Category Archives: Political Correctness

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang' on Sunday, March 22 delivered heavy criticism of the National Prayer Ceremony held at State House, Nairobi on Saturday, March 21 over the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Taking to social media, Sang' claimed that the prayers were laden with hypocrisy, asserting that the ceremony should have started with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto repenting along with opposition leaders.

Sang' opined that the 'sickening' hypocrisy witnessed in the prayers could attract God's wrath, contrary to the planned objective of the ceremony.

He lamented that even the religious leaders who were drawn from several denominationshad opted for political correctness in their prayers.

Nandi Governor Stephen sang during a press conference April 19, 2019

The Standard

"The level of hypocrisy in yesterday's National prayers at State House was sickening. It should have started with repentance, especially by us in leadership (both government and opposition) led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.

"It was such a shame to see the very top church leadership direct praise instead of rebuke atus the politicians. It was unfortunate that political correctness was strictly observed even in prayers made," the governor wrote.

Sang' complained that the negative connotations associated with politics in Kenya seemed to be finding their way to the pulpit.

"This kind of mockery in the name of National Prayers is likely to attract more wrath than good. The church leadership in Kenya today must also reflect and revert to their pure sense of calling.

"The unfortunate bad manners in politics must never find its way to church. Our country needs to genuinely get back to its senses," he asserted.

Other than Uhuru and Ruto, leaders who attended the national prayer day included Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)leader Raila Odinga, Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi.

Addressing the ceremony, Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit called for the pandemic to be a turning point for Kenyato shun corruption and negative ethnicity among other ills that have plagued the nation.

Coronavirus has humbled the mighty It did not respect political powers, it doesnt respect the military powers of the world. It has threatened us to the core, but our God is above nature as he is the one who created nature.

Repentance is a call to return to God and turn away from sin. True repentance is more than just talking, but a change of behaviour," Ole Sapit stated.

President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi, where he hosted national prayers against the Coronavirus pandemic on March 21, 2020.

PSCU

Originally posted here:

Uhuru, Ruto Fake Prayers Will Anger God - Nandi Governor - Kenyans.co.ke

TuesdayMar17,2020at4:29PM

It is my understanding that Columbus Day is a celebration of the discovery and colonization of the United States. Colorado was one of the first states to set aside a holiday commemorating this.

Rep. Daneya Esgar in response to my communication to her regarding the Colorado House voting to replace Columbus Day with Mother Cabrini Day said that this bill was a compromise.

Sen. Larry Crowder opposed this bill at least partly because it discriminates against the Italian American community. I agree with Sen Crowder. Deborah Espinosa writes that Native Americans are offended by this celebration because of all the wrongs done to the Indian Nations.

Theres an old saying that two wrongs dont make a right. You cant blame Columbus for all the problems created by his discovery any more than you can blame President Donald Trump for all of the problems we face today with the coronavirus pandemic.

As my brother points out, this is similar to the problem of the Confederate Statues in the South. This is an example of political correctness gone awry.

Jim Towns, Pueblo

The rest is here:

Tell It to the Chieftain: Political correctness gone awry - Pueblo Chieftain

Two years after the much-acclaimed handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is Kenya going up or coming down? To avoid the embarrassment of being seen as pro-handshake or anti-handshake, I will answer: Maybe, maybe not.Even as we celebrate that BBI has quieted things down, one cannot fail to notice the overpowering sense of seeing things as either black or white, depending on which side one takes.This could also explain the rise of not in my backyard syndrome where what happens on the other side of the fence does not matter so long as all is well in your corner. The equivalent for Kiswahili speakers is the saying:Pilipili usiyoila yakuwashiani?Support or opposition to ideas is fashioned along tribe and political affiliation.Why should we worry?Nimbyism risks denying the country better alternatives as loyalty and principled opposition gets undermined. There is more focus on being politically correct. Never has it ever been so right to conform even while breaking away from the group and taking a stand seems to be the right and sensible thing to do.The debilitating herd mentality holding sway currently negates the steps we have taken as a democracy. Democracy essentially centres on the contest of ideas. When a majority of the people begin to see things as either black or white - because none of them wants to step out of the common line - then we are treading on dangerous grounds. It should worry that Opposition MPs line up to defend, rather than kick the stool from underneath the government, while those supposedly in government are fighting government from within.

