Bono
Bono thinks Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen are the key to fighting extremism.
The U2 frontman spoke during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday (12Apr16), the aim of which was to deal with the “causes and consequences of violent extremism and the role of foreign assistance”, to plead for more money to be given to refugees.
During his speech, Bono made the bold suggestion that laughter could be an effective weapon against extremist groups such as the so called Islamic State, and that comedians may be the answer.
“The first people that Adolf Hitler threw out of Germany were the dadaists and surrealists,” he said. “It’s like, you speak violence, you speak their language. But you laugh at them when they are goose-stepping down the street and it takes away their power. So I am suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer and Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen, thank you.”
Despite the somewhat bizarre nature of Bono’s suggestion, Senator Jeanne Shaheen insisted it was something she has heard before.
“Actually, that’s not the first time I’ve heard experts on how do we counter violent extremism talk about that,” she said. “It’s one of the things that we’re looking at.”
Amy is the only member of Bono’s suggested team to have responded so far on Twitter, writing: “Holy s**t”.
Bono works tirelessly to help fund development and relief programs with his One Campaign, and is doing his utmost to persuade the U.S. government to do more to help refugees leaving the Middle East and Africa.
“The international community is having a lot of meetings about the crisis, and I believe have issued a record number of press releases; what it is not doing is cutting checks,” he said.
Bono then suggested putting together an aid package similar in content to the Marshall Plan – that’s responsible for helping to rebuild Europe following World War II.
“When aid is structured properly, with a focus on fighting poverty and improving governance, it could just be the best bulwark we have against the extremism of our age,” he added.
The rocker wore his trademark tinted sunglasses for the hearing, and admitted that while he has spoken on numerous occasions about the refugee crisis, he was “gobsmacked” to be able to do so before a Senate panel.
“I’m having to pinch myself,” he said.