Billy Talen, otherwise known as the activist/performance artist “Reverend Billy”, is currently on tour in England. On May 21, 2009, Reverend Billy and his choir visited a Starbucks and a Tesco in Norwich, UK, in order to tell people to stop shopping at these places he refers to as “mega-corporations”, and start supporting local markets and fair trade. The event and reference to Reverend Billy’s run for Mayor of New York City were covered by Norfolk video news/Archant Norfolk. Some quotes from Reverend Billy’s sermon included…
“In New York City we have 250 Starbucks, help us, pray for us, we are mesmerized consumers, we are hypnotized consumers, that is why we voted for the War in Iraq.”
…”as we convert from being consumers to being citizens…”
“[Starbucks is] Like a member of parliament with an expense account that is out of control…”
What is Reverend Billy doing in England if he is supposed to be campaigning for Mayor of NYC?
Another article about Reverend Billy:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2009/05/105440.shtml
To Third Part Revolution:
Well, stuff happens sometimes in small parties. It is mostly a favor to the Green Party to have someone with as much juice and previous media exposure as Rev. Billy. So, people probably weighed the pros and cons of his schedule and said okay. I am in NY state, and I had not heard of any other serious contender for GP Mayor.
Also, it is not exactly the “season” right now. There is not much going on with the NYC Mayor’s race – not news in the cycle everyday. So, it is not a horrible time to be on the road.
Rev. Billy is part of a team with a whole choir and a music director. I am imagining the England tour was planned well in advance, and that everyone thought they needed to go.
(Also, if he can do stuff in England, and we can blog about it here…not a bad plan. Campaigning does not have to be face-to-face all the time anymore. There is Face-Boook to Face-Book, where I heard about the England video…)
“Standing for” makes a lot more sense than “running for.”
Ms. Wilder is correct. Rev. Billy had some contracted appearances, including England, before the Greens approached him about running for Mayor. He and Savitri ( his wife/manager) assured the assembled group at a recent meeting at campaign headquarters (Lafayette btwn Prince and Spring) that as soon as these obligations are fulfilled, they will be devoting full time to the campaign.
Billy Talen is the best candidate for visible, progressive change in NYC in quite a while, and I urge any New Yorkers who feel disenfranchised and neglected by the past 2 administrations to consider his candidacy.
greetings from the uk,
i saw the reverend, twice this weekend in cambridge
and all i will say is, the green party have a the right man for the job,
good luck and hope they do well 😉
reverend billy is a self serving theocrat.
Changes positions as it suits him.
Used to speak against amazon.com until he had a product to sell. Where would Jesus buy your DVD billy?