Julian Casablancas: A Case Study in "Edgelord" Erasure
Can we talk about the absolute intellectual bankruptcy of Julian Casablancas comparing October 7 to a "slave rebellion" in a recent SubwayTakes interview? Because the math ain't mathing.
Casablancas is doing that very specific thing where an ultra-privileged celebrity tries to regain cultural relevance by cosplaying as a "martyr" for the truth. He starts his rant with "It's been nice having a career with you," which is a total joke. Heâs not losing his career, heâs getting a standing ovation from the exact crowd that thinks "antisemitism" is just a buzzword used to silence them.
Julian's whole "Zionists have white privilege" bit is a textbook example of American-centric brain rot. Heâs trying to overlay a US racial dynamic onto a region where half the Jewish population is Brown or Black. Heâs erasing the memory of Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and the 6 million European Jews who weren't "white enough" for the gas chambers. To Julian, Jews are only allowed to exist as "white oppressors" because if theyâre an indigenous, persecuted minority, his "slave rebellion" analogy crumbles.
Julian also stated: "Slave rebellions that were violent didnât mean that slavery is not bad." Cool. Who was the "slave holder" at the Nova Music Festival? Which plantation did 4-year-old Ariel Bibas run? Which "privilege" was the 80-year-old grandmother in the tunnel enjoying when she was kidnapped?
You wonât answer that because your analogy only works when it stays vague. The second you apply it to a baby or a murdered teenager, you aren't a "brave truth-teller" you're just a guy making excuses for a massacre.
While you smirk on a subway show about how "safe" you are to speak your truth, 70% of religious hate crimes in the US target Jews. You aren't the one in danger, Julian. Youâre the one feeding the fire.
Your career is fine. The people youâre talking about are not. Stop using a 1,500-year-old history of displacement and a modern massacre as a "shortcut" to being edgy. Itâs not "punk", it's just disgustingly bigoted.