When I was 18, I really wanted to go to college. I wanted to go because I have always loved to learn, even if I’ve never fit in particularly well in the academic environment, and I truly believe that the more knowledge you have, the more options you have in your life.
I mean, how many guys do you know who are college educated, who get a different job in sales every 6 months?
It’s all about knowledge and options, man.
The only problem is, I never, uh…well, I never took the SAT. I took the PSAT, and did pretty well. If I recall correctly, my results said that “96% of people who take this test will score lower than you” on the verbal section (yes, there was a time when I could spell correctly and even use correct grammar. Of.) but on the math section, it said something like, “You will only score higher than Anna Nicole Smith. Do yourself a favor and find some rich old dude to marry, then wait for him to die and take all his money, because you’re never going to get anywhere, mister.”
Yeah, back in those days education wasn’t as focused on making people feel good, like it is now. Back then they actually wanted me to learn something.
Bastards.
So anyway, when I was 18, I moved out to Westwood, with the intention of just enrolling in the UCLA extension, and going to college that way. Trouble was, I kept getting work as an actor, and I was never able to see my plan all the way through. Around that time I decided to take my semi-retirement from acting, and, instead of staying here in Los Angeles and just going to school, I ended up in Topeka, Kansas, working for NewTek. Being on campus again, though, brought back many happy memories. You know, my life is so different now, so much more complicated and filled with responsibility…I wish I’d known back then how easy things truly were, but I guess part of the halcyon of youth is not knowing…
Anyway, I completely digress. The point is, I went to UCLA to hear and meet Michael Moore, which I did. I got there nice and early, to ensure that I had a seat, and sat in line reading “Trust Us, We’re Experts.” I felt so subversive, standing there in my OBEYT-shirt, wearing a backpack filled with controversial books, waiting to hear this guy who so many uberconservatives hate.
So they finally let us into the auditorium, we watch a few minutes of “The Awful Truth”, and Michael Moore arrives, and begins his talk.
I realize that I don’t often get to go watch people speak, and it’s a rarity that I am on this side of the microphone, so I pay very close attention to the way he speaks, how he interacts with the audience, when he gets off point, how he gets back on point. It’s funny: I’m there to see this guy who I respect and admire, and I’m not even listening to him. I’m making mental notes, so the next time I speak, I do more of one thing, and less of another. It’s the same thing that happens when I watch a movie, or see a play.
He starts slowly, but he finds his groove, and gives what I think is a great talk for about an hour or so. He doesn’t say anything that I haven’t already heard or read from him, but he does make one point that is very inspiring to me: he suggests that our country is not as right-wing as the right-wing would have us believe. He tells us how his book, which almost did not get published, is number one at amazon, number 3 on the New York Times best seller list, and number 9 ( i think. I’m not too sure about that number, but it’s in the top ten) on the Wall Street Journal best seller list. He tells us how the vast majority of people in this country support unions, oppose the death penalty, are pro-choice, and pro-environment. He suggests that “president” Bush’s approval ratings are less an endorsement of the “president”, but more a condemnation of terrorism. He suggests that when your house is attacked, you rally around the leader, but he tells us that Bush is going down, because we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg with Enron.
He also inspires us all to take action. He tells us that great changes in history have been brought about by tiny, individual actions. He reminds us that the end of segregation was brought about because a tired seamstress didn’t want to get up and move, because her feet were tired. He tells us about many, many instances where one person, who was otherwise unremarkable, made a ripple which became a tsunami.
I am so inspired, and so heartened, not only because he’s reaffirming what I know in my heart to be true, but because I am surrounded by 18 and 19 year-old kids, and they are all inspired to take action, too. For the first time in a long time, I am filled with hope, and I think that our country is not doomed.
When he’s done, he hangs around to sign his books, and I wait in another line. This line is moving very slowly, because Michael Moore stops to talk to each person who comes up to him, and again I think how funny it is for me to be on the other side of the table.
After about 30 minutes, there are only 3 people in front of me, and I am getting really nervous. I know that I have about 45 seconds to say what I want to say, and make my impression, and I really want to stand out to him, you know? I don’t want to be just another person saying “me too!” So I get up to where he is, and I ask him to please sign my book to Wil, with one “L”, which he does. I tell him that we have a mutual friend in Tom Tomorrow, and that Tom says for him to check his email. Michael Moore smiles at me, asks me how I know Tom Tomorrow, and I tell him because of our websites. I tell him that I really admire and respect him, and I thank him for his support of unions and working class people. I tell him that I am on the board of directors of my union, and that I’m trying to make the union stronger and more focused on the needs of its members. He asks me what union, I tell him that it’s SAG, and he stops for a second. He says, “Wait- what’s your name?” I tell him that my name is Wil Wheaton, and he says, “I know your name. And now I recognize your face. Why do I recognize you?” I tell him that I was in Star Trek and Stand By Me, and I realize that I always feel sort of sheepish and embarrassed when I share this fact with anyone. He goes, “Oh! That’s why! Cool! So you’re active in your union?” I tell him that I am, even though, thanks to the recent election, we are totally doomed.
