Bono - retire from public life and we'll donate a ton of money to fight AIDS

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Aaron With replied on Aug 11, 2008

  To Tony Mac: Its true that if Bono retires RED doesn’t go away. I don’t expect I could ever really get enough people to join to make Bono retire, OR to get RED leadership to decide to end RED. I chose to target Bono in this campaign because he is the symbolic leader of RED, and his charity work before RED was similarly problematic.

  As for the other recent posts, I’m not going to respond to the various insults that have been thrown my way, as I’ve already stated that I’m trying to make this a productive discussion space to clarify the issues surrounding RED, however I will clarify a couple of misconceptions. First of all this is not a money-making scheme. People are only charged if it tips, in this case if Bono retires, and then a check is sent directly to the recipient, in this case the Global Fund. That’s how fundraisers on The Point work.

  As for this campaign’s potential ability to prevent a lot of people out of getting medicine, I suppose that’s implying that if it succeeded in making Bono retire, that RED would also cease to exist and the money it generates for the Global Fund would not make it there. Well as Tony Mac aptly pointed out, even if this campaign succeeded it wouldn’t necessarily stop RED, although I sure wish it would because I think RED does more harm than good. But if it did succeed it would mean we would have raised so much money that Bono would have thought he couldn’t raise more himself, so in that sense we’d be sending even more money to the Global Fund than RED has. Of course, this is very unlikely to happen, as I am certainly not going to launch a $100 million marketing campaign to compete w/ RED. But in spite of my lack of a marketing budget this campaign has managed to grab a lot of people’s attention online, and that’s because I think the criticism laid out here of RED and of Bono’s ineffective philanthropy efforts resonates with a lot of people. I’m happy to play any part in spreading awareness about the problems with RED & maybe get some people to think twice about the best way they can use their consumer power for good, and I’m glad to have made a little space here for those people who are upset with RED and what it represents to aggregate their discontent in this growing pot of funds. Even if we don’t raise enough to get Bono to retire (and don’t count us out yet), hopefully he or other celebrity philanthropists will take notice that there are a lot of people who won’t stand for this kind of ineffective, misleading, counter-productive philanthropy efforts, & reconsider the best way to use their position of influence in the future.

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Dani B replied on Aug 11, 2008

  Good luck with your campaign. I hope that it accomplishes good for those who deserve it. I don’t agree with your methods, but I agree with your cause. Whether or not I see it as self-indulgent is irrelevant. That is the point of a debate, you don’t need to compromise to be satisfied. I am satisfied with my opinions emotional or otherwise. I know at the end of the day my sincerity and dedication to help people are all that personally matters.

  Ciao.

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Tiszai B replied on Aug 14, 2008

  Bono NOT retire from public life!!!!!!!!!!
  Bono make good music!!!!!!
  Bono HELP for africans!!!!!!
  He will GOOD for people.
  Please listen to music Bono’s music track (U2) and see track’s lyrics!
  Van aki szereti Bono-t és a zenéjét, köcsögök!!!

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Hebert Contreras replied on Aug 15, 2008

  Yo escribo en español porque soy latino.
  I write in spanish ´cause I am a latinamerican man.

  Mi mensaje tiene que ver con recordarte que los diferentes puntos sobre un mismo tema, puede ser el principio para encontrar un punto de equilibrio en pos de una buena causa.

  He leído sobre tus críticas hacia Bono y su iniciativa “Red”, y no me parece justo que condiciones tu accionar, queriendo sacarlo de la lucha contra el sida. Bono ya es, long time ago, una figura pública y más allá de un fanatismo propio de mi gusto por la música de U2, creo que toda iniciativa emprendida en esa dirección es loable y digna de ser tomada en cuenta. Puede, eso sí, ser cambiada, modificada pero no suprimida cuando, por pequeños o grandes que sean, esté dando resultados.

  Solo espero que tus motivos no sean más profundos o escondidos, a propósito de las críticas que se le hacen a Bono por testificar de su fé cristiana. O el deseo maligno de captar más fondos para enriquecerte o la envidia por el nivel de relaciones y captación que tiene la iniciativa del frontman de U2.

