HALF ART
CHRIS THURMAN: Mad, mad world in which Trump wants a safe space
Those who are in a position of power and influence don’t get a safe space, writes Chris Thurman
A few months ago I wrote in this column about the dangers of scoffing at people who want to create and preserve "safe spaces": if individuals and groups who are socially ostracised, economically marginalised and often physically threatened feel the need to cultivate a safe space for discussion or for artistic creation, that is their prerogative. We have since gone deep into the rabbit hole: a universe in which Donald Trump is America’s president-elect. Everything is upside down, including the English language, which at the best of times is an unstable and slippery thing, but under the regime of Trump’s rhetoric faces the very real possibility of becoming nonsensical. Not even the phrase "safe space" is safe from his linguistic persecution — that is, from the semiotic-idiotic tyranny of his Twitter account. Trump’s 2IC-to-be Mike Pence, the "establishment" face of bigotry, recently attended a performance of Hamilton, the Broadway musical about one of America’s founding fathers. It’s ...
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