Then he does something that’s really cool: he extends his hand, and he says, “Thank you for…” but I’m so giddy that he’s telling me thank you, and shaking my hand, that I totally don’t even hear what he says. I wonder how often that happens when I meet people at shows?
So that was it. I thanked him, he told me to tell Tom Tomorrow that he will check his email, and I was on my way, book clutched to my chest like a total geek.
On my way out, I go up Bruin Walk, where there are about 100 kids, all of them handing out flyers in support of their various causes, some progressive, some conservative, but all of them passionate and determined.
I realize that, despite what the lazy, corporate media would have us believe, the youth of America, at least as UCLA, does care, and they are active. The Establishment would be wise to start paying attention to them, because I get the impression that they’re not going to be seen and not heard for very much longer.
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I hate Michael Meyers he distorts the facts by concealment. Abortion forces a prenatal infant to die. Enviromentalists can’t do math or science or statistics right. So says a former member of Greenpeace.
And I am an ex-Democrat.
Wil-
Glad you had a blast… unlike the time where I met the author who’s words are like holy scripture to me…
ya know looking back on it
I should of known better with Harlan Ellison.
Oh well my ego needed a good painful shrinking into some nether part of the universe.
I think that Drew Liberty needs to understand that Michael Meyers is under a lot of pressure. Not only must he maintain a dogged pursuit of Jamie Lee Curtis, but at the same time he’s trying to finish up Austin Powers 3 and prepare for ‘The Cat in The Hat.
Glad to see *some* conservatives on this thread. That’s right Wil, there’s some of us out there that regularly read WWDN that aren’t liberals or fans of Michael Moore.
I’m very glad to know that you do indeed welcome all maturely expressed points of view. Some of the earlier posters were exactly right, free speech is a loosely used term, depending on who doesn’t want to hear what from whom.
Anyways, I’m curious to know more about the union mentality as I can’t understand it from anything other than an emotional issue. Does anyone think that in some cases they are getting out of hand? I absolutely think that at one time they had their place, about 75 years ago. But an auto assembly line worker making $40 an hour? That’s $80K a year. For something that requires only on-the-job training? The job’s not worth that by any stretch.
A free market (which self-admitted communist Michael Moore abhors) says that people are compensated based on the value of the service they provide. There’s a certain supply of people to fill a demand of skilled labor. If there are 400,000 people qualified to work 20,000 jobs, then that job’s not going to pay a ton because while the demand is steady, the supply is high. Simply saying that the workers “should get a ‘living wage'” is nothing more than an emotional response. They ARE NOT entitled to more than the job is actually worth. If they want more, then they should get a job where there’s higher demand. High demand = high pay.
I’m not making as much as Bill Gates because currently (last time I checked), hundreds of millions of users aren’t using my software.
What about the 20,000 people who do get $80K for their jobs, where the job is only worth $35K? Wouldn’t a true communist rather see 40,000 making $40K? Or better yet 80,000 making $20K? Unions can keep some people from getting jobs at all.
I’d like a job massaging Elizabeth Hurley’s breasts 40 hours a week, but I’ll bet the demand is pretty low and the supply is through the roof. So, alas, I’ll just have to keep being a software engineer where I do something that somebody actually finds useful.
Man, this post is getting long, but I wanted to share one other point. When I was in grad school, we installed an experimental robotic vehicle in a nuclear waste storage facility in Ohio (this was in ’95 I think). Well, we had been there for 3 freakin’ weeks (from another state) and were ready to finally hit the bricks late one night. The facility has a policy (and rightly so) that all equipment brought into the compound should be checked for radiation. Well, we had a truck load of computers and robot parts it is was going to take a while. During the third shift, we got a hold of a radiation technician and asked him to “check us out.” He was only watching TV at the time, and said “sure!” He grabbed his equipment and went to work.
Well, that’s when union-boss-man came onto the scene. “Whoa, whoa, whoa – what’s going on here? No No No, you guys are gonna hafta come back tomorrow and do this during the day shift. It’s gonna take 4 guys working half a day to get you outta here.” The tech that we had working with us thought it would take him 2 hours that night. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to watching TV.
That’s just bullshit. And I’m not saying all unions are this way, but I am saying that unions aren’t the all-wonderful friend-to-mankind institution they’re cracked up to be.
Wil, thanks for giving me a chance to add my opinion to the forum.
Chomsky Rules.
so does Moore…and of course Rush Limbaugh.
Your blog reminded me of a very wonderful film called The Power of One. There is a quote in there that goes something like this – “A waterfall starts with one drop and look what comes of that.” It’s been quite a while since I saw this movie (Maybe I’ll watch it again tonight.) so I’m not sure if it’s totally accurate but it’s pretty close.
Wil, I assume that you’ve read “Stupid White Men” from cover to cover. If you’re so sure that what I said is laughable, then explain that whole chapter called “The End of Men.” It reads like the diatribe of a gender feminist employed by NOW.
