Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Monday, June 13, 2005
What's so public about public broadcasting?
Moral of the story: Public broadcasting becomes compromised when private power is involved…
Also, I think the only advantage of “public” broadcasting over the networks (here in the states, at least) is that you can get uninterrupted programming similar to European broadcasts, with ad spots in between shows rather than during… But just like the truly corporate press, the same rules apply as far as discussion and debate go: it’s all between very narrow lines. Sure, certain people may be under fire at any given time, but the powerful institutions of society (which affect the public the most) are left unchallenged.Posted by RT on from Houston, Texass 06/13 at 12:23 PMI have to agree with RT. Though, of course, “Frontline,” and “Now,” at least when Bill Moyers was at the helm, did some good stuff -very critical, very straightforward. But this sort of reporting is in the distinct minority.
Mickey, I wanted to return to something you said when you were talking about being a vegan and about the quality of our foods, etc.. You said that such things were generally ignored by the Left. That’s what I’ve seen, too. One of my best friends lives in the Adirondacks. He and his wife, until recently, have been vegans. Now, tho, they raise and eat fish - Tilapia, I think - and use their waste water in some sort of hydroponic soup to feed his gardens. He’s an awesome guy, astonishingly good at almost everything, who has decided to try to be able to live entirely off the grid. He’s well over 90% successful, and he’s then going to help others to do the same, while there’s still time. He eats and drinks nothing that he’s not grown or concocted himself, except, of course, water, which he’s contrived to filter with various unusual filtering mechanisms. He’s very active in anti-big agri-business stuff, and he’s often amazed by how rarely the Left looks hard at such things as good food, healthy diets, etc.
He and I traveled in India together, where most people are vegetarians, so we mostly ate fruits and vegetables. I didn’t really notice much difference in my own health, etc (well - I got a case of amoebic dysentery from a glass of water I drank - while he wisely decided to remain thirsty - way down in the south, early in our travels… so I never felt all that good while we were there...) - however, he said that he felt suddenly so healthy and strong on this new diet that he just never ate meat again. I must admit, I’ve cut way, way back on meat consumption because of our talks, and because of what I’ve seen about factory farms - which enrages me more than almost everything horrible I encounter in my readings…Anyway, about the Left. The Left also generally won’t touch the Kennedy assasination or the various theories of complicity in the September 11 attacks, or the huge world-wide campaign against cigarette smoking which, despite claims to the contrary, is NOT a grass roots, bottom-up campaign at all… They also won’t touch the Federal Reserve - which is a very, very big topic among discontented people on the “Right,” and which topic seems truly amazing and scarey, to me… Many topics seem, more or less, verboten. The line seems to be: “We’ve got more important things to do - we have lives to save and we have horrors to prevent.” However, with the possible exceptions of Chomsky and Zinn and maybe Parenti, most of us are wasting time, it’s just the way life is…
Why do you think this is? It unnerves me a bit, because, after all, the Left is where one would expect unwavering support for all discussions, all the time. I have my own theories, which, of course, change from one day to the next, but I was wondering what you and our fellow commentors might have to say… I realize we ought to be cautious here, as we don’t want to start trouble in “our own house,” as it were… Anyway -Take care, Mickey - joe
Posted by joe on from Oregon 06/13 at 05:29 PMI agree, Joe. I’ve had high profile lefties mock my passion for veganism and animal rights...and very few have any interest in exploring issues like vaccinations, animal experimentation, pharmaceuticals, etc. They seem to get a genuine rush out of calling a public figure a war criminal but get mighty tame when it comes time to challenge Western medicine, corporate science, and so on. Perfect example is Ward Churchill who never misses a chance to make fun of those who eat bean sprouts...and he always castigates anyone who thinks smoking is a bad idea.
My theory? Well, this is right off the top of my head, but here goes: Maybe there are some who are afraid to put words into action. We can feel real good about ourselves by saying the WTO must be smashed but no one expects us to smash it ourselves. However, if we said the meat industry is murder, well, we’d be expected to go vegan, wouldn’t we? Uh-oh...that means it’s time to walk the walk.
