Posted in: Live Music by zoeyclark on September 5th, 2010 | 11 Comments
A rebellious tribute to u2’s upcoming concert in Istanbul, Turkey and my reasons for protesting it.
Irish rock band U2, fronted by Bono, in Turkey, for the first time since they were founded in 1976. Now, U2 has a lot of fans here. Musically speaking, I do love a number of their songs. They are famous for their amazing stage performances and the concert will be on the 6th of September. Maybe the concert will have taken place by the time you read this. It will take place at a great stadium. I am a rock fan and I love stadium concerts. Yet I am not going to the concert.
Because I am angry that Bono is coming only this year, when Turkey has made some political changes regarding a dangerous region and whether it will be beneficial or safe for citizens is highly questionable. Being the ultimate politics-obsessed guy, surely it is no coincidence Bono is coming this year?
Even if Bono is unaware of this political change, my protest still stands. Because in the past, he made statements about not coming to Turkey because it is not a country where human rights are fully respected and applied. Well, while Turkey has a lot of things it can do to improve in the area, human rights-wise, we are doing pretty OK. After all, two of the most basic human rights are freedom and safety, right?
But U2 had no problem giving concerts in countries where racism was extreme until a couple of decades ago and still continues, had no problem giving concerts in countries that benefited from taking advantage of poorer countries. But he decided to be loyal to his own principle only when Turkey was concerned? Please. Give me a break.
I find it especially funny because Bono is from Ireland, a country with a bloody history, a history that involves Irish people killing Irish people in the name of…freedom? I am not judging, just stating.
No country is perfect. Turkey is by no means the ideal country to live in. But it is doing pretty good, in comparison with many developed and developing countries. If there is one thing I can’t stand, that is hypocrisy. And humanitarian Bono seems to be full of it.
Yes, they are good musicians. But they are not good enough for me to crush my own principles. And no, I am not the only Turkish person to protest the band because of Bono’s remarks and inconsistent actions.
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Sharif Ishnin September 5th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Nothing wrong for standing up for your principles. Everyone should mind their own business. Bono included.
Shamyl September 5th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
I support your protest decision.
Bono tries to be politically correct but this time, I must say, he has been caught off guard very well by you. In my view Turkey is a great nation. I love Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Turkey. You know what I am furious to know that Bono made such discriminatory comments about disrespect of human rights in Turkey. Outrageous hypocrisy Mr. Bono.
Thanks for sharing this info. Hail Turkey. Rock on.
ishinimrod September 5th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
nice article. keep it up!
Ethics0006 September 5th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Good Post
Videomark September 5th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I am glad you brought this into the light. I was not aware of it.
Christine Ramsay September 6th, 2010 at 3:23 am
Perhaps he has overdone it this time, but he can’t always get it right. I am sorry if he has offended you.
Christine
zoeyclark September 6th, 2010 at 7:23 am
@sharif: thanks:) but I am afraid it’s too late for Bono. He seems to mind everybody else’s instead;)
@Shamyl: Thank you for the kind words. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is my favorite person in the history. I’ll keep rocking with bands who know what they are talking about;)
@Videomark: Anytime.
zoeyclark September 6th, 2010 at 7:27 am
@Christine: I am more angry, than offended. But politics is a very critical area. If you are that famous and people are paying attention to what you say, you better know what you are talking about and you better be consistent.
@everyone: thanks for the comments.
Ty Johnston September 6th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Zoey, one of the major problems with the Western world (especially the U.S. — and I say this as a U.S. citizen) is that it tends to view the rest of the world, especially politically, only through Western eyes. That’s often a drastic mistake, one that has reached global levels over the last several centuries (British empire, U.S. military expansion, etc.).
Though Bono is definitely not one in favor of imperialism or expansionism, it seems he’s fallen into the same trap this time. My guess would be he just didn’t know any better, not that that’s an excuse. If you’re going to use your fame to speak out publicly, you should at least know what you’re talking about. Or perhaps he does know what he’s talking about, but just has a different opinion than your own. I honestly don’t know, not knowing the man personally or anything.
But good for you for standing up for your opinions.
I would, however, not judge Bono for being Irish and the recent (last century) history of Ireland. U2 has been one of the rock bands, along with the likes of The Cranberries, that has been quite vocal against the violent past of Ireland and Great Britain in general. (Note: I realize you said you weren’t actually judging him, but … well, you kind of were, not that I’m suggesting there’s anything wrong with that … your opinion, after all).
zoeyclark September 10th, 2010 at 7:29 am
@Ty: I am not judging Ireland or being Irish, but rather how Bono can’t seem the parallelity between what Turkey politically went through in the 70s and 80s. It is not the same thing, but the streets were just as dangerous and simply put, Turkish people were killing fellow Turkish people just because they had different ideals about the country! It was awful. Now, how come he doesn’t see this? So I was judging him for being Irish and not empathizing. Not for being Irish.
As for music, they are good. I already told so. Like their music but he really doesn’t know what he is talking about. he thinks he does, but he really doesn’t know enough to form a healthy opinion (about Turkey anyway). I love The Cranberries and have been to their concert and had a blast. But I never heard Dolores making remarks about Turkey the way Bono did.
Yeah, I am judging him, for being a hypocrite. maybe it wasn’t intentional but he was being one. It would be childish to say “but he started it!” but he really did
))
Thanks for the great comment by the way!
Brett Bennett September 10th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
huh- very interesting. I didn’t know about this. I am a U2 fan, but I definitely understand why you are protesting! It’s one thing for a musician to say they aren’t going anywhere with human rights violations, but if he’s going to some countries with extreme racism, yet refusing to go to other countries… well that is quite hypocritical!
And i didn’t know you live in Turkey! That’s pretty cool. It’s neat to be able to talk to people on the Internet from other countries