In the quenelle, then, we may be facing a graver threat than we might first be inclined to perceive. Having switched his allegiance from the far left to the far right, and having repeatedly failed at his attempts to win public office, M’bala M’bala is unlikely to triumph in the old and ossified contest of politics. But in the new battlefield, which shapes culture by inundating it with images and words that defy explanation and are immune to denunciation, he’s already won. The Anti-Defamation League is right to have demanded and received an apology from Parker, but citing history and invoking decency and initiating conversation do little if anything to stop a meme. The garçons who quenelled by a large photograph of Anne Frank aren’t going to be mended by more or better education.
More: Tablet Magazine
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