[CLUE-Talk] Bowling for Columbine

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 12-01 20:28, Jeffery Cann wrote:
> On Sunday 01 December 2002 11:42 am, Sean LeBlanc wrote:
> >
> > "There are 30 million Americans living without enough food."
> >
> > Huh? How many Americans are there? 350 million? So, according to this
> > statement (without a cite, I noticed), there are just under 1 out of 12
> > people without enough food? I don't mean to whitewash the issue, but that
> > sounds just a *tad* inflated. And I thought conservatives were resorting to
> > hyperbole when they said that the media always seems to "discover" the
> > homeless and hungry in this country whenever there is a sitting Republican
> > president...
> 
> All,
> 
> Regardless of your personal feelings about the film maker, I would think that 
> folks responding to Sean's statements would look around for some other 
> statistics about hunger in the US before you decry someone's statements.
> 
> Check out the Food Bank of the Rockies web site:
> 
>  + http://www.foodbankrockies.org/hunger.cfm
> 
> "33 million Americans are struggling to meet their basic food needs. 12 
> million are children, a disproportionate amount (35.7%) as they are only 
> one-forth (25.6%) of the population. (Poverty in the United States: 2001, US 
> Census Bureau)"
> 
> Now, I'm not sure if this is more or less valid than MMs web site. It 
> certainly is in the ball park.  If you believe that someone is exaggerating 
> these facts, then why not check out some of the publically-available census 
> data or other well-known places to get such data?

Ouch. Sorry that this comment got out of hand...I just thought it seemed a
tad distorted, but as Dave pointed out, it's not really relevant how many
folks may be going hungry. I do think it can actually hurt a cause to fling
around figures that may be playing loose with the truth - some folks may
just throw their hands up in the air and say "Bah! There's no hunger AT ALL
in America" and that's not helping anyone...

This is not to say the cause his page was promoting was not a noble one. I
have never gone hungry, but I *do* know what it's like to be poor...I didn't
have what you would call the typical suburbanite childhood. I just blanch
when I see what I think is exploitation of the poor for politically
expedient ends...

Here's a link I Googled up which the original numbers seem to be based on:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html 






Anyway, sorry if I pissed anyone off with my skepticism...enough about Mr.
Moore - back on topic:

I wanted to see Bowling For Columbine particularly for when he goes to the
bank and gets a gun for opening an account...I think his web site mentions
this as well as an article on the movie in one of the more recent Rolling
Stone magazines...

I'm actually pro-gun, and I find giving a *gun* for opening a *bank account*
over the line - wouldn't it be irony if they were held up with a gun they
gave away? 

It seems to be in the "drive-up liquor store" category of ideas - not the
best idea going.

What about it Jeff? Were there other memorable moments like these? Like I
said, I plan on seeing it, but don't worry about any spoilers, at least for
me...it's not like a documentary is going to be a whodunnit. :)

Also, did anyone see Roger and Me or read Stupid White Men?  I may not agree
with his politics, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have valid points to
make or the ability to make me laugh. I always enjoy the dialogue, and
movies like this count. 

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at americanisp.net  
http://users.americanisp.net/~seanleblanc/
Get MLAC at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlac/
Anyone that wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing 
and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office. 
-David Broder