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The unbearable lightness of being apolitical

From Diljit Dosanjh to Ed Sheeran, artists have always towed the line when it comes to politics. But in a political world, there is no such thing as a completely consequence-free perch.

The great privilege of being apolitical is the luxury of believing that politics will leave you alone. The Ed Sheeran-Macklemore controversy is a neat illustration of why that luxury is increasingly untenable.

During his 4 September performance while opening for Sheeran, Macklemore said ‘Free Palestine’ on stage. He was subsequently removed from the remaining US tour dates after venue owners objected to his participation. Sheeran has said the decision was made by promoters and venues, not by him, and that he attempted to mediate. 

Now, four other opening acts have quit in support of Macklemore and Sheeran has been heavily criticised for trying to be neutral and continuing the tour. 

The episode contains the apolitical argument in miniature. Macklemore spoke and paid a price. Sheeran tried to keep politics out of his concerts and found himself in a political controversy anyway. Neither man could step outside the politics surrounding him. There is no neutral ground left to stand on. 

The central fiction of apoliticism is that politics is something you can simply opt out of.

There is a particular kind of person one encounters with increasing frequency, online and off, who will tell you, with studied nonchalance, that they are “apolitical”. It is there on dating profiles, in conversations about films, art, music and books, and in workplaces where political disagreement is treated as an unfortunate breach of........

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