Icke likes to recount how it all started in 1989 when he experienced neurological symptoms. Since then, Icke has peddled all manner of grandiose conspiracy theories which encompass just about every imagined plot in the market. The moon, for example, is not really Earth's only natural satellite; it is a gigantic spacecraft where the nefarious manipulate the human mind, warping our perception of reality.
The main tenet of his theories is that the world is run by a race of reptilian aliens who can change their shape and appear to be human. It follows then, that the world's political, economic and social systems are manipulated by these evil aliens to enslave mankind.
You get the idea. David Icke is a human singularity of idiocy.
Needless to say, there is not a skerrick of evidence to suggest that reptilian aliens exist; or that various world leaders, including the Royal Family, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, are shape-shifting reptilian aliens from the constellation Draco; or that there is such a thing as an "Illuminati," a "New World Order" or a "Global Domination Agenda."
Icke is one of many in the cavalcade of conspiracy theorists and delusional oddballs and he has every right to believe what the voices in his head tell him. I, for example, believe in leprechauns, the tooth fairy and the Loch Ness monster. However, there are three main issues that make Icke rather problematic. First, he has quite a large following. Second, his theories verge on (and some would argue, are blatant) anti-Semitism. Third, he is bringing his lizard show to Australia.
In his book And The Truth Shall Set You Free, Icke writes: "I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World War. This Jewish Elite used the First World War to secure the Balfour Declaration and the principle of the Jewish State of Israel (for which, given the genetic history of most Jewish people, there is absolutely no justification on historical grounds or any other)."Icke courts controversy wherever he goes, but that is not the issue. The real issue is with his "Jewish problem". His theories are essentially a rehash of old Jewish conspiracy theories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For example, he believes in the authenticity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious anti-Semitic forgery that was proven false almost a century ago. However, in the conspiratorial world according to Icke, it was not the Jews who wrote about their plans of world domination in the Protocols, but aliens. There's more of this nature which gives you an insight into his ideology.
A person who writes such things and makes home videos titled The Lizards and the Jews and Zionism, the cause of World Mayhem, is not just a nut job; that person is anti-Semitic.
And now that same person, whose acolytes include militiamen and neo-Nazis, who claims that the Royal Family are involved in satanic rituals and take part in human sacrifice, is coming to town. He has embarked on a global world tour, spruiking his self-published books and apprising his fans on his latest theories.
City of Sydney Liberal councillor Christine Forster is not worried about Icke's scheduled show at Sydney's Town Hall on Saturday. "I am a firm believer in freedom of speech", she says. "At the end of the day, I don't really think what he has to say will be taken very seriously by very many people".
She is, of course, right. Icke is within his right to promote what he describes "cutting edge research" and I would call paranoid quackery. But Sydney Town Hall, or the Melbourne Convention Centre, should not give space and kudos to this delusional man whose ideas are not just infantile, but also racist and deeply offensive.
Australians should consider whether they want to spend $105 to line the pocket of a messianic buffoon; the venues which host him should reconsider if they want their names associated with his.
Ori Golan is a freelance journalist.
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