In 'Defence' Of Nicolas Anelka
Note: The following post is littered with 'inverted commas'. After all, one wouldn't want to offend anyone.
I really hope that Spurs win their next three matches. In fact, I'm 'crossing my fingers' in the hope they might. That's a fairly 'innocuous' gesture to indicate my investment in 'blind faith', right? Not in Vietnam it's not. Crossing your fingers in the presence of a Vietnamese friend might cause a rift in the relationship seeing as you are effectively insulting them by making reference to female genitalia. Similarly, if I suggest that Tim Sherwood's first few matches as head coach have been 'ok', I might curve my thumb and index finger into an 'o' and splay the remaining three thus confirming my satisfaction. Do that in Brazil during the World Cup and I run the risk of a lynching because I've called someone an 'arse'. Do you see where I'm 'going' with this?
Until Nicolas Anelka chose to 'celebrate' his goal against West Ham in March with what's popularly known in France as a 'quenelle', most football fans in England had no comprehension of its 'connotations'. A few weeks on and with the FA charging Anelka with misconduct, it would appear that everybody has become well-versed with what the 'inverted Nazi salute' represents. It's apparently a 'rallying call' for anti-Semites created by a 'provocateur' who has been routinely banned from performing 'controversial' 'diatribes' that seek to critique the 'machinations' of the French State and supporters of Zionism.
That's how the comedic philosophy of Dieudonne M'bala M'bala has been defined in most sections of the media this week as various 'opinion-makers' have scrabbled to attach 'meaning' to Anelka's 'gesture''. To be honest, I was as ignorant of its 'cultural explosiveness' as anybody else. However, even a cursory bit of 'research' throws up a series of questions that could ultimately make Anelka's decision to 'fight' the FA charge a successful one.
The 'quenelle' is defined by many in France as an 'anti-establishment' salute. Deriving from a French dish of elongated fish meatballs it is said to resemble a 'suppository' and so M'bala M'bala's supporters view it as a figurative 'up yours' to a system that is seen as working against the rights of the 'disenfranchised' and 'impoverished'. Although this is an accepted interpretation of the gesture, Jewish groups have heavily criticised it for its apparent Nazi 'iconography' and M'bala M'bala has found himself banned from various performing platforms. This, despite there being 'clear distinctions' between the definitions of 'anti-Semitism and 'anti-Zionism'.
As a result of the 'quenelle's' ambiguity in its country of origin, it is therefore highly questionable of the football authorities in England to impose a ban on a player under the guise of 'racial aggravation'. We are not talking
