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Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Most Important Occupy Wall Street Photographer You've Never Heard ofost title



  • October 28, 2011 • 12:15 pm PDT
shankboneheadshot







You may not know his name, but if you've been paying attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests for the past several weeks, you've no doubt come across David Shankbone's photographs. They've run in New Yorkmagazine, Gawker, Business Insider, and The New York Observer, and here on GOOD—not to mention on countless blogs from around the world. With so many major outlets running his OWS documentation, one would think Shankbone would have amassed a small fortune in the past several weeks. And he probably would have, if he charged any money for his photographs.
For years now, well before OWS was a glimmer in anyone's eye, Shankbone, a native New Yorker, has been taking photos of famous people and events and uploading them to his Flickr account andWikimedia Commons. From those sites, all of his pictures are in the public domain by way of Creative Commons licensing, meaning anyone can download them and use them for free for whatever purposes they'd like. Shankbone believes it adds to the greater good to distribute his work this way, and if any photographer represents the spirit of OWS, it's him.
GOOD talked with Shankbone this week, more than a month after he started shooting OWS, to better understand his life, his motivation, and the hobby that's turned him into the most important photographer in Zuccotti Park.
GOOD: We've heard photography is not your day-to-day career. What's your day job and what made you first decide to go take photos of OWS?
David Shankbone: I manage a legal department on Wall Street, so my proximity to Zuccotti Park has helped my work. Months before Occupy Wall Street, there was a lot of online chatter about it, and I received a few e-mails asking whether I was going to shoot it for Wikipedia. Influential folks from Anonymous were talking it up, which got my attention. But then I forgot about it until September 3, when I went for a walk in Tompkins Square Park and stumbled upon an Occupy Wall Street General Assembly strategy meeting. There was a big group of people in the dark with a flashlight under the Hare Krishna tree looking at a large map of the financial district. Around them were people handing out fliers that explained what they were about. I looked up from the flier and said, "Oh!  I heard about this!" and took out my cameraphone to snap some shots.
Protests catch my interest, and I’ve shot about a dozen of them for Wikipedia and Wikinews. Protests are about people, passion, and conflict, so you can't go wrong for good photos.  
GOOD: Since the start of OWS, have you been out to shoot everyday?
Shankbone: No, I've been out a little less than half the days. Photographing OWS too many days straight feels like I'm taking the same photos over and over. Clustered together, the days are filled with the same types of people, same types of signs, same blue tarps. When I’m gone for a few days and come back, it’s like, "Wow! The library has grown and now they have a sanitation department and medical tents!"
GOOD: Are you trained professionally in photography?
Shankbone: In 2003 I was on a volcano in Ecuador with some locals who ended up stealing my digital camera and all of my clothes, and it wasn’t until 2006 that I had a camera again. My sister bought me a point-and-shoot for my birthday, and I was bored and needed a cheap hobby. I loved Wikipedia and it had virtually no photos back then, so I taught myself in order to start filling it out with more pictures. Along the way I've been mentored by some legendary photographers like Billy Name and Christopher Makos.
GOOD: As this is one of the biggest stories in the world right now, you almost certainly could have made a lot of money with your OWS photos. Why do you give them away for free?
Shankbone: Getty Images approached me on Flickr because they had a client who wanted to purchase some of my OWS work, but I would have needed to take those shots out of the Creative Commons. I decided against it. What is going on in Zuccotti Park is important, and people need to see it unvarnished without having to wade through all sorts of possessiveness.
GOOD: Besides your OWS pictures, you also take portraits of celebrities and politicians and give them away for free for use by media organizations that may not have a lot of money. What made you interested in doing that?
Shankbone: Americans are often trained to measure worth only in dollars, but I care more about experience than money. I was at a party once where someone asked me about my work and she said I must make a lot of cash. When I said I give my photos away to the public, she looked at me like I was a fool. She derisively asked, "Why would anybody do that?" and I replied "What did you do last Tuesday?" She said that she came home from work late and watched Law & Order on her DVR.  I said, "Last Tuesday I had a four-hour dinner with Augusten Burroughs, and then I photographed him. I didn't make any money off of it, but it was a hell of a Tuesday night." Then she smiled and got what I was about.
I never expected to make any money from photography; I expected to make it from law, and I see my photography as a way to experience the world. For instance, besides the Burroughs story, I met one of my good friends, the writer John Reed, because I photographed him speaking on a panel. I do get paid to do some of my photographs, but it adds a lot of pressure. When I’m shooting free it doesn’t matter to me if people like the results or not, although I hope they do, of course.
GOOD: Do you consider yourself a photojournalist?
Shankbone: Not really. I try to remove any trace of myself from a photograph, and that's the only way I think I'm like a photojournalist. I use my flash for almost every photo because light is revealing and I want as close to the truth of the situation as possible. If I manipulate shadows and try for artsy angles, I feel like I'm making myself part of the subject. I want my pictures to be windows into the subjects, not my artistic interpretations of them.  
GOOD: What's the most unexpected thing you've come across at OWS?
Shankbone: Its success.    
GOOD: Do you support what's happening at OWS, or are you just there to be a spectator and take photos?
Shankbone: I'm a liberal, and my whole life the left wing has been pretty pathetic, in my opinion. Liberals were embarrassed to call themselves liberals, because to be a liberal was to be a wuss. We were all about sensitivity, flaky theories, and milquetoast political correctness. Conservatives took advantage of this and successfully fought liberalism using street tactics like those pioneered by Newt Gingrich and Roger Ailes. We brought spoons to what we knew were knife fights, and then complained that the other side brought knives.
At OWS, it's exciting to watch liberals publicly and unapologetically fighting for their vision, and to make strong arguments for the world they'd like to see. There’s an epic struggle over basic American values going on out there, like whether we want to have a nation that tortures people or lets the uninsured die in the streets. It feels like we're finally fighting back.
Check out a slideshow of Shankbone's 15 favorite photos from Occupy Wall Street.