  Te invitaría a seguir siendo parte de una sumatoria de iniciativas y esfuerzos, en lugar de ser promotor de división y crítica destructiva, porque tú no pierdes con la disputa, pierden las personas que necesitan un tratamiento o pierden los esfuerzos que se hacen en investigación para encontrar la cura a tan nefasto mal.

  Atentamente,

  Hebert.

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Tiszai B replied on Aug 15, 2008

  This is an idiot campaign!When Bono retire, where make music???I like U2!!

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  john forster replied on Sep 1, 2008

  you fucking suck, bono is the best

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Tiszai B replied on Sep 3, 2008

  fuck up, bono is the best

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Jim Wittliff replied on Sep 7, 2008

  So much to cover here. I’ll start with this bit from Dani B:

  “The truth of the matter is that the majority of consumers don’t care. As I asked of you in my last note – how many of your friends and neighbours would be willing to give money to homeless people without getting something in return? The majority of our westernized world will not give something without getting something in return.”

  You’re kidding, right? Your entire point here seems to be that, since people in the West don’t give to charities without incentive, campaigns like RED’s have a place. This is a dangerous assertion, not least of all because it is absurd on its face. People in developed countries do give to charities, often without incentive apart from tax writeoffs. And that’s the kind of incentives we need… not overpriced clothing from a company whose history reflects an utter disregard for human rights, for which a maximum 2% of the profits are donated to research. And given RED’s dismal figures, I’d say that far more money is directly donated to charities. Awareness isn’t everything, and RED aren’t the world.

  We’re still talking about profits here. The companies involved aren’t spending money on advertising for nothing, and they sure as Hell aren’t doing it for charity, whatever you think you know about them. It is either an indisputable misapprehension of the way things work in the world of business, or else that you are impossibly daft, if you even begin to say things like, “Your so-called campaign is negative. While you may think you’re exposing celebrities like Bono to the world, you are actually just dumping on people who legitimately want to help.” First and foremost, if Bono truly wanted to help, he should know that campaigns such as RED’s are counterproductive. You further presume (a bit too presumptuously) that because most people only give to charity for “the warm fuzzy feeling” (an estimation that is both negative and distinctly unprovable) business-as-usual should be good enough. Hey, think what you want.

  I don’t see what Aaron is doing here as any kind of overtly “negative” proposal. I would argue that what Bono and others are doing is far more detrimental to the goals set forth. In fact, for every teenager whose first lesson in humanitarianism comes from RED, I’ll bet there are ten charitable adults who would never shop at the Gap for any reason. In no uncertain terms, allowing companies such as the Gap to pat themselves on the back for some perceived, yet mostly ineffectual, benevolent act would be roughly the same as allowing a ruthless dictator to continue persecuting his people because he gave 1% of the national education fund to impoverished nations. What Aaron is doing here is fun, even if it attacks a rock star. How does it impact on anyone’s happiness? How, aside from the focus on Bono, is it “negative” in the least? It still aims to raise money and awareness for AIDS research. Promotions such as RED’s are not exemplarities of corporate conduct, and anyone would be foolish to think so. It’s a disgrace that I even have to tell you any of this.

  And maybe instead of wasting your time telling Aaron how to operate his campaigns, you should think of starting one of your own. The fact that we live in a society of consumers does not make blind consumerism preferable to genuine empathy. You should really re-evaluate your thinking about what it means to be charitable. I think you’re expressing quite a bit of guilt for having given for the wrong reasons. Yes, we live in a greedy society… that doesn’t mean that business-as-usual should govern all human behaviors, especially the behaviors of those who stand opposed to it. No, we don’t gie money to prostitutes. The notion that prostitutes already make a lot of money doesn’t help. We don’t tip McDonald’s employees, either, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t tip our servers at local eateries. Your comparisons, although seemingly heartfelt, are misplaced and (as is all-too-common these days) fraught with righteous indignation. Practice what you preach. You want Aaron to leave RED and Bono alone? Then you should really leave Aaron to his work, all of you.

