Re: Shooting the messenger? It's about the death penalty, not just for LGBTs Archived Message
Posted by margo on March 31, 2019, 11:49 am, in reply to "Shooting the messenger? It's about the death penalty, not just for LGBTs"
I see these celeb commentators - of the Hollywood ilk - a bit like the billionaire philanthropists who hand out bits 'n bobs to third world countries, as the whim takes them. While their messages and offerings may be valid and worthwhile, the point is that these messages are made at the whim of the particular celebrity or billionaire philanthropist. Also, it's the media handling of these messages that needs to be unpacked. When Clooney decides at a time of his random choosing to speak out about Brunei - suddenly the media will run with a Brunei story. When no celebrity mentions Brunei, the media could care less, it seems, because there's no photogenic Hollywood star to "hang" the story from. Rather than praise George "polluting Nestle pods" Clooney for kindly taking a moment to speak out on Brunei, we should really be asking where the media is at, on *all* such vexing issues, at all other times? Do we have to rely on Angelina Jolie, Bono, Clooney and Amal Clooney's best mate Megan Markle to give a pronouncement on injustices before the media is prepared to look into them? Markle was taken by Amal Clooney on her private jet trip to New York for a baby shower recently: on return Amal Clooney was elected by Prince Charles onto some "human rights" platform. As a celebrity couple, Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife Amal are turning out to be yet another pair of distracting limousine liberals. Amal Clooney has acted for Julian Assange and is a very smart lady who has the intellect to fully understand his position and the position of Wikileaks. Has she had anything to say at all about this man's position, in a dark room behind Harrods' store in central London, a shame on UK and its approach to human rights? Who can begrudge the generosity and occasional relevant utterances of the wealthy, good-looking and famous, we might say. Wherever we stand on the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a tiny global elite, surely such charity should be applauded? But philanthropy and selective utterances - conveyed at random times of their choosing, from the insides of private jets and limousines - is a dangerous substitution for progressive education, understanding and practical action. Perhaps we should be calling out the media for focusing far too much on celebrities and stars and far too little on reality, data and facts around a massive range of pressing subjects.
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Message Thread:
- George Clooney calls for hotel boycott over Brunei LGBT laws....what a fecking hero.... - Ed March 30, 2019, 1:27 am
- Suckers are hard to cum by? There's no pleasing some people! nm - fredjc March 30, 2019, 3:22 am
- Re: George Clooney calls for hotel boycott over Brunei LGBT laws....what a fecking hero.... - spike March 30, 2019, 4:54 pm
- Put George C. Looney in front of a few dozen Libyans .. - Shyaku March 30, 2019, 7:16 pm
- Shooting the messenger? It's about the death penalty, not just for LGBTs - walter March 31, 2019, 8:45 am
- Re: Shooting the messenger? It's about the death penalty, not just for LGBTs - margo March 31, 2019, 11:49 am
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