The thing that baffles me about the Bono-hatred (as opposed to U2-hatred -- see below) is that he never says anything critical of anyone in particular. Then you have people like Noel Gallagher who have to resort to picking on other stars publicly in order to keep his name in the headlines, and he gets a free pass. But Bono is the target of hatred for saying good things about everyone and keeping his nose clean. Does this make sense? I've never had any issues with Bono whether or not I agree with his politics (I do, 90% of the time). But even if I didn't, I don't really care about what he says. I mean, I don't listen to The Temptations' Greatest Hits CD to learn about David Ruffin's opinions on the late 60s decline of the Detroit Auto Industry, and I don't listen to U2 to learn about Bono's personal ideas. There is a difference in my mind between art and intellect, and if at times the two meet (as they should), I still judge the art as art, not as intellect. (Likewise, when I proofread my fiancee's PhD dissertation, I didn't criticize its lack of entertainment value.)
The one time when I thought Bono was breaching the line between art and soapbox preaching was parts of the Vertigo tour, when the musical aspect of the show seemed to get sidelined in favor of the One campaign and whatever noble cause was on Bono's mind. It's one thing to dedicate a song, or of course to sing a topical song (which is great -- not that U2 really sing anything topical, as all their lyrics are quite vague in terms of subject matter), but it's quite another to give a 10-minute speech during what should be (in my opinion) a musical show. I think Bono overdid this on the Vertigo tour, and I also think Edge and the others called him out on it.
But other than that brief lapse into questionable preaching, I'm baffled as to why many people would hate Bono.
I do sort of understand, however, why people might hate U2. And -- I hate to say this because I largely love their 2000s' music -- I can also understand why more and more people might hate them now. I have nothing against a band selling itself to a huge audience, and I think it's commendable that U2 still have the juice to want to be bigger than Elvis and The Pope combined. The whole iPod commercial in 2004 passed me by (I've still never seen it -- the first time I heard "Vertigo" was when I bought the CD), but I have to admit that when I saw the Blackberry ad today on the Internet, I cringed.
At some point, I think there are enough U2 lovers and U2 haters in the world. I'm getting confused as to why the band seem to want more of both... then, there's the issue of the massive carbon footprint left by their current tour and its apparatus. I do prefer indoor arenas and a stripped-down show.
I guess the issue I have with the "everything on a massive scale" approach is that, when the music its selling (the current CD) is a huge hit, it pretty much comes off well. But when the music its selling isn't such an overwhelming hit (as with Pop), the tour comes to be the event in itself, and if that tour is still on a massive scale, it starts to appear bloated, rock star-ish, and a bit like -- dare I say it? -- The Rolling Stones.
Nevertheless, there's no conceivable reason to hate on Bono. Even if you intellectually disagree with his entire approach to his celebrity currency and his humanitarian endeavours, he's still getting off his ass to do something he thinks is positive. Why people hate this is beyond me. It's sort-of comparable to those who think Global Warming isn't caused by humans, and therefore we can pollute the earth as much as we want. It's like -- even if Global Warming isn't caused by humans and won't threaten our species' way of life, is it not still better to work more towards an environmentally responsible way of life? Likewise, even if Bono is completely off his rocker, he's still doing a lot more good than harm. Nothing to hate him for.
Bono!