  One final thought. To all of you dunderpates saying that “RED are doing something good,” get a life of your own. Please. Seriously, for the love of God, you’re beyond help. RED’s existence is further proof that people don’t think, Dani B may be right in this evaluation; however, there is always room for change, and in this case it is desperately sought. The last thing we need are multinationals benefiting from all the “good” they’re doing. The bottom line is: what Aaron is doing is spreading social awareness of nefarious and questionable business practices in the guise of bona fide charitability, and I can see nothing inherently wrong with that.

  Oh, and U2 suck.

  

• 49 posts, 23 voices
  

  

  Karl Falconer replied on Sep 21, 2008

  I’m from Dublin in fact in from the exact same area as Paul Hewson (aka Bono). Getting Bono to retire may not be such a bad thing at all as far as I can see and I can tell you that an awful lot of people in Ireland think the same.

  Firstly if someone raises money for any good cause it’s a good thing, provided the money goes to those it’s intended to help. The motives of those who raise the money is secondary to that and it should not take from whatever benefit results.

  So keeping that in mind I think it’s still valid and even necessary to question the motives and real long term effect of all those “smiling for a good cause” celebs who don’t seem to mind the added spin off of boosting their careers.

  Keeping that in mind the word you’ll most often hear in Ireland when Mr. Hewson (Bono) is mentioned is hypocrite and that is exactly what he is: a two faced hypocrite. He’s also what we call a Grandstander. No cause is too big for the bold Bono but lots of causes are too small in fact too small to sell albums to the market he aims at when he’s pontificating about AIDS. If you want to tackle one of the major problems with the spread of AIDS the last thing you would do, presumably, is boost the image of the leader whose organisation use’s its widespread influence to lie to people about how condoms are secretly full of tiny holes and makes every attempt to prevent their use. But what does Bono do? He gets an audience with Herr Ratzinger for a mutually beneficial photo shoot and has never uttered one little word of criticism of the Catholic Church and their murderous doctrine. But of course if he was to do that it might just affect his tax benifits in Ireland and that would cost him some of his own precious moolah.

  Then there is the great play he makes of being Irish and actually living in Ireland. What is never mentioned is the fact that Bono and his mates live using a tax loophole designed to help and encourage struggling artists and writers. When it became more tax advantageous for Bono & Co to move their music publishing wing to Holland off it went.

  Another aspect of Bonos activities is his association with the arch elites of the Western world like Rupert Murdoch owner of Sky TV, The Times, The New York Post and many other media outlets. He also invests in companies that supply the US military and through a holding company is a major shareholder in Forbes Magazine. You might also notice that there is very little mention of Bono actually donating any of his own money to anything.
  I regularly drive through Dublin 11 where Bono grew up. Part of the area, not a stones throw from Bonos old house, is an area called Ballymun. It’s one the poorest in the city and has been plagued with drugs and social problems for years. On the edge of it is at once a courageous and pathetic ramshackle building with a hand painted sign that says “The Ballymun Horse owners Association”. Following an age old tradition some of the local kids buy themselves ponies and can be seen riding bareback on the streets. They need encouragement and some investment but Bono, like our government, does not deem that such a glamorous cause.

  In the city centre is the by now famous Clarence Hotel owned by Bono and Co. He drives his Maserati from there down the city quays to the now fashionable docklands to where he has his big city pad. Taking that journey at night you pass doorway after doorway where you can see the ragged homeless wrecks who sleep there winter and summer because the city does not have adequate accommodation for the homeless. Bono would surely do something for them if he could see them too but it must be them funny sunglasses he wears.

  He can spot a new tax break before it even comes over the horizon but he’s so international he does not have time to read the letters about the above mention needy people who live in the same city as he does.

  I suppose he’s too busy playing Jesus to the lepers in his head.

  

Post Reply

Post Reply