[Mb-civic] Africans puzzled by Live8

Mon Jul 4 20:27:41 PDT 2005

Lyle:

With all due respect, what makes you think that any large portion of those people give a rat's ass for poverty, or the Third World in general, or anything that doesn't affect them personally?  They were there to see a re-united Pink Floyd, or their favorite group, or whatever.  Sure, some of them - hopefully many - do care.  And yet even so, how many of those people will go beyond simply "caring" and maybe calling a telephone number, and actually do something - something active, something constructive, maybe even something that will cause them to put their own ass on the line.

I have to agree with Cheeseburger on this one.  Although I believe I am not being cynical, but realistic.

There is a difference between what we all did in the 60s and early 70s (and some of you even earlier) with regard to real, constructive action for the causes we believed in and fought for, and what the vast majority of those who attended Live8 (or even watched in on TV) do today.  They sit in their smug cozy homes, writing checks and thinking that that's going to save the world.

If I were a betting man, I would wager a hundred dollars to your penny that less than 5% (and I'm being generous) of the non-60s/70s people who attended Live8 have ever engaged in civil disobedience, gotten arrested, been handcuffed, and spent some time in a cell.

Sure, we were all "peace, love, light" and engaging in free sex, listening to CSN&Y, etc.  But all of us also knew when it was time to put those feelings into action - and we were prepared to put our freedom, if not our lives, on the line for them.  I daresay that very, very few of the "new generation" are willing to do that.

If you remember the movie "The Untouchables" with Kevin Costner and Sean Connery, Connery plays a hard-case cop who convinces Eliott Ness that he can't take on Capone "nicely": that he has to get dirty if he really wants to take him down.  Ness keeps ignoring that advice until Connery is shot down by Capone's men.  As Connery is dying, he tells Ness that the man Ness wants will be at the train station.  With his last breath - full of extreme indignation - Connery almost yells at Ness: "What are you prepared to do about it?"

That is the only question that matters where "causes" are concerned.  What are you prepared to do about it?  If all you are prepared to do is go to a concert and maybe hold up a placard, or call a telephone number, or write a check, that's fine.  But that is not "taking up a cause."

The degree to which one believes in and will fight for a cause is determined solely by what they are willing to suffer or sacrifice for that cause.  In my book, if one is not willing to at very least engage in active protest - including civil disobedience, and the very real possibility of beating, arrest and/or jail - then one should just shut up and merrily write that check.  However, if one truly believes in a cause, then one must be willing to die for it.  End of story.

Yes, it sounds harsh.  And I'm sorry if I'm bursting the "happy bubble" that these people are living in.  But the world is not a happy place.  And all of us know it.

Ultimately, I think you are so caught up in the seeming similarities between the protest movements of the 60s and the current "movement" that you are not being honest with yourself about the vast differences.

If the new generation wants to prove itself worthy of the mantle all of us carried as a result of our literal blood, sweat, pain and tears, then let's see if they follow up their "happy time" at Live8 with some real action.  If not, they are worse than poseurs; they are hypocrites and traitors to humanity.

Peace.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lyle K'ang 
  To: mb-civic at islandlists.com 
  Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 10:48 PM
  Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Africans puzzled by Live8

  I watched it all on T.V. and listened to none-stop XM Radio-

  It was extraordinary!!!!!!!!!!

  Many tears, especially Pink Floyd...

  On the other channels was FOX with a special about the Iran-Nuclear Threat or something like that. They are so sure that Iran has nuclear missles---sound familiar. They even went so far to talk about intervention-you do know, Boeing and others are manufacturing low-yield atomic, bunker-bashing bombs?

  It was the Karl Rove strategy again-while Live 8 was doing its thing.
  Let me tell you a short story-one of the reasons for this concert world wide, was to connect the younger X, Y, crowd with the '60's crowd. In essense, the torch was being passed. The young have a cause now-or another cause. They did get fired up and still are. The truth is about coming together to fight the opposition.

  You guys sound like Republican hacks bashing this fabulous-spiritual display of togetherness. Oh well, you are old fuddy duddies and forgot how it was to be young-full of hope for a cause, fuckin your brains out, and defending Peace, Love-No WAR!

  Or......too stoned to give a crap about everything that's falling down around you!

  In any case, YES!!! I am the prickly-pear cactus walking through a crowded locker room. So, get a life!! Get real--wake up-what did you do today to turn a life around????

  Get on stage and sing your hearts out-in case it passed you bye, the concerts overall lyrics was anti-war; stoned-out, peaceful and full of hope...So don't bring me down with your false crap and how you know better-start a R&B or RnR band and get out there-then make your accusations!!!!

  Practice what you Preach!!!!!! The World needed Live 8 and its ENERGY!!!

  If I read your intentions wrongly, BFD-THINK before you write-stop being hypocrites...

  Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
  http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
  http://lyve-oasis.com

  Please note: message attached

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  Harold:

  I hear you, and understand your skepticism.  After all, had Geldof et al taken the money (tens of millions) it took to produce the shows and used it elsewhere, it probably could have bought an entire bag of groceries for millions of people, or medicine et al for millions of others.

  I never understood this whole thing anyway.  Raise awareness?  Anyone who is not aware that there is extreme poverty in the world (from Africa to Appalachia) has been living under a rock somewhere in the Mojave Desert for the past hundred years.

  Peace.
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Harold Sifton 
    To: MB Civic 
    Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2005 10:25 PM
    Subject: [Mb-civic] Africans puzzled by Live8

    Most Africans are puzzled, yet thankful for Live8 by rich white entertainers.

    http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/July/theworld_July70.xml&section=theworld&col=

    Point being, most Africans do not have TV or even are aware of Live8.

    2 billion people did not watch Live8 like the media says, maybe 80 or 90 million if ! Who knows ? I watched parts..... mostly London.

    http://www.live8live.com/

    There were not 1 million people at the Philadelphia show as they said !!

    Great idea, great music by some, but where will the follow up be by the artists .......... ???

    I think this will be more of a celebration of "I was there as a performer, an invited peer recognized by Sir Bob" and a great organization of international production, but the end result for Africa will be minor if anything at all. The celebrity performers will celebrate their effort amongst each other at the following tea parties, but it will have no real outcome other than a great show. Will Africa be saved, no, will the message be remembered, No, will the advertisers, sponsors of the show gain from their onslaught of branding, Yes!! After every song played, there was 3- 4 minutes of advertising, a media bonanza/windfall of ad revenue. If I see another Budweiser ad I will be sick, and I just watched the recaps........

    Will the awareness of the African plight be remembered, No, will this affect G8 decisions, No! Will record/cd sales of performers increase, Yes!

    I am so, so jaded by these celebrity events.......... everyone makes money except those who the charity is for. 

    Harry

    PS Live Aid, hardly any monies, pretty much none went to Africa, yet Sir Bob made millions on royalties...... he stands to make millions more through royalties of Live8, even though it was a free concert. Nobody does anything for free in the entertainment business, money always changes hands, one way or another.

    It was great to see Pink Floyd play , Pete Townsend still plays a mean guitar, and Andréa  Bocelli in Paris can sing a song like no other.

    http://www.live8live.com/theconcerts/index.shtml

    Later, H

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