>but among the choir, it is especially shameful that the elephant in
>the living room still doesn't seem to smell badly enough for them to
>notice,
A more appropriate metaphor would be "the donkey in the living room." ;-)
Doug wrote:
>Was it that Moore is anti-Arab (despite the sympathetic portrayal of Iraqis)?
That's a straw man, as no one has said that Michael Moore is personally and intentionally anti-Arab. One can very well create representations that do not reflect and even go against one's intentions, however. The 9/11 conspiracy theory that includes unfortunate references to the power of "Saudi money" in Fahrenheit 9/11 is an example of such representations.
Doug wrote:
>snit snat wrote:
>
>>which is what the k-wattage is all about. it's not about principled
>>criticism, but about criticizing something you believe is in
>>opposition to your desires which is: electing Kerry.
>
>Finally it comes clear.
About five days ago, I spelled out my objection to Fahrenheit 9/11's overwhelming focus on Bush and its implicit protection of the Democratic Party in my first extended posting (in two parts!) on the topic (whose title announces where I'm coming from): "Michael Moore's Dilemma: Israel, Saudi Arabia, and John Kerry (Part 1)," <http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20040705/014907.html>. John Kerry (as well as most Democratic politicians) won't be good for Arabs, be they working-class Saudis or Iraqis or Palestinians. Since Moore knows that, he should have made a film to make that clear.
To Moore's credit, though, he has not jumped on the dizzy anti-Nader bandwagon like yourself.
As for Fahrenheit 9/11's popularity on LBO-talk, I have found it
remarkable that it stands in sharp contrast to rather chilly
receptions that Stupid White Men and Bowling for Columbine received
from some of the most vocal fans of Fahrenheit 9/11
here:<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2002/2002-April/009455.html> and
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20040503/009977.html>.
:-)
Had Moore not made an anti-Bush film but released a film that criticizes the Republicans and Democrats -- including John Kerry -- in equal measures, I have no doubt that it would not have found as warm a reception from you. And if Moore had come out for Nader (rather than endorsing Wesley Clark and working with MoveOn), making a popular film that would implicitly amplify his support for Nader without mentioning him, imagine what sort of flaks he would be receiving now, including from you. :-) -- Yoshie
* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>