The safest position in the world is that of the extremist who mocks any and all movements as weak and insufficient. This allows him/her to remain inactive simply because no one is “going far enough” for them. Meanwhile, the point of no return fades in the rearview mirror.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/13 at 06:22 PMHi Mickey, thanks for the response -
Yes, I generally think it’s walk the walk, too. I firmly believe I should not eat another mouthful of meat - but I still do. Mostly chicken but sometimes beef, even pork. I have lots of first rate excuses, some of which are valid, but ALL of which - are excuses. I like cows. Spent lots of time around them when I was a kid, and they’re wonderfully dumb and gentle beings. Big, wide eyes with somehow questioning gazes. And pigs - well, I’ve watched some pigs which, I’m absolutely certain are smarter than several public officials we can leave unnamed. I’m sure they fully understand what’s happening to them, as their end approaches. And, as far as factory farms are concerned, I don’t even know how to begin. It’s actually illegal in some states (Illinois being one) to take a photograph of such places. That should be all anyone needs to know. It sounds like they live in unimaginably horrific conditions from the first moment of life till the end. Many years ago, I had veal parm. in a restaurant on 33rd. street in Manhattan. One of the guys I worked with told me what happened to the very young cows which were killed to make veal and I never had another bite. And, I went vegetarian for about 2 years (ate eggs and tuna) - but then, I just slowly but surely slipped back into the culture. In some ways, I guess that’s why I’m so radical about so many things, now, because I’m afraid if I “mellow out,” I’ll slowly slip back into a semi-conscious comfort zone.I admire your resolve, Mickey, and I hope I can completely eliminate meat, again. Generally, I think more of most of the animals I’ve met, than the people I’ve known. Somehow, they usually seem like “better people...” no matter how obscene that may sound…
BTW, I found it really interesting to realize, as I read your piece, that the vaccinations ARE enforced by using the schools. That had never occurred to me. Can’t be in school for even a moment without the correct shots… It should have been clear that there was more going on than just seeing to it that the kids were quote safe unquote…
One more note, then I’ll stop gobbling up your memory space here: My wife and I are both Registered Nurses. I’ve got a degree but I never worked as an RN after I got out of school. My wife is an intensive care Cardiac RN with about 10 years experience. She has so many horror stories - you wouldn’t believe it. Just the work I did during “clinical,” in school, was enough for me. Western medicine is a miasma of hubris and self-aggrandizment and bizarre ritual and greed, almost unparalleled anywhere in our culture - except maybe in politics. And, not surprisingly, our entire culture is steeped in “medical science.” While in nursing school, I “CLEPPed” a course in Sociology. Bought a couple of text books, read them and took the finals. Both texts had sections, not chapters, but sections called: “The medicalization of society.”
I think Cockburn and St. Clair, or maybe MickeyZ ought to do a book on that one… We’re being enslaved under the guise of good health and longevity. Then again, isn’t that what the Bushistas are doing???
Take care, Mickey… -joePosted by joe on from Oregon 06/13 at 09:42 PM“Ward Churchill who never misses a chance to make fun of those who eat bean sprouts...”
Seriously? Is Churchill not a vegetarian?
Posted by Lee Hall on from 06/14 at 01:40 AMThanks, Joe. After my Mom’s ordeal, I’m tempted to write a book on the topic.
As for Churchill, I don’t know what he eats, but I know he says stuff like this: ““For most people in the anarchist community who organize in their little collectives and get together and eat their bean sprouts and shit. It’s only for themselves, at the present time. If you want to talk to factory workers, you need to connect with them where they are, not where you think they should be. You need to get over your prohibition on ashtrays.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/14 at 10:42 AMI stream National Public Radio & Public Radio International/BBC from my Treo daily and enjoy quite a bit of their programming. Obviously as an Black American I realise they “ain’t” talking to me. Do I contribute to “public” radio/television? No, I do not nor would I ever I’m afraid. :(
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“joe”: this is for you sir…Great comment regarding quality of diet and overall consumption. I eat meat along with doing other poisonous things to my temple I dare not mention. However, from where I sit/walk/drive this class thing has us in a stupor. I feel that class warfare is so pervasive that people of limited means feel that going “veg” or training their bodies to do so. Let along interacting in a society that looks down on true healthy products (meat or no meat). The only grocery stores that have real organics and “healthy” meats prices are so over the top it’s ridiculous. The average single middle-to-low wage earner cannot afford these options. The arguement can be made that we can’t afford NOT to, either.
Posted by be nonchalant on from Music City U.S.A. (Nashville, TN) 06/15 at 12:42 PMRe public broadcasting: I used to watch ‘Newshour’ for a while just to see what it was like - you are right, Mickey! Nothing public about THAT public broadcasting.
However, I must say that I have seen a few impressive ‘Frontline’ films - one about the history of the credit card was excellent.Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 06/16 at 08:47 PMJoe,
re pigs: aren’t they the smartest animals period? That would raise them above the levels of quite a few members of the ‘homo sapiens’ species ..Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 06/16 at 08:51 PM
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