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Of handshake and the depressing culture of political correctness - Standard Digital

I spoke to my cousins in Italy this week and last. They are confined to their homes and subject to $400 fine and up to three years in prison if they dare go outside for anything but the essentials such as food or medical care. They're being compliant and hoping for the best. I am a proud Italian-American for lack of a better term. Both sets of my grandparents came from Southern Italy.

When I first started visiting my wonderful long lost Italian cousins about 20 years ago, I soon discovered Italians are not like Italian-Americans or any Americans for that matter. I was shocked at how compliant they are with government restrictions and taxation. Also their political correctness was shocking to me. One shocking act of political correctness and virtue signaling you may have missed happened about a month and a half ago, at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in China and Italy.

China owns a lot of Italy and most of it's valuable commodities, so there is frequent travel between China and Milan, the business hub of Italy. So when word of COVID-19 was spreading in China and beyond, the virtue signaling mayor of Florence Italy took to twitter to tell everyone to "hug a Chinese". His aim was to show the world how not racist he and his city are. Fast forward 45 days and we can't imagine a more bone-headed move.

Can we now put "virtue signaling" and politically correct pandering on the list of deadly pandemics sweeping the globe? We've always known it dangerous and stupid, but didn't realize how deadly. It's rampant in Europe and has certainly spread widely throughout North America. The one continent where it's almost non-existent and threatens very few is Asia, especially China.

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Deadly virtue signaling caused Covid-19 to kill Italians - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

U.S. Marines in Hue City, February 1968(Department of Defense / National Archives)

I have an Impromptus for you today, beginning with a story about Vladimir Horowitz, told by Bill Buckley. Thats a remarkable combination Horowitz and Buckley. (They knew each other.)

I also have items on working from home; journalists here and abroad; the occasionally Kafkaesque nature of collegiate life; worthwhile Canadian initiatives; the longevity of LeBron James; classic beer commercials; and more.

A while back, I had an item on boys and girls, and the blurring of that distinction the erasure of it, in some cases. (For the Impromptus in question, go here.)

I would like to share a letter from a reader, who writes,

1. Im amazed that boys and girls lasted as long as it did.

2. Even sadder has been the death of parents, which I saw during my career as a schoolteacher. At first, I thought this was political correctness, but I learned through experience that most kids did not live with two parents, and that the subject of parents brought up painful associations for many. From 1994 to 2017 I never had a homeroom where the majority of the kids lived with their biological parents.

3. I never had a group of boys in school that I could not control simply by growling, Listen, men . . .

4. In my younger and more vulnerable years, I often addressed formations of infantrymen with Quit your griping, ladies (or girls). That would no doubt be a court-martial offense today.

On Wednesday, I published a letter from a member of our Armed Forces, who has long served in faraway and dangerous places. It was a kind of cri de cur, expressing, among other things, great skepticism about the attitudes of Americans today.

The letter touched a nerve in many, and Id like to publish a couple of responses, beginning with...

I spent a bunch of time in the Middle East. My son, who was conceived after I got back, is there now. That in itself tells us something.

My prayer for him when he left was not that he return home safely, although I clearly want that, but rather that he not lose his humanity or become as cynical as I had.

When he called the other day, he was almost in tears, and we dont cry in my family. He has worked with various Iraqi groups and he keeps saying how, as individuals, they just want what we want. They want to take care of their children and they want them to have a better future. Its the leadership thats all effed up.

He was one of those pulled off the Syrian border, and his Iraqi counterpart helped him pack, gave him tea and a meal that probably cost this man his familys dinner, and kissed him on both cheeks, thanking him for trying to help his people.

They love Americans and the idea that is America more than most of our citizens do because they know what it means in a very personal way.

I dont have any answers or even any reasonable comments, except that I hope my grandchildren dont lose their humanity or become as cynical as I and my son have become.

One more, which will not be to everyones liking far from it but which has cri de cur elements itself:

Im a Vietnam veteran who served in the active Army and Army Reserve between 1966 and 1995 and I saw great changes take place in our military, but little change in the civilian population. Because of that, I understand how your anonymous soldier feels, as would my Vietnam brothers and sisters.