And on an earlier episode of Politically Incorrect shown last summer, Michael Moore was on the panel along with a known equity feminist named Christina Hoff Summers (she wrote a book called “The War on Boys”…it’s very eye opening reading) and I recall Michael Moore talking about how men ought to be controlled by women. He didn’t say it in as many words, but you easily got the gist that he hates the fact he was born a man. Either that, or he just has no balls.
I think I’ll take the charitable way out, and say that I heartily support Michael Moore’s recent comments on “fighting terrorism” and Bush’s approval rating. And the sentence ends there, sadly.
(Okay, I can’t help it … why stop at a living wage? Employers should pay all their employees $100 an hour.)
I think it’s cool that you buy “subversive” books – so do I, sometimes – but as long as you challenge them. I read “The Indispensible Chomsky” recently and found it quite dispensible, which was disappointing. Despite the book’s claim about being extensively footnoted via a website, I found that Chomsky was in the habit of calling people “War Criminals” and such without really explaining exactly why they were, even on the footnote website. I checked into one such assertion and found he was highly selective in his so-called evidence. He also clearly gets off on being provocative about such things, and even says so in at least one place “I called it the War Criminal Airport to shake things up a bit”. So I wouldn’t take anything he says at face value. Go to the library and really check things out instead of just quoting him.
My impression is that he’s the elder statesman of the anti-establishment movement and many people tend to get upset if he’s criticized at all, and he thinks he’s become awfully sloppy. Having spent most of my professional life around Ph.d.’s in an academic environment, I’d say he has degenerated into suffering from the all-too-common doctoral disease of thinking that he’s got a “Ph.d. in everything”.
It turned out there was no ice cream or sherbet, liberal, conservative, or third-party. It was sad.
There was some moderate peach pie, but I’m not a bit peach fan.
Oh, yeah, and it’s been proven many times that there are conservative-minded readers of WWDN. Many, many times.
Ooooo! Remembered! Something to keep in mind:
Michael Moore is fond of The Sarcasm. If you read him too literally, much as some do with The Bible, you’ll get some really wack shiznat. So, try not to do that.
Missy: ditto wil’s Rawk.
I’m a union member and former trustee of my local (who, for the greater good of the local, helped my smaller local merge into a larger one).
I know a lot of non-union members view unions with disdain and suspicion. I was of the same opinion until I actually started working under union contracts (I was in an industry and state where I was allowed to work under the collective bargaining agreement before being a member of the local). My life is much better thanks to my union — for one thing, I have full comprehensive health care, for which I pay $120. per year. I also now make a true living wage, meaning I can actually pay my bills, my rent, and still have money for dining out or going to movies or buying yuppie toys.
I’m not saying all unions and all locals are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but in the entertainment industry, at least, they are a major defense against abusive employers, and are extremely important.
I know better than to try to convince union-haters to understand what it’s all about. Most of them have been sucessfully co-opted by corporate spin and PR. If you’re a member of a union, and more importantly, if you are active in your union (going to meetings, being informed on issues, or dog bless you, serving on committees or as an officer) more power to you, you truly do rock. You are making a substantive contribution to your community and your work environment.
hey, w, how about an “organized labor” topic in soapbox?
Ok, someone please help me out. I’m pretty good at most of the acronyms, but I can’t work out “RAWK.” Heeeellllp 🙂
Sarah
let’s see…
i am a freak… i knew it!
i’m glad i’m not that kind of girl
i’m a punk
i’m a wannabe
i used to be a groupie…
currently i’m a democrat, but if i had info on another party, that i might understand, i’d change my beliefs.
WIL for prez in 2008, who’s with me?! if Mr. Wheaton was our commander-in-cheif i may just give a f*ck about how our country works, hell i may even become politically active if somebody were doin’ somethin’ right around here.
people always talk how everything in the world is shitty, but yet they do nothing about it. i for one am very guilty of just that. and it’s becuase it’s like, well, what can i do? anybody else feel this way?
‘kay, new subject…
i knew you didn’t go to college wil, have you actually taken the time to live yet? ever been to a club? anything like i’m doing right now? ’cause it doesn’t sound like you haven’t. but that’s okay, you’re still reasonably young.
oh, one more thing: just curious, are you mad at me?
peace, love, and bubble-gum,
Ronda LOU
I went to UCLA. Hate to say it, but it’s always only the same 100 kids on the Walk. The rest of the campus pretty much ignores them, sad to say. Hopefully Moore’s talk will have doubled that group, at the very least. Sometimes I despair at the seeming apathy of my generation. Oh, we all talk the good talk sometimes (myself included) but how many of us actually _do_ anything? I know I haven’t. And so I despair at my own apathy as well…and yet continue to do nothing.
