We made the mistake of being encouraged by something we read on the BBC's website re the holier-than-thou Live8 phenomenon:
Rarely mentioned on these occasions are the equally, if not more impressive numbers of people who will not be tuning in.
I will be one of them.
"I will be one of them"? Sniff, sniff . . . bring me the vapors . . . I'm about to faint. Anyone paying attention would have realized at once that we are dealing here with an all-about-me sort. But we were mistakenly encouraged by these words that sounded akin to something we might have said ourselves, although we would never in a million years ever listen to one of these things:
I watched Live Aid. I was depressed by the mullet-headed music, that puzzling logo of a fretboard protruding from the African continent, and resented being browbeaten by multi-millionaires to empty my pockets.
That's what hit a nerve with us, "being browbeaten by multi-millionaires." Here's the clueless, whiny conclusion:
There was no sea change in attitudes. That wave of compassion did not stop millions voting for right wingers like Thatcher, Bush and Kohl in subsequent elections.
Thank god the majority are not as stupid as David Stubbs.
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