General Mattis said, in so many words, Forgive your civilian countrymen, who have no idea what youve done or what the stakes are. Frankly, why would everyday Americans understand when officials in our own government do not?...

I served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, and when I returned, I was treated as a pariah by many fellow Americans, even people with whom I had gone to high school and college. I was an outcast because the war was unpopular, because the media had painted the conflict and those fighting it as unjust and bad, and because our government did not stand up for the military and did not even have an end-game exit strategy.

Sound similar to today? What is our end game in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria? How do we know when, or if, weve won? How will we leave the civilian population when we pull out better or worse than when we arrived? Did all the sacrifices made by our troops and their families count for anything, or even make a difference to average Americans?

The anonymous soldier said, So few Americans have any idea what real political problems look like what it looks like when national politics actually affects ones day-to-day life. So few consider America an idea worth fighting for. That is as true a statement as can be said, and the saddest part of it is that it flows all the way uphill to the president of the United States....

In Vietnam, we did not fight for God, the flag, and democracy. We fought for each others survival on a day-to-day basis. We fought to ensure that we all came home. All did in the end, but many came home covered in the flag of our country.

So many families have sacrificed so much for so little. And so little has changed since my initial engagement outside Hue, Vietnam, in March 1968. The weapons have changed, the tactics have changed, even the uniforms have changed, but the most important things have not changed. Our government still doesnt plan or execute policy well, we dont prioritize our military goals because we very seldom have real goals, and we have not learned from the mistakes made since the end of the Korean War.

Until we do, what your anonymous soldier and this old soldier know and feel about our country and our countrymen will not change either.

To be continued...

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Cries of the Heart - National Review

President Donald Trump reacts during a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., March 2, 2020.(Carlos Barria/Reuters)Despite dire predictions, he has united the GOP and governed as a centrist conservative.

Editors Note:The following is the second excerpt from the revised and updated edition ofThe Case for Trump, out Tuesday from Basic Books. You can read the first excerpt here.

So what had happened to the Democrats predicted blue wave that supposedly would rack up huge House majorities and win back the entire Congress? And why did not $1 billion in campaign spending and a 131 negative to positive ratio of NBC/MSNBC and CNN media coverage of the presidency neuter Trump or his party after two years of governance? Why did Muellers 22-month investigation and its epigones from the invocation of the 25th Amendment and the Emoluments clauses to the various circuses of Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, and Michael Avenatti all fail to derail the Trump presidency?

The answers to those questions are thematic throughout this book. Aside from popular anguish over the way that Democratic senators had savaged Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and worries over another larger immigration caravan of asylum seekers inching toward the southern border, voters in November 2018 and would-be voters in 2020 were and still are uncomfortable with progressive politics and happy with the Trump economic boom. In statewide races of 2018, almost all hard progressive gubernatorial and senatorial candidates, from Florida to Texas, lost, if often narrowly so.

First, Trumps economic and foreign-policy initiatives since 2017, if examined dispassionately, have been largely those of the centrist conservative agendas that have worked in the past, and have continued to do so in the present. Unlike other past flash-in-the-pan mavericks, such as former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger or Minnesotas recent governor, Jesse Ventura, Trump adopted traditional conservative issues and learned, if belatedly, to work with the Republican Congress to enact them. In counterintuitive fashion, the provocative and often off-putting Trump proved to be a far more effective uniter of his party than had any prior elected populist maverick.

Second, Americans continued to defy pollsters and pundits, at least at the local and state levels. Even without Trump on the ballot, Americans still were far more likely to voice their anti-Trump sympathies than their pro-Trump affinities a lesson from 2016 that the media continued to ignore (or perhaps they dreamed it could not possibly occur twice in succession), despite their own habit of demonizing those who supported Trump and sanctifying those who despised him. As a result, many of the state and local pre-election polls in the key senatorial and gubernatorial races in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, and Missouri proved inaccurate.

