Wednesday, June 22, 2005

The lone gunman test

One of the most amusing things going on in the media, when I returned from a self-imposed ten day news blackout last week, was the Bob Geldof versus Ebay story.

Apparently, Bob was really ticked-off that people were reselling tickets to his charity rock concert on Ebay.

Yes sirreeee, there’s nothing more amusing than seeing a pompous public figure stretched to the limits of his mental capacity openly in the public eye.

Bob had already got his money for the tickets. No one was depriving him of any income. The simple truth was that more people wanted to see the concerts than the available number of tickets.

And so, inevitably, the street price rose.

This happens with all oversubscribed events, from a Britney Spears Gig to Wimbledon. So why should Bob think the response to the Live 8 Gigs should be any different?

Because he thinks he’s a fucking saint. That’s why.

And he’s bang out of line for thinking so.

Exploitative multinational organisations and oppressive governments just fucking love charity rock concerts.

In fact, the likes of Geldof, Bono and all the rest of those sanctimonious millionaire pricks, demonstrating their saintly virtue in public, actually support the goals of multinational organisations and oppressive governments.

They’re all part of the same syndrome – confusing and misdirecting those who could otherwise oppose the wickedness in our world by brainwashing them with a pile of shit.

Worried about the environment? Sort out your rubbish for ‘recycling’ (ho ho) in China. Concerned about global poverty? Buy a crappy little bracelet mass-produced in a 3rd world sweatshop. Do something! Do anything! Just make sure it’s nothing that will ever change anything.

Sadly, every person like me who wants to vomit whenever Saints Bono or Geldof preach on TV is outnumbered tenfold by people who think that entering a cellphone-based lottery for concert tickets is going to make the world a better place

How can I demonstrate that what I’m saying is so?

Easy.

Ask yourself one simple question.

Can you name one leading public figure who represents such a threat to the governing elite that they run a risk of being killed?

A car or a plane crash. A mysterious lone gunman. You know the deal.

The 1960s were full of them. By 1968 it was getting to a point where civil rights spokespeople had survival rates comparable with Kamikaze pilots.

And in the 21st century?

Nada.

I call it the lone gunman test. And with the exception of a handful of relatively lightweight players; George Galloway in the UK and the likes of the late Senator Paul Wellstone in the US (coincidentally replaced by Norm Coleman who went on to be made to look a fool by Galloway), no-one currently passes it.

Princess Diana probably did pass the lone gunman test but for the wrong reasons. It’s unlikely anyone wanted her bumped-off for her feeble anti-landmine campaign and much more likely she was on a shit list for other, less socially aware, reasons.

Anyway, no one’s going to point a rifle at Bono, Bob Geldof or anyone who works for Greenpeace for political reasons. They don’t need to. This is partly due to the fact that the media is now well and truly bought and paid for, but mostly due to the fact that these people represent absolutely no threat to the ghastly future that is planned for us all.

Actually, they’re performing a valuable service by persuading the gullible saps out there that they’re doing their bit by listening to a rock concert. Or buying a particular brand of coffee, 'environmentally friendly' toilet cleaner, or unnecessary cosmetic in a reusable tub. In fact, many of our self-proclaimed spokespeople for morality earn a tidy living advertising particular brands of coffee or lavatory cleaner, or MP3 players.

As if picking-out particular products on sale in a supermarket, in preference to other products on sale in a supermarket, is ever going to change the world by one little bit.

There are absolutely no 'dangerous' people out there whatsoever and, collectively, we’re all in a world of shit.

We deserve what’s going to happen to us.

6 comments:

David said...

The biggest examples of this are still happening, but in the psychic research field. Jim Keith, John Mack's fatal car accident, and many others including those trying to develop low energy technology that doesn't need oil to make it run. The political benefactors do seem to have run out, but in the psychic field this is a pretty hot topic.

Stef said...

I don't know about pyschic researchers and who they may or may not be threatening but, for example, I wouldn't want to be too involved in biological weapons research. Those guys have been dying in various accidents and murder-suicides by the dozen over the last few years.

Awkward people are still dying at convenient times sure, ask David Kelly's family, but this is small beer and part of the normal rhythm of life. It goes on every day in every country around the world.

But you're inverting my rant.

I didn't suggest that no one is being bumped off. What I was saying was that none of the people who supposedly speak for the popular conscience are worth bumping off. They are as much our enemies as the neocons, the oil companies and all the rest.

We're mute. And that's the way the folks who run our lives want it.

Stef said...

@Peter: You read my mind - thanks for the link

Anonymous said...

Regarding Live 8, employees in my company here.....

"......will receive the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY official booklet and wrist band. They will also be eligible to enter a contest in order to win prizes related to ending global poverty."

How about that.

David said...

Oh! I hope I wasn't trying to invert your whole post, I just picked on one isolated point and probably took it out of context as well...

You are right that many of the apparent opposition are in fact mainstream, and therefore do exactly the job Blair, Murdoch and the rest of the known and unknown leaders want them to. It is the much lesser known characters who disappear, as you pointed out, and anyone with the possible means to make a change will rarely reach a point where they can fulfil it.

Stef said...

No probs David poppet

My only concern was that anyone coming across these comments might think I was a member of the tinfoil helmet brigade.

Actually, and I think you might be aware of that, I am but when discussing things with people I try not to freak them out by making that jarring leap from the 'normal' to the 'not so normal' that I have seen so many others do.

I've got a couple of mates who do that frequently and it can kill a conversation stone dead unless you're dealing with someone who's a) up with such things, and b) happy with rapid mental gear changes