Just followed a link to a thread on r/israel, in which a bunch of people from outside Europe were talking about how they cast all 20 of their votes for Israel, and it all just felt so profoundly depressing.
Perhaps I’m kinda tired and a shade hungover, but it just hit me that even something as enjoyable and relatively benign as #Eurovision can be hijacked by shitheads.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not so naive that I believe Eurovision should be taken at face value. I know full well how political it is and always has been.
But this feels different.
This isn’t a giggle because Cyprus and Greece swapped their 12 points again, or that the Eastern European countries all shared their points as they do every year.
This kinda felt like Brexit again. Shitheads gaming the system for their own awful ends.
And even though ultimately Israel didn’t win; they kinda did.
The EBU let them participate, they fielded a boring song, and a number of countries - either organically or by campaign - gave them their top scores. The outcome is that, in the eyes of the world, Israel is just trying its best to defend itself. While committing war crimes.
Once again: I have no axe to grind with the people of Israel who don’t want murders committed in their name. I have no row with Eden Golan.
I’m disappointed that #Eurovision has become just another weapon in the endless culture wars we’ve been fighting for the past 15 years. Another thing for the worst people with the worst intentions to use to further their own aims.
In fact, what we’ve seen over the past few days is about as from what I understand #Eurovision to be about as it’s possible to be.
It’s supposed to unite the countries that participate, it’s supposed to remind us all that we have shared culture and that we’ve all been through some rough times.
But these past days have been about conflict and injustice, and that has made me immensely sad.
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