|
|
More of the Shame
April 12, 2002
Colin Powell,
official arms supplier to Israel, conceded today that Israel would be allowed to
go about its business. Preferably, the Israelis will hurry up and finish
whatever it is they're doing. As if he didn't know.
Genocide.
It's easy to call
one side a terrorist when the other side has all the weaponry.
Meanwhile, Ariel
Sharon presses on, until, as he says, the Palestinians are defeated. If
blowing oneself up isn't a sure sign of defeat, what is? I don't think the
word is "defiant." Rather, it's desperate.
An eternity of
defeat is not much of a future. Israelis and Arabs will continue to
suffer. Palestine has been
defeated for decades. Now the question is what to do about it.
Besides doing what the Germans did to the Jews.
Why do you suppose
African Americans in the projects don't strap bombs on their backs? It's
an interesting question. Maybe it's because they're allowed to go to
school (inferior school, but school nonetheless).
The Bush Royalty
is Capable
of Anything
Funding terrorists
in Nicaragua with drug money. Rigging Presidential elections in the US and
elsewhere. Profiting from war and genocide. The Bush family never
ceases to amaze. Pappa Bush was a CIA man, need I say more?
Read
on...
Right to Bear Arms
a Lost Cause
I recently
received an email from someone who doesn't agree with gun control. The
writer explained, quite eloquently, that guns protect citizens from the police, and cited the Jews in Nazi Germany as an example.
My reply:
The government isn't afraid of your pistols, your shotguns, or even your semi-automatic rifles. The US government already has more
firepower than 244 million people could ever acquire, quite intentionally. And anyway, if the
people could stockpile F16s for public or personal use, where would be put them? In our back yards?
Therefore your argument just isn't practical. Guns aren't used for
insurgency or fending off dictators. Due to being massively behind
in the arms race, the citizens will never catch up.
The problem with
guns is that they kill children every year. Guns are for adult and
criminal entertainment yet children end up paying the price. And, for some reason, every year
some middle-class white man/boy shoots up their coworkers/class mates. A
white man/boy with a gun poses a greater threat to me than the government does.
We already have a dictator in the White House and, as much as I hate to tell you
this, the revolvers in Texan housewives' purses didn't stop it from happening. The
only way to change our sorry situation is through non-violent action and clever manipulation of the media. You even quoted this from
Michael Moore's book Stupid White Men. He was talking about Palestine but
it applies to the good old US of A too.
The only reason why politicians support the NRA and vice-versa is
because there's money to be made selling guns and ammunition. Business
is the AMERICAN WAY.
Furthermore, I don't agree with reasons why the founding "fathers" added the
right to bear arms to the Bill of Rights.
The founding "fathers" were concerned about the ENGLISH taking over again, and the states wanted the
right to maintain their own MILITIAS,
because unlike today, the federal government was just a po-dunk place near the Potomac. The
participants of the Constitutional Convention were not plotting
for a future generation to overthrow them. Quite the opposite, actually. The wealthy landowners who framed the Bill of
Rights were
protecting their right to defend themselves from any threat, especially the unruly masses.
Why are Enron
Executives Sleeping in their Own Beds?
See Also: Enron & Empire
Enron executives
took bonuses for lying to investors. They pocketed millions knowing full
well that the world would eventually learn the truth. They also knew they
would get away with it.
If the executives of
Enron were African Americans who stole a six pack of beer from a 7-11, they
would be facing life in prison without parole. However, since these men
are white and contribute to both political parties, they are still scott
free. Granted, the heat was on them for a week, but for now, they are out
of the spotlight enjoying the booty stolen from Californians and foolish Enron
employees who believed in the Bush-sponsored corporation more than they believed
in God.
And who is to blame
for this? The media. There is absolute complicity, a conspiracy
really, in the corporate-controlled media to ignore the Enron scandal and hope
that terrorists bomb another building (it worked for Gary Condit) or something
worse happens. This behavior would be unheard of in the 60s, but today,
when the same people own the White House, the Republicans, the Democrats, as
well as television, radio, newspaper, and Internet media, it's just business as
usual.
Are
Palestinians Stupid?
For average
Americans, Palestinians remind them of a family in a Greek tragedy who can't stop seeking revenge, at
their own eternal peril. The cycle of violence surrounds them like the
dust cloud that envelops the Pig Pen character in Peanuts.
Americans have a
difficult time emphasizing with the Palestinians after 9/11 when their televisions
overflowed with images of revelers in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Just one problem: the
footage was shot in 1991.
Days after the
terrorist attacks in New York and Virginia, the media corporations of the West in
conspired to
engender resentment for the Palestinians and Arabs in general. One reason
is so that Western corporations such General Electric (owner of NBC) can continue to reap obscene profits from
selling weapons to Israel.
