Brian May, Badgers and Apartheid

[irenewilde 10]

Hi Brian's Mum!

 

Not his mum but a friend. His mum died many years ago.

 

I've been back and edited my first post. Not sure what happened but a chunk of it disappeared and it was a few minutes before I realised this had happened. I'll repeat part of it:-

 

You also seem to have forgotten to mention the immense amount of work Brian (and Roger) have done with Mandela and the 46664 charity and Mandela himself made Brian an ambassador for this charity so he is obviously able to put Sun City aside. It's a shame you can't.

[Winder 10]

Anyone who wants to read Dr Brian May’s views on this matter may refer to the following website, the letter is approximately a third of the way down the page and has a pale blue background.

 

Letter from Brian May re: Guardian article Stone Age Queen

[Kerrangaroo 10]

Hi Brian's Mum!

 

I suspect he is as wrong about badgers as are the people on the other side of the debate. As I said in my first post, the truth will be somewhere in between.

 

Queen played Sun City knowing it was immoral to do so, and that the majority of South Africans would be unable to attend whether they wanted to or not. Queen were blacklisted by the Musicians Union until the apartheid regime collapsed. The justified their concerts because they said they were in front of mixed audiences, but that was to ignore the wider issues. I like Queen. I just wish they hadn't done those concerts.

 

What struck me though was the way Brian's words fit either situation. I wonder if he would do the Sun City gigs again, given the choice? Is he persuaded by his own arguments? If something is immoral and not wanted by most people in a country, should we not do it? In which case, why did he do those gigs? Or does he get to exercise his won judgement, and we are to do as he says?

 

Queen concerts aside and there is another thread dealing with the badger issue (singularly). If N.Irleand and Wales can deal with the issue without kiling them and if Scotland can do the same, why can't we?

 

If Queen had not performed at Sun City would Brian May's words be anymore significant?

 

I'm one of those that does not have to search for emotion where animals are concerned so any view I have will be unashamedly in favour. It puzzles me why England find it necessary to cull when others do not, when others have the gumption to not only listen to public opinion but to go with it.

[irenewilde 10]

 

I suspect he is as wrong about badgers as are the people on the other side of the debate. As I said in my first post, the truth will be somewhere in between.

 

He is not wrong about the badgers. What the government are doing is utterly disgraceful and there is no scientific proof this will work. Bovine TB is present in the Isle of Man but there are no badgers. The cause is this is far more likely to lie in what the cows are being fed - a diet low in anything likely to keep their immune system up, ie vitamin E & selenium. They are fed maize which has little vitamin content and constant chemical treatment of the soil on farms has also made sure that any useful vitamins & antibodies have been eradicated.

[Kerrangaroo 10]

He is not wrong about the badgers. What the government are doing is utterly disgraceful and there is no scientific proof this will work. Bovine TB is present in the Isle of Man but there are no badgers. The cause is this is far more likely to lie in what the cows are being fed - a diet low in anything likely to keep their immune system up, ie vitamin E & selenium. They are fed maize which has little vitamin content and constant chemical treatment of the soil on farms has also made sure that any useful vitamins & antibodies have been eradicated.

 

Not to mention that they stand around in their own urine and faeces as a matter of course.

[gnvqsos 10]

I think you're an idiot with way too much time on your hands. Why don't you just concentrate on what's being done to the wildlife in this country & appreciate the work Brian is doing to make this visible to everyone instead of harking back to a short Queen tour way back in 1984. Why shouldn't some of the people in South Africa who liked the band have had a chance to see them? The 'cultural boycott' was only ever in the minds of some artists, it was always arguable whether it would make a difference or not. You could also argue that shouting at South Africa from a distance is all very well but going into the middle of it as they did and saying you are absolutely opposed to apartheid is a lot more effective.

 

You also seem to have forgotten to mention the immense amount of work Brian (and Roger) have done with Mandela and the 46664 charity and Mandela himself made Brian an ambassador for this charity so he is obviously able to put Sun City aside. It's a shame you can't.

 

Whereas you are an idiot for being so offensive.If the supporters of apartheid want to see Queen(yes it is pitiable) they had the means to travel,whereas the blacks could barely afford the bus back to SOWETO of an evening.Nelson Mandella is both forgiving and astute for accepting the charity of Mr May.

 

PS I hope you managed to see Cliff last year:hihi:

[gnvqsos 10]

Why don't you try doing a bit of research before you apply your fingers to a keyboard? It'd stop you looking so foolish. People can be experts in more than one subject in a lifetime, especially if they happen to have way above average intelligence. I realise this may come as a surprise to you.

 

Some people may appear foolish whereas others successfully disguise it;I can see you are a regular polymath,with an in-depth knowledge of glam rock and UK wild-life.Freddie Mercury was a big fan of hares and tortoises.

[irenewilde 10]

PS I hope you managed to see Cliff last year:hihi:

 

Not sure what that is supposed to mean seeing as I have a lifelong love of the heavier side of rock music but then most of your posts are petty insults so I'll assume this is just another yawn inducing attempt at humour and derailing the thread.

[gnvqsos 10]

Not sure what that is supposed to mean seeing as I have a lifelong love of the heavier side of rock music but then most of your posts are petty insults so I'll assume this is just another yawn inducing attempt at humour and derailing the thread.

 

I can see you are a fan of Dorothy Parker with your withering comments,and I expect you admire Roger Glover and Tony Iommi,giving a deep rocking trio.

[Rampent 10]

I really like Slipknot.

[Conrod 10]

Really interesting OP. I've always been deeply suspicious of those who favour animals over humans and never really had a great deal of time for May. It would be interesting to find out what he has to say about this apparent anomaly.

Good point.

 

I've always been deeply suspicious of people who think that 'human life' is somehow sacred or valuable when there are clearly far too many humans on the planet and a cull, or worldwide pandemic wiping out the majority of humans, would be of immense benefit to majority of other species and the planet as a whole.

 

As for favour to animals - my dog, for example, is far rarer than any of the human sub-species and therefore a more precious creature in some ways than any human, all of which are replaceable many times over.

[gnvqsos 10]

Good point.

 

I've always been deeply suspicious of people who think that 'human life' is somehow sacred or valuable when there are clearly far too many humans on the planet and a cull, or worldwide pandemic wiping out the majority of humans, would be of immense benefit to majority of other species and the planet as a whole.

 

As for favour to animals - my dog, for example, is far rarer than any of the human sub-species and therefore a more precious creature in some ways than any human, all of which are replaceable many times over.

 

Yes bring back genocide.