Boehner as a NASCAR Driver: See Who's Sponsoring the GOP Leader

 CORD JEFFERSON
Senior Editor SHARE THIS 142 76 March 29, 2011 • 3:30 pm PDT



Three years ago GOOD had the idea to plaster politicians' financial sponsors all over their fancy suits, just like they do in NASCAR. With corporate money being such a huge part of the American political system—and with its influence set to get even bigger—it would help voters if our elected representatives were as transparent as possible about who's backing them, and to what extent.
Reddit user crandyj1220 has followed our lead. Last week he uploaded to the social news site his own Nascar-ized politician, this one of our new Republican House speaker, John Boehner. An image like this isn't all you need to make your decisions about a politician, of course, but it's sure nice to know when these people are getting fat checks from tobacco companies and health insurance giants.
If by chance you make your own NASCAR politician, be sure to send us the image. You can see a larger version of crandyj1220's here.

Occupy Wall Street, Wisconsin would like a word with you.



  -  
As I type this in New York City, it's 33 degrees and snowing outside, with occasional thunder. Thundersnow, Octobergeddon, lousy weather, freak weather -- whatever this, it's the first real test of whether Occupy Wall Street can hang tough through the winter. New York City officials yesterday upped the difficulty factor, taking away generators and gas canisters used for heating at Zucotti Park.
@grimwomyn tweets the pic above of the media tent, and also that she just saw someone helping an Occupier buy winter clothing. Gear's the thing: What Occupy Wall Street is trying to do has been done before, in colder temperatures and without tents. Remember Walkerville, when they slept out in the cold in Madison, Wisconsin? "There's usually food provided, and blankets, mats and sleeping bags are piled against the building for anyone to use," theIsthmus Daily reported in March, when temps got into the teens. "A tarp is laid on the ground to keep sleepers dry. But the protesters have been denied the use of tents."
Below, a couple of videos show how they did it in Wisconsin. Layer up, Occupy. Wisconsin believes in you
Uploaded by  on Mar 2, 2011After two weeks of labor protests over Gov. Scott Walker's budget "repair" bill, protesters were not allowed back in the building. As a result, instead of sleeping in the Capitol, they slept outside in the Wisconsin winter because they were not allowed back in the capitol without "official business".
Walkerville from luciano M on Vimeo.