I saw Patrick Stewart on campus once. That was…weird. Just walking along in a building, and boom, there’s Stewart walking towards me. My one and only celebrity siting while living in LA.
chris:
if you’re going to bring up free market system and incorporate the theories of supply and demand into your argument against recognizing the need for organized labor to advocate for a working man/woman’s living wages, then it becomes obligatory for you to examine the issue of “power” in today’s society — who has it, how did they get it, and what do they do with it??
in 1978, the former president of the american economics society, a gentleman by the name of galbraith (sound familiar?) said that any discipline or theory that does *NOT* address the issue of power is not relevant.
standard economic textbook treatment says that with the free trade/market-based systems, the real power lies with the consumer who, in deciding what to buy and how much to pay, affects and influences the supply and demand of a good or service and thus its production, all of which both average revenue and marginal revenue is thus derived, and ultimately becomes “king” of the market.
sounds all good, but there’s just one problem with that — who has the real power in today’s society?? as michael moore alludes to in his speeches and writings, the multinational corporations have the power, and by extension, their political action committees.
need i mention enron? how about dick cheney and the secret white house meetings in which certain former and current enron executives were invited to participate and assist in the development of the executive office’s strategic energy policy that might have contributed, in part, to the outrageous energy crisis in california, oregon and washington states of last year??
and to add further insult to the outrage, cheney and the white house have been SUED by the u.s. government general accounting office for memos and details of these secret energy policy meetings, to see IF, in fact, there was an inordinate amount of influence on the so-called “free market” of utility rates. why? they believe they do not have to answer to anyone, they don’t even need to adhere to our constitution’s framework of checks and balances.
ok, maybe i’m not making much sense here, maybe i’m just making a mountain out of a mole hill, but when enron executives dump company stock and make a TREMENDOUS profit at the same time as they possess the knowledge that the company was in serious dire straits AND encouraging the employees to continue investing in the company, that it was stronger than ever AND was, in fact, violating many ethical principles relating to the management and investment of employees’ pension and annuity funds…and not just enron but every other corporation that compensates their top-level management with salaries that are almost 400-1 as that of the low man on the totem pole, then something has become very very wrong with our society.
and people think organized labor is past its prime? in my opinion, organized labor will play an instrumental in the next stage of our economic growth and development — that of the human revolution — and i’ll be doing all i can to assist in these efforts.
i wasn’t the least bit offended with your comments, i hope you’ll extend me the same courtesy.
I love hearing stories of celebs meeting celebs. To me Wil, your a good actor who with more experience or honing of your craft could become a very good actor. I don’t know if you’ll ever be in the Brando, Deniro, Pachino (probably spelled all those wrong) league but who knows, if you keep up the comedy, maybe a Mel Brooks or Bill Murphy is inside you. Never the less, I would feel the same giddyness meeting you or any of the aformentioned icons because you have all touched me by your work and are part of my popculture phyche.
As far as meeting people who give a form of social empowerment and cause for change, those people can also evoke the same type of response when meeting them. I saw Jesse Jackson speak in 1988, as a motivational speaker, he was compelling in his goal of firing up the audience and delivering a message. Although my personal opinion of the man has change somewhat since his trials and tribulations the last few years, I still believe his intent to better the cause of eliminating racism is true to cause.
I also got to meet Robert F. Kennedy Jr a couple years back. He was speaking at a nearby college and although the crowd seemed to be mostly older adults, the amount of student in attendence what heart warming, I mean just because they were forced to be there by their political science Profs, didn’t mean they wouldn’t take away the environmental message he was delivering. Anyway, after the lecture I got to meet him, shake his hand and got an autograph on a baseball (don’t ask, I just get autographs on baseballs). Much the same, I don’t remember what he said to me but to meet a member of the American Royals was great.
So now I keep my RFK Jr ball next to my other signed baseballs by the Bare Naked Ladies, the original Motley Crew, Maralyn Manson, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and the band Tonic. Rough company but none the less touching to the development of me. And If you’d just come to the convention in Las Vegas in August, I would love to have you Wil Weaton, sign my balls. How giddy I would be.
“You make me want to be a better man.” Jack from As Good As It Gets
m.moore was great in san diego too…
800 people inside, and they had to turn about 1000 away at the door.
im usually the one in the background serving the coffee to all the people talking with the big ideas and words. 🙂 i did however see his tv show a few times. does that count?
Galbraith… sounds familiar…
It’s the name of the undergraduate library on the Revelle campus of University of California, San Diego!
Well, it’s actually in La Jolla, but that doesn’t sound nearly as good as San Diego. Besides, UCLJ? That doesn’t roll off the tongue at all. UCSD? That works.
But that’s not the Galbraith you’re talking about, I’m guessing…
I’m going to go to bed now…
Missy: Rock! I remain pro-union… even tho I watched the Teamsters bend over and take it from The Mouse(tm) in ’84, and I currently belong to perhaps the most anemic of the Actor’s Unions – AGVA, and they regularly allow themselves to get reamed by the folks in Burbank as well… however, I’ve worked non-union gigs for the same company and I can say from experience that it’s always nicer to have someone in your corner.
