Politi-chic: Pretending to Care is the New Fad

THE RIGHT ANGLE: Politi-chic - Opinions

I recently attended a Coldplay concert in Raleigh, and judging by the number of t-shirts I've seen around campus, a good portion of UNCG was there with me. Now, anyone who knows me can tell you that I absolutely can't stand entertainers who feel the need to share their political rants. I think Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, and Kanye West are all very talented performers, but they need to stop with the politics and stick with what they really know. Call me snobby, but if the most intelligent political statement you can make is "George Bush hates black people," then maybe you shouldn't be talking politics.

I turned down Incubus tickets AND Green Day tickets last year because there was no way I was going to sit through angry political rock-starish rants just weeks before the election. But I decided that Coldplay couldn't be too overly political, at least not at this time of the year.

For the most part, I was right. Aside from a lyrical song reference to New Orleans and lead singer Chris Martin's familiar faux-hand tattoo, politics stayed out of the spotlight. But it was still there, and it was all around me. For a long time, I had just assumed that the parallel lines on Martin's hand symbolized gay equality. That night, thanks to numerous fliers littering the ground and booths around the venue, I learned that he was actually advocating fair trade.

But aside from the band itself, there was the audience. Everyone around me was proudly sporting at least three of those ridiculous rubber bracelets. You know the ones I'm talking about - those stupid, annoyingly trendy bracelets. They pretty much have one for every cause you can dream up - all the cancers, AIDS, political affiliations, sports heroes, anti-war, pro-choice, impeach Bush, save the speckle-nosed grasshoppers, etc. Yeah, I know they've been around for a while, and I see them all the time, but never have I seen so many in one place. No exaggeration, the kids in front of me each had at least eight different bracelets apiece.

It's not seeing the bracelets that bothers me so much - seeing guys in pink polos with the collar popped disturbs me MUCH more - it's what they really stand for. While I do realize that every now and then, some of these people will buy one of these bracelets in order to stand up for something they really believe in, I do know that a lot of people get them because it's the cool new trend.

If every UNCG student that wore one of these bracelets actually got involved in something around campus, we'd have more activists than we'd know what to do with. But these bracelet-zombies aren't like that. They don't really want to do anything to save the whales; they just want to look like they care. After all, everyone else is doing it.

As I left the concert that night, there was a long line at the Fair Trade booth. Apparently, for a dollar donation, you could get a white rubber bracelet to symbolize your support of free trade! Wow, not only can you add another trendy bracelet to your collection, you too can be just like your favorite band!

I don't begrudge Chris Martin his support of fair trade, as it's obviously something he's very passionate about. But I'm fairly certain that 99% of the kids at that booth fighting for a bracelet couldn't tell you what "fair trade" even refers to. And that's probably what Martin and all the other politically-aware entertainers are counting on.

Making political causes trendy isn't really helping anyone, it's just annoying real activists like myself. So for our sakes, put the fashion away, roll up your sleeves, and actually try to make some changes in the world. After all, apathy was SO fifteen minutes ago.