Are you like Benjamin Zephaniah?
Too busy to experience more success?

Hey, it's ok as long as you remember Haiti...

Benjamin Zephaniah, is a pretty well known British Dub Poet. He's a man with passions, and with opinions. On Wednesday this week, Zephaniah performed at a concert to raise funds for victims of the terrible earthquake in Haiti.

It's not surprising - like I said, he's a man with passions and opinions. At the risk of labelling, people like that also tend to have a social conscience and sense of social responsibility.

The concert was organised by the TUC. For readers in the USA, that's the UK version of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). He was a little scathing of some of the other and better known celebs who do charity and fund-raising gigs. Like the one being organised by Simon Cowell. He supports the donation, but lamented the attitude shown by many performers these days. That they frequently first ask if there is a benefit or quid-pro-quo for them. (I resisted using the term 'pay-off').

He has my sympathetic understanding. I'm increasingly observing personal charitable giving being assessed on a more self-interested basis. I don't think it's all down to the economic climate. I think many people are feeling less secure these days. That, and an increasing tendency to unreasonable selfishness.

Zephaniah pointed out that there was nothing like the same response when an earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China in 2008. There were some 70,000 people killed and 18,000 injured.

Makes you think, huh?

On a separate issue, Zephaniah reportedly went on to say that he spends most of his time running an office, talking to agents and doing interviews. He also lamented that there was so little time for writing poetry and free time.

Maybe time to outsource some of that routine stuff, eh Benjamin?

 

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Are You Like Benjamin Zephaniah

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