Finally, the public weariness with political correctness, the desire for pushback against the administrative state, and the turnoff from progressives 24/7 venom had not yet peaked. True, most of the country continued to see Trump as near-toxic chemotherapy, but half the nation also felt that such strong medicine was still necessary to deal with lethal tumors of the status quo.

As 2019 ended, the only mystery was whether the Democratic Party, after its failed rage of 2016 and its mixed midterm record of 2018, would learn from its errors. Again, many centrist Democratic House candidates, lots of them with military records, did well in the midterms, while solidifying the allegiances of minority and educated suburban women voters. In contrast, most blinkered Democrats in swing states who as radical progressives doubled down on abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, promoting Medicare for all, cancelling student debt, and impeaching Trump faltered.

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Trump the Uniter? - National Review

Let us be clear on this. This pandemic is Chinas fault.

China, this is on you! YOU are responsible for thousands of deaths across the world. YOU are responsible for the global economic crisis and recession which is coming. YOU are responsible for what could be hundreds of millions of people losing their livelihoods.

China had the first case on Nov 17. They didnt tell the world anything. They hid it all. By mid December, several Chinese labs had found evidence of a mystery virus. But China destroyed the samples, stopped the tests and covered up the news.

- article continues after ad -- article resumes -

Even when the news filtered to the world, China kept feeding us nonsense news. Here is the World Health Organization on Jan 14, reporting what they had been told by Chinese authorities.

No evidence of human to human transmission? Really?

Why do we need to keep repeating this is Chinas fault? Doesnteveryone know by now has heard that the virus began in Wuhan in Hubei province in China?

Well, yeah. But history is an ever changing thing. Public memory is short. China has hit the propaganda gamehardto stave off the PR nightmare.

Just two months ago, it was acceptable and totally commonplace to refer to this as the Chinese virus.

By mid-March, opinions published on CNN had shifted.

In fact, liberal media was now publicly challenging Trump on why he and other Republicans were calling it Chinese virus. Suddenly the term that everyone was using just two months ago had been declared racist.

You know whats coming. They will scrub it all clean. That tweet from CNN may disappear some day. Any website containing any reference to that term might be scrubbed clean. Algorithms of social media giants might start identifying the expression Chinese virus as hate speech and start auto deleting any post with those words.

Nothing is secure, except the thoughts in our head. They know human memory is perishable and they will work non stop to make us forget. See if you notice the game being played in this tweet.

That man is an Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University.

Did you catch that? Did you see how cleverly he framed the sentence? He tried to misdirect us like a street magician. The really relevant part of that sentence is in the first part (which you are likely to miss), not the second (which you are likely to remember). Cleverly and wickedly, Prof. Wang has sown the idea that there is some debate over where the virus came from!

Thats how it starts. Now they will say we must teach the controversy over where the virus came from.

Nothing is safe, except for the thoughts that we can hold on to in our heads. And the thoughts we can pass around to those we know. The future generations must know what the world suffered because of the fault of the Chinese government.

With the Chinese virus pandemic, we are seeing something new and terrifying. For decades now, the network of political correctness has been laid all across the free world. But like many tech startups that later became giants, the revenue model for this was not immediately obvious. A lot of liberals got highly paid jobs working for this startup.

But, ultimately, the funding was coming from something resembling venture capital. A vast network for manipulating public opinion was being created, but it was not immediately clear how it would be monetized.

Well, now we know who would be willing to pay big $$$ for access to this network. Right now, the Chinese government wants history wiped clean. And liberals can help. Liberals can use their vast network to declare this or that as politically incorrect. And once something is declared politically incorrect, it is as good as banned!

Thats exactly what China wants. Thats exactly what China is getting right now.

The Chinese govt does not want the world to remember that the pandemic is their fault. Liberals have declared the term Chinese virus as racist, thus effectively banning it.

We all suspected that political correctness was a veiled form of fascism. And for the first time, we are literally seeing political correctness being made into a tool for serving dictators. Be very certain that this tool will be used again and again.

