Oh what the hell ...

Read this excerpt....well, if anyone actually reads my blog, and tell me what you think. I personally agree and it proves another reason why I love Naomi Klizzein...sorry I couldn't help myself. You can find at naomiklein.org

The Bono-ization of Activism
Brigid Delaney, CNN, October 12, 2007


Naomi Klein's 2000 book No Logo galvanized a generation to resist the lure of brands and corporatization. Direct action such as protests and guerilla tactics such as culture jamming and graffiti were encouraged. Back then the movement had teeth and energy, but very quickly it has not just deflated but sharply turned into a world of hyper consumption, according to Klein.Welcome to the Pro-Logo generation that is more likely to buy a wristband and ticket to Live Earth than hit the streets in protest. Speaking this week at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in the UK, to promote her new book The Shock Doctrine, Klein attacked the "Bono-ization" of the protest movement, referring to U2 frontman Bono who is also an active anti-poverty campaigner."The Bono-ization of protest particularly in the UK has reduced discussion to a much safer terrain." Referring to the Make Poverty History Campaign at Gleneagles in 2005 she said, "It was the stadium rock model of protest -- there's celebrities and there's spectators waving their bracelets. It's less dangerous and less powerful (than grass roots street demonstrations.)" Speaking to CNN.com, Klein said the new style of anti-poverty campaigning, where celebrities talk directly with government and business leaders on behalf of a continent (such as Africa) is another form of "noblesse oblige" where the rich and powerful club together to 'give something back.' "They are saying we don't even need government anymore, it's the replacement of nation states with corporate rule -- this Billionaires Club, including Bill Clinton that gets together to give a little something back."


"What's complicated about the space that Bono and Geldof (Bob Geldof, founder of Live Aid) are occupying is that it's inside and outside at the same time -- there's no difference. What's significant about the Seattle movement (the WTO protests in 1999 and 2000) is that it's less the tactics but the fact that it identifies that there are real power differences, winners and losers in this economic model." Klein believes when celebrities such as Bono engage in talks with world leaders at forums such as Davos they are legitimizing the structures in place, and the inequalities that arise from these structures, rather than promoting any radical change; "The story of globalization is the story of inequality. What's been lost in the Bono-ization is ability to change these power structures. There are still the winners and losers, people who are locked in to the power structures and those locked out."Protests such as the Seattle anti-globalization protests, "were really demanding a structural change." But now but according to Klein, the rise in blogging and on-line protests has taken the heat out of direct action. "It's safer to mouth off in a blog than put your body on the line. The Internet is an amazing organizing tool but it also acts as a release, with the ability to rant and get instant catharsis. It's taken that sense of urgency away."

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