Synchronicity: Have you had a look at Chomsky’s “What Uncle Sam Really Wants”? It is a short collection of essays excerpted from various speeches and interviews, and it is well footnoted.
It is a quick read, and much more accessible than, say, “The Chomsky Reader” (which is also quite good, IMHO) and incredibly relevant these days.
Sure, as you say, Chomsky may consider himself a “PhD. in everything”, but I don’t close my eyes, open wide, and blindly swallow everything he writes. (Not without a little sodium, anyway)
The book didn’t change my opinions by itself, but it certainly inspired me to do a little more research into a lot of things I had taken for granted about the good ole U. S. of A.
I think Chomsky and Moore have a lot in common, when you consider that they each in their own way are shining a bright light into the dark corners of this country. One message is cloaked in intellectualism, the other in humor, but if they inspire people to challenge their own assumptions and think for themselves… seems to me that is a lot more patriotic than swallowing everything fed to us by corporate controlled media. (Anyone else notice the martial programming content shift lately?)
It’s too easy to dismiss the merit of an idea when you find fault in the personality of the person presenting it to you.
“…The voice of protest, of warning, of appeal is never more needed than when the clamor of fife and drum, echoed by the press and too often by the pulpit, is bidding all men fall in and keep step and obey in silence the tyrannous word of command. Then, more than ever, it is the duty of the good citizen not to be silent, and spite of obloquy, misrepresentation and abuse, to insist on being heard, and with sober counsel to maintain the everlasting validity of the principles of the moral law.” Charles Eliot Norton, 1898.
(Full text here, read it with cotton in your ears, because the echoes are mighty loud: http://www.boondocksnet.com/ai/ailtexts/norton98.html)
http://www.tshirthell.com/shirts/tshirt.php?sku=a33
Okaaaay, I’m clearly rambling. I’d best sign-off now before this devolves into an Oatmeal Stout induced rant.
~j
joemorf,
I have no doubt that Chomsky has many important things to say, and has said important things in the past. That’s why I’m so disappointed in him – by being intellectually dishonest about the issue I checked on and not presenting all relevant evidence, he’s displaying bias. That’s a terrible thing for an academic to do, and he deserves to be called on it.
He’s soured my trust in him, so why am I going to trouble to read more of his books? That’s the problem when you violate intellectual integrity – you ruin your reputation.
That said, I will likely look at other things he’s written when I’m in the mood to read something provocative, including the reference you mentioned, but, sadly, I won’t take him too seriously.
Well this was one contradiction-filled entry, Wil. As much as you speak out against “the establishment”, you still view college and formal education the same way most of the mindless drones of the world do. You see it as the key to more “options”, or almost the only thing which will help you advance in life. This is not so. For years and years now we have pushed our youth into colleges right after high school, fearful that if they do not go right away they would be “failures” in their professional and personal lives.
I dropped out of high school out of sheer boredom, taught myself for a year, then went on to college for another two years, until I left to work for a dotcom. Over the past 6 years since I left high school, I have learned and know infinitley more then I would if I followed the typical path of high school, college, job. I might go back and finish college, and I might not. Right now I am more concerned with growing my own business.
It’s sad that someone such as yourself, that is decidedly “open-minded”, still harbors the same drone-like views on education that most people do. I don’t blame you though; the progressive/liberal community has been just as closed-minded as the rush limbaugh crowd on their views of education and achievement. Try reading some books by John Taylor Gatto and Grace Llewellyn and truly opening your mind.
If one of your kids wanted to drop out of school, would you let them?
Dale,
I think you’re interpreting Wil’s comments about education as saying it *IS* enabling rather than the softer and more realistic interpretation that it *OFTEN IS* enabling. Yes, you can learn and be successful outside of school, but school can shortcut that process. It’s not a panacea, but it’s a good bet. Students learn how to be self-disciplined, can pursue interests and thus explore themselves, and some learn specific technical skills and knowledge they can apply to building a business. I’m self-taught in my current profession, which is unrelated to my undergraduate studies, but I doubt very much I’d be doing what I’m doing if I hadn’t pursued post-secondary education. Mind you, I wouldn’t force my kid to go to college, but I’d strongly encourage it, even if there was no apparent commercial connection to what they’d choose to take. It makes good sense.
What?! NewTek? Did you meet Kiki Stockhammer? Man oh man I envy you even more the little Wesley bastard! 😛
What did you do out there any way?
Long Live Amiga!
A3000/030 here!
For those of you new to WW.N or the internet in general (you freakin’ Luddites!)…
Your posts tend to be taken far more seriously when you follow a few basic rules. Note that these aren’t rules that Mr. Wheaton (SIR!) enforces–I’m operating on the assumption, however, that anyone posting in a political thread actually wants their thoughts to be listened to (if not necessarily believed at face value)
1. Caps lock is a bad thing. Individual words or even entire sentences can be capitalized FOR EMPHASIS, but most readers will jump right over a post that’s in all caps, especially a long post.