Protesters arrested in Nashville for second day

Arrests follow a week of police crackdowns around the country
Tennessee state troopers for the second time arrested more than two dozen Wall Street protesters for defying a new nighttime curfew imposed by the state's Republican governor in an effort to disband an encampment 
***********And for a second time, a Nashville night judge dismissed the protesters' arrest warrants.************
The Tennessean newspaper reported early Saturday morning that Magistrate Tom Nelson told troopers delivering the protesters to jail that he could "find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza."
Occupy Nashville protesters — including many of the 29 arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Friday — returned to the Legislative Plaza that evening and remained through the 10 p.m. curfew.
Troopers arrested 26 people this time. All were charged with trespassing; two were also charged with public intoxication; and one was also charged with criminal impersonation, Department of Safety spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals said. The judicial commissioner refused to issue warrants for any of the charges.
Officials said 72 troopers were involved in the curfew enforcement.
"To see it from the other side is even more infuriating," said Chip Allen, one of the protesters arrested in the first raid. "When you're in it, it's almost surreal. This takes on a whole 'nother flavor."
The arrests came after a week of police crackdowns around the country on Occupy Wall Street activists, who have been protesting economic inequality and what they call corporate greed.
In Nashville, more than 200 people came to Friday evening's meeting to discuss the first round of arrests and future plans, though those numbers had dwindled as the night wore on and temperatures dropped.
In Oakland, Calif., an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured during a protest clash with police Tuesday night. In Atlanta early Wednesday, helicopters hovered overhead as officers in riot gear arrested more than 50 protesters at a downtown park. In San Diego, police arrested 51 people who occupied the Civic Center Plaza and Children's Park for three weeks.
There was no noticeable law enforcement presence for nearly two hours after the curfew went into effect, while adjacent theaters let out and patrons filtered back through the plaza to their cars without being challenged for violating the restrictions.
"Nothing was done to them, they were not arrested," said protester Michael Custer, 46. "But we are arrested while we are expressing our constitutional right to free speech."
Once the theater traffic cleared, dozens of state troopers descended on the plaza and began arresting protesters and a journalist for the Nashville Scene, an alternative weekly newspaper.
Protesters remaining at the scene vowed to return Saturday, even if it means more arrests.
The 29 demonstrators arrested early Friday were taken to the Nashville jail, only to have Nelson, the night judge, rule the state had not given them enough time to comply with the new curfew. They were instead issued misdemeanor citations for trespassing, which carry a $50 fine if they are found guilty.
Profiting from Occupy Wall Street
The administration of Gov. Bill Haslam has cited what officials described as deteriorating security and sanitary conditions on the plaza, saying that acts of lewd behavior had been observed by workers in state office buildings.
Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons said it was unrealistic to meet requests from protesters for a stronger law enforcement presence to help deter thefts and altercations often involving homeless people who had attached themselves to the encampment.
"We don't have the resources to go out and in effect babysit protesters 24-7 ... at the level that would have been necessary to address their concerns," Gibbons said during a press conference Friday.

