VILLAINS-Bono

I love U2. I think they are one of the greatest rock bands in the world. I even liked Bono for a time. I had no problem with his opposition to apartheid in South Africa or his work on behalf of the environment. He leans left in his politics the same way George Clooney does, but this will not expel you from hero status in my world. Some of my heroes are leftwingers. But not Bono.

Bono lost me when he decided to tackle world poverty. This is when his stupidity combined with being a pretentious ass got him in trouble. Here's the deal. Bono is a rich rock star prick who feels guilty over being a rich rock star prick. He feels guilty for flying on private jets and having a summer home on the Riviera. It bugs him that he has all the good things in life because he was lucky enough to be born in a Western country and also attract the purchasing behavior of millions of fans. So, to appease his guilt, he insists that everybody in the West pay higher taxes and send the money to corrupt kleptocratic governments in sub-Saharan countries to continue oppressing the people there. If you disagree with this, you lack "compassion." Meanwhile, Bono shelters his own money from these taxes. Neat trick there.

Bono's problem is that he is stupid. Ignorance can be corrected but not stupidity. There are many people who are moved by compassion to go to Africa and try to help. They come back disappointed and disheartened. This was Paul Theroux in Dark Star Safari. The problem isn't a shortage of compassion. It is a shortage of common sense. African kleptocracies merely continue the exploitation that happened under colonialism except these governments don't even have the burden of white guilt to keep them in check. In short, these robbers would have stopped long ago because they have stolen everything. They continue directly as a result of Western aid and loans.

Bono knows these facts. He just doesn't care. He has never let reality intrude in that fucked up brain of his. He believes that all problems are spiritual problems. He is not unlike Mother Theresa who let people die of curable diseases. For St. Bono, solutions matter less than guilt and repentance. The problem isn't that Africans have a shitty life. It is that Westerners have a good life. Nevermind, that Bono is at the pinnacle of that good life.

Bono is a narcissist. His efforts to help the world are not selfless. They are merely outward expressions of his own inward gaze. He sees himself on par with Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama. Yes, he lives the good life, but he feels GUILT over that good life. That's all that matters. Just feel bad, and you can live good. How fucked up can one person be?

The sad thing about Bono is that his efforts actually work to increase misery. Everytime some African kleptocrat gets debt forgiveness, this gives him a new lease on raping and murdering his own people. Then, Bono thinks more money should be given to them. Fucking amazing. This man can challenge the former white government of South Africa but can't do the same when it is a black government. The fucker is batshit insane.

People will say that Bono's motives are pure. So, what? I'm sure the bloodletters had pure motives as well. They wanted to cure people. But it was their ignorance that killed people. Similarly, it is Bono's lack of reality based intelligence that kills people in Africa. This is the problem of the Left. They let sentiment conquer reality.

The problem with the world is not a lack of compassion. The problem with the world is compassion without understanding. I want to help people in Africa, but I know the best way to help them is to stop hurting them by funding their enemies with foreign aid. Freedom is the answer, and the best way to promote freedom is to leave people alone. Fucknuts like Bono are incapable of doing this. They have to fuck with the world. Because he is a rockstar, he is qualified to fix all the world's problems. He isn't.

I am all for celebrities getting involved in politics and charity. I think they do a lot of good when it is directed in the right direction. But celebrity activism is a double edged sword. Bono is the evil edge. He could do a lot of good challenging governments in Africa. Instead, he enables them, and he doesn't care as long as he looks good doing it.

Posted in: