irony: 2. fig. A condition of affairs or events of a character opposite to what was, or might naturally be, expected; a contradictory outcome of events as if in mockery of the promise and fitness of things. OED 2d ed. 1989.
Today’s example comes from our friends in U2 and Berlin. A free U2 concert in Berlin to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall sounds like a good idea right? They supported Solidarity even if they are a bit muddle-headed in their politics. I doubt Bono and the gang were personally involved in this, but it is amusing — ironic even.
Fans hoping to glimpse U2’s free concert celebrating 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell were outraged Thursday to find that a 12-foot (3.6-meter) metal barrier was installed to block the view for those without tickets.
Both Berliners and tourists alike saw the irony in building a wall around a concert dedicated to the wall that has already come down.
“It’s completely ridiculous that they are blocking the view,” said Louis-Pierre Boily, 23, who came to Berlin even though he failed to get U2 tickets. “I thought it’s a free show, but MTV probably wants people to watch it on TV to get their ratings up.”
Boily, from Quebec City, was among several hundred people who gathered Thursday against the new fence, which was draped with a white tarp that blocked the view of the stage from the street. Some fans were already trying to tear down the tarp before the concert, which was being held in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate.
The music network MTV, which organized Thursday’s concert, said it worked with the local promoter, the city and Berlin police to install a temporary fence “around the site to ensure the safety and security of the attendees at the event as well as residents and businesses in the area.”
U2’s publicist RMP refused comment about the barrier.
Some 10,000 tickets were made available online for the Irish rockers’ free show — and they were snapped up in just three hours.
U2 was performing four songs but only one song was being shown later on television Thursday as part of MTV’s European Music Awards, according to MTV.
When U2 came to DC a few weeks back, my husband headed home on the metro about the same time concert goers were in transit. His stop was the closest one to the venue. People park there and are shuttled to the concert. My husband observed that very few alterna-yuppies rode on the metro to attend the concert. The ones in the parking lot looked at bit “fearful” since the metro stop and venue is in what you might call a part of MD that is predominantly black. You’d think folks would take mass-transit to see Bono and relish the opportunity to mix with the “disenfranchised” of the metro area. Instead, they drove their hybrids and jammed up the Beltway.
I find it even more ironic how Bono was against rich artists in Ireland paying full taxes after decades of getting tax breaks there, yet depends on the tax payers of other countries (especially ours) to fund his Africa obsession.
Irony, liberalism, hypocracy. All synonyms.
Let me clear my Nelson Muntz throat: ha-ha!!!
Mister Bono tear down this wall!