Violence is not the
answer to Israeli occupation in Palestine. It's not the answer to the
Arabs' suffering at the hands of their corrupt leaders who let oil corporations that
steal their
most valuable resource literally underneath their noses. I certainly hope
the Palestinians figure it out soon, because precious little sand is left in the hourglass.
Unfortunately, the US seems to hold all the cards.
Generations
If it wasn't for the
Vietnam War, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy would probably still be
alive today. Times of war make getting away with murder easier, even on US
soil. It's only a matter of months before the FBI/CIA assassinates another
one of the few breathing progressives on the planet.
I was not there but I have a strong feeling that at the beginning, few
realized the Vietnam War was a big deal. Many supported the "military
action"
like they supported JFK's misguided quest to send the jocks of their day to the
moon. Only eye-witness reports started the slow process of changing
opinion. No thanks to the mass media, just like today.
The military and Washington in general has since learned from this.
There is presently no separation between the military, Washington, major corporations, and
the media. They are all controlled by the same people, a shrinking
minority of the ultra-rich and the hyper-connected.
The book Generations,
written in 1992, predicts a time of crisis at the turn of the millennium.
We certainly have it, right on schedule. The US electorate is hungry for a movement again,
and the Bush administration has given it to them. Those in power have
crafted an anti-terrorism crusade but the real movement will become one of anti-colonialization.
The youth of America will side with those who have been robbed, cheated, and
murdered in the name of "free trade" and "globalization,"
which are just new words for what has been going on since the first
Conquistadores stomped their boots on the shores of the "New World."
The cynics among us
will question what real outcome such a movement could have. Only the
pursuit of happiness via tangible property has withstood the tests of time.
An anti-globalization movement can still affect change in the US and
beyond. For one, it could change the political makeup of our leaders,
which will gradually affect the military, the media, and the corporations that
run them. In the words of the Pentagon, it's a long-term war.
Then again, for the
truly cynical among us, recall that several governments around the world are sitting on
stockpiles of nuclear weapons and millions of metric tons
of lethal radioactive waste. This waste has already started leaking into
what's left of the water supply without the help of terrorists. Then
there's the fact that most of the world is facing chronic drought conditions as
the water supply is simultaneously depleted and contaminated with industrial
chemicals. Ultimately, it might not matter whether anybody cares about
globalization or materialism or Mohammed Ali for that matter. We all have
to focus on a half-decent distraction from the unsolvable scary issues.
We're only at the beginning of a movement to effect real change for average
people everywhere around the globe. There is plenty to be mad about, such as
Enron and the US shadow government that is running the war in Afghanistan.
Extending the "war on terror" to Colombia, Iraq, etc. will be another
factor. Another Watergate is coming, and CNN can't stop it
from happening, because they must save face or lose their
audience. After all, it's a business.
I believe in the collective intelligence of the American people. Although
it is slow to focus its attention, once focused it is dead on. The
American people know right from wrong, and they can solve problems without
violence. I'm of course not talking about the military, politicians, or
the police. I'm talking about your uncle Fred who installs metal siding.
However, given the
current Enron scandal, it's easy for the focus to be redirected. It's easy
for politicians get away with lip service while doing nothing. This is
partly because Washington and the media are controlled by a uber-class minority who are
actively trying
to stop change. This includes stopping campaign finance reform, which
would hurt the TV networks that charge a premium for air time, and putting a lid
on anti-globalization sentiment which would deprive corporations of cheap, fearful, and
desperate labor.
Can you feel
it? The wind is changing direction. It is building momentum, very,
very slowly. All things must have a beginning, just when those in the
English colonies began to entertain the idea that the soldiers sleeping in their
beds were the enemy.
And now, a message
from Michael Moore, the voice of this new movement with no deadline.
Monday, March 18,
2002
Hey, whose idea was it to keep this diary? I guess I thought I would have a
normal book tour, and each night before bedtime I would have a few minutes to
type up what happened today...
Bedtime? What's bedtime?
A good night for me these past two weeks is three hours of sleep. The week of
March 3rd was spent mostly in the state of California. Much of it involved
driving -- and because every venue that had invited me was too small, I would
tell the crowds to come back in a couple hours and I'd do it all over again. If
too many came back the second time, I would ask that crowd inside, "Would
you mind watching a video of mine while I spend a half-hour with the crowd
outside?" and no one objected.
