The Word According To Bono

Just got wind of this news item where U2 frontman (my favorite human) Bono lashed out at fashionistas during New York Fashion week at the launch of his brand Edun.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU AND YOUR FUCKING FINGER FOOD!!! WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING HERE AND ETC ETC ETC" This is pretty much an exact quote, says Idolator.

Apparently the bulimic community would rather gorge on them hors d'ouevres while waiting for the goody bags. Kinda reminds of that scene from the Bible when JC lost it with the peddlers at the temple.

Forgive me if I making parallels between Bono and JC. No, actually I'm not apologizing for that. I fucking listen more to what this man has to say than the Pope -- both the new and old.

Why? Because Bono preaches equality and food on every table. Then doing something to make that happen. Instead of making commentaries that only add fire to an already fuming conflict in guise of inviting a debate (gee, thanks Ratzi) Bono stretches his celebrity to corner world leaders into making do-or-die decisions for people in Third World countries who are dying by the minute.

Anyway, found these golden quotable quotes of my man. Courtesy of Dave Ferguson's blog. Read on and be mystified:

• "I never had a problem with Christ...it was Christians that gave me problems...they seemed completely disinterested culturally and politically...they seemed very strange to me."

• "The world works on the principle of Karma; what you put out comes back to you...but then enters the story of grace in the person of Christ and it turned the world on it's head."

• "Duality is the mark of really great art and it's what is missing in Christian art. It's missing the tension that is missing...the attempt to wrestle truth to the ground is often absent."

• "Much of gospel music seems fake to me...pretending that everything is o.k...I relate more to the blues...that sounds like the song of David to me."

• "Jesus was either a Charles Manson - a nut case or he was who he said he was. I'm fascinated by a child born into straw poverty. The Christmas story is a remarkable story that never ceases to amaze me."

• "How in a world of plenty can people be left to starve? We think, 'it's just the way of the world'. And if it is the 'way of the world' we must overthrow the 'way of the world.'"

• "What else are you going to do with thing called 'celebrity'...it's absolutely ridiculous that it is valued more than being a teacher or more than being a mother...but it is currency and I decided that I was going to spend mine."

• "God has made me an opportunist."

• "Great ideas are like great melodies...they are memorable and a moral force whose time has come...and there is movement behind them."

• "The reason the church has been slow to respond is that the church has historically always been behind the curve: civil rights, apartheid...the church is afraid of politics. The second reason the church has been so slow is less palatable..the church has been very judgmental about the AIDS virus...it believes that it is about people living irresponsibly. Only 6% of evangelicals felt like they were to act in response to the AIDS epidemic. But the Christ will not let the church walk away from the AIDS emergency...it is like a car crash, we have to act. AIDS is the leprosy of our age. But then something tragic happened...the church woke up and began to act...and they ruined it for me...I couldn't hate the church anymore."

• "Love your neighbor is not advice...it's a command. Should an accident of longitude and latitude really decide whether you live or whether you die? There are 2003 verses in scripture about the poor, second only to personal salvation. Jesus speaks of judgment only once and that is the passage in Matthew where we are asked: 'who clothed the naked?' and 'who fed the poor?' and 'who visited those in prison?' That defines whether you are a part of the Kingdom or not."

• "If the Christian church can lead this movement it can eradicate malaria in 10 years...and then AIDS."

• "Stop asking God to bless what you are doing...find out what God is doing - it is already blessed!"

• "This generation could end stupid poverty...we really can fix that in our generation."

• "'Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven' is a phrase that grabs me...in every detail of our lives we need to seek that."

• Bill has convinced me of the importance of the church as the moral force and practical infrastructure for solving the worlds problems. Open the doors of your church and make them an AIDS clinic. Your charity is important, but your passion for justice is needed. I'm asking for your voice and for you to give permission to fix these problems that are fixable. It's not a burden, it's an opportunity...it's an adventure!"