Aleksander Boyd von Venezuela Crisis schreibt über den heldenhaften Genossen Penn und seine revolutionäre Solidaritätsreise zu den potemkinschen Dörfern des bolivarischen Venezuela - und über seine eigenen Vorstellungen von einem lohnenswerten Freiheitskampf! 

Revolutionary alert to iconic types

“So Santana thinks he looks the part with a Che Guevara t-shirt. Cameron Diaz took it further by walking around the Andes with a handbag with the image of a People’s Republic tormentor. And then the planet has to put up with the `social consciences´ of the Bonos and the Geldofs. With the `environmental concerns´ of the Coldplays and the Madonnas, troubled as they all are with substance excesses, with their hedonistic lifestyles in the much hated Western capitalist societies whose markets propelled them to iconic status. It must be a tough life being a Hollywood type nowadays. Just imagine the sort of pressure these entertainers must endure, sitting around all day trying to find worthy causes that will afford them a place in history, something that’ll make them stand out from the competition, that’ll save them from getting chucked to el basurero del olvido by the next generation. Life’s such a bitch for some…

So they tour our planet, not forgetting to inform the press first, and adopt children from miserable backgrounds; or plant a few trees in places where there´s no irrigation system to water it afterwards; or go on guided trips to deliver aid from 5 star hotels with UN staff; or, the most daring ones, just go to have the photo op done with `anti-establishment figures´ even if conventional wisdom has them as tyrants. All very `revolutionary and humanitarian-driven´ isn’t it?

So fellow bloggers are incensed by the visit of Sean Penn to Venezuela. Other revolutionary chic icons have also visited the country in the past and applauded the antics of the dictator. The reaction was just as strong then. In my humble opinion one shouldn’t get upset with the spectacle. It is only to be expected considering the actors, in the literal sense, involved. Some time ago I concluded that these self anointed revolutionaries are nothing but entertainers for the truly revolutionary thing to do would be to break with established paradigms. Wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt may be considered revolutionary in UCL´s campus in Gower Street. However for the families of those assassinated by the killing machine that is an unforgivable affront…”