michael moore made a movie

[mnaz]

found poetry?

found poetry in a logic of fear
the logic of great proliferation
the security of a big build-up
we must defend ourselves

I. michigan militia daze

"it is your job to defend you and yours."
"if not, you are in dereliction of duty as an american."
"a criminal breaks in, and you call the cops, but why?"
"because they have guns. so cut out the middle-man."

II. pack, or else

"the town of virgin, utah passed a law
requiring all residents to own a gun."

III. terry nichols' brother james

"the feds were here, shaking in their boots."
"they found blasting caps, fuses, black powder."
"diesel fuel, fertilizer, all normal farm stuff."
"it had nothing at all to do with that bomb."
"i believe in the pen, but keep the sword ready."
"i sleep with a .44 magnum under my pillow."
"there's wackos out there."

IV. george's blanket alert

"the justice department issued a blanket alert"
"in recognition of a general threat we received."
"i hope this is the last time it acts in this way."
"but given the attitude of the evildoers, it may not be."

V. the y2k panic

"our very society was about to collapse because
we forgot to type a couple of digits on the computer."
"today the store director helped consumers get y2k ready."

VI. escalators and lawnmowers of doom

"channel 7 reveals, escalators can mangle you."
" you may well be riding a stairway to danger."
"like a scene from a horror movie, this man was
mowing his lawn when a fox attacked his riding mower."

VII. white flight

"the guns weren't taken off the inner city kids
but mainly from adolescents out in suburbia."
"that's been the biggest problem."

VIII. our little monsters after columbine

"a 2nd grader was suspended for bringing a nail clipper to class."
"a 1st grader was suspended for pointing a chicken strip at a teacher."
"a 2nd grader was suspended for pointing a folded piece of paper."
"a virgina student was suspended for dying his hair blue."
"like guerilla warfare; where will the enemy come from?"
"like ticking time bombs."

IX. marilyn manson: "don't blame me."

"you're being pumped full of fear."
"there's floods and aids and murder."
"cut to commercial, you need the acura."
"if you got pimples the girls won't fuck you."
"it's a campaign of fear and consumption."

X. remembering little kayla

"it's been an emotional day, remembering kayla."
"a six-year old girl shot by a six-year old classmate."
"jack dash, live in flint, michigan, Q-13 ... and clear."
"i need hurricane-proof hair spray, damn wind."

XI. the p.r. guy in a missile factory

"countries do things that annoy one another
but we have to learn to deal with that anger."
"you don't just drop a bomb or shoot at people."

[stilltrucking]

nice work!

this is the way the world ends
not with a whimper
nor a bang
but with a howl

[mnaz]

i hadn't watched that film for a few years ("bowling for columbine"). i remember it hit me pretty hard the first time, and if anything even harder this time around. as i watched, my jaw dropped, and i kept thinking: "are these people for real?" ....

"surreal" moments in this flick . . .
like the james nichols interview (brother of timothy mcveigh's accomplice) . . . "those feds were here, shaking in their shoes! why? they thought they had another waco on their hands, that's why! . . . blasting caps, fuses, fertilizer and diesel fuel . . . but it's all just normal farm stuff . . . i sleep with a .44 magnum under my pillow. no one can take my handguns away! ... where does it say you have the right to handguns? the 2nd amendment, the right to bear ARMS. but arms could be . . . you know, weapons-grade plutonium. should you be allowed to have that, if you wanted it? no, that should be regulated--- there's wackos out there!" . . .