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With Wuhan virus, political correctness is being monetized for the first time ever - OpIndia

Mar 19th 2020

THE FOUNDER of this column, Stephen Hugh-Jones, died on February 28th. He was an extraordinary character at The Economistlong, lean, waspish, and a self-appointed menace to facile consensus. His theatrical interventions tended to come at Monday editorial meetings where, sitting on the floor with his back to the editors desk, he would uncurl his lanky frame to shout Phooey! Such exclamations (Ho hum, Baloney, Piffle) often found their way into copy, both his own and other peoples. His edits, during which he chanted and sometimes almost sang the lines aloud, were razor-sharp.

He was hired in the 1960s before leaving to run a magazine in Paris. He was lured back to oversee the business pages in 1974, and his first act was to buy calculators for his writers, which along with his force of personality made an immediate difference in quality. He huffed out in 1980 after an organisational dispute, but so admired was he that he was hired a third timeand given a language column from 1992 to 1999.

The column grew from Stephens love of the great dictionary-makers humanity, and of the original Johnsons hatred of cant. The Goths have already seized the airwaves. Do not expect young Johnson to encourage them, he wrote in high dudgeon in his opening manifesto. His exactitude showed up in columns on may v might. Hitler might have won the war is a counterfactual that wonders what would have happened had Stalingrad gone differently, he explained. Hitler may have won the war means the outcome remains unknown.

But he also knew (like the original Johnson) that though changes in language could be slowed, they could not be stopped: Lovers of English do well to resist until majority opinion overrules them. In the endless debate between...the pedantic view of language and the anyfink-goes one...the wise man expects no resolution. He could be shockingly old-fashioned. Parental love is seldom honoured in poetry, he opined; most mothers, perhaps, are too busy caring for their young to write poems about them, and men prefer their mistresses. Yet he knew this about himself, and welcomed change too: political correctness, at its silliest, has never done one-fiftieth as much harm as its reverse.

His column was global in its reach. Portuguese pronunciation, Indian languages and Chinese characters found a home alongside the more obvious German and French, Greek and Latin. Despite the odd potshot at the yoof and yobs, he wrote admiringly of Caribbean patois, black American vernacular and rural English dialects. Johnny Grimond, who wrote most of The Economists style guide, calls him a keen contributorbut mostly to suggest rules for deletion, not addition. His column (twice) quoted Churchill as saying the rule forbidding a preposition at the end of a sentence was the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.

Alas, Churchill never said itthe kind of misstep Stephen would not have made in the age of Google. Indeed, he did not mention the internet until a Christmas piece in 1999. He drank in the worlds languages the old-fashioned way. He was born in Egypt, brought up in Scotland, and was variously an encyclopedia salesman in America, a soldier in Germany and a junior journalist in India. And he was a lifelong reader.

A stubborn legend pursued Stephenthat he threw a typewriter out of his office window in a rage. Or perhaps intended to, but failed to break through the glass. Or perhaps it was a phone, through a window in an internal door. No two versions of the story are the same; he himself denied it, in a history of The Economist published in 1993. But, he told the books author, he could understand why people might believe it.

Yet his frantic bursts of irascibility would be followed by graceful and kind conversation, as though nothing was untoward. Friends and colleagues remember surprising tendernesses. He collected glass artefacts. He lavished affection on children visiting the office. Perhaps his most lyrical piece for the paper was a tour of the English churchyards he cherished, finding poignant gravestones of both great and humble. And yes, he was in love with language.

He knew words could be weapons, but they were the best kind. His son David recalls a cover of The Economist that showed a Palestinian and Israeli shouting in each others faces, and his father saying What a hopeful picture that is. To his puzzled childs inevitable why? he replied: theyre talking to each other.

This article appeared in the Books and arts section of the print edition under the headline "Talking to the world"

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A tribute to the original Johnson columnist - The Economist

The HuntDirector: Craig ZobelWriter: Jason Blum and Damon LindelofStarring: Betty Gilpin, Hillary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Glenn Howerton, Amy Madigan and Sturgill Simpson.Opens: On video on demand. (The Hunt is one of a number of films that was to earn a wide theatrical release but, in the wake of the coronavirus shutting down most theaters, has been pushed as an on-demand release instead.)

In this current political climate and era of social media, the should-be simple-enough act of even just going online has become a risky endeavor.

No matter where you look, theres a friend sharing a meme about political correctness or an uncle forwarding you a story about how #pizzagate is still relevant.