2. Capitalization of proper nouns, the first word in a sentence, and acronyms is both accepted and encouraged. Otherwise you end up looking like a three-year-old (overstatement) who hasn’t learned the basics of writing.
3. If you’re going to make a statement (i.e. “Chomsky rules” or “Chomsky sucks,” to take an example from a long-dead thread), give some supporting evidence. Preferably something based on both evidence and logic, and preferably something that doesn’t come from a blatantly biased source (ex: “Chomsky Lovers of America,” “Mrs. Chomsky,” or “Big Momma Chomsky”).
4. Use full sentences or, at the very least, fragments for which the intent is clear. If you read through a lot of Spudnuts’ posts (look in the old threads), you’ll see that he uses an insane amount of fragments–but they’re hilarious because you know exactly what he’s talking about.
Though I question whether Spud ever wants to be taken seriously…. 😉
5. Attack IDEAS viciously, heartlessly, with the intent of killing them where they stand. Don’t talk shit about other posters, though, even if provoked. (“CHOMSKY RULES!” “YEAH??? YOUR MOMMA!!!”)
6. Know when to shut up. Get in, make your points, and get out. (My biggest problem…. 😉
Come on, you live in a fantasy world, devoid of personal responsibility, fighting against some establishment conjured up in the minds of wanna be victims.
The United States is an amazing country and its system has improved the quality of life for everyone, from Bill Gates to union “working” people. While one should certainly work to improve our system, it is disingeous to make such critques without acknowledging its bounty, received by all.
Wil,
I almost went to see Michael Moore on friday! You could’ve been one of my few celebrity sitings. But alas, I did not see the poster until friday when i was walking from class to work.
I imagine that in the past UCLA was a site of action and opinions. I once saw a picture of some students that had turned a car over in front of the administration building in protest. Unfortunately, today the majority of people at my school care more about why their cell phones aren’t working and those that do care about the world at large are ignored. Bruinwalk is littered with asian fraternities and sororities that don’t have houses passing out rave fliers. Occasionally there are students rallying for a world cause, such as the release of the economic embargos on Iraq, but we are usually in such a rush to get to class that there just isn’t time.
The saddest commentary on this school isn’t its apathetic nature but the fact that it’s segregated. The segregation is not caused by the institution, but by the students. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic…they don’t mix all that often. The school is divided to the point that it matters what “type” of asian a student is. Segregation is a prominent feature in the character of UCLA…and it is unfortunate.
JSc: Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Thank you 🙂
I met Michael Moore during the book tour for Downsize This! a few years back. He impressed the hell out of me by the way he handled a situation that cropped up around one of his readings.
He was scheduled to speak at Borders Books in Philadelphia. About two weeks before his scheduled reading, an employee who had been attempting to organize the workers at that Borders was fired on a lame pretext. (The workers wanted to unionize because their access to health insurance had been jerked around multiple times in the previous couple of years, they were forced to work on holidays with little or no warning, and their wages were capped at a certain amount– around 1.5-2x the minimum wage, IIRC– starting about a year and a half after they started, which sort of reduced the incentive to continue to work there) Moore found out (apparently via email) about the incident, and further discovered, to his horror, that several local unions were picketing the store.
He handled it with unbelievable class. He approached the union heads, showed them his union card, and told them that he’d never in a million years cross a picket line. He then invited all the picketers inside, (they joined him) and after his reading, *turned the microphone over to the young woman who had been fired for organizing.* He ended his talk by announcing he was donating all his proceeds from that reading to the organizing effort, and that if we still didn’t want to buy a book from a union-busting store, he’d passed another bookstore on the way from his hotel, and then named it!
He took up the union cause and mentioned the incident at every other Borders along his tour until he was banned from the chain (Which I suspect is one reason that Downsize This!, a hysterically funny book, didn’t do so well).
There have been times I’ve disagreed with him since, but he showed such incredible dedication and integrity with the way he handled that picket that I’ll always give him a bit of a break. 🙂
Im kind of taken aback with the complacency presented in this update, and most pseudo-intellectual opinions. People like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore are hero-worshiped because theyre “kept down by the man,” and their opinions are automatically given the “hey yea.. that sounds about right” treatment. Wil even states that he felt hope because of an inappropriate analogy to Rosa Parks. Lately “pro-environmentalism” and so-called “political activism” has been gaining momentum, especially among wide-eyed new-age college kids. Well, before you start in on that wheatgrass smoothie, maybe we should all read actual facts and create viewpoints and opinions for ourselves. Things like “pro-environmentalism” should not be taken lightly, because, in this specific instance, it’s an uninformed, popularist view of something that can’t be summed up in an “ism.” Further readings of an objective nature include the late Julian Simon’s “The State of Humanity” and “The Ultimate Resource.” Frankly, I’m not inspired by the particular opinions of many people. Michael Moore is not a latter-day Martin Luther.
