I just saw "Bowling for Columbine" for the first time.

[Droopy]

You might not want to read this if you haven't seen the film and are planning to. I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone.

On the box for the video they have a critic quoted as saying that the documentary is, "Hilarious." I didn't get that. There were a few humorous parts, but for the most part it was a serious look at guns and our culture. I almost cried when I saw the video and the 911 footage of the Columbine tragedy. I was out in Denver, about ten miles away from that when it happened. It didn't affect me that way then. I was just a little shocked. Seeing and hearing that footage really made me sad. Same for the little six year old girl that got shot and killed and the story behind that.

So, what do you think about Moore's premise that we live in a culture of fear and this is what is causing the violence in our country? I think he's right. He goes further and says that fear is also a contributing factor to racism and poverty. Remember Heston saying the reason for us having the highest rate of shootings is our ethnic diversity? Is that not a racist statement?

[flyingfish]

1. Think about this....

It was announced Heston had Alzheimer's around the time the film was released.
Coincidence?
I think not.

[Paragon]

5. Bzzz - thank you for playing, but...

...that interview with Heston was shot WAY before his announcement. (Moore's book and movie were both pushed back for months after their original release date, due to 9/11...remember?)

Heston's people may even have scheduled the announcement to give Chuck an excuse for his "mixed ethnicity" comment.

[chenGOD]

8. I think the parent was getting at...

the second part of your message: ie. the people who announced his Alzheimers were trying to defend Heston.

[DrWeird]

2. Who's right? Moore or Heston?

Of course it is a racist statement. And all the people who rushed to defend Heston probably agree with it.

[Droopy]

6. Thanks for pointing that out

I fixed it. I meant Moore was right. I didn't read the whole thing before I posted. I had the whole idea in my head and it all came out in the wrong order.

[MrBenchley]

3. He certainly is on the money with that...

Many haunting things in the film...Tim McVeigh's friend putting the gun to his head.... the security expert tearing up...

It says something that Marilyn Manson makes more sense onm the issue than Charlton Heston...and yes, Heston is a racist old thug.

[cjbuchanan]

4. Just watch TV for an evening

And you will see fear thrown at us from every angle.

Be it fear of our neighbors, terrorists, the food we eat or that we might not smell right, we are a culture based on fear.

I think Jon Stewart had a great analogy last night on the Daily Show. He was talking about the blackout and noted how silly it was that people in the news media were amazed that New Yorkers did not turn to cannibalism just because the lights went out. With all there is to fear, how could this happen?

[roughsatori]

9. "Could something we all have in our medicine cabinet kill you?"

"Next on the 11 O'clock news." That is an actual quote from a lead in for the local Philly news last week. You're absolutely right, we have become a culture of fear.

[SyracuseDemocrat]

7. The movie makes some good points

about media distortions, but I can't get over how many of Moore's own distortions are in his work. He changes facts, and deliberately misleads the viewers to try and prove a point. Maybe I also don't like him because he supported Nader instead of Gore.

Take a look at this:

http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html

[mrfrapp]

10. Hrumph

And when you've finished reading that rubbish, have a read of this.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/12/171427/607

The level of misunderstanding displayed in Hardy's article is nothing short of astounding. In fact, the only conclusion I can come to is that he's deliberately misunderstanding it (the film, that is).

[MrBenchley]

12. I share that conclusion of yours (nt)

[MrBenchley]

11. And to see hardylaw's lies debunked

point by point go here...

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/12/171427/607

[SyracuseDemocrat]

16. Benchley is scared of guns

I've seen him post in J/PS many times. He is absolutely terrified.

[chenGOD]

13. My problem with that site is...

he harps on and on about the "cold dead hands" speech. Clearly Moore was using that to point out the undying love of guns some gun-owners proudly portray.
He talks about the NRA not being able to cancel the annual members meeting. Under New York state law and their own by-laws, yes they must have a meeting. They could have postponed it, and not lost any money Since the mayor of Denver offered to refund all deposits and other costs incurred by the NRA in renting the convention center. And since Denver is not in New York, i fail to see the relevance there.

And when you build launch spacecraft for the DOD, you're definitely building something for the military, and the military is interested in two things, better ways to kill people and more pork-barrel projects. And let's face it Lockheed-Martin is one of the biggest military contractors in America.

[Droopy]

14. Looked it over

It seems like the guy who did the research had a special interest in defending Heston. I agree that it wasn't right to splice together his speeches like that. I think the worst thing he did was to give the impression that the Flint speech by Heston occurred only a couple of days after the shooting there.

But there ain't no explaining away that racist comment by Heston in the interview.

[CanuckAmok]

15. Just an aside...

I was thrown out of a supposedly apoliticcal (but blatently right wing) forum a few months ago for criticizing Heston.

And something interesting I took away from that exchange is that the people who describe Heston as "An American HERO", and "The MOST COURAGEOUS MAN ALIVE FOR SPEAKING HISE BELIVES (their all-caps and typos, not mine), are the same people who get behind Charlie Daniels' rediculous "Hollywood Bunch" letter and say that celebrities have no business using their fame to advance their own political beliefs, that they have no idea how the "average American" lives because they're holed-up in their Hollywood gated communities.

Nothing spoke louder to me about Freeper hypocrisy than that.

Heston is now and always has been a priviledged, useless old windbag, and b-grade actor at that, and his "heroism" (read paid endorsement of the NRA) has advanced the cause of needless violence in this society.

I have no problem with people owning guns as long as they don't use them on other people (especially on me!), but I certainly have issues with a man who is actively against the control of "cop-killer" bullets, assault rifles, and x-ray-proof handguns.

I, for one, will be enjoying a very large toast when he (finally) dies.