It can be exhausting trying to decipher the real from the fake, let alone trying to simply exist through ones screen without engaging in a heated political conversations.

The Hunt takes this current political climate and tries to flip it on its head.

A group of people wake up in a clearing, gagged and with no explanation as to how they got there. Eventually, they begin to be picked off one-by-one by sniper shots, arrows and booby traps that have been set for them.

They dont know what brought them to this fate, or how to escape.

Turns out, all of the hunted here all have a common thread of political ideals. They seem to lean more on the conservative spectrum they use terms like snowflake, defend the second amendment at the drop of a dime and yell about crisis actors.

Soon enough, its revealed that they were brought into this situation by a group of elite liberals who are ultra-PC people who use the word deplorables unironically, and get onto each other if theyre too gender-minded when addressing one another by saying Hey, guys! instead of Hey, people!

The Hunt is a bloody mess.

But its also surprisingly fun and dripping with satire.

The film tries really hard to issue a new social commentary about the current political tribalism in our country. It doesnt completely sticks the landing.

The film lacks any nuanced characters, and none of the ones it has boast unclear motivations. Its pretty cut-and-dry where they all stand. So theres not really anyone to root for here.

Well, except for Crystal.

Crystal (Betty Gilpin) is a tough cookie who clearly has survival skills far beyond any of the other hunted with whom shed been lumped. Shes a veteran unconcerned about anything except her survival. Even as we figure out the political stances of the her peers, she remains a bit of an enigma. She doesnt share any real expression when others rant and rave about refugees or conspiracy theories.

She just wants out.

Her journey is nothing short of action-packed. The Hunt is super bloody, and creative in its death and action sequences.

Dont buy into the hype that this film is one-sided with its political leanings it isnt. Here, each side is equally awful.

Granted, audience members might feel more sympathy toward one side or the other. But the film does a decent job showing the depravity of both parties.

Though The Hunt wants to be a cutting-edge political satire about modern-day politics, it falls short of that goal.

Its a fun film with lots of blood, gore and funny moments, and Gilpin does an amazing job carrying the film. It wont disappoint viewers as they watch the film but, without the current circumstances driving some to see this film out of boredom, it wouldt quite stand as a memorable bit of cinema.

Grade: C+

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[Review] The Hunt Aint As Smart As It Thinks It Is. - Central Track

If theres a performer for whom the word outspoken could be applied, Adam Darski is it. Better known as Nergal, the frontman of Behemoth is used to rattling cages in his homeland of Poland and beyond with his extremely blackened death metal, confrontational lyrics and personality. For instance, in 2012, he was the face of a Polish energy drink called Demon. In 2011, he served as a judge on the first season of The Voice of Poland, but his fellow judges and country looked down on his Satanic views, leading to a culture clash within and outside of the show that led to his limited time on it.

But Nergal willingly dances with the Polish mainstream. I like to do that, he declares. As long as I can piss people off, its awesome.

Keeping with this maverick spirit is New Man, New Songs, Same S--t, Vol. 1 (March 27, Napalm Records), the second album from his other band, Me and That Man, which is a musical 180 from Behemoth. Some call it a blues project, others country or folk. As Nergal points out, it is all of those things and more. While one can hear strains of Nick Cave and Tom Waits on both albums, he thinks the latest one is far more diverse than 2017 predecessor Songs of Love and Death.

Whereas that set featured him and blues guitarist-singer John Porter (who later departed), New Man, New Songs, Same S--t, Vol. 1 is a larger group effort. Nergal wrote about 60 percent of it, with the rest composed by the other band members -- Lukasz Kumanski (drums), Matteo Bassoli (bass, synths) and Sasha Boole (guitars, mouth harp, banjo) -- and guest performers.

Although he usually knows what he wants to do musically, Nergal remains open to other peoples ideas and the chance to redefine the band with outside influences. The guest list is impressive: Vocalists include Ihsahn (Emperor), Matt Heafy (Trivium) and Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour), among many others, plus Brent Hinds (Mastodon) and Volbeats Rob Caggiano contribute guitar. Saxophonist-singer Jorgen Munkeby enlivens opening track Run With the Devil, which sounds like it could fit Behemoths catalog, but the bass-driven music is vastly different -- and fun.