This past week, it only got worse -- or better, actually. I spent the week in
the Midwest -- Michigan, Chicago, and the Twin Cities. In Ann Arbor, I asked the
crowd of 1600 if they would like to see a rough cut of my latest documentary
film. That screening sealed it for me -- it may have been the best screening
I've ever had for any of my movies. My life-long friend, Jeff Gibbs, who helped
me produce a lot of the stuff we shot in the field, sat there with me in the
front row of the balcony as the film played. Now I can't wait to get back to New
York to finish it up and get it out.
After Ann Arbor, Jeff and I drive to Detroit for a speech and signing at St.
Andrew's Hall. We arrive about an hour late. Hundreds have jammed inside the
hall in downtown Detroit. The area looks like a ghost town, and the only thing
lit up within a mile are the two large casinos which were heralded as the answer
to Detroit's problems. It's all very sad, pathetic, but somebody tells me that
the new mayor may be the right guy to turn things around.
The Green Party and other groups have organized the event. It's a raucous crowd
for a Tuesday night, and people have driven from places like Cincinnati,
Kalamazoo and Canada. Usually the book tables at my events are stores that
report their sales to various bestseller lists. I am informed that the
organizers could not find a single store in Detroit whose sales numbers were
wanted by any of the major lists -- so the store doing the table tonight is
Revolution Books. They tell me that HarperCollins made them pay for all the
books in advance. This is unusual, as most stores don't have to pay until
they sell them -- and what they don't sell, they can send back and not be
charged for them. To make matters worse, HC has sent Revolution Books more books
than there are seats for in the hall. I feel bad them and promise that, if any
books aren't sold tonight, I will see that they are sold to the list of stores I
now keep of those who simply cannot get enough books from the publisher or the
distributor.
We finish up around 1:15 am and head north to Flint for the night...
The next day, Wednesday, I spend with my family in the Flint area. In the late
afternoon, I stop by Flint U of M where the kids are showing "Roger &
Me." Though most have grown up in Flint, many of them are seeing it for the
first time. Just before I go in, I get a call from HarperCollins to tell me that
my book has now gone to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List (to be
published March 24). I have already heard the news about a dozen times in the
past few hours as someone at the Times had leaked it to Matt Drudge and he put
it out over the Internet. The phone started ringing and I was very happy to get
this news while I was back home in Flint.
I give an emotional speech to the students. I am upset that the city is now in
even worse shape. The vast majority of kids in Flint live in poverty. Nothing
has been done to change this -- except last week when the voters threw the
do-nothing mayor out of office in a recall election. It was a first step, and I
hope the first of many.
I then head out to the suburbs for an evening event at Border's. The place is
packed. Someone shouts, "Welcome home!", and I see numerous friends
and former cohorts in the audience. What a rush this is. I am very humbled by it
all, the Border's people are extremely kind to me. The first person in line is
my high school English teacher, the man who encouraged me to write, Mr. Hardy. I
am thrilled to see him, but he will take none of the credit for this path of
life I have chosen. I want to tell everyone there that this teacher is THE one,
but he is turning red and I am embarrassing him. I sign his book and he leaves.
I sign the last book sometime after midnight...
The next morning, Thursday, a car picks me up to take me to Detroit to fly to
Chicago. The driver says he drives Kid Rock and tells me over and over that
Pamela Anderson is "a very very sweet gal." I ask him to tell the Kid
thanks again for getting me through a police line at the MTV video music awards
when Tim, the Rage bass player, decided to charge the stage and climb a 30-foot
prop. We talk about how both the Red Wings and the Pistons are in first place
this week, simple solace for what we know is just ahead of us -- another shitty
year for the Tigers.
The media guy in charge of my day in Chicago, Bill Young, is one of the smartest
and nicest people I'll meet on this tour. His wife is Elizabeth Berg, a
well-known author of fiction and one of my wife's favorites. Bill is the first
person in the last few weeks to specifically break it down for me as to just how
well the book is doing. Bill is blown away by the sales so far for my book. He
says it is rare to see anything like this. The numbers are beyond amazing he
explains. It has a bigger momentum than any other book out there and there are
no signs of it stopping. None of this had sunk in yet for me. "Downsize
This" debuted at 15 and rose all the way to 14 on the NY Times list -- and
4 weeks later it was off. But now, here in Chicago, it has sunk into my head how
this book has crossed-over into a wide mainstream audience. I've become
convinced more than ever that the country is ready to end its silent support of
the Commander in Chief and start demanding some answers.
As we walk to a radio interview with the great Steve Dahl (the man who once
saved rock-n-roll from disco), a CNN satellite truck has pulled up on Michigan
Avenue. We ask what's up, and the producer says that Arthur Andersen,
headquartered in the building behind us, has just been indicted. They are going
to wait for the Andersen execs to come out of the building and videotape them.
