Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Thursday, March 15, 2007
"Let's Roll": The Lessons of United 93
That’s so interesting, your point about violence and heros. I’m not sure - have we been talking about it here, or was it something I read recently? It is all merging together in my mind. It was very possibly in an anarcha-feminist book I’ve been reading.
I think it also ties into something that I was talking about with a friend, who has been deeply immersed in peace studies for years now. His view is that when we rely on “heros”, it gives license to the rest of us to sit back and not do anything, to go along, because the “heros” are iconified, and it becomes an us and them thing. Also an elite thing. The Heros do what the Average Joe can’t, and therefore it is okay for the majority of us to do nothing at all.
Yet massive civil disobedience (peaceful, of course!) requires the action of many, with no heros, and is likely to have a bigger impact on the minds of the people and the state.
Pacifism doesn’t have to be passive, after all, though I am sure TPTB would like us to think it does. I think we’re all obligated to act, in whatever form that takes, even if it doesn’t seem like much.
Great article Mickey!
For some reason I am reminded of one of the final scenes in the book version of V for Vendetta, when the people are told that it is up to them to choose how they want their society to be. They look scared - they, as individuals, have to be responsible for their own fate? Horror!
Posted by Deb on from NoVa 03/15 at 08:31 AMGood article Mickey.
This article reminds me of the problem with Gandhi’s non-violent resistance. It is what the monopolizers of power support. The corporate media lionizes Gandhi because his message is to passively resist the idle oligarchs. It is portrayed as effective, but this is highly dubious. If people want something, they have to struggle and resist vigorously.Posted by kim on from 03/15 at 08:58 AMEveryone should come out to this tonight…
http://supervegan.com/blog/entry.php?id=689
Unless you don’t live in the NYC area, or don’t care about vegan-related stuff, etc. etc…
Posted by James on from work 03/15 at 09:07 AMRight on, MZ, and always timely. Neil Young got off too easy for his patriotic tripe “Let’s Roll.” The phrase also appeared in a National Guard animation of a shell being loaded into an artillery piece (I mean, “democracy delivery unit").
An early radical thought I had was about killing in large numbers. A civilian who slaughters dozens of people is a mass murderer; put that person in uniform and the same act is beyond reproach, and against an oppressor “he would have trouble standing for the weight of the medals we would bestow” (from “Amistad").
Q: What famous character agrees that what airlines serve can’t “properly be called food, as I understand the definition”? He was speaking to a very unusual boy.
Here’s to the effectiveness of nonviolent protest in DC this weekend. I’m doing some nonviolent work on the same day by moving to a new address. Where’s my DN! segment?
Signing off...I’ll see you Expendables in several days.
A: That would be Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter, who also delivers that line from “Amistad.”
Posted by Zen Prole on from Urth 03/15 at 10:19 AMI havent seen ‘flight 93’ but the story i heard was a little different.
2 of the passengers were co-pilots and had decided that together they could in fact land the plane. The highjackers were subdued and the co-pilots went about trying to land the plane safely.
They were shot down by a fighter jet....
A classic hollywood suspense filled who-dun-it.
Wheres Humphry Bogart when you need him?
I am still waiting for part 2.
Hey Deb, i posted a link for you in the last set of commentary.
Thanks Mickey, for the space to share.Posted by frances on from british columbia 03/15 at 10:26 AMGreat, great article, Mick. I love the couch potato line…
By the way, looks like Kurt Nimmo is having some of the same problems you’ve had (wikipedia, misunderstood, etc.):
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 03/15 at 10:43 AMMorning Deb, Kim, James, Zen, Frances, and all…
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 03/15 at 10:44 AMHello Expendables...from a rainy Astoria. It seems I missed the spring-like weather and now snow is on the way.
Thanks, Deb and Kim.
Zen: Good luck with the move.
JOS: I can really relate to that Nimmo post.
Frances: You bring up a good point. This article will provoke three reactions. First, some will say it’s too radical and alienates the “center.” Second, I’ll be called a “gatekeeper” for using the official 9/11 story to present a metaphor. Third, I’ll be called a hypocrite because exist in capitalist America and only write about such actions.
