FAHRENHEIT 911 - THE HOT TICKET

by RHEA L COMBS
Fuck Bush. Motherfuck Bush. That’s how I felt after coming home from watching Fahrenheit 9/11, the new documentary by Michael Moore. I had been looking forward to seeing the film for quite some time and fortunately got a ticket opening night.

Knowing the controversy behind the film, its director, and because this is the first documentary to ever win the coveted Palme d’Or award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France, I was anxious to see the movie. Looking around at the roughly 350 people in the sold out theater, I was among a bunch of baby boomers and activists of yesteryear. It was a great feeling. Before the film I overheard folks reminiscing about seeing Jimi Hendrix perform, their frustrations with the current government, and the importance of voting. One silver fox recalled taking her college graduation pictures donning an afro and with no underwear — much to the chagrin of her parents, of course — in solidarity with the women’s rights movement. For this woman, and I imagine for many others coming to watch this film, being active in the government’s political process is what they know.
For them, supporting Fahrenheit 9/11 was a continuation of their efforts to promote peace and protest the vained war in Iraq. Unfortunately, people in my age range (18-34) were present to a much lesser degree, which seems to also reflect the voting trends. The youth, generally speaking, are apathetic and apolitical. Meanwhile the elders recall Vietnam, rally for peace, and root for a better tomorrow. Unfortunately that might not be enough to get Bush’s ass out of the Oval office.
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AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL COSBY
BY MTUME YA SALAAM

July 8, 2004

Dr. Cosby,

I am intimately familiar with the realities of growing up in an impoverished black community (the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, LA) and I was deeply disturbed by your comments at the Brown v. Board of Education gala and by your subsequent interview with the Washington Post. My problem with your comments fall into two general categories: 1) factual inaccuracies, and 2) a stereotypical and broad-brushed attitude towards what is a complex and multi-faceted problem.

As a Doctor of Education, I am sure you know that the dropout rate among black high school students, while too high, is approximately 13%, not 50%, as you stated. Also, your comments implied that both the black dropout rate and the rate of teenage pregnancy among blacks are increasing when in fact the black dropout rate has been trending downwards for more than two decades and the black teenage pregnancy rate is 30% lower than it was a decade ago. You also criticized poor blacks for buying their children “$500 sneakers.” As far as I know, no such sneakers are popular or even publicly available. You criticized poor blacks for naming their children “names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all that crap.” I assume that you realize ‘Shaniqua’ and ‘Taliqua’ are invented names; Mohammed, by contrast, is the Islamic equivalent of a Biblical name and is quite common among people of various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, not unlike the name ‘William.’

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