His hometown does not want him in their Hall of Fame. How Come?

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Moore Gets No Love From Old High School


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Jan 15, 9:31 AM (ET)


(AP) Michael Moore, who will receive one of three Freedom of Expression awards, for his documentary...
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DAVISON, Mich. (AP) - Oscar on the shelf or not, Michael Moore is not getting much respect at his old high school. Despite his fame and many honors, the filmmaker has been rejected all four times that he has been nominated for Davison High School's Hall of Fame.

"Would you want him as a role model? Would you want your son or daughter to be like him?" asked Don Hammond, a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee. "I haven't talked to anybody yet who's for him. The word to describe Michael Moore is embarrassing. He embarrasses everybody."

Ryan Eashoo disagrees. The 1997 Davison High graduate has spent 80 hours the last two weeks and $600 of his own money trying to get Moore elected.

"We've been blacklisted," Eashoo, 25, told the Detroit Free Press. "I'm a huge Michael Moore fan. He's a great producer, great filmmaker, always sticking up for minorities. He's kind of an underdog."

So far, Eashoo has 300 signed nominations of Moore. His goal is 2,000 by Feb. 1. The committee meets Feb. 11 to choose its inductees.

Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" attacked President Bush's rationale for the war in Iraq and accused him and his administration of fostering fear for political gain. Moore spent the weeks before the election traveling across the country to urge Americans to vote Bush out of office.

His "Bowling for Columbine" won the Oscar for best documentary in
He's no 'hometown' hero, how come?

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[U2democrat]

where is his hometown? he has a horrible accent
this coming from a southerner who can't stand yankee accents.

 

[Irvine511]

well, he's from Michigan, so he's got an upper-midwest accent (come talk to my relatives from Boston, *then* you'll get some real Yankee accents, u2democrat).

this is absurd. this is politics. the man is an Oscar Winner and a revolutionary in the field of documentary film.

note: those are two politically neutral terms ("oscar winner" and "revolutionary"). you don't have to agree with, or even like, Moore to recognize both his skill and his cultural impact.

what if a Christian filmmaker of equal stature (Oscar winner, say) were denied this?

 

[U2democrat]

amen, irvine

ah michigan. no wonder his accent bugs me. though i think wisconsin accents drive me the craziest. like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[diamond]

i think he eats too many cheeseburgers

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[lauren430]

I think the way he tries to make his point is obnoxious.

 

[verte76]

It's fairly obvious that he'd never win a popularity contest in his home town. But then *I* would never win a popularity contest in Birmingham if I were famous and it was known that I'm a political liberal. Of course my art isn't as political as Moore's is. I wouldn't round up too many votes around here all the same if it were known that I'd attended peace rallies.

 

[U2democrat]

It's like me in my school. A little loudmouthed liberal like me sticks out like a sore thumb, therefore i get heckled alot. My fellow liberals (or closet-democrats as i call them) quietly applaud me.

 

[BVS]

Who cares? It's just like high school to let politics, popularity, or cliques get in the way of recognizing talent. High school sucks.

 

[Irvine511]

It's like me in my school. A little loudmouthed liberal like me sticks out like a sore thumb, therefore i get heckled alot. My fellow liberals (or closet-democrats as i call them) quietly applaud me.

agreed w/BVS -- high school sucks.

and when you make it to DC, you'll make lots and lots of friends u2Democrat. 90% of the city voted for Kerry!

 

[drhark]

Well, they don't have a Hall of Notoriety, but notoriety is a type of fame, so let him in

 

[U2democrat]

i can't wait till i'm in washington. i love that city. do you enjoy living there?

 

[Irvine511]

it's a great city, with some drawbacks. it's been called "a city of southern efficiency with northern charm." that sounds about right. it is traditionally stuffy, lots of lawyers and politicians. it's also traditionally very dangerous. these days, crime is the lowest it's been since 1986 (i think), the population is growing, so are rents. there's lots of diversity, it has a very international flavor, we're seening more in the way of home-grown artists, some great restaurants (and we get outstanding ethnic cuisine from traditionally underrepresented contries: El Salvador, Ethiopia, Vietnam). that said, the city is horribly mismanaged (but getting better), it gets horribly humid in the summer (when the city is crawