You're reading a post titled “And yet, folks are still starving.” from the archives of Big Contrarian. It was originally published on May 16th, 2008 at 09:02 PM. If you enjoy it, you should subscribe to this site’s RSS feed, or its Twitter page.

Brendan O’Neill tears into the celebrity culture of adopting Africa as a personal glory quest:

There is something creepily colonialist in Madonna’s attitude to Africa. First we had the White Man’s Burden -– now we have the White Madonna’s Burden. More and more celebrities are treating Africa as a wide-eyed child that needs a Hollywood hug -– or as a wicked devil that needs a Hollywood hammering.

I agree that it’s eerie, and often feels more than slightly ego-driven when celebrities go on relations parades to bring attention to Africa’s numerous plights. But I guess I’m OK with douche-baggery if it does some good.

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