_____________________________________________________________
What’s the Link Between Kevin O’Leary, Chris Hedges & The Reverend Billy Talen?
Please read this article by Chris Hedges– arguably the most prominent writer of the Occupy Movement. Chris has been with Occupy Wall Street since the start. I remember watching him on Livestream during the early days of OWS- his words were truly inspiring.
I setup a demonstration on behalf of Chris at Occupy Vancouver last year in October. It was after Kevin O’Leary shamed the CBC by a Fox News style attack on Chris, including calling him a nutbar! The Occupy solution was to bring Chris Hedges books for him to sign. O’Leary obviously doesn’t’ have a sense of humor, as he refused to sign the books. Coward!
Reverend Billy (sans-balaclava)
Chris’ article is, perhaps, a bit more on the angry side than his usual writing- I can relate to that. Most of us joined the Occupy movement because we were inspired by the idea of a peaceful revolution. Watching it get hijacked by violent punks and political hacks can be challenging to one’s peaceful inner self.
Pacifism can be a frustrating hobby…
Chris was arrested alongside Reverend Billy Talen along with 15 other people at Occupy Wall Street for demonstrating in-front of Goldman Sachs. Chris is a Pulitzer Prize winning war journalist who has experienced hardcore revolutions right up to the front lines.
And, a quick note to people who support the violent and anti-social tactics used by people in occupations like Oakland, Denver and Vancouver. Before you start questioning Chris Hedge’s cred, please tell us how many time’s you’ve been arrested, and how many real wars you have seen. If the answer to either is zero, you are probably not qualified to- so, please use logic over ad-hominem Pablum.
Enjoy the reading, and please share your feelings on this matter. Regardless of whether you are a fan of Occupy or not- this issue needs to be attended to. Oh, and don’t forget to read the comments section attached to Chris’ article! Some of you may be shocked by what you see! ;-)
Related articles
- Chris Hedges Sues Obama Admin Over Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens Approved in NDAA “DemocracyNow! (sunnyvlog.wordpress.com)
- Is The American Empire Over? Chris Hedges on the Corporate Destruction of America (treehugger.com)
- Listening to the Black Bloc’s Big Question (taoofwalking.wordpress.com)
6 comments
4 pings
Skip to comment form
I have been thinking about this article a lot since reading it yesterday, and I have to admit that I am surprised that Chris would write this. Not that I disagree with his main point, I have made myself quite clear how I feel about violence and destruction, but if you ever actually read Chris Hedges posts about Occupy, you would get the impression BB is his target audience. ” The Occupy encampments in various cities were shut down precisely because they were nonviolent….” “The corporate state understands and welcomes the language of force…..””…Either you join the revolt ….or you stand on the wrong side of history”,”….Either you are a rebel or a slave….” “…They are terrified this will spread. They have their long phalanxes of police on motorcycles, their rows of white paddy wagons, their foot soldiers hunting for you on the streets with pepper spray and orange plastic nets. They have their metal barricades set up on every single street leading into the New York financial district, where the mandarins in Brooks Brothers suits use your money, money they stole from you, to gamble and speculate and gorge themselves while one in four children outside those barricades depend on food stamps to eat…”
(Heck it will just be easier to quote one of his most inciteful articles, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_best_among_us_20110929/. And no, “inciteful” is not a typo).
So although I do agree that needless, mindless violence does a disservice to any cause, I can’t help to think that this article is disingenuous at best, and self-serving at worst, perhaps because he is becoming aware that one of the lit matches he has been dropping all over the place, may ignite a fire that will come back to burn him personally.
I read the article you are referring to James – http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_best_among_us_20110929/. I do not find Mr. Hedges disingenuous or self-serving at all. He and other well-known social advocates for change lend credibility to the Occupy movement. Mr. Hedges has always been an advocate for peace and social justice. His message of non-violent protest and civil disobedience is apparent in all of his books. Inciting civil disobedience, action, and even anger are not the same thing as inciting violence/property destruction. Mr. Hedges is a passionate writer, he is conveying the message of Occupy in an emotional way, hopefully inspiring those of us in the main stream to get off our assess and stand up to the system that is destroying everything.
I read the article you are referring to James – http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_best_among_us_20110929/. I do not find Mr. Hedges disingenuous or self-serving at all. He and other well-known social advocates for change lend credibility to the Occupy movement. Mr. Hedges has always been an advocate for peace and social justice. His message of non-violent protest and civil disobedience is apparent in all of his books. Inciting civil disobedience, action, and even anger are not the same thing as inciting violence/property destruction. Mr. Hedges is a passionate writer, he is conveying the message of Occupy in an emotional way, hopefully inspiring those of us in the main stream to get off our assess and stand up to the system that is destroying everything.
Author
James,
One of the most brilliant ideas I heard come from Chris Hedges was that all revolutions end at the moment that the police and the military lay down their arms. It is a simple and clearly logical idea- as it is equally powerful…
Our job is to get them to lay down their arms as quickly and painlessly as is humanly possible. Now, while this may not work for the residents of North Korea, it is entirely possible in North America- and, in Canada, the police are mostly already co-opted. Many Vancouver cops have said to us that they are members of the 99%!
So, considering this statement Mr.Hedges made, I would have to disagree with you that he is responsible for generating all of this hateful energy. The Black Bloc were here long before Occupy came along- just look at Harsha Walia’s video protecting their actions at the Olympics. (It is a damn shame the Council of Canadians let the genie out of the bottle back then. Even more of a damn shame that Mr.Neil at the CoC decided to cop-out and not take responsibility…)
Regardless, I am personally relieved that Hedges spoke out like he did. Now we can move-on from acting like this problem doesn’t exist, and get on with fixing it and progressing our movement. And, already, people who were against what I was saying, or who were on-the-fence, have had a sudden change of heart.
So, personally, I see Chris Hedges as a personal hero of mine now…
To both of you folks who replied to my comment, I appreciate your opinions. Can’t say that I agree with them, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, but I appreciate the fact that different people have different opinions and that you shared yours in respectful, possibly more respectful than I considering the strong reaction I get when I read Mr Hedges, manner.
I have come to really respect Chris Hedges after listening to a series of talks he gave in anticipation of the release of his book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. Regardless of what people say about his “inciteful” writings, he is a committed non-violent activist.
[…] genuiNEWitty I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together… Skip to content HomeAbout ← Thoughts on Chris Hedges’ Story About Black Bloc Cancer… […]
[…] The Cancer of Occupy by Chris Hedges (genuinewitty.wordpress.com) […]
[…] The Cancer of Occupy by Chris Hedges (genuinewitty.wordpress.com) Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailStumbleUponPrintTumblrRedditPinterestLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This entry was posted in Anti-Violence, Canada, Conspiracy, CUPE, Everyone Is Illegal, Marxism, Occupy Movement, Occupy Toronto, Occupy Vancouver, OPSEU, Unions, United Steel Workers, VANDU, Violence and tagged Adbusters, Canada, Hijacked, Occupy, Occupy Canada, Occupy Movement, Occupy Toronto, Occupy Vancouver, Occupy Wall St., Occupy Wall Street, Ostracism, Politics. Bookmark the permalink. ← Doug Johnson Hattem/@OccupyBayStreet Attempt To Quell Freedom of Speech! […]
[…] The Cancer of Occupy by Chris Hedges (genuinewitty.com) […]