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January 25, 2003
Anyone catch Bono on the Oprah show several months back literally preaching about the African AIDS crisis? Don't get me wrong, I think Bono is doing a great thing for the African AIDS issue, however, he can go about it in a much more classier and effective way. He comes across to the public as saying "you're too ignorant to know about the African AIDS issues, so let me get in your face and educate you about it. You should listen to me because I am Bono and I know best." He goes overboard on his preaching while there may be a better, less offensive way to get the message across. And then you have Oprah Winfrey jumping on the BonoBandwagon. Since Oprah is an expert in weight gain, maybe she should concentrate more on shows about getting her polyester clad, fat ass audience into shape. Oprah should go on another crash diet and have her airbrushed photo placed on the cover of Vogue for a second time. Is this Oprah's "positive example" to her overweight fans? Maybe you should have another doughnut, girlfriend. Don't worry, your handlers can always digitally remove the excess weight off of you. |
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Let's face it, does the poor single mother living in a low income area supporting three children really have the time to write to her politicians about the African AIDS crisis? And if she does have time to write to her representative, will they do anything about it? Does Bono really care about that single mother, who is struggling on a daily basis to feed her own poor family? Or is Bono just worrying about his own public image and record sales figures? Bono could be a bit more effective by staying a little more low key on these issues. Just because he is getting the message out to the people, does not mean any good will come from it. The only thing he is guaranteed is some positive free publicity, which is just fine with him since it helps him sell more records and buy some more $1,000.00 sunglasses. Come to think of it, the amount of money Bono spends on sunglasses in a year could probably help feed half of the African population. |
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Artists like Elton John and Bruce Springsteen have also supported numerous causes. However, they do it in their own quiet, soft spoken, unselfish and classy way. Why can't Bono do it this way? Any fan who is affluent enough to pay the sickening amount of $150.00 to go see a U2 concert can do without the sign up for Amnesty International and sign up for Drop the Debt preaching by the U2 frontman. These fans do not pay good money to have some short, obnoxious, bowlegged clown tell them what causes to believe in. Propoganda or hidden agenda? Take your pick. Thanks, but no thanks Mr. Preacher Man! Bono can do all of his fans a huge favor and stop the preaching at his concerts. People pay hard earned money to see a concert to be entertained, not to hear some self-serving political rhetoric from a singer who has lost his voice due to excessive smoking and drinking. Maybe if Bono starts smoking and drinking again, his voice will magically return. Instead of going out there and saying "buy my album", he is saying "save some lives" and still getting the same publicity effect without appearing like the selfish pig that he is. Nice little scam if you can pull it off without anyone noticing. The cause also serves to shield him from harsh criticism by the mainstream media, many who have disgustingly portrayed him as some modern day saint. Where is it written you cannot criticize someone because he "appears" to be doing a good deed? |
| During a live concert from the "Joshua Tree" tour, Bono would say during the song "Bullet the Blue Sky", "My God isn't short of cash Mister." To that I would like to add, well neither is Bono short of cash! When you live in a $10 million house and have homes all over the world, don't you think it is rather difficult to relate to the poor single mother in the ghetto trying to make ends meet? |
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And most U2 fans (most people for that matter) live from paycheck to paycheck, not from million dollar homes to million dollar homes. Is this elitest character really serious when he asks and expects the everyday commoner/peasant to relate to him and his causes? There is also the issue of personal contradiction and hypocrisy. Bono is pretending to be selfless and trying to save the world on one hand, and on the other hand is wearing a wig because of his receding hair line. Why the vanity, guy? Most people who are really sincere about doing good in the world usually do not give a damn about their pesonal appearance or about superficial materialistic items like designer sunglasses. Bono is doing a great job feigning to be this concerned person while at the same time screwing over his own fans for the extra buck. Here is another article we wrote about a recent U2 concert in Boston. I think this article will give you an in depth analysis as to how concerned Bono and U2 are about their image and to what pathetic lengths they will go to protect it. http://www.sphinxmontreal.com/commentaries/u2_boston.html And here is another article about why U2 refused to play in Mexico and South America during the last Elevation tour. Nice to see that Bono & Company are really concerned about their poorer fans in developing countries. http://www.sphinxmontreal.com/commentaries/u2_mexico.html Now do these last two articles really portray Bono as someone who really gives a shit about people, specifically his fans? How can he care about the afflicted in Africa when he does not give a rats ass about his own fans who help him buy his million dollar houses? In addition, Bono has done absolutely nothing to promote the alternative music industry. Since U2 came from alternative music roots, Bono's indifference to the industry is despicable and deplorable, to say the least. Talk about forgetting where you came from. Obviously, this dude suffers from a severe case of selective memory and has coldly written off the people who helped get him to the top. He fucks us over and now he expects us to help him out with his holier than thou causes? Nice try, buddy. Ever wonder why he uses the same scripted pitch at each of his concerts? To the trained observer, he appears to have the credibility of a used car salesman, who also have their own identical scripted pitches designed to screw over their customers. Most likely, the majority of people Bono reaches with his African AIDS message will go out and buy his album instead of helping the cause. And I am sure Bono is well aware of this and has no problem with it, since it enables him to support his sunglass fetish. So basically, it's a win-win situation for him. Maybe Bono should tone down the gospel type preaching and concentrate on being a little more respectful to his fans. The way I see it, he is nothing more than an overpaid pretentious prima donna going through a middle age crisis. At least he had the common sense to ditch the wig, even though he did it after he was busted! Although I believe in helping the African AIDS victims, I don't believe in Bono because I've seen where he lives. Sorry to break this to you, but my God doesn't believe in artists who FUCK OVER their fans, Mister. PLEASE be GONE! If you are looking for the unoffensive politically correct version of this story, click here.
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