I’m often tempted to write articles and the responses to those articles. It’d save everyone a lot of time.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 03/15 at 01:38 PMThat’s a great idea, Mick! At the end of an article post comments that cover the usual responses and then explain why they’re wrong…
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 03/15 at 01:48 PMJust got this in my junk mail from UFJP:
Ways to take action on the 4th anniversary and beyond:
organize a vigil in front of the offices of your members of Congress;
get people together to stand with signs and banners against the war in the busiest part of your town;
collect signatures on our national petition to Congress;
download, print, and hand out copies of War Times’ new “Time to End the Occupation of Iraq” flyer;
hand out leaflets to high school students to make sure they know that military recruiters are not telling the truth;plan an act of nonviolent civil disobedience at the office of a military contractor, a recruitment station, or the district office of your Congressional representative;
organize a march through a part of your city or town where lots of people will see you, and in memory of Molly Ivins, bring pots and pans to appropriate events (i.e., not to silent vigils) and make some noise;
write letters to your local newspapers, call in to radio talk shows, and try to get media coverage for any antiwar activity you are involved in: Be sure to explain why you oppose the war, why you think it needs to end now, and why you don’t want a new war in Iran!
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 03/15 at 02:21 PMThats it exactly Mickey, our ignorance has divided us along all sorts of lines.
Heres what Idries Shah says in A Perfumed Scorpion:
“Hindsight shows how often yesterday’s so-called truth may become today’s absurdity. Real ability is to respect relative truth without damaging oneself by refusing to realize that it will be superseded. When you observe that today’s controversies often reveal not relevance but the clash of the untaught with the wrongly taught, and when you can endure this knowledge without cynicism, as a lover of humankind, greater compensations will be open to you than a sense of your own importance or satisfaction in thinking about the unreliability of others.”
For the last few months now I have been struggling with having to be up to date with the news....its become an obsession. I suspect I am reaching critical overload, and that it time for a new approach.
Posted by frances on from british columbia 03/15 at 02:38 PMfrances, thanks for that link on restorative justice! Quite the document, and I’m already fascinated by the fact that both your link and mine are rooted in non-european societies.
Posted by Deb on from NoVa 03/15 at 03:06 PMHello again, everyone. Just stopping by to share a few comments from an anarchist site:
http://tinyurl.com/ytcydxBtw, Frances, “critical overload” is precisely where I’m at...in several ways.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 03/15 at 04:49 PMNice point, but sorry Mickey.
I no longer believe the offical versions about 9/11 anymore. I don’t want to lose friends over it because I can admire some people for many different reasons, and I certainly admire and like you.
9/11 has been an emotionally divisive issue even within the Truth Movement which is rife with false leads and conflict.
All I would say here is to encourage people to investigate the events more thoroughly. We all have been frustrated by the seeming ineffectiveness of the antiwar movement, but I would posit that people (many of whom are extremely intelligent and well-intentioned) who blame the 9/11 Truth Movement for derailing left political effectiveness are not logically far afield from those who blamed Nader for Bush coming to power in 2000.
I don’t think anyone but the actual perpetrators of 9/11 know all the facts. I think however that no one should fear searching for the truth whatever one’s topic may be.
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 03/15 at 07:25 PMRobert, I realized as I wrote this that folks wouldn’t be able to get past the “official” story angle...but I really believe it’s not the issue. Firstly, I’m pointing out how those in power pretend to admire pacifism but save the hero worship for those who spill blood. Also, whether we believe the United 93 story or not, the lesson I’m sharing is that folks who quietly accept any and all abuse can stand up for themselves if they choose.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 03/15 at 07:47 PMMickey-- I thought that was exactly what you were doing-- but I feel so strongly-- sometimes I worry that excessive caution about the investigating or talking openly about the 9/11 issue itself is somewhat similar to “going along to get along.”
Here is a really good address from Cynthia McKinney-- a politician I truly admire. More than any other public figure, I would love to see her run for president. I think she is onto something.
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 03/15 at 08:12 PMYou know, Robert, you might be right. Perhaps the example I chose is too polarizing to allow the message to get through. I appreciate your honesty.
As for Cynthia, I was fortunate enough to be MC at an event with her in Santa Cruz in 2004. We stayed at the same B&B with Michael Parenti, Bill Blum, Stan Goff, and others. Let me tell you, those breakfasts were fun.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 03/15 at 08:52 PMSomeone left a comment at the Z blogs today quoting Grace Slick: When will my country die for me? Paul Street had just pointed out that “Ask not what your country can do for you....” etc was a fascist statement. Somehow seems relevant to your post today.
Posted by Keir on from the hague 03/15 at 09:35 PMWow! An illustrious group!
You better let us know the next time you come this way again!
Have a good night all.
Am looking forward to tomorrow!
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 03/16 at 12:10 AMSome more hero worship of those who shed blood.
Posted by Craig on from New Jersey 03/16 at 07:15 AMForgot the link
Posted by Craig on from New Jersey 03/16 at 07:28 AM
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