Occupy Wall Street becomes global phenomenon

Occupy movement: A closer look at economic issues

Started Sept 27th 2011
We are granted the right to non-violent protesting. And that is what has been taking place by the 99ers.  Now the police, mayors, and certain other citizens are aggressively taking to the encampments of these protesters and dragging them around like criminals. That is not what the constitution states as the way to stop these peaceful citizens from demonstrating.  Somewhere, where does it state that the police and others law officials can do this.  No laws are being broken, no disturbing the peace, these people have a right to protest under the Constitution of these United States.
President Obama, please put a stop to the intentional harming and physical violence against a group of citizens that are demonstrating per their constitutional rights given them by the Constitution and by the wars that were fought by our soldiers(some of who gave their lives) to win our freedom from oppression.  We of all the counties on this earth have that right, don't turn us into Libya or Syria.  Who kill and injure citizens for doing the same thing.



Rachel Maddow reports headlines from the Occupy Wall Street movement across America and around the world.



Tensions between “Occupy Oakland” protesters and the city’s police remain close to a boil after an Iraq War veteran was injured during a demonstration. NBC News’ Miguel Almaguer has the story.

Michael Moore rallies Occupy Oakland protest







In NYC, generators used for heating seized; Nashville demonstrators return








Image: Arrests at Occupy Nashville
John Partipilo  /  The Tennessean via AP
Police arrest Occupy Nashville protestors early Friday near the state Capitol.


msnbc.com news services

updated 10/29/2011 12:35:13 AM ET


Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore told hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters in front of Oakland's City Hall on Friday that the events there over the past week have helped change the national discussion about the movement.

Moore, who flew in from New York, said the Occupy demonstrations are "a movement of equals," and that everyone had something to offer.

The director of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine" said the movement will not tolerate violence against demonstrators, referring to Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen, who was badly injured during a clash between protesters and police.

Moore urged the protesters, many of whom are demonstrating against what they see as a growing disparity between rich and poor, to continue their movement until they run the country.
On Thursday night, a crowd of at least 1,000 people, many holding candles, gathered in honor of 24-year-old Scott Olsen, who is hospitalized with a fractured skull after a clash with police.


Police overnight cleared out protesters in Nashville, Tenn., and San Diego, Calif., as other Occupy encampments came under growing pressure from authorities to abandon sites in parks and plazas.Michael Moore confesses: I am the 1 percent

In New York City, which could see its first snow on Saturday, the fire department confiscated six generators and about a dozen cans of fuel at the Occupy site in Zuccotti Park. The generators had been powering heat, computers and a kitchen that activists set up six weeks ago.

"They think that taking the 'power' away will take the power away, and that's absolutely not true at all," said Occupy Wall Street spokesman Michael Booth.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the generators were confiscated because they were considered a safety hazard and it was not a bid to remove protesters.

"As long as they don't take away anybody else's rights to say what they want to say, or to not say anything, to go about their business safely ... at the moment it will continue," Bloomberg told local radio.

Profiting from Occupy Wall Street

In San Diego, police arrested 51 people as officers cleared out economic demonstrators who occupied the Civic Center Plaza and Children's Park for three weeks. Dozens of police officers and San Diego County sheriff's deputies descended on the encampment around 2:30 a.m. Friday, declared an unlawful assembly and removed tents, canopies, tables and other furniture.

Occupy Nashville protesters defied a new curfew a day after they were forced off the Tennessee Capitol grounds because a new curfew was set.

Several dozen people remained on the grounds after the new curfew passed Friday at 10 p.m. There was no noticeable police presence and it was not immediately clear whether authorities planned to make arrests if the protesters stayed throughout the night.

Twenty-nine protesters were taken into custody at shortly after 3 a.m. Some were dragged from the campsite they've occupied for about three weeks.

Those arrested were taken to Davidson County Night Court for booking, but were freed by Night Court Commissioner Thomas Nelson.

"You have no lawful basis to arrest and charge those people," Nelson said to state troopers.

"For three weeks they've sat up there and protested under no admonition whatsoever that they were violating state policy regarding camping out on Legislative Plaza or that they were committing a crime."

He said he understood that the state had changed its policy on Thursday, but "they (the protesters) have to be given the opportunity to comply with those rules."

