Boris Johnson, gestures and stunts
Boris Johnson has been widely criticised for saying that he would not ‘take the knee’,a symbol of solidarity with the late George Floyd, because he doesn’t believe in gesture politics.
Taking the knee is not a gesture but a political act of solidarity, something that doesn’t really exist in Johnson’s known universe.
Even so he often does make gestures and also indulges in stunts.
The two have been confused in media commentary. It is perhaps to reference another current discussion the difference between a moment and a movement.
Johnson is not about to contend with authority (whatever he may occasionally claim) but the matter is a distant cousin to the social movement theorist Charles Tilly’s Repertoires of Contention.
When Johnson clapped for the NHS momentarily on the doorstep of 10 Downing St or waved a kipper about at a rally these were gestures-typically meaningless ones.
When he was involved with writing things on the side of a Brexit campaign bus or indeed getting stuck on a zipwire when he was London Mayor these are stunts, part of a wider campaign.
Clearly I’m no fan of Johnson but politics is in part theatre and gestures and stunts are all part of it. What for example was the purpose of Keir Starmer’s appearance at Brewdog TowerHill on Monday about if not to engage in a media focused activity. In this case it was at least one that had a decent purpose to it.
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