Wow, I thought, how fortuitous is this? I get to watch a perp walk of corporate
crooks!! Handcuffed, shackled, their coats pulled up over their faces -- this I
had to see.
Well, no one was coming down. Bill asks the producer if she would like to
interview me. She says she has never heard of me. When Bill looks surprised, she
says, "Hey, I'm sorry I don't know who he is -- I've only been in Chicago 6
weeks." Not knowing what to do with that we headed off to our next
interview.
Tavis Smiley is the only black host with a daily show on NPR. It's a great show,
a fresh voice for a stuffy network. No other NPR show, despite numerous
pleadings from the book publicist, will interview me or put me on the air.
Robert Siegle, the host of "All Things Considered," was the person
responsible for ending my monthly commentaries I used to do for the show back in
the mid-80s. He felt, or so I was told, that my commentaries were too out there,
especially the one I did comparing Daniel Ortega to George Washington. Then
there's Terry Gross of "Fresh Air." For 12 years she has turned down
all my requests to appear on her show. Why, I have no idea (for a radio network
that focuses so much on things like books, it seems odd that they will not speak
to the person with the number one book in the country, but hey, I don't run the
place so maybe there is a good reason. For the record, I do love listening to
NPR and contribute money to it.)
So, for now, Tavis is their only black guy and the only NPR host who will talk
to me. We have a rollicking interview. He loves all the race stuff in the book,
especially the humor, and is grateful that I, a white guy, will talk openly
about it.
The bookstore in Chicago that has sponsored the evening event is a much-loved
bookstore in Chicago. But it has been hard getting them to put tonight's signing
in a location that can handle the crowds. The bookstores would prefer that the
signings be done on their premises. That way, it brings in lots of customer
traffic and many of the people who come will buy other books. But I now have to
insist that these events be held in an off-site venue because it is not fair for
those who drive hours to come see me to find that they and thousands of others
cannot get in.
I had made it clear to HarperCollins that no store is to charge anyone admission
for any of my appearances. They are to be free. If they want to pass the hat for
a local community group to raise money for them, that's OK by me -- but it has
to be VOLUNTARY giving.
I have been lied to so much on this tour that now, when the lies come, I accept
them like a bad cheese sandwich you are forced to eat because there is nothing
else left in the house. I found out that people in Berkeley, L.A., Boulder, and
Boston had to pay to get in. Other places, like one college campus, would not
let in any townspeople until all the students who wanted to come were seated
first (by then, there were only a few seats left for the "outsiders").
On the positive side, in most of these places, the money went for a good cause,
and the people in L.A. said no one was turned away who couldn't pay.
But it is already outrageous enough to be charging $24.95 for a book (a good way
to keep the masses ignorant and not reading if there ever was one). To charge
people more money on top of that is just wrong. But I was given STRICT assurance
from HarperCollins (after they had earlier refused to lower the price of the
book by just two dollars) that NO ONE would have to pay money to come hear me
talk or get their book signed.
Well, tonight in Chicago, people outside the event are screaming at me because
the bookstore has insisted the you MUST BUY the book in order to enter and you
MUST buy it from their bookstore. Hundreds are in line with books bought at
other stores, or online, or they have no money to buy the book. They are not
allowed in. I ask the person in charge what is going on. I am told that the
people were not required to buy the book from this bookstore to get in. But
during the Q & A, a number of people stood up and said how they had already
bought the book online or elsewhere but were, tonight, forced to buy ANOTHER
copy of the book just to get in. I am embarrassed by all this and am reminded of
how little control I have at times on this tour and how easy it is to keep me in
the dark as I am shuffled from state to state. Later, as I sit down to sign
books, I ask some of those who were forced to buy a second book in order to get
in what they do for a living -- and, for a few of them who work for minimum
wage, I reach in my pocket and give them their money back, with my apologies.
The bookstore people are shocked at this and now think I'm nuts.
Because they wouldn't listen to me and get a larger venue, I feel obligated to
the hundreds of people who can't get in to tell them to come back in a couple
hours and I'll do it all over again for them. I get back to the hotel around 2am
and ask Bill if it's OK to cancel the first interview at 7am. He is the first
media person on this tour to feel my pain, and says he will call the producer
and explain...
The next night, in St. Paul, Minnesota, another 2000 people show up. People have
come from as far away as North Dakota, Iowa, and St. Louis. I am so overwhelmed
by this I have now started to hand out gas money to anyone who has driven more
than five hours. I tell my wife this, and now she thinks I'm nuts. She is
visiting our daughter at college. It's 2:30am and I have to get up at 5:00am and
catch a flight back to New York as the edit crew will be in the edit room at
10am to finish the final cut of the movie...
From Flint,
Michael Moore
|