Me and That Man has a lot of darkness in it, acknowledges Nergal. Sometimes its a darkness with a big wink, but sometimes its very serious. Its way more diverse than what Behemoth is. Behemoth is all-the-way serious, and there is a machine for humor and just goofing around, but only backstage. He says his music always has a link to the dark side, which is something thats in my DNA and I cant really cut out."

The lyrics certainly traverse dark topics. They also are more straightforward than those of Behemoth, which Nergal says are full of metaphors and deeper meanings that he isnt always aware of until he releases the music. It takes years for me to realize what I was trying to say, he admits, whereas Me and That Mans themes more overt.

Run With the Devil and Burning Churches are pretty self-explanatory and show how some metal topics easily transcend genre. (Nergal plays the title character in the video for the former.) Mestwo, with music by Kumanski and Polish lyrics by Piotr Gibner, excoriates sex abuse and rape within the Catholic church. Its the only track Nergal that sings on; its title translates as Bravery in English.

The message is that I am who I am and I know who I am, and Im going to stick to my codes and my ethics in a world that is full of slaves and opportunists, explains Nergal. It has a nature of confession in a way or a statement, Hey, this is who I am, and if you want to f--k with me, bring it on.

In comparison, the Boole composition You Will Be Mine is a twisted tale of an obsessed lover who turns homicidal. It will likely generate polarized responses -- for instance, when Nergal originally offered it to Seattles dark folkster King Dude, he turned it down because he wouldnt sing the lyrics.

I mean, Youre going to be mine, or Im going to f--king kill you. How more aggressive and violent and brutal you can get? observes Nergal. It is a bar song, basically. I love those ambiguities of what Me and That Man brings to the table because a lot of the stuff is brutal. Then again, just listen to Murder Ballads by Nick Cave, or Hank Williams and stuff like that. Its kind of similar. Its not politically correct, yet the music has the potential to make it to the radio. But probably because of the content, it never will.

There were no American tour plans prior to the coronavirus pandemic, so Me and That Man was promoting New Man, New Songs, Same S--t, Vol. 1 by releasing multiple singles. However, a launch partyshow in London slated for March 27 was canceled, and an April tour of Poland also has been nixed. (There is no word yet on new dates.)But the group has summer appearances planned for such festivals as Hellfest and Wacken Open Air.

A lifelong fan of heavy music, Nergal understands the reaction some metal fans might have to the album. But he recalls how the way that punk rockers The Clash flirted with reggae made that genre sound cool to him. He hopes that headbangers who dont like such styles as country will find his version acceptable. Maybe its wishful thinking, he muses, but maybe not.

He doesnt minding irritating the metal masses, though. There are plenty of artists out there, says Nergal. If you dont like what I do, unfollow. The world is really that simple these days. I just dont understand why people waste their time and go on my social media to comment and send some hate messages or to get offended so they can bring me to court because I did something last summer. Its f--king pathetic and weak. I really despise that kind of attitude.

Nergal considers himself very lefty on most of the departments, such as LGBTQ and human rights, but notes, I honestly think that political correctness is going way overboard and crossing the limit. Its just wrong. To me, its dangerous to rocknroll.

He feels an example of this was when Queens of the Stone Ages Josh Homme kicked photographer Chelsea Lauren's camera during a 2017 concert. The whole world was ready to crucify Josh Homme, recalls Nergal. Obviously, what he did was wrong. But then again, [people] like the Sex Pistols and Motley Crue and Led Zeppelin and those classic bands that no one f--ks with these days. But my question is, do you ever bother to read their biographies? Because if you do, from todays perspective, youd have to burn all of their discographies.

In the end, the metal icon feels it comes down to using discernment. The world is stupid, he asserts. People dont read anymore. People pay attention only to headlines. They never investigate. They never go any deeper than what they see in the headlines. Thats how they make their judgment, and then thats how they throw the stones. So at this very moment, Im going to shut up and not comment any further. If you have a brain, make up your mind and think for yourself. If you want to follow this stupid mass, just f--king do it.

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Behemoth's Nergal Returns With Second Me and That Man Album - Billboard