In a comment to this post, JimL said, "Harry Belafonte and Sean Penn should be embarassed for their uneducated, self-important selves." I thought this would be a good time to post my response on the vocal celebrity.
While I agree that the celebrities he mentions often seem to have a rather limited worldview, I staunchly defend their right to speak out. Their rhetoric is aimed at the uninformed lowest common denominator that reacts emotionally to their bleating. Who does that remind me of? Bush...in spades. His trip to the VFW riling them up about treasonous liberals for criticizing the war is far more reprehensible than anything Sean Penn ever did because he has the bully pulpit (and his redneck base is better armed).
If JimL were a TV star or musician (both of which I guess he is in a way) who had a faithful audience (I don't know about this), and he felt passionately about something, why not speak out? Bono obviously feels very strongly about African hunger (or some such), so he uses his position to try to help. I'm sure his zealous advocacy has turned off some of his fans. If I were famous enough to have a large fan base that I could utilize in the benefit of my passion, then I would be derelict not to do it. Arnold certainly thought this way (as that supposed Jesus fellow did too.) Shit, if I cared about anything that deeply, I'd be trying to sway my devoted following of a dozen blog-readers to my point of view. But, alas, I don't...except maybe the gurgling vitriol I harbor for religious fanatics.
Now I don't care what Sean Penn says and it won't affect whether or not I'll go see his movies. But I certainly will hesitate before I give any more money to Mel Gibson. We all have the freedom to vote with our feet or our wallets.
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3 comments:
90% of the celebrities that are the loudest don't even have a high school degree. That doesn't make them stupid, but their worldview is limited. These people do not understand basic economics. They have a right to speak out, yes, but my beef is where they think anyone ought to listen(Tom Cruise). Even though they have no expertise in any area besides looking good and being good pretenders, their bleatings make the news, as if they had anything to offer.
I tell you what makes them look worse: The venom. If you have to yell and name-call to make your point, and one of your main points is "I hate George Bush", then you might not have anything that important to say. I also find it amusing that they always put their John Lennon specs on when they go to conventions, proving that they are "studious".
For the record, I am not a celebrity at all, and I don't know why anyone would care what I say, but YOU keep suckering me in.
People do care what you say...on CBS Sunday mornings at 6am and here on the blog. You should know that our daily traffic has been skyrocketing in the last few days. (That is possibly the most inappropriate and statistically invalid use of the word "skyrocketing" in the Common Era.)
I'll bet those celebrities that did make it through high school ended up in Fraternities with all the other good looking people.
LOLOLOL
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