No Rock And Roll Fun

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON BONO: Chris from doyoufeelloved writes about Bono's appearances in the belly of power:

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to like the guy, but I definitely think you're being unfair to him. For one thing, his appearance with George Bush (who, I might add, I hate with an unrivalled passion and who I will take great, erection-causing glee in voting out of office in November) HAS actually caused a large amount of money to start flowing into Africa to combat AIDS -- I'd always suspected it was an empty promise myself, but I was recently assured by Bobby Shriver, the head of DATA (and a registered Democrat) at a Q&A session in New York that the Bush AIDS relief plan has, in fact, begun to kick in, and is doing some good. And second, I'm not sure where your rancor at his appearing with the Canadian PM comes from. You seem to think that if Canada had already decided to up its AIDS budget, then there's no reason for Bono to appear with them -- well, maybe it's to say "Thank you"? That's still considered polite in most cultures. Granted, I don't think that Bono should make a habit of appearing with George Bush to say "thank you" -- now that he's got his money, I'm hoping he gives the man a wide berth and lets everyone else rag on him to keep it up for a change -- but the Canadian government is not as ethically questionable as Bush's is, so I don't see the harm.

Also, it bears noting that I am a twenty/thirtysomething U2 fan, and I'm sure as fuck not taking Bono's appearance with Bush as an "endorsement."

(And yes, I am a U2 fan, and not JUST a U2 fan, but a big one -- I write for u2log.com in my spare time. So take this with a grain of salt, but I don't think I'm being terribly unreasonable.)

In response:

I can understand what you're saying, and it might be that without Bono these things wouldn't have been happening at all. And I can also go with the other argument that Bono is at least using his fame for something other than getting the best tables at restaurants, and I should cut him some slack for that and, yes, I suppose I should.

But, more specifically: What Bono did by appearing with Bush was to allow him to appear to be responsible for the rather miserly increase in the budget being sent to target AIDs in Africa - although one rise had actually already been approved by Congress, so it wasn't a Bush initiative at all; Bush actually just made an announcement about stretching money over three years, which in effect turned the "increase" into a slight decrease. Bono stood by happily while Bush claimed to giving more money when, in effect, he was cutting funding. Remember, Frist and Helms had been trying to increase funding to USD500million a year; Bush's White House has beaten them down to USD200m. [source: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13429 ]

And, yes, the money might be flowing in now (although it took quite a while to get going - Paul Davis of the Global Aids Alliance pointed out there had been three million Aids-related deaths while the bureaucracy was being set up) - but it's going where the White House wants it to go, rather than where it's needed. A lot of it is going through American contractors - almost as if Bush's initiative was to try and help American pharmaceutical companies to maintain income in the face of the push for generic versions of Aids drugs. The head of Bush's Aids initiative, is, of course, a former head of drug company [source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/16/opinion/16MON3.html?ex=1084852800&en=9e1d6bbd2f20aa1b&ei=5070 ]

The rancour for Bono's Canadian adventure really stems from his insistence that he wasn't playing a part in the Canadian election campaign - yes, a "thank you" might be the polite thing to do, but why do it in public? It's the same with his appearance with Bush - however much he might think in his heart that he isn't lending his weight to help the stature of these people, he is doing precisely that. Do you really think the Canadian premier thought "it's nice of Bono to come and say 'thank you'", or "Which side shall I have Bono on to show off my best profile?" Bono could say thank you in private, or by saying thank you on the 'phone. Whether you think it's an endorsement or not, sharing a public photo-opportunity and shaking the hand of a politician is buying in to what they stand for. If Bono had been making a vital difference, it might have been worth his taking that step. With Bush, certainly, he sold the allure of his celebrity incredibly cheap.

I know we're never going to agree on aspects of Bono's good work - I tend to see him as more of a 1960s housewife on a grand scale, doing good works to fill in the time and for the social buzz, and I know you'd think that is a little unfair. In the end, the results are what counts, and if Bono really does actively help save lives in Africa, that can't be a bad thing. I just wish he'd be a bit more careful whose hand he chooses to shake en route.