I went to see moore in berkley, and there was a line around the block, in the rain, and it ended up being sold out long before I got there. ;-(
prell,
I’d rather people care, than not bother at all. I find it sad that you trivialise these peoples views and passion. I do agree that a measure of skepticism should be present, but that comes after. The whole point of people like those you mentioned (Chomsky, Moore) Is to get everyday people interested, and then from there if they choose to, they will learn more and scrutinize. You have to start from somewhere. Which isn’t implying that these sources are inadequate. I doubt most people here adhere to your woefully inadequate description of smoothie drinking drones. But maybe somethings they say offend you?
Mmmmm, Spirulina.
Bzzzzzz.
~j
Wil, thanks for the note..however had already
done my WWDN posse “duty” and emailed all
“those” people. But I was nice about it..really!
Glad you rephrased the page.
Oh and jsc “way to go!”.
Missy:
I know what you mean. My dad is active in OEA, and he and a group of others went and stood on the picket line with them (I’m assuming you’re talking about the OHSU strike), and my wife is a CNA hoping to become an RN.
It’s interesting, because the most powerful union in the country is also the most educated( NEA, the National Education Association, the Teacher’s Union). And none of its members get paid for sitting around doing nothing. They are probably more strictly watched than any other union because they are paid from public funds.
However, I also see the other side of it, because my father-in-law is in management at Wah-Chang(a local steel mill in the midst of a strike), and as a former union member, he talks about how some union members would be a on certain committees and not have to work all day long. So I think that sometimes, some bad seeds can give unions bad names. But without the union, who’s going to protect the workers? Who’s going to guarantee their pensions? Who’s going to insure their families? Do you think corporations are going to do these things out of the goodness of their hearts? I Don’t Think So.
Hi Wil,
nice to read something that offers hope. People like Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky epitomise all that’s good and right in America, nay the world, today. How we could do with people like that here in Britain, where our Prime Minister Blair is content to play lapdog to Bush and his warmongering, and where any opposition to the so-called “war on terrorism” is thought of as being “unpatriotic” (and when I hear the word “patriotism” used in that context, I automatically think of the words of Dr. Samuel Johnson).
Reassuring to see that there are students at UCLA who do care. I think back to when I was a student, over twenty years ago, and back then there was a sense that some of us wanted to make the world a better place, even as Thatcher was asserting that “there is no such thing as society”. Sadly though, many of those that became leaders in student politics then are holding jobs in Parliament now, and all the ideals have gone out of the window, sacrificed on the altar of furthering their own careers. As Frank Zappa once said, “nobody looks good wearing brown lipstick”.
But to return to the message of what men like Chomsky and Moore are saying, it’s time that people in the West sat up and took notice. Soon it may be too late.
best,
Tez.
First of all: Rawk the f*** on, Missy. I’ve walked the line with 1199s before and they tend to be real good people. Still, it takes a lot of class consciousness to honor their picket line in that situation.
Second of all: As someone mentioned on here, lots of anti-union folks have never worked a union job, know almost nothing about the benefits they get that the labor movement fought for (the weekend, for one) and generally repeat the same stereotypes about union workers being lazy, stupid, overpaid, etc.
A little story.
My partner works at a local grocery store. She used to work on the shop floor which is covered by a UFCW contract (she was shop steward for a while). A year or so ago she moved up to the office as the payroll/benefits clerk.
The office workers have no union, so she joined my union – the IWW (which is where we met, incidentally). She talked to some of her fellow workers about problems they had… people working for years without getting raises, no job security, etc. Within a few months the office workers had an IWW bargaining unit (don’t let anyone tell you the IWW died in 1919).
Anyhow, part of her job has always been giving new employees their benefits orientation. When she first moved into the office she wrote up a document that outlined some of the rights a worker has according to their contract. She titled the document, “Union Contract Rights.”
Well now the boss wants to make a ton of edits to that document that strips out all of the language that tells workers they have the right to refuse certain kinds of work or certain kinds of schedules (split shifts, short turnarounds, etc).
Most importantly, the boss wants to change the document from being titled “Union contract rights” to “Scheduling odds and ends”. Why? Because bosses never want their employees to know that they have rights, and they sure as fuck don’t want employees to know that those rights were won through collective bargaining by the workers, not granted by the largesse of a generous management.
Thankfully, the IWWs in the office are refusing to sell out their brothers and sisters on the shop floor, and because they are in the IWW, they can’t be fired for standing up for their fellow workers.
That’s what union is about. It’s simply about people coming together and standing up for each other. For some reason that basic truth is so simple, folks can’t see it. Probably because we live in a culture that fetishises the myth of the “rugged individual”, a man who stands up for no one and no one stands up for him.
Which brings me to my third point.
Wil: You mentioned Rosa Parks, who I – and most of us on here, probably – consider to be a great American hero (moreso than William Katt).
However, you repeated a myth about Rosa, that she was simply a lone individual too tired to move to the back of the bus.
The fact is that she was an organizer, working with an organization, executing a planned act of civil disobedience.
