'Red'
Whilst waiting for my friend to present our research findings, I found a photocopied piece of writing titled ‘Red ’. First, I thought it was another one of those inquiry triggers that I got used to after a year of inquiry. I was wrong and simply because I am not caught up with the latest celebrity trends, fashions and PR stunts. It took me 2 minutes to read it but 5 second to realise the hidden message behind this campaign.
‘Red’ is a business idea that involves labelling different items as ‘Red’. So we have a Red iPod, a Red MasterCard…etc. The process is simple, you buy a ‘Red’ and some of the profit made off the product is used to buy drugs for the epidemic Africa. What a genius idea, my friend commented, after learning how poverty will be solved through Red. I don’t blame her as the whole Western society feels abit guilty for not helping the needy in other parts of the world. We are hearing about those celebrity pilgrimages, volunteering students and missionaries all seeking to help Africa. I may be generalising here but I am still to meet more than a handful of people who truly care about others, people who truly feel for suffering millions and willing to take action and make a difference. So ‘Red’ is giving us the shortcut to solving the problem. Just choose the Red products and Bingo, there will be no more haunting footages of poverty, genocide or disease on CNN. How lovely!! Only if we were not living on earth and were not called humans, such an idea would work.
The argument is that you are buying the products, for the same price but it is only called ‘Red ’. Unless you have some kind of a phobia for the colour itself, then everyone should contribute towards those Red items. I am for the idea if it would actually work, excuse the cynicism but how would it work if the people claim that Red is a business idea that is looking to make money off Red products. Yes, some of the money will find its way to some drug company that will donate some expired drugs to those in need. Who will receive the money, who will buy the drugs, who will administer the drugs, who will identify what drugs are needed, how viable are the drugs, how will the drugs reach those in real need, what proportion of the money will be used to buy the drugs? These are all negative questions and full of scepticism but I simply can not trust Bono & co. who are trying to make some money off the suffering masses in that black continent.
I am for helping Africans, educating them, Doctors without borders and everyone who is truly willing to take action. I am totally against and truly despise a bunch of wealthy, immoral, and shrewd businessmen who are trying to make a few extra millions off such a sensitive subject. People who claim to be merciful, self-conscious and kind but are as ruthless and cruel as you can possibly imagine.
I hate being morally abused and bribed and especially by someone who pretends to be a saint. A saint as holy and as merciful as the greatest saints of them all, St. Saddam Hussein.
posted by zmanutdz at 4:08 PM
6 Comments:
It's funny when you look up who's behind all this Red Revolution thing.. Bono, Armani, American Express, GAP.. aren't they the ones who are spearheading the world's economic disparities?
I think we're stupid if we believe their crap.. if they wanted to do something about Africa, they'd donate a tenth of their quarterly earnings.. not a chance!
It's a good question you raise.. who delivers the money? who buys the drugs and who administers them?.. It's a vicious circle.. it's very unlikely that Mugabe would allow British doctors to assess the medical needs of Zimbabwe.. so they'll have to send whatever drugs they have, or worse, they'll send the money (what's left of it, anyways) to Mugabe and he'll divide it according to his own criteria.. it's a load of BS if you ask me..
poverty is caused by injustice at the very top of the human pyramid.. Haliberton, Nike, The Pentagon.. all of them.. if there is to a solution to the nightmares of Africa/Asia, it'll have to start off by honest leaderships.. both home and abroad..
I like your blog very much.. both in terms of "style and content".. besides, England are CRAP.. but United are gonna win on Saturday.. hopefully :)
There are many charities that claim to help those in need, whether poverty in this country or in others on other continents.
When you think about it, by now no one should be considered "poor" if these charities do truly what they were established for.
But then again, most will do best when the aid that is needed is short term, as in after a disaster occurs. All they need to do is send a few first aid kits, food, and maybe provide some temporary shelter. However, I think they fail in providing long term aid. It is more difficult since the governments of the areas will have to contribute and carry on with the development. And so this is hard to acheive.
I think I went a bit techinical, putting my knowledge of Geography to use!
The case with Red, those companies are using this principle to improve their business and influence people to buy their products in the name of charity.
I'm not so cynical about it -- I doubt that Bono is motivated by money -- he does a lot of charity and political work worldwide -- he doesn't need the money. The idea of the Red campaign is that consumers can make a difference by doing something as simple as buying consumer goods, which isn't such a bad idea in my opinion -- what's the difference between giving money to charity and buying a product that gives money to charity?
The problem arises in the destination countries where corruption makes charity and aid difficult to administer properly -- if only it were so simple to throw money at the problems in Africa -- much more is needed to solve problems besides money in a developing country, there needs to be political stability, a free press, good education, and a strong infrastructure that can support the possibility of progressive solutions to complex social, economic, and political problems. There are no easy solutions for solving the AIDS crisis or for most other problems and issues in the world.
loool St. Saddam Hussein.... that one if for the ages...
Anyways, in regards to the 'RED' topic, I dont see why we should be cynical or should have a problem with what these companies and people like Bono are doing. To be honest, no one has an obligation to help out anyone if they arent benefiting from it.... well at least this is the case in our world today. So, all that these people are trying to help the people of Africa by utilizing the free market forces. Sure they are going to benefit from it, but that is simply their incentive to invest their time and money in helping others. Without an incentive (and what better incentive than money) no one will do anything to help anyone! If you disagree, you have probably been living on Mars :)
Anyways, I think its the responsibility of organizations such as the UN to educate and to restrict the sales of weapons to the poor African Nations. As for the private enterprises that have initiated the 'RED' campaign, they are simply utilizing responsible business practices and I commend them for what they are doing. Its a really unique idea and I hope it works out well cause otherwise no on is gonna bother doin anything!!
cheers,
Hello!
I surfed into your blog after finding the site "Iraq Blog Count" and I think it is very well-written. I would love to learn more about you.
I am a student journalist in Ohio and I am writing an article about the experience of young Iraqis. I am interested specifically in how the war has affected young students living abroad.
I would love to ask you a few simple questions if you are interested. My email is lcsincla@owu.edu.
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Cheers,
Laura
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With peace,
~Josh
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