> I wish her all the best and will definitely check out her book. I find
> Carrol's conspiracy-mongering hilarious, like the FBI or some secret group
> picks out opposition figures to elevate. Any evidence for your theory on
> Jerry Rubin, Carrol? So I suppose this week the New York Times was dealt
> Klein and the Washington Post got Chuck0? I'd think a better strategy would
> be to just ignore them. Especially seeing as how we're in such a tinderbox
> of a pre-revolutionary situation.
Hey, I'm perfectly happy with the Washington Post article on me. It turned out just as I expected. This reporter was a bit more savvy than most. I'm no spring chicken when it comes to dealing with the media. If you read the article carefully, you'll find several little things that I did to tilt things my way, such as craning my head towards the basketball game during the bar interview. The reporter picked up on this. I'm just trying to convey that in many respects, I'm a normal guy. I work on anarchist projects at night while watching Washington Capitals hockey games.
> Also, I'm not saying TV is better than word of mouth, but like it or not
> we're in the TV age, and for a lot of people, especially the young, TV -
> and film - gives a special validation to most of what appears on them both.
> The other day, a friend who's a high school teacher told me how a ton of
> kids he taught became interested in Howard Zinn b/c Matt Damon mentioned him
> and his book in the movie Good Will Hunting. But then again, maybe Zinn had
> been choosen by that mysterious psych-ops organization for special media
> elevation and so is - ipso facto - a sell-out.
TV is extremely tricky to deal with, especially since TV reporters tend to be more stupid than print journalists. For the Post article, I talked with the reporter about 5 times and exchanged about a dozen email messages. Most of the email was fact-checking. He still got a few things wrong. Like saying that I grew up in a suburb of Kansas City, KS. The rich residents of Leawood would have been insulted by that error (good!).
Many of my anarchist buddies are still reluctant to deal with the boss media. They have good reason to be hesitant. Hell, we'll probably disrupt a few TV broadcasts on A16.
Sometimes dealing with the boss media is a necessary sin. Sure, we can support alternative media, but sometimes it pays to use the media to get your message, even if it is as simple as the fact that anarchists still exist. Already I'm seeing the collateral effects of the Post interview. A friend told me that at the government agency where he works, a co-worker came up to him and starting talking about unions and radical politics. A co-worker at my association emailed me this morning and asked me to speak at the extension history class he teaches this summer. I've been getting emails from people who want to play soccer, or get involved in activist projects, or just to find out more about anarchism.
I sense a depp interest out ther among young people about getting involved in radical activism. This is a tremendous time of opportunity for all of us. We shouldn't waste this chance.
BTW, the new issue of Alternative Press Review goes to the press this week.
Chuck0