Bono's Elvis tribute, American David, Unveiled on Radio 4, Insulting to Blacks and the Disabled

I was never a fan of the late Elvis Presley, but I do like Bono and U2. A poem about Elvis, recited by Bono has hit the British airwaves. The poem was recorded two years ago, but written in 1994, and is entitled "American David," contained an array of strange and risqué rhymes set to a musical backing track made up of Elvis tunes and other pop culture recordings from the last 50 years. The poem was published in the band’s fan magazine, Propaganda, in 1995 but has never been publicly aired in full.

Here are some snippets from the poem:

“Elvis the bumper stickers/ Elvis the white knickers/ Elvis the white nigger ate at Burger King and just kept getting bigger.”

“Elvis the ecstatic/ Elvis the plastic/ Elvis the elastic with a spastic dance that could explain the energy of America."

Alice Maynard, chairman of disability charity Scope, said: “While I’m sure Bono didn’t intend to insult disabled people, the word (spastic) is often used as an offensive reference to someone with cerebral palsy. “Because of this, the word can be very insulting to a disabled person and its use in some contexts is inappropriate and, at worst, discriminatory.” Source: Times Online

It's funny that Bono considers himself a big fan of Elvis and has lauded him with lines in the poem such as "Pharaoh-like", a "genius" and a "psalmist." Elvis Presley had some real flaws and there seems to be a serious disconnect between Bono's decision to champion this poem and the fact that he has fought to bring awareness to so many social causes.