<http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/06/13/plagiarism-why-it-matters/>http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/06/13/plagiarism-why-it-matters/ and <http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118114/chris-hedges-pulitzer-winner-lefty-hero-plagiarist>http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118114/chris-hedges-pulitzer-winner-lefty-hero-plagiarist
It's true that The New Republic makes me gag. ("I read New Republic and Nation / I've learned to take every few .... so love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal." - Phil Ochs)
However, this article about Chris Hedges' plagiarism, and his apparent cover-up of it when questioned, shows Chris to be extremely arrogant and troubling, especially as he is a regular commentator on WBAI and other Pacifica stations.
Please read the New Republic article, and also all the comments on FAIR.org. Good discussion there.
As I wrote as a comment on the Fair.org site:
How hard would it have been for Chris Hedges to have written, "As Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Matt Katz has written, in an excellent 4-part series on poverty, politics and corruption in Camden, New Jersey . ", as prelude to the quotes from Katz that he apparently lifted? It's amazing to me the coverup, which is almost always worse than the "crime" itself because the errors have been clarified and pointed out.
I wrote an essay a couple of years ago (published in my 2013 book, "What Is Direct Action? Lessons from and to Occupy Wall Street", taking Chris Hedges to task for his flawed presentations of the histories of U.S.-based radical movements (The Black Panther Party, especially) in some of his books, and his failure to correct any of that even when confronted with the facts, let alone others' interpretations of those facts.
Hedges exhibits tremendous disdain for left movements that don’t conform to his increasingly moralistic mold. His book, Death of the Liberal Class, “is one of the worst misreadings of history by an acclaimed writer on the Left that I’ve ever seen,” says Brian Tokar, a veteran participant in numerous direct action campaigns and also a professor at the Institute for Social Ecology and of environmental studies at the University of Vermont. “Hedges honestly believes that the New Left accomplished almost nothing, except for some key figures he likes, such as Howard Zinn and the Berrigans.”
In Death of the Liberal Class, Hedges (incredibly, to me) condemns the New Left of the 60s and 70s for having “no political vision.”
So, I am not surprised by these very strong charges. I've posted the chapter to my website (so you don't have to go out and buy the book). Here's the URL to go directly to that article: http://www.mitchelcohen.com/?p=2262
- Mitchel Cohen Brooklyn Greens/Green Party
<http://www.mitchelcohen.com/>http://www.MitchelCohen.com
Newest posts:
* In Defense of Bowe Bergdahl: For each & every warrior whose strength is not to fight
* What is the fight in the Ukraine really about? (4 articles by Savas Michael-Matsas, Marilyn Vogt-Downey, Chris Kinder, Michael Hudson.)
* Radio Interview with John "Tito" Gerassi, friend of Che Guevara & Salvador Allende
* On Pinochet's Capture -- LISTEN to the song/poem by Mitchel Cohen & Victor Jara
* Remembering Dennis Brutus, as well as Nelson Mandela
* Mumia Abu-Jamal (audio): Detroit: Night of the Wolves: Class War Against the Working Class
http://www.lulu.com/shop/mitchel-cohen/what-is-direct-action/paperback/product-20937425.html Mitchel Cohen's book, "What Is Direct Action? Lessons from (and to) Occupy Wall Street" (foreword by Richard Wolff) (596 pages). Get it now!
Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in. ~ Leonard Cohen