| Fahrenheit 9/11 Hate Mail continued...with a little reason? |
| Robert Fri 6/18/2004 8:37 AM Dear Colleagues, My name is Robert ____, and I am the manager of P____ Regional Library, which serves as the headquarters and main branch of the library system encompassing Barrow, Banks, and Jackson counties. I view my role and the role of my institution as critical to the health of America. Information is vital to democracy, and it is the function of public libraries to make information available to everyone. My job is to help provide information. I believe in freedom of speech perhaps by the very definition of my job. The right to communicate ideas is sacrosanct to librarians. However, as a person charged with providing free, balanced, unbiased information, I have to make decisions on a regular basis about what should have a place in the public forum and what should not. These decisions do not amount to censorship. They are not the restriction of ideas simply because I do not agree with them. Rather, my decisions are made on an academic basis. I summarily reject items that contain plagiarized information. Our public internet terminals do not allow access to the web sites of the Aryan Nations, the Ku Klux Klan, and other such sites which purport to “educate” and to “share ideas”. And I reject that most egregious of free speech abuses: propaganda. Over 90 years ago, a piece of filmmaking history was screened. D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation was classic propaganda. Called a documentary by its director, The Birth of a Nation carefully presented fact alongside mistruth, and the result was a story in which the heroes wore white hoods. The purpose of Griffith’s work was to convince America that black people should be subservient to white. Propaganda is defined in Webster’s New International Dictionary as “Dissemination of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person”. Many case studies in history will show that most propaganda campaigns contain elements of truth that have been altered, rearranged, or presented in such a way as to deliberately mislead; rather than arguing for a case simply by presenting the facts and merits of the case and omitting any negative attributes, a propaganda campaign seeks to rearrange the facts. It does not convey information for people to think about, but seeks to tell people what to think. I am writing to you today because a propagandist film is on the verge of release in the United States. Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9/11 should not be screened. This film – like most of Mr. Moore’s work – is an assault on our free speech rights. It is an attempt by an individual to advance a cause not by the sharing of ideas in a public forum, but by propaganda. Please understand my case. It is not Mr. Moore’s disdain for President Bush and America’s policies that should be censored. I care not about such things, and distribute books and other materials of wildly varying viewpoints everyday. Mr. Moore’s positions are his, and should be respected, as should his right to communicate them in an academic context. What should be censored is Mr. Moore’s flagrant manipulation of fact, his dubious rephrasing and paraphrasing of others’ words, his presentation of events, and his editing, which can, at best, be described as deliberately misleading. Mr. Moore should be told by the film industry – by you – that there is a way to make a documentary, but his way is not that way; that there is a way to present information, but his way is not that way; and that there is a way to argue a case in a democracy, but his way is not that way. Time and again we have seen the liberties Mr. Moore has taken in the creation of his “documentaries”. I urge you to take a stand right now, at a time when Mr. Moore is clearly bent on influencing our elections in November. I urge you to ask yourself the question, regardless of your political affiliation and whether or not you are pleased with our current president’s policies, do you really want your elections to be influenced by Mr. Moore? You and I are both in important positions. We look out for information. We don’t like to say no. We want our speech to be totally free. But for the sake of our free speech, there are times when we should both put down our feet. There are times when we should see through the personal motives and hatreds. There are times when we should look at something like The Birth of a Nation or Farenheit 9/11 and recognize it for what it is. We should not be parties to propaganda. I should continue banning the Griffith-style propaganda at my library. You should give real thought to a ban on the Moore-style propaganda that is about to assault your theaters and make a mockery of film as a medium for sharing information. Thank you for your time, and best wishes for a successful summer film season. Sincerely, ------- Philip Mon 6/21/2004 8:17 AM RE: Responsibility and films One of the most powerful thoughts I have come across in my life is this: All that is required for Evil to flourish is that good men do nothing. Accordingly, I have made some small changes and sacrifces in my life in order to at least take a stand against that which I think is wrong. One such are is how I allocate my entertainment dollar. I no longer attend movies starring Sean Penn, even thouh I believe him to be a talented actor, because of his support for Saddam Hussein's ruthless rule of Iraq. I no longer patronize films of Woody Allen or Roman Polanski because of their perverse predilections for young girls. And it looks like I will no longer attend movies screened at your theters because of the way you've featured Michael Moore's Farenheit 911. My objection to the movie is that it loses objecvtivity as Moore pursues his avowed goal of "pulling the Bushes down" and of "destroying the United States Government". You are complicit to and an accessory in his actions by displaying his factually flawed movie. I regret your decision to do so, and hope that I can make this a terribly expensive decision for you. Phillip Jones ------- Gerry Sat 6/19/2004 5:58 PM The dictionary discribes a documentary as a factual movie or TV program. This movie is not a documentary film, but more of a political campaign advertisement against the war on terrorism and our troops. It takes facts out of context and distorts the facts. If your movie theathers intend to show this film it should clearly state that it is a political opinion and not a documentary. If this is not done then the movie should not be shown, because it would unfairly mislead the public who watch this and expect to see a factual movie. I don't want this misleading and grotesque movie being shown at our local cinemas. ------- Steve Fri 6/11/2004 5:32 PM RE: “Fahrenheit 9/11” NO to M. Moore and NO to 911 Dear Executives, I think this is an Anti-American and Anti-Military film and perhaps it belongs in a political ad, but not in my local movie house. I will not go to see it, nor any movies at your theatres while this movie is advertised on your web site and certainly not while it is playing. If another theatre chain locally does not show this sorry movie I will go to that theatre and stay with them afterwards. If all chains show this hollywood trash my family may stopgoing to the movies all together. That would probably be better for my family anyway and is something we should consider. I guess I should thank you for forcing me to think about this life change and make a stand. Shame on Moore and shame on your industry if you show his movie. I bet it is as much of a documentary and as fair, as a recruitement film made by the terrorists or others that want John Kerry elected President. Sincerely, ------- end page two Next Page: more hate mail with a bite. |
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