GratefulFan
Mr.Jingles wrote: Does One.org really think that dropping the debt is going to help in anyway? They've been sending money over to African leaders for years, and it's either stolen or mismanaged.
What also bothers me about One.org is the sheer hypocrisy of celebrities who claim to be part of the campaign for their own publicity. P.Diddy is seen on the ads pretending to bring awareness, while he run a sweatshop for his clothing line in Central America. It makes me sick to the stomach. =============================
In a funny way this post hits everything that's important about this thread. First, you're absolutely right - it's important that people everywhere speak out against things like third world corruption and sweatshops. And how do we even know that there are sweatshops to speak out against hidden behind our expensive purchases in shiny shops? We know about them because of awareness campaigns. Those in position to make things happen confer power on us to make a difference through leveraging the power of celebrity to bring focus and create news. We don't know about every sweatshop - we know about the sweatshops connected to major manufacturers and celebrities. The public responds and those with the power become highly motivated to react appropriately under fire. Awareness and celebrity simply works in this business, both ways, like it or not.
It also illustrates the way these headlines can dog for years after the fact. The P. Diddy sweatshop scandal was years ago now, and within a year of being called on the carpet by a major fair labour proponent as a person with a lot of power who could make a difference, that same labour leader said P. Diddy had in fact made a major difference in the working conditions and lives of the workers. So he had done the right thing within a very short time, and before he ever appeared in the One.org awareness ads. Applying it to this situation, if the misleading and damaging headlines reduce ONE's effectiveness even a little bit for years into the future then I don't think that does those parts of Africa benefiting from the programs one bit of service. Particularly if it was all for the opportunity to take some pointless, passing shot at Bono. There are many examples of countries taking advantage of freedom from oppressive debt to make real improvements on the ground by investing in schooling and public health and the like, despite ongoing inefficiency and corruption in other pockets. It's not perfect, and it's not the solution alone, but real progress happens because of it.