It’s hard for many veteran leftists to uncurl their lips on hearing the phrase “Weather Underground.” A home-grown terrorist movement with pretensions to Third World revolution, it grabbed the headlines with bombings punctuating ’70s history and stigmatized the entire range of left activism until its leaders surrendered in disarray. Even for the Weather-weary, though, the new film The Weather Underground… return to article
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Reader Comments (4)Page 1 of 1 pagesWhere are the weathermen now that we really, really need them. Someone, somewhere has got to try to stop the maddness coming out of Washington. The world is turning on this country, and rightly so! I wanna to see this film!!!
Posted by george de Merle on Jul 2, 2003 at 5:28 PM I do believe the Kerner Commission called Chicago “a police riot”. Was Bill Ayers with the police?
Posted by Clinton E. Hebard on Jul 3, 2003 at 9:53 AM The film review does not mention Angola or Chile. Given the behavior of Gulf Oil in Angola and that of ITT in Chile, it is not clear why the Weather Undergroundís actions against the two corporationsí properties constitute terrorism rather than counter-terrorism. Otherwise, the Boston Tea Party or the actions of the French Resistance could be considered terrorism.
Posted by Eric on Jul 5, 2003 at 12:11 PM i don’t agree with their ideology or tactics but were they wrong about the nature of the US government and their felt need to try to put a stop to genocide. look at our government today. the mass murder continues but rudd and dorn and their associates are hung out on a rack for persecution and derision.
as an anti war activist i am always amazed at how the “right wing” uses their logic to stifle our resistance. The movement has internalized it and now we get called violent, sociopaths for stepping off the curb, violating a permit, taking the streets or walking out of class.
I grew up watching civil rights films. my parents were activists. I am black. I sat at home watching the footage of black people getting mauled by dogs, spit on, beaten up by racists, hung from trees and assasinated. One thing I decided was that my humanity was a given and not something I had to prove by allowing others to take it away from me. I knew then as a kid that I would never let anyone treat me in that way. the lives of black people are not so cheap that they must be sacraficed to show others our virtue.
I say all that to say as I watched the movie I was striken, not with remorse or shame but with a sense of awe at the determination and commitment of those kids. Changing the world is a difficult thing. everywhere you turn there is someone to tell you how impossible it is and how wrong you are. the police will beat you up and the feds will take you. but you continue because generations before you did the same.
I exist because slaves rebelled. Because students broke rules. Because the panthers stood up to the murdering cops. Because a generation of white kids gave up their priveledge and put it all on the line. There’s more but it is exhaustive. The point is not so much that the weather underground sort of gave up on organizing the people and decided to go it alone. The point is they tried. And the fact that every generation is full of people whose hearts are so heavy with the sufferings of others that they are willing to try to change things inspires me. The weather underground was wrong. people are not full of shit, sell outs no matter what color or class they are from. people have heart and courage. And so did they.
best,
ras
Posted by ras on Sep 1, 2003 at 5:15 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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