[guest post by Dana]

Blacklist yourself before others do it for you, I guess:

I was looking forward to talking to students at the Cambridge Union this Friday, but I hear that someone there has been blacklisted for doing an
impersonation of Hitler

I regret that I did the same on a Monty Python show, so I am blacklisting myself before someone else does

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 10, 2021

From the report:

The British comedy icon, 82, announced Tuesday that he is pulling out of a planned appearance at Cambridge University after a fellow attendee was “blacklisted” by “woke” staff and students.

Cleese — who is an alumnus of Cambridge — took to Twitter, saying: “I was looking forward to talking to students at the Cambridge Union this Friday, but I hear that someone there has been blacklisted for doing an impersonation of Hitler.

“I regret that I did the same on a Monty Python show, so I am blacklisting myself before someone else does.”

The funnyman followed up with a second tweet, telling his 5.6 million followers: “I apologize to anyone at Cambridge who was hoping to talk with me, but perhaps some of you can find a venue where woke rules do not apply.”

…

The BAFTA winner’s announcement comes after art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon was banned from speaking at the Cambridge Union event.

Graham-Dixon last week “performed a mock-Hitlerian rant” during an academic debate to “caricature Hitler and his views,” the Times reported. He has since apologized and said his intention was to highlight “the utterly evil nature of the Nazis.”

This brouhaha reminds me of the recent, multi-award-winning and utterly charming film called JoJo Rabbit: Jojo is a lonely German boy who discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend — Adolf Hitler — Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on:

#JojoRabbit, a film by Taika Waititi. In theaters October 18. pic.twitter.com/bgRQwObb6u

— Jojo Rabbit (@jojorabbitmovie) September 3, 2019

I just can’t wait for a massive come to Jesus moment when the people in the West begin to make utterly relentless demands for MORE SPEECH! You snort in derision? That’s fine. I choose to remain hopeful.

(My own pre-emptive strike: Yes, I know that Britain doesn’t have a First Amendment…)

–Dana