Rich 300 Americans Equals 85 Million Poor’s Non-wealth(also Vid on Rich Shanty Town)

Photo: Reuters

Comedian Russell Brand has given one of his most candid interviews, where he admits why he's never voted and never will and called for a revolution to solve the world's problems which sent social media into a spin.

Brand sat down with the BBC’s “Newsnight” to discuss his temporary position as the guest editor of the New Statesman magazine. The conversation began with Jeremy Paxman, a journalist known for his combative and aggressive tone, pressing Brand on why the public should take his opinion seriously when considering the fact that Brand has never voted.

“I don’t get my authority from this preexisting paradigm which is quite narrow and only serves a few people,” Brand said. “I look elsewhere for alternatives that might be of service to humanity.”

"I am not that I am not voting out of apathy. I am not voting out of absolute indifference and weariness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations", he added.

He also suggested that politicians were only interested in "serving the needs of corporations" and that an administrative system based on the "massive redistribution of wealth" should replace the status quo.

When asked why people should even listen to his viewpoint when he doesn't vote, Brand said: "I don't get my authority by a pre-existing paradigm that's quite narrow and only serves a few people."

Paxman asks Brand to describe what his revolution would look like.

“I think what it won’t be like is a huge disparity between rich and poor, where 300 Americans have the same amount of wealth as their 85 million poorest Americans, where there is an exploited underserved underclass being continually ignored, where welfare is slashed while Cameron and Osborne go to court to continue the right of bankers receiving bonuses,” Brand said.

Paxman is unable to derail Brand, who comments on the newsman’s beard and urges him to grow it until he can tangle it with his armpit hairs, even when he calls the actor a “very trivial man.”

Before Paxman could contain Brand, he went on what could be one of his most in-depth philosophical rants about the future, and where we are all headed. He then called for a revolution for change.

"The planet is being destroyed, we are creating an underclass, exploiting poor people all over the world, and the genuine legitimate problems of the world are not being addressed by our political parties."

"There is going to be a revolution, it's totally going to happen. I don't have a flicker of doubt."

Voice of Russia, RT, BBC, Raw Story




{The Rich Stay at Shanty Towns to Pretend they are poor, but still they have wi-fi}

It isn’t uncommon for wealthy travelers to visit economically struggling countries without ever interacting with the extreme poverty its citizens undergo on a daily basis. So a five-star South African resort decided to remedy this rich-kid travel ailment by creating something that is about 500 times worse than… let’s call it idealistic ignorance.

Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa created a fake shanty town so that its wealthy clientele can pretend to slum it “within  the safe environment of a private game reserve.”

But don’t worry, even though the “Shanty Town” has intricately designed, colorful iron shacks, outdoor bathrooms, and battery operated radios, things aren’t too realistic for comfort. “This is the only Shanty Town in the world equipped with under-floor heating and wireless internet access!” its website boasts. 

And it’s also listed as ideal for team building exercises or theme parties. Because nothing is more festive than pretending to pinch pennies while spending a third of the median South African monthly income in one night.

Poverty tourism, also known as “poorism,” isn’t unheard of.  There have been various “reality” tours through the slums of Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro’s favelas for years.

While the merits of visiting a real shanty town, as if it were a museum exhibit or a wildlife reserve, is certainly up for moral debate, pretending to have the experience without ever having to set eyes on people who are actually suffering is a whole different kind of tone deaf.