The action — a line of 75 troopers swept through the camp after giving a 10-minute warning — came less than a day after the state's Department of General Services said the plaza and other public areas nearby would be subject to a curfew, with no occupation between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Protesters had asked the state on Wednesday for more help with security. There has been some theft from tents as well as reports of marijuana being sold and lewd behavior in the area.

Occupy Nashville protesters blamed those incidents on a homeless population that has joined them on the plaza because of the availability of free blankets and food.

The demonstrators face charges of criminal trespassing Nov. 18 in General Sessions Court. Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons defended the sweep, saying troopers took the appropriate action.

Story: Winter set to be Occupy movement's 'Valley Forge'

"The process was handled by state troopers in a professional manner and without incident," he said in a statement to the press.

"It is our responsibility to keep the protesters safe on state property, along with citizens who work, live and enjoy downtown. We all must work together to ensure a safe environment."

He said the early hour for the raid was chosen because it would be least disruptive for those who work, visit and live downtown. Protesters plan a rally Friday evening.


Other developments
Elsewhere across the United States:
Protesters at San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza braced for a police raid early Thursday that never came. Still, police have warned the protesters that they could be arrested on a variety of sanitation or illegal camping violations.
Officials told protesters in Providence, R.I., that they were violating multiple city laws by camping overnight at a park.
Anti-Wall Street protesters camped out in downtown Los Angeles said they're planning to continue their demonstration indefinitely, although both they and the mayor's office were eyeing alternate sites.

On Thursday night, many in the crowd in Oakland shooed away Mayor Jean Quan who retreated back into City Hall after trying to address them during a tense late-night appearance. She apologized to Olsen during a hospital visit earlier Thursday.

"I am deeply saddened about the outcome on Tuesday. It was not what anyone hoped for, ultimately it was my responsibility, and I apologize for what happened," Quan said in a written statement to protesters late Thursday. "I cannot change the past, but I want to work with you to ensure that this remains peaceful moving forward."

Protesters also held a vigil for Olsen in Las Vegas, which drew a handful of police officers. Afterward, protesters invited them back for a potluck dinner.

"We renewed our vow of nonviolence," organizer Sebring Frehner said.

The Marine veteran, who won medals in Iraq, has become a rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators across the nation, with Twitter users and protest websites declaring, "We are all Scott Olsen."

Joshua Shepherd, 27, a Navy veteran who was standing nearby when Olsen got struck, called it a cruel irony that Olsen is fighting an injury in the country that he fought to protect.

Despite the financial underpinnings of the protests, Olsen himself wasn't taking part out of economic need.

PhotoBlog: Brrr! Occupy Wall Street protesters brace for cold weather

His friends say he makes a good living as a network engineer and has a nice apartment overlooking San Francisco Bay. Still, he felt so strongly about economic inequality in the United States that he fought for overseas that he slept at a protest camp after work.

"He felt you shouldn't wait until something is affecting you to get out and do something about it," said friend and roommate Keith Shannon, who served with Olsen in Iraq.

It was that feeling that drew him to Oakland on Tuesday night, when the clashes broke out and Olsen's skull was fractured. Fellow veterans said Olsen was struck in the head by a projectile fired by police, although the exact object and who might have been responsible for the injury have not been definitively established. Officials are investigating exactly where the projectile came from.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

#OccupyWallStreet with Michael

Down at #OccupyWallStreet right now in a bone-chilling rain. Day 41!
Down at #OccupyWallStreet right now in a bone-chilling rain. ... on Twitpic



                                                                      

@MMFlint

Michael Moore October 27, 2011                           
Heading 2 the StockExchange past the steps of Washington's inauguration. Democracy's enemy is Greed.
  
