Who's That Guy On The Left?

[lame54]

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/twenty-names


Excerpted from Here Comes Trouble: Stories From My Life by Michael Moore

WHACK!

Now the greatest pain became the humiliation I was experiencing thanks to the growing crowd and the eyes of everyone in the cafeteria who was standing to get a look at what was happening in the hallway.

"That’ll do," the sadist said. "Don’t let me see you with your shirt out again."

And with that he walked away. He had no idea how profoundly he had just changed my life—and his. He had, in that one act of corporal punishment, created his own demise. How many times had this man struck a child in his career? A thousand? Ten thousand? Whatever the number, this would be his last.

It’s funny, isn’t it, how one minute you’re just walking down the hall with your shirttail out, you’re thinking about girls or a ball game or how you’re on your last stick of Beaman’s—and then the next hour you make a decision that will affect all the decisions you make for the rest of your life. So random, so unplanned. In fact, it puts the whole idea of making plans for your life to shame, and you realize you really are wasting your time if you’re trying to come up with a college major, or how many kids to have, or where you want to be in ten years. One day I’m thinking about law school, and the next week I’ve committed all my meager teenage resources and energy to stripping an adult of whatever power he thinks he wields with that big paddle...

[kayakjohnny]

1. Just finished the whole piece. Awesome!

Thanks for this.

[Capt. Obvious]

2. A young Meatloaf?

[Ian David]

3. That was what I thought, too! n/t

[Capt. Obvious]

6. Whoever he is

he's a real dead ringer for love

[Ian David]

8. You took the words right out of my mouth. n/t

[Capt. Obvious]

9. Like a bat out of hell

[JohnnyRingo]

4. That blew me away

Thanx so much for posting!

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. K&R. Thanks for posting. What a time that must have been. n/t

[RC]

7. Now that's the way to take care of a problem that no one else would touch.

[mia]

10. K&R! Civics 101.

Whould love to have read something like this as an introductory reading assignment.

[siligut]

11. What a story

It would make a good movie; you think?

[PDJane]

12. It's great! Thank you!

And I want to spread it around to all young people everywhere!

A great start to a career as a rabble rouser.

[Orrex]

13. Time-travelling Jack Black is all up in your board meeting

[xxqqqzme]

14. Thank you for the

link. Great story, beautifully written.

[eggplant]

15. In a democratic society, the only thing that keeps to oppressors oppressing

is that their victims don't understand their rights, or worse, choose not to exercise them.

[Uncle Joe]

16. This is good but I wonder if Billy Spitz ever got his diploma?

Thanks for the thread, lame.

[Voice for Peace]

17. ok, I'm buying his book

k/r

[Dustlawyer]

18. This is the answer I have been looking for!

The question actually comes from the responses I get from a lot of non- voters I talk to. They frequently say that "I am only one person, I can't make a difference.". I am always looking for some example other than Bush won the Presidentcy by only 500 something Floida votes. We need to sometimes understand that small victories can eventually lead to bigger ones. Just volunteering for a day can make a huge difference to one person. That is plenty to make it worthwhile (and make you eel good too.
Thanks Mike, and hey, please come do the BP Pil spill documentary! I can give you loads of material on how dirty the dirtiest oil company in the world is, and all of the lies, hardship and tragedy caused by this corporate giant. If you can find Ed Bradley's last story before his death on 60 minutes, you can see what experience we have with a company that budgets for the price of their workers lives. Thanks for all that you do man!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

19. Just think what it would look like

if more of us adopted that attitude.

[lame54]

29. takes lots of courage

[hamsterjill]

20. Thanks for posting. I loved it!

This is a very insightful piece.

[NC_Nurse]

21. Wow. That was awesome!

I bet they don't let 18 year olds onto school boards anymore. That is an amazing story and I hope he inspires more young people to get involved.

[freshwest]

23. 'They' can't stop an 18-year-old from being a school board. Only the voters can do that.

I hope this inspired the young to get into the game of changing all of it.

[freshwest]

22. Haha! Story of so many of our lives. For each and every action, there is an equal opposite reaction.

[Jim Lane]

24. The follow-up to this incident is in the linked piece -- definitely worth a read. (n/t)

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

25. I got the book when it came out, loved it.

Got to hear him speak at the High School in Santa Rosa, CA one time too.
We could use a few more characters like him.

[Archae]

26. Is it from his school he learned to lie?

Lie on film, that is?

[Mira]

27. From a magnificent book -

we are given a glimpse in that the young show their promise early. All we need to do is watch, and don't stifle, and don't disparage.
I love Michael Moore for his courage, for his correctness, and for his contribution to my life.
He had me since "Roger and Me".

[intheflow]

28. This is also a great AUDIO BOOK.

Read by the author. It was a joy to listen to!