Charlotte Church and Jedward - standing up for people.
Wait a minute. WHAT? Aren't we at The Zine a bunch of DIY punks? Well, while putting the next Chapters (4 to 6) Picture Book together, one page mentions how it's not just the underground scene with something to say and that, recently, popular music stars, Jedward and Charlotte Church have not been afraid to stand up to bullies, against austerity and for the NHS. Inverted snobbery sneered because of who they are. It may not be hip to admire celebrities but Uniqulture isn't about following the herd. #TheZineUK team can decide for themselves. I, for one, salute them.
Last month at the massive Anti Austerity protest attended by a quarter of a million dissatisfied people, Charlotte Church gave an inspiring and articulate speech. The kind that we didn't get from so called politicians. After, on the net, she got trolled quite a bit for having been famous most of her life, not being poor and, it almost felt, for being a young blonde woman. If proof were needed that she is anything but as stupid as they were trying to make out, her response on facebook a few days later underlines that her detractors are missing the point.
Trolls and "haterz" are new breeds of bullies (a.k.a. cowards) that see somebody that they could never hope to be, so oppress them by inflicting misery (physically, mentally, verbally or with passive aggression) on them. Calling it banter is a weak excuse when the "joke" wears thing. It's a fact that many people who were bullied (if they can get through it, sadly, some can not) go on to enchant people because they ARE special. Sometimes their star shines to the point of fame. The irony is that bullies are actually BORING. Alien, evil nobodies with so little imagination that they pick on somebody for being different. They should look up what "unique" actually means in a dictionary, and get a life by first understanding what it is to be a human being. Massive kudos to Jedward for speaking out at the Anti Bullying Ambassadors showcase in Ireland a few days after the anti austerity day.
These and many poetic souls unite BritainIreland to take PRIDE in anybody that stand up to injustice and dares to own their individuality. We need all the positivity from manic street preachers, of every generation, that we can get right now. Humanity, keep on keeping on - we CAN be heroes.
Caffy (TheZineUK Live Events Dept)