What a crock of shit. posted by Richard Seymour

The mind rots, the heart sighs and the stomach revolts. Live 8 is wonderful publicity which socialists can make use of, but it has reduced me to horrible tears. One after another, greasy old hacks, talentless turds and cheese-merchants limp onto stage (a few hundred yards away, but surrounded by buildings and no book depository in sight). Madge whores her rough and ready 47 year old voice and simpers a bit about Bob Geldof. Bono delivers some soothing emmolient unction for the G8 leaders while chatting shit with Jonathan Woss. Chris 'Scab' Moyles can only manage to say how 'amazing' it all is, while some idiot kiddies' television presenter just keeps expostulating "WOW! THAT WAS GREAT!!" after each performance. Snoop Dog was aight, but I don't like his stuff. Beyonce's sole virtue is that she can dance in very difficult high heels and move her hair in interesting formations. The Beckhams look fabulous as always, and their great saving grace is that Posh doesn't try to sing any more.

The issues that are supposed to be the centre of some 'consciousness-raising' are either being suppressed, or merely converted into sighs of woe and hey nonny nonny. It's slightly sickening to see it turned into yet another 'carnival'. Zizek once made a point about charity - its logic was "give so that you will not get too close to the suffering Other". Since, in our postmodern monadic way, we draw a screen between ourselves and the world, creating both an intimate space of emotional sincerity and an Out There, the conservative gesture par excellence is that which allows us to live with what is happening Out There. In this case, it is "listen to music, and raise your voice". The point in many ways is not to effect change, but to say "I raised my voice".

Call me a steaming bucket of piss and vinegar if you will, and if you really must. But I hope the G8 protests form the locus of something much more human and inspiring than this warmed up vat of pig shit. Call Bono and tell him I'm extremely pissed off.

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