Why the death stare is making a comeback
The thousand yard stare, for those of you who don’t know, is an expression used to describe the look in the eyes of soldiers, usually Vietnam veterans, emotionally bulldozed by the horror they have witnessed.
Brexit hasn’t quite reached the same level as the ‘Nam, but the past week has been nothing if not bruising, and we have begun to see the horrors reflected in the peepers of politicos and pundits from across the spectrum. Not a thousand yards in length, per se, as it’s been impossible for anybody to look more than four hours ahead on any given day, but at least 50. So, then, we have a term for the condition: The Article 50 Yard Stare.
It began on the BBC’s Politics Live, where novelist Will Self and Tory MP Mark Francois squared up to each other in the most unconvincing display of alpha masculinity the world has seen since Ed Miliband’s lisp prevented him correctly pronouncing the phrase “hell yeah.” For a man as renowned for his grasp of the English language as Self, it was a particularly unedifying spectacle; his dull eyes and monosyllabic prodding failed to land a killer blow. Francois, for his part, was hardly a hit either, though as someone elected to parliament to speak on behalf of constituents, what precedent was there to suggest he’d have been halfway capable? Besides, it’s not like either had been invited on the state broadcaster’s flagship politics show to talk.
The next day, we were again treated to some more staring, as alleged economist Paul Mason came to verbal blows with Michelle Dewberry, who affixed him with an icy stare and accused him of being rude to her off air. Jo Coburn, the host, gave Mason a right of reply, which he very hastily brushed away – at which point JoCo turned eyes bulging with disbelief towards him; try as she might to remain neutral, she clearly felt that he did, in fact, have something to apologise for. Emily Maitlis joined in a few hours later, rolling her eyes in exasperation as she tried, for the umpteenth time, to get a straight answer out of Barry Gardiner about Labour’s Brexit policy.
And it’s not just media personalities who are affected. This week’s edition of Question Time highlighted the extent to which Brexit angst has infected the public. One particularly galling moment featured a Brexiteer (who it later turned out was a former UKIP political candidate) and a very irate Remainer almost frothing at the mouth over whether or not the country wanted a people’s vote. As one looked from the Remainer to the Brexiteer and back again, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish which swivel-eyed loon was which.
It is a curious phenomenon that, in an age of hyper-tense national discourse, charged language and a younger generation as reliant on symbols as letters to communicate, the stare has come roaring back into fashion as a means of communication. Why rant when you can say it with a look?
Some might consider this a negative, but I’m all for it. That babbling chatter around Brexit, the argument, the shouting, the insults and the spin: it’s all become a bit too much. Perhaps those with the 50 yard stare aren’t burnt out by what they’ve experienced. Maybe it’s just a survival mechanism, a means of preserving their voices and sanity (perhaps the prime minister should consider it).
For now, Brexit has been delayed. Perhaps, then, it is time for a period of silence from everybody. To calm down, get our breath back, and remember what it was like before we all started calling each other fascists.
