In a visit to US Congress today, Bono attended a Senate subcommittee hearing on “causes and consequences of violent extremism and the role of foreign assistance.”
He was there as a part of a group of diplomats and aid experts bidding to convince the government to provide aid to the Middle East.
During his speech he suggested that there was a better way to combat extremists like ISIS other than with violent retaliation. “I think comedy should be deployed,” he said. “It’s like, you speak violence, you speak their language. But you laugh at them when they are goose-stepping down the street and it takes away their power. So I am suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer and Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen, thank you.”
Bono is the latest in a string of celebrities to propose novel solutions to defeat ISIS, including Shaggy who last year suggested that if ISIS members simply listened to his music and smoked weed that they would no longer be violent.
It wasn’t all about comedy though for the U2 frontman who, according to Reuters, advocated for a “Marshall Plan” like relief initiative to provide aid to the Middle East. “Aid in 2016 is not charity; it is national security,” he said. “When aid is structured properly, with a focus on fighting poverty and improving governance, it could just be the best bulwark we have against the extremism of our age.”
Check out an excerpt from the speech here.
.@U2‘s Bono says comedy one way to combat violent extremism: “Send in @amyschumer & @chrisrock & Sacha Baron Cohen pic.twitter.com/7GVzo5NBdr
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) April 12, 2016
Amy Schumer promptly responded on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/amyschumer/status/720010264377221121
