February 28, 2017
Depeche Mode in concert, Sweden 2010
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Whatever his reason, if any, it was just a dumb thing to say, another own goal for a guy who can”t afford a single one. And while not as crippling as, say, inspiring assembled dorks to greet one of your speeches with Nazi (sorry, I mean, Roman) salutes, this replicated the sensation of tripping over an egregious and unforgivable factual error in an “important” book:
You wonder what else the author gets wrong.
For readers in the “What’s a tee-vee?” camp, assuming you”ve even made it this far, please try to understand and accept that these cultural signifiers matter, for better or worse, to millions of others, if not you.
Of course, it’s possible (although I really doubt it) that Spencer was actually playing 4-D chess with the rubes, myself included.
Because one oft-repeated reaction to his apparent Depeche Mode fandom was to slap up, “so there“-style, some lyrics to the group’s biggest hit, at least Stateside: “People Are People.”
To this day I walk around humming “People are stupid…”, but here’s how it really goes:
People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
So we”re different colours
And we”re different creeds
And different people have different needs
It’s obvious you hate me
Though I”ve done nothing wrong
I never even met you
So what could I have done
I can”t understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
Help me understand
Now you”re punching and you”re kicking
And you”re shouting at me
I”m relying on your common decency
So far it hasn”t surfaced
But I”m sure it exists
It just takes a while to travel
From your head to your fist
I can”t understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
Now, to quote another DM hit, “I don”t want to start any blasphemous rumors,” but it’s possible one particular fellow, who was following along with the thread, was onto something when he put in, referring to the alt-right in general, and human heavy bag Spencer in particular:
They would claim that these lyrics actually apply to them