Heading 2 the StockExchange past the steps of Washington&#039... on Twitpic

Neighborhood awakens to the sound of #OWS music and pours into Columbus Circle. Crowd growing fast!
Neighborhood awakens to the sound of #OWS music and pours int... on Twitpic

It's the OccupationThatNeverSleeps! Most people who were here R grandparents. 57% of US backs #OWS It's the OccupationThatNeverSleeps! Most people who were... on Twitpic 

#OccupyOakland with Michael

#OccupyOakland on Twitpic


@MMFlint

Michael Moore October 29, 2011

On the steps of City Hall at #OccupyOakland. The police have ... on Twitpic

On the steps of City Hall at #OccupyOakland. The police have left. The sun is out.


















Amazing day in Oakland. A note was handed to me: "The mayor would like to see you."


Amazing day in Oakland. A note was handed to me: "The ma... on Twitpic


The crowd was too big for the human microphone, so a hip-hop artist went & got his amp. #NotLegal


The crowd was too big for the human microphone, so a hip-hop ... on Twitpic

Life Among the 1%


Michael Moore is an Academy-Award winning filmmaker and best-selling author





This is excellent.  This shows where his heart and mind come together as one.  I really want to meet him one day.  He makes more sense and I can understand what he says and thinks...




October 27th, 2011 7:46 AM


Friends,
Twenty-two years ago this coming Tuesday, I stood with a group of factory workers, students and the unemployed in the middle of the downtown of my birthplace, Flint, Michigan, to announce that the Hollywood studio, Warner Bros., had purchased the world rights to distribute my first movie, 'Roger & Me.' A reporter asked me, "How much did you sell it for?"
"Three million dollars!" I proudly exclaimed. A cheer went up from the union guys surrounding me. It was absolutely unheard of for one of us in the working class of Flint (or anywhere) to receive such a sum of money unless one of us had either robbed a bank or, by luck, won the Michigan lottery. On that sunny November day in 1989, it was like I had won the lottery -- and the people I had lived and struggled with in Michigan were thrilled with my success. It was like, one of us had made it, one of us finally had good fortune smile upon us. The day was filled with high-fives and "Way-ta-go Mike!"s. When you are from the working class you root for each other, and when one of you does well, the others are beaming with pride -- not just for that one person's success, but for the fact that the team had somehow won, beating the system that was brutal and unforgiving and which ran a game that was rigged against us. We knew the rules, and those rules said that we factory town rats do not get to make movies or be on TV talk shows or have our voice heard on any national stage. We were to shut up, keep our heads down, and get back to work. If by some miracle one of us escaped and commandeered a mass audience and some loot to boot -- well, holy mother of God, watch out! A bully pulpit and enough cash to raise a ruckus -- that was an incendiary combination, and it only spelled trouble for those at the top.
Until that point I had been barely getting by on unemployment, collecting $98 a week. Welfare. The dole. My car had died back in April so I had gone seven months with no vehicle. Friends would take me out to dinner, always coming up with an excuse to celebrate or commemorate something and then picking up the check so I would not have to feel the shame of not being able to afford it.
And now, all of a sudden, I had three million bucks! What would I do with it? There were men in suits making many suggestions to me, and I could see how those without a strong moral sense of social responsibility could be easily lead down the "ME" path and quickly forget about the "WE."
So I made some easy decisions back in 1989:
1. I would first pay all my taxes. I told the guy who did my 1040 not to declare any deductions other than the mortgage and to pay the full federal, state and city tax rate. I proudly contributed nearly 1 million dollars for the privilege of being a citizen of this great country.
2. Of the remaining $2 million, I decided to divide it up the way I once heard the folksinger/activist Harry Chapin tell me how he lived: "One for me, one for the other guy." So I took half the money -- $1 million -- and established a foundation to give it all away.
3. The remaining million went like this: I paid off all my debts, paid off the debts of some friends and family members, bought my parents a new refrigerator, set up college funds for our nieces and nephews, helped rebuild a black church that had been burned down in Flint, gave out a thousand turkeys at Thanksgiving, bought filmmaking equipment to send to the Vietnamese (my own personal reparations for a country we had ravaged), annually bought 10,000 toys to give to Toys for Tots at Christmas, got myself a new American-made Honda, and took out a mortgage on an apartment above a Baby Gap in New York City.
