Only Stupid White Men Would Believe Michael Moore

The Telegraph ^ | January 1, 2004 | Damian Thompson

[quidnunc]

If the title Stupid White Men doesn't mean anything to you, then you can't have been anywhere near a bookshop in 2003. Either that, or you are so used to picking your way through the piles of Michael Moore books that you no longer notice them, or the accompanying recommendation: "Staff pick! Really cool — the book that exposes Dubya as a fascist."

Moore is the American slob in a baseball cap who likes to hint — only hint, mind — that President Bush had a hand in September 11. He has a huge following on campuses on both sides of the Atlantic: he, more than anyone else, has persuaded British students that the current occupant of the White House is, like, just such a moron.

Stupid White Men was the bestselling non-fiction hardback in Britain last year, after the Atkins New Diet Revolution; it's now top of the paperback list. Bowling for Columbine, the feature-length documentary in which Moore blames a high school massacre on the Republicans, won an Oscar.

Moore's new book, Dude, Where's My Country?, offers his most sophisticated critique to date of American foreign policy: "We like dictators! They help us get what we want and they do a great job of keeping their nations subservient to our galloping global corporate interests."

It takes Moore just a couple of paragraphs to absolve Osama bin Laden of the destruction of the World Trade Centre. "How could a guy sitting in a cave in Afghanistan, have … plotted so perfectly the hijacking of four planes and then guaranteed that three of them would end up precisely on their targets?" he asks.

Viewers of Bowling for Columbine may find this puzzling, remembering the film's insistence that "Osama bin Laden used his expert CIA training to murder 3,000 people"; but Moore regards consistency as the hobgoblin of little minds. And, besides, his fast-morphing conspiracy theories are all built on the same, unshakeable foundation. Everything in the world is the fault of stupid white Americans — in which category he apparently includes the September 11 plane passengers: he has a stand-up routine in which he suggests that if the victims had been black, rather than white "scaredy-cats", they would have had no trouble overpowering the hijackers.

-snip-

[FutureMarine]

Back when that book came out I just assumed it was an autobiograpical work :-p.

[hotpotato]

Isn't there some way for Amazon to prevent the writer from logging on and critiquing his own book? sheeesh....

[Benrand]

It's positively hilarious that the morons who worship this bloated tugboat-like fool fail to see that he has become VERY wealthy...it never occurs to them that maybe he's totally full of crap, obviously they don't see he's also full of high priced meals at their expense. Keep buying his books, shmucks.

[SandRat]

Ortega's Boot Shop here in town for the boots and the silver belly stetson, the chain store "Western Wear" for the denim. They also have the boots and the hat but I just like Ortega's.

Happy New Year!

[A Simple Soldier]

It is the same in India. I have never seen so many books displayed by Moore, Chomsky and various other Leninist conspiracy nuts. Mind you a large chain bookstore in India is maybe a third of the size of a standard Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million in the US. So it is even more disproportionate.

The newspapers here are even worse. They think a balanced competing perspective from the Western press are op-eds by Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd.

[formercalifornian]

My daughter is so angry at liberals who complain that Bush is a "cowboy" that she decided to go western. She's started listening and singing country music, bought boots and cowboy hat and totally changed her image.

[tjg]

I don't think Michael Moore actually believes all that B.S. he writes. If you ever listen to him talk in an interview, he's a pretty intelligent and clever fellow.

He exploits a market niche of people that like to feel things instead of think. It's ironic that he made himself filthy, stinking rich by spewing Marxist philosophy, but there's a sucker born every miniute, and those are MM's audience.

[CAR913]

There is nothing the Right can do to dent his popularity. And perhaps it shouldn't even try.

Well, there will always be a market for this kind of dishonest Marxist drivel. Why, even McGovern got about 29 million votes.

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Hey Radix:

Great name for Mike....

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Is there a book I can recommend to people in my family who, at Christmas, talked incessantly about "Dude, Where's My Country?" (Everybody has at least one diehard Dem in their family. I happen to have two.) I'd like to send them a book that would refute all of Michael Moore's points. Any suggestions?

[Turbo Pig]

You know, I just smacked my forehead and went, "DOH!". My dislike for this moron had totally blinded me to the fact that he is getting rich off the leftist dupes.

It is brilliant in it's simplicity.

[dirtboy]

Dude, Where's My Country

In Moore's case, it's about 90 miles south of Key West.

[Radix]

I'd like to send them a book that would refute all of Michael Moore's points. Any suggestions?

I have not read Mooreon's book, but perhaps the U.S. Constitution might be adequate.

Ann Coulter's last two books were rather dynamic. I learned of FR.com because she mentioned the site in her book "Slander." Pat Buchanan's book "Death of the west" made some startling points also. Pat has an odd quality about him, but the man is clearly brilliant.

A subscription to National Review might be enlightening to the lazy thinkers who actually consider Mooreon to be of any relevance.

I cannot believe that I am beginning my FReeper year commenting about that imbecile Michael Mooreon.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Happy New Year everyone! I don't know how it is like in every Barnes and Noble in the country but my local Barnes and Noble seems to have a love fest with liberal books. All I see are displays for Micheal MOBYDICK Moore, Hitlery, Al Frickin, etc. When I go to look for books by Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, etc. I can hardly find them. I am considering a self emposed boycott of Barnes and Noble and maybe just order all books on line from various websites like Newsmax.com

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Fear not, I don't look for Mr Moore to live for a long time. I don't mean to be heartless but he's a cardiac case waiting to happen. He should start writing-Dude, what is my cholesterol level?

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Ann Coulter's TREASON is an excellent book to read. I couldn't put it down.

[MizzouTigerRepublican]

I got Treason for Christmas and just finished reading it. It really is a great read. I also got Shut Up and Sing by Laura Ingraham. I hope to start that book today. It was really nice for Christmas since I got 6 books and have read 4 of them already! Happy New Year everyone!

[LoudRepublicangirl]

I want to read Oliver North's Iraqi Freedom book but I guess I will have to order it since I can't find it at the local Barnes and Liberal. By the way, thank you for your service during Desert Storm. My brother just got promoted to Captain(he's 101st Airborne)He is currently serving in Mosul, Iraq. I'm very proud of him.

[tjg]

IMHO it's pointless to even try to argue with someone that appreciates Moore's books. People that believe what he writes don't occupy the same reality we do.

The 20th century is a testiment to the failure of Marxism; hundreds of millions of people dead, economies ruined, families destroyed.

Marxism has my vote for the worst idea of the 20th century, yet millions worldwide are seduced by the empty promise. You can't convice people that reject the facts that surround them and cling to thier feelings. Capitalism yeilds wealth and freedom, Communism death, poverty and suffering. If folks won't open their eyes and see that, how can anything you say make a difference?

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Thanks for the great suggestions - Treason, Slander, Death of the West, National Review.