[Promotum] Farenheit 911

[Ed Hintz]

Thanks to Brooke for this forward. Reminds me of a quote I can't find. It
said something to the effect of "the best way to control a population is
to limit discussion to specific topics, and allow very lively discussion
within those limits". If somebody knows the actual quote drop me a line.

2/6/2002

Fahrenheit 911

Dear Friends,

I'd like to tell you a little tale, a personal story of what it is like
to fear losing your freedom of speech, how it feels to be drowned in a
wave of patriotism which threatens with all its might to suffocate your
ideas and stifle dissent.

For nearly four months, from September through December of last year, I
did not know whether the book I had just written for HarperCollins --
STUPID WHITE MEN -- was ever going to be read by the American public.
HarperCollins, one of the major publishing houses in the world, was
trying to decide whether the words I had written were now "too offensive"
to a nation which had suddenly fallen in love with George W. Bush.

By the morning of September 11, 2001, the HarperCollins printing presses,
located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, had already printed 50,000 copies of
an announced 100,000-copy first printing of my new book -- and then the
world, for all of us, came to a standstill.

The next day, I spoke to the people at HarperCollins, and I was told that
they were going to put most of their books on hold for the moment. I
thought that was a good idea. "We'll take this a day at time," my editor
told me, just as the siren in his building went off, the first of many
bomb scares that emptied the buildings of Manhattan that week.

I was in no mood to think about a "book" when all that was on my mind was
how my wife and I were going to get across this country and back home to
be with our daughter in New York. I had no desire to go on a book tour,
and the only tour that concerned me at the moment was the rapid one I was
on, in a rented minivan, for the 3,000-mile trek home.

Once back in New York City, the days turned into weeks, and I began to
make calls to the publisher to inquire when my book would be coming out.
The scheduled release date of October 2 had long since passed.

It was then that I was informed that there were "problems" with Stupid
White Men.

I was told that, unless I re-wrote large sections of my book (sections
mostly dealing with my harsh but funny criticisms of the W.), plus change
the title and the cover -- and then, after all that, reimburse the
publisher of up to $100,000 out of my pocket (!) so this new version
could be reprinted -- then the powers-that-be might actually destroy the
ENTIRE run of 50,000 copies that had already been printed! My book would
be sent to the shredder and "pulped." I would then have to wait for up to
a year before I could take it to another publisher. In other words, the
book would be toast.

I refused to rewrite a single word of my book. I was proud of everything
I had written. In my opinion, Stupid White Men seemed even more relevant
than before. Enron, Kenneth Lay, Arthur Andersen -- it's all there in my
book -- and I wrote those passages last spring! What if my book had been
released when it was supposed to, on October 2nd? The stuff I had dug up
on these guys -- I would have been talking about them all over the
airwaves long before they skipped outta Dodge with the cookie jar.

There's lots more in the book that I wanted out in the public arena
months ago: An open letter to Yassir Arafat on how to really win and stop
the bloodshed; a report on a chance run-in I had with Jeb Bush two weeks
before the 2000 election on a deserted street in Tallahassee; my
exploration of the three times (that I know of) that George W. Bush has
been arrested and charged with crimes by the police -- it's all there,
and I saw no need to change a single thing.

But I was told that "the political climate has changed in America" and
that my attacks on Bush and his cronies would not be met with open arms
by a Bush-adoring public.

I then had a number of meetings, on the phone and in person, with
executives, lawyers, and editors at the publishing house. They asked for
some sort of compromise, for me to at least "tone down" my dissent.
Again, I responded that would not be possible, and that I could not, in
good conscience, alter anything. I did this knowing full well it would
result in the death of my book.

Word began to leak out about Stupid White Men being "banned." Articles
appeared in Publishers Weekly and Salon.com. I was trying to remain quiet
about whole affair, but once a number of reporters found out (not from
me), and a group of librarians organized a letter-writing campaign,
HarperCollins, after weighing all their options (and the potential
reaction to those options), decided finally to release the book AS IS --
unchanged and uncensored, on Tuesday, February 19th.

They did the right thing, and I appreciated and admired their courage to
do so when I know this was not an easy decision for them to make,
considering the pressure they must have been under.

I have avoided writing this letter to all of you for weeks. In part, I
did not want to say or do anything that might jeopardize the good working
relationship I have now with the publisher. I have put nearly a year of
my life into this book, and the thought of it not being available because
of what you saw in this email just didn't seem worth it.

HarperCollins is doing their best to get the book out there -- but now,
even they have run into resistance, with some bookstores telling them
that they are not interested in having me come to their stores on the
book tour "due to the controversial nature of the book...and the change
in the country's political climate." Can somebody tell me why weather
patterns have suddenly become everyone's primal political fear?

Lately, I started getting a lot of mail from around the country (and the
world) as this story spread. People wanted to know the truth about what
had happened. Some had seen the issue of Entertainment Weekly a few weeks
ago which had named me their Winner of the Week for succeeding in getting
my book released. I decided it was best to let you know from me
personally what has transpired -- and that the outcome was a good one, a
rare victory these days for our side, and for the cause of free
expression.

For me, it really came down to the fact that, as an American living
during a time where our own government (and a mostly compliant press)
seeks to silence discussion and "manage" the truth, it was important to
tell you what I have seen, what I have been through, and to wonder what
would have happened if I had not been a writer who was known and had an
audience and an email list that on a good day reaches a few million
people. I don't like this feeling, and I would greatly appreciate it if
this country would come to its senses and start acting like America again
(or least our IDEA of America!).

My book comes out on February 19th. I'll be hitting a couple dozen cities
on the book tour, and I'll probably add a few more (if you'd like me to
come to your town, let me or HarperCollins know!). 100% of whatever
royalties I make on each book sold in every city on the tour will be
donated to a local social-change group.

<A HREF="http://www.michaelmoore.com/sidebars1/Mike_Tour_0205.html">Book
Tour</A>

Also -- apologies in advance to you for having to look at my mug all over
the tube during the upcoming weeks (you'll be able to avoid me by
checking the press schedule on my website, beginning on the night of Feb.
19th with the much-anticipated mano y mano smackdown with Bill "Rile Me
Up!" O'Reilly on the Fox Nuisance Channel).

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be also adding new items to my site
(www.michaelmoore.com) such as "Vote for Your Favorite Stupid White Man!"
and "Take the Stupid White Man Quiz!" You'll also be able to read in the
coming weeks sample passages from the book, plus two new online chapters
I have written for it (post 9-11).

Oh, and if you want to get the book right now (it's full title is STUPID
WHITE MEN...And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!) you can
order it from the website for independent bookstores, BookSense, or at
the sites with the deep discounts: Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com.  See
below for links. And, on the 19th of this month, it will be at your local
independent or chain bookseller, right next to the wrestlers' tomes and
Pat Buchanan's Book o' Laughs.

Needless to say, the publishing industry, much of which believes that now
is NOT the right time to be selling a book of political humor like this,
will be watching to see just how well people respond to an author who
thinks it's funny to suggest that falling off couches usually has
something to do with a beverage, and not a solid salted food product.

Yours,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com