You can find something related to Arcade Fire every day in the news these days, and this one was a little unexpected: Win Butler has praised Bono for engaging with Bush over AIDS relief in Africa. This is what he declared:
“As much as people slag Bono, I will forever give him credit for engaging with George W Bush when he was president. Even though it was a deeply unpopular move, even in his own band. The HIV medications in Africa, every aspect of the US foreign policy – it was a hell of a lot more than any president before had done. Bono was engaged in the work even though the situation wasn’t ideal. That’s not my path, but I will never fault someone for trying to be engaged in the world.”
The situation wasn’t ideal? No kidding!
First of all the Bush’s international AIDS initiative was a mess with a puritan mentality, prescribing abstinence and marital fidelity and only condoms for ‘high risk’ groups like prostitutes!! What a bad sick joke in a continent where many women are rapped. In fact, two-thirds of the money for the prevention of HIV spread went to abstinence programs!!! And I am not even talking about homosexuals who were completely excluded from this campaign: Bush’s program preached for ‘abstinence until marriage’ and since gays can’t marry…
Second, the Red campaign launched by Bono raised millions, but it was such a huge marketing campaign that an important disproportionate ratio between the marketing outlay and the money raised was reported. The cost of the collective marketing by Gap, Apple and Motorola may have reached $100 million in 2007 according to Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but only $18 million were actually raised for donation.
Everything seemed so cool about this campaign, t-shirts and iPods… as if suddenly shopping was the solution for fighting AIDS.
Trent Stamp, president of Charity Navigator, said about it: ‘The Red campaign can be a good start or it can be a colossal waste of money, and it all depends on whether this edgy, innovative campaign inspires young people to be better citizens or just gives them an excuse to feel good about themselves while they buy an overpriced item they don’t really need.”
Everyone felt good, the companies that participate felt good (they did charitable work while making more money), people who bought the products felt good (they bought something nice for them but had the feeling to do charitable work), and Bono parading with Oprah felt good.
But I don’t want Bono telling me I need a new iPod! What about donating some of your profit from your concerts Bono, instead of encouraging people to buy more objects of luxury to have a good conscience?
Win Butler and his band are actually doing this as they donate $1 of every ticket sold to Partners in Health, a heath care organization largely involved in Haiti.
I hope Arcade Fire does not want to be the next U2 because that would be a waste!