conversation as we see silverware flying while gentle parents scramble to find the kid an iPad, rather than carry the demonically possessed tiny human out under-arm, kicking and screaming, and plant their asses in the car until they figure out the appropriate way to behave in a nice establishment.
I digress.
As the last few years have unfolded and identitarianism continues to separate people into factions based on race, religion, sex, gender, abled, disabled, and more, they have also retooled both history and current events, categorizing them into two parts alone: colonizers and colonized or oppressor and oppressed, and they begin every introduction by sharing their ‘land acknowledgement’ in an effort to ensure that all in attendance are fully aware of what a good person they, indeed, are.
Unfortunately, the irony of this ideology continues to flummox the fair-minded — after introductions sharing that they reside on Lenape, Sioux, or any other tribal land, they then pick up their banner for the latest ‘Free Palestine’ protest/riot — first, though, looking around to make sure they pick up the correct identity, i.e., ‘Queers for Palestine’ and so forth — and then they march, storm buildings, chase Jewish kids and teachers into libraries and bash in the doors of Grand Central to attack police barricading inside — or, as they would say, a peaceful protest, of course, filled with a plethora of kind-hearted, intersectional warriors, including the Me Too ‘Believe All Women’ marchers who were appalled that Governor Cuomo touched a woman’s back as he walked off an elevator, but who now categorize gang rape, beheadings, and kidnapping under the guise of ‘resistance’ — and then dare to refer to the indigenous of Judea as — wait for it — colonizers — and the Hamas terrorists whose aim is Islamic Imperialism as freedom fighters.
While they will attempt to deflect criticism and will respond with what monsters the rest of us are for siding with Israel and will argue that anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism, what they miss is an opportunity to learn the facts:
Prior to 1948 when the UN restored the land that is now Israel back to the indigenous— that is, the Jews — that land was not “Palestine.”
It passed through so many hands for thousands of years — but it started with the Jews 2,500 years ago and went from the Kingdom of Israel to the Persians, then the Greeks, and then the House of Hasmoneans, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Muslims, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, and then the Brits. It was never a Palestinian state.
Moreover, in 1948, the entire world map was being redrawn as a result of WWII — so the idea of changing borders wasn’t exclusive to the land around present-day Israel and Palestinian territory.
However, Israel has continuously aimed for peace, handing over large swathes of land to Palestine in good faith efforts during peace talks. Israel hasn't even “occupied” Gaza since 2005.
They handed over the Gaza Strip in an attempt to allow Palestinians to build and govern a state, with the IDF forcibly removing Israelis living in Gaza.
Then the Palestinians “elected” Hamas. There has not been an election since.
What’s more, in 1949, in an effort to support the Palestinian people in building a nation, the UN formed UNRWA — nowadays, funded to the tune of 1.2 billion dollars per year. Instead of using it as intended, however, Hamas steals that money and uses it to fund terror rather than care for the people. Hamas doesn’t want a nation — they want an endless war.
(Luckily, as of the time of this writing, the United States paused UNRWA funding after the UN Watch’s investigation that found a dozen or more UNRWA employees participated in October 7th’s massacre. Canada paused funding shortly after.)
Lastly, those arguing that Israel is committing genocide are missing critical facts:
The Palestinian population has grown from 997k in 1955 to 5.3m in 2023, with a population growth of 155% in the last 32 years alone while the worldwide population only grew by 50% in that same period.
What’s more, there are 1.6 million Palestinians living in Israel, comprising 20% of the total population, all of whom have the right to vote and run for office and have a seat at the legislative table.
If I trusted my readers to stay with me for an even longer essay, I could go into how Hamas’s leader is filthy rich and living in Qatar, and has had family members treated at Israeli hospitals over the years, and how the actions of Hamas doesn’t actually help the Palestinian cause, as they are agents of chaos, death, and destruction, and their entire platform is based firmly in nihilism — martyrdom for themselves, genocide for Jews.
Meanwhile, many governments in the Middle East are actively working to disband fundamental extremist factions within their nations — and prior to October 7th, the Saudis were brokering a deal to normalize relations and work together with the Israelis. They, along with other neighbors in the region, know that Israeli advancement and innovation can only stand to benefit the region.
None of them want anything to do with Hamas — but guess who does?
The country currently appointed to the Chair of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations: Iran.
(Yes, you read that correctly.)
Consequently, Left-leaning moderates are finally seeing the hazards and irony of Woke dogma and the threat it poses for western civilization. After all, if we can no longer agree on what constitutes terrorism, we are critically nearing societal collapse.
The problem, however, is that many left-leaning moderates who are speaking out are Jewish — while the many left-leaning moderate non-Jews who previously posted ad-nauseam about every social justice issue that hit the airwaves are largely silent — because even though they know what’s right and wrong, they still fear the backlash of the far left’s inevitable temper tantrum and the pounding of their tiny, angry little fists on the table.