Segregation was no more ended by one woman refusing to move than the 8 hour day was won by a single worker punching out at 5:01. It’s a seemingly minute but very important distinction. If one buys into the Rosa Parks myth rather than the Rosa Parks reality, then there is no need for organizing, mutual aid, or mass resistance to injustice. The Rosa Parks myth would say unions are irrelevant, and it’s up to individuals to refuse to move to the back of the bus, work for $2 an hour, tolerate unsafe conditions, etc.
Sorry this was so long, lots of good discussion going on and I really wanted to add my 22 cents.
Michael Moore is the best…anyone remember his old show on FOX, Tv Nation? Some of the funniest stuff I’ve EVER seen, such a pity they never gave it a fighting chance. My fave episode was one where Michael set up a situation where two guys were vying for a cab – one white, one black. The black guy was nicely dressed, he was a well-educated professional and he was even carrying a big bouquet of roses, for goodness sake…the other contestant was a white guy with a rap sheet a mile along, some kind of violent criminal as I recall. Guess which one stood on the curb watching the cab roll off time and time again? Yup. I don’t know if his new show, The Awful Truth is still on, since I don’t have cable and can’t get it, man…that really sucks. I’ll be reading the book though.
Re: economic power
(generic ‘you’)
You may believe that personal economic choice has been coopted by multinational monopolies and brand-impregnated media, and that we are not responsible for our destructive choices. Then, however, you are likely to advocate measures that aim to ‘save us from ourselves’. That’s a dangerous road.
Instead, I would say that is better to calmly educate the people around you, and divert their economic power into constructive economic choices that do not support overly powerful companies.
Still, I wouldn’t mind if advertisers were throughly punished as payback for their role in our corruption. 🙂
Interesting… First time I’ve been here, but nice, Wil – thanks. This forum is, if not small, at least inspiring. It’s good to know not everyone is just sitting around their house watching re-hashed news stories, WWF, or mTV.
Three points:
1) Michael Moore IS pretty cool, and has a substantive amount of important things to say. I hope he has some influence over the students at UCLA, and I’m glad you enjoyed meeting him. It would be better than great, however, if some of the people who disagree with him – and, I believe, you, – would prove their collegiate-gained intelligence & wisdom by proving their point(s) completely. Their point(s), btw, seem to be primarily that unions (and the things they stand for) are evil – which is untrue, and provable. (see below)
2) Unions have had a bad rap, and in many areas still do. And some union-related laws/rules suck. And some union workers ARE lazy, etc. HOWEVER… unions have allowed most americans – and in turn, most of the “civilized” world – to be able to live a lifestyle that frankly is better than any in history! Historically, unions were the first response to the corporatization of america & the world, and were EXTREMELY necessary at one time. Most of the rules that protect the worker from slave-like abuse due to monopolistic tendancies were implimented through the actions of unions or union-related political action. Virtually every worker in the US benefits from these rules today. However, somewhere along the way ( and I’m generalizing here), unions seemed to back down/back off in how they “play” with the big-money interests. Now some unions publicly support causes their members are not completely in support of, if asked.
For example: Auto assembly workers making $40/hr, and their company is in trouble. While no one wants to lose money, if more companies gave their workers the choice – pay cut or your job moves to Mexico – virtually all of them would rather have a job. The bigger question? Why don’t the unions go after the executives – the controllers of the corporate interests? The entertainment industry has a lot of them, Wil. And yes, family smear campaigns, nasty legal loopholes, and instant walkouts (with major media coverage) are fair. The ubercorporations do it to the worker, have subverted the unions for years using means such as these, and use the government and the law against the very people it is meant to protect every day! Unions CAN be an integral part of a better U.S. and a better world, but, my belief is that unions need to take off the gloves and start kicking ass again. Jimmy went too far – killing people isn’t the answer. Making your enemy wish you killed them IS.
3)Yes, we do live in an amazing country – and I’d like to keep it that way, both the “amazing” part & the “living” part. But merely surviving is not living. And using the “free market system” as a shield to protect an increasingly unjust state is cowardly at a minimum, and terminally stupid at a maximum. Ever hear of this chick named Marie? Her head made a good soccer ball. If you don’t think it can happen here, ask someone who lives in midtown Manhattan; or who worked at the Pentagon; or anyone who ever flew over Pennsylvania; if they ever thought the events of 9/11 would happen in their backyard.
One of the most important things that people who are as varied in their beliefs as Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh seem to say is get up, get out, fight for what is right, prove your point, and acknowledge when you are wrong. Whether you agree with each other is not as important as agreeing to fix problems as completely & justly as possible. When we don’t do that, rhetoric ensues, problems build – and people die.
America – and many other countries – are amazing places to live. Let’s keep them that way.
Thanks Wil, for letting me share this space, and my views.
Just a note on the Rosa Parks reference Moore made: it was planned. Not that that makes it any less legitimate, but the refusal to give up her seat are the subsequent bus boycott were planned in such a way to maximize public sympathy- i.e. the “tired seamstress” angle.