4. What remained went into a simple, low-interest savings account. I made the decision that I would never buy a share of stock (I didn't understand the casino known as the New York Stock Exchange and I did not believe in investing in a system I did not agree with).
5. Finally, I believed the concept of making money off your money had created a greedy, lazy class who didn't produce any product, just misery and fear among the populace. They invented ways to buy out companies and then shut them down. They dreamed up schemes to play with people's pension funds as if it were their own money. They demanded companies keep posting record profits (which was accomplished by firing thousands and eliminating health benefits for those who remained). I made the decision that if I was going to earn a living, it would be done from my own sweat and ideas and creativity. I would produce something tangible, something others could own or be entertained by or learn from. My work would create employment for others, good employment with middle class wages and full health benefits.
I went on to make more movies, produce TV series and write books. I never started a project with the thought, "I wonder how much money I can make at this?" And by never letting money be the motivating force for anything, I simply did exactly what I wanted to do. That attitude kept the work honest and unflinching -- and that, in turn I believe, resulted in millions of people buying tickets to these films, tuning in to my TV shows, and buying my books.
Which is exactly what has driven the Right crazy when it comes to me. How did someone from the left get such a wide mainstream audience?! This just isn't supposed to happen (Noam Chomsky, sadly, will not be booked on The View today, and Howard Zinn, shockingly, didn't make the New York Times bestseller list until after he died). That's how the media machine is rigged -- you are not supposed to hear from those who would completely change the system to something much better. Only wimpy liberals who urge caution and compromise and mild reforms get to have their say on the op-ed pages or Sunday morning chat shows.
Somehow, I found a crack through the wall and made it through. I feel very blessed that I have this life -- and I take none of it for granted. I believe in the lessons I was taught back in Catholic school -- that if you end up doing well, you have an even greater responsibility to those who don't fare the same. "The last shall be first and the first shall be last." Kinda commie, I know, but the idea was that the human family was supposed to divide up the earth's riches in a fair manner so that all of God's children would have a life with less suffering.
I do very well -- and for a documentary filmmaker, I do extremely well. That, too, drives conservatives bonkers. "You're rich because of capitalism!" they scream at me. Um, no. Didn't you take Econ 101? Capitalism is a system, a pyramid scheme of sorts, that exploits the vast majority so that the few at the top can enrich themselves more. I make my money the old school, honest way by making things. Some years I earn a boatload of cash. Other years, like last year, I don't have a job (no movie, no book) and so I make a lot less. "How can you claim to be for the poor when you are the opposite of poor?!" It's like asking: "You've never had sex with another man -- how can you be for gay marriage?!" I guess the same way that an all-male Congress voted to give women the vote, or scores of white people marched with Martin Luther Ling, Jr. (I can hear these righties yelling back through history: "Hey! You're not black! You're not being lynched! Why are you with the blacks?!"). It is precisely this disconnect that prevents Republicans from understanding why anyone would give of their time or money to help out those less fortunate. It is simply something their brain cannot process. "Kanye West makes millions! What's he doing at Occupy Wall Street?!" Exactly -- he's down there demanding that his taxes be raised. That, to a right-winger, is the definition of insanity. To everyone else, we are grateful that people like him stand up, even if and especiallybecause it is against his own personal financial interest. It is specifically what that Bible those conservatives wave around demands of those who are well off.
Back on that November day in 1989 when I sold my first film, a good friend of mine said this to me: "They have made a huge mistake giving someone like you a big check. This will make you a very dangerous man. And it proves that old saying right: 'The capitalist will sell you the rope to hang himself with if he thinks he can make a buck off it.'"
Yours,
P.S. I will go to Oakland tomorrow afternoon to stand with Occupy Oakland against the out-of-control police.