Charlie Rose recently discussed the #Occupy movement with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and writer Chris Hedges of Truthdig.com. This was a thought-provoking show in which all of the participants take the #Occupy movement seriously. What follows are some of my notes regarding the interview.
Amy Goodman indicates that we are in the midst of a revolution. Chris Hedges describes this revolt as one that strives to regain democracy and is opposed to the current system of “inverted totalitarianism.” It’s not “classical totalitarianism. It doesn’t find its expression through a demagogue or a charismatic leader, but through the anonymity of the corporate state. . . . [In a system of inverted totalitarianism, “corporate forces purport to pay a fealty to electoral politics, the Constitution, the iconography and language of American patriotism, and yet have so corrupted the levers of power as to render the citizens impotent. We see that in one piece of legislation after another. . . . The formal structures of power are tone deaf. . . [Under the corporate state] there is no way to appeal to the system. It doesn’t matter what the citizens want.”
Amy Goodman points out that while most Americans support the #occupy protests, the protesters are portrayed by many as merely engaging in class warfare. At 14:50, Goodman points out that the #Occupy protesters and the Tea Party have many overlapping concerns. At 21:00 Hedges indicates that there are stark differences with the Tea Party which, he claims, has deep elements he would describe as fascist. Another difference is that the Tea Party targets government because “the corporations want government to become more anemic; it speaks in the language of violence and the gun culture” and they direct their rage toward “vulnerable people such as Muslims, undocumented workers, homosexuals and intellectuals, all sort of the classic rubric that one finds in a fascist movement.”
Goodman also discusses the importance of citizen journalism. “When police tell people to turn off their video camera, that’s exactly when they need to turn their video cameras on. . . . We need media in this country that allows people to speak for themselves. Ultimately, the media can be the biggest force for peace on earth.” Goodman believes that this movement will be sustained through the winter and beyond, and that “the organized parties, the Democrat and Republican parties are running scared.”
It is hard to ignore the obvious bias in the coverage of the #Occupy protests.
This morning, the TV news in Nashville reported on violence at the Occupy Los Angeles while showing video of the police tear-gassing the crowd at Oakland. Network outlets here parrot the FOX reports of hundreds of arrests without mention of the fact that most of the arrests were baseless, and often illegal (can you say entrapment?)
Nashville media is also trying to downplay the significance of Occupy Nashville. On the spot reports are taped in the predawn hours at the legislative plaza where a core group of about 40 protesters are camped out, yet never show the daytime and weekend crowd that swells the group to hundreds.
They did, however heavily promote the TEA party Rally to support Gibson Guitars ( right to buy wood stolen from the national parks of India and Madagascar). The Gibson Rally was attended by about 300 people, many from other states, who had their travel expenses paid by TEA party support groups.
The Nashville media reports that the Occupy Nashville and the other 99 percent protests are against “Alleged (pronounced A Ledge Ed”) greed of Wall Street corporations even though the protesters have called out the corrupting influence of private money in the campaign and election process as their main concern.
The media continues to use loaded rhetoric . To most laymen, “Alleged” implies an unproven accusation. So the 99 per centers are against “alleged” corporate greed, while the TEA Partiers are against “Invasive government policy” (note the lack of the word “Alleged”.
So it goes. The media is determined to vilify a grass roots movement while exemplifying an astroturf campaign. This is the sad and sorry state of our compromised media and a damned poor excuse for unbiased reporting.