Ironically, what the ‘Woke’ fail to realize is that Hamas doesn’t share their penchant for intersectionality and social justice — however, both Hamas and the ‘Woke’ do indeed share the fundamental principles necessary to their dogma, including the laws both parties share:
Art that makes me feel bad or that is created by people I disagree with is violence.
Art must follow certain laws based on gender, race, and/or religion.
Silence is violence, but all oppressed people have a right to actual violence.
The ‘emotional truth’ takes precedence over the actual truth.
I’m sure there are more that could be added to this list — but these four undemocratic principles are the backbone of where we find ourselves today, in a TikTok hellscape where young women are swept off their feet by Bid Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ and high school students hold mock beheadings.
Meanwhile, many of us are asking the million-dollar question while sitting around dinner tables this holiday season: do the Palestinian people support Hamas?
A difficult question to answer, as it must be noted that polls conducted under the duress of living in a tyrannical regime may or may not reflect the truth, but rather, the fear of retribution — as both Hamas and Fatah arrest and torture dissidents and political opponents, and often publicly execute them in the streets, hanging by a crane.
However flawed, though, the data must still be considered: polls show that 70% of Palestinians oppose a two-state solution, 76% of Palestinians oppose a one-state solution “in which two sides enjoy equal rights,” and when given three options for how to go about “ending the occupation and building an independent state,” 52% of Palestinians selected “armed conflict.”
I must note that as of the time of this writing, Gazans have taken to the street, calling for peace and a ceasefire, as well as demanding Hamas release the hostages — a radical act of rebellion, but more than likely made possible because the IDF dismantled Hamas’s tunnels and confiscated the weapons that Hamas would have used against protesters.
In Ireland, soon after the IRA’s ‘93 bombing, civilians in Dublin established the group ‘Peace ’93,’ and planned a rally to collect bouquets and wreaths to send to the boys’ funerals. Thousands gathered outside of the General Post Office in Dublin, where they laid their condolence gifts along with messages that conveyed their deep sorrow for the attack and their condemnation of the IRA and its terrorism. Nevertheless, critics in every era rarely find themselves at a loss for words, and in this case, they admonished Peace ’93 for “not responding to the deaths of children in Northern Ireland.”
Though the origins of the IRA and Hamas’ conflicts significantly differ, the similarities shared between the two must not be dismissed, and that is: they attach themselves to a cause that they can say they are fighting on behalf of, glorify their appropriated victimization, manipulate words and use propaganda to win over the hearts of the youth, and then gaslight the public with statements devoid of any semblance of personal responsibility, and instead, blame others for their actions — all with the sole purpose of bullying and overpowering others in their relentless pursuit of power and attention.
If those traits sound familiar to you, perhaps it is because these traits are also fundamental principles of America’s Far Left.
On the day of the attack in Warrington, Irish alt-rock band, The Cranberries, were touring in the UK. Devastated by the news, lead singer Dolores O’Riordan consequently penned the lyrics that became the protest song ‘Zombie.’
Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?
But you see, it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fighting…
Unlike the ballads that the Cranberries were so known for, this song screams — trading O’Riordan’s signature, dreamy voice and unmistakable Irish yodel for, instead, a guttural howl that echoes in the bones of every mother who lost a child to acts of terror and violence that didn’t have to be.
The message from both Ireland’s Peace ’93 mourners and the song ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries that was crystal clear and palpable:
The IRA does not represent the Irish people and their plight.
Thirty years later, if only everyone could have the clarity and acumen to arrive at the same conclusion in the wake of October 7th.
Even though I am well aware that there isn’t good in every man and the polling data says otherwise, I want to believe that in general, people are basically good, and while the hateful and angry may be louder and immensely destructive, they are, thankfully, fewer. In the cyclical battle between ‘Good and Evil’ that will forever plague our world in one way or another, history shows time and again that ‘Good’ is humanity’s perpetual underdog — it takes many a’beating before it has a second wind, but when it finally does, it triumphs over evil, and its light decimates even the darkest hour — and in doing so, it calls on all to rediscover “the better angels of our nature.”
I’ll conclude on this note: Jonathan Freedland once wrote a piece in The Guardian titled “Jews Are the Canaries in the Coal Mine,” where he wrote: "When a society turns on its Jews it is usually a sign of a wider ill-health. Hasn't history shown us that racism never stays confined to mere 'pockets.' Once the virus is inside, it does not rest until it has infected the entire body."
On the same note, in 1968, a year after the Six Day War ended, Eric Hoffer wrote, “As it goes with Israel, so will it go with all of us.”
While both men are correct in their assessment, it shouldn’t have to affect all of us in order for any of us to empathize and support the Jewish State and its people. Israel is subject to the same constructive criticism regarding policy decisions as any other democratic nation, but the right to exist — and the right to defend itself — is not up for debate or negotiation.
While there are many today who will someday wake up and find themselves cowering on the perch of the wrong side of history, I hope that those who are currently on the fence can hop on over to the right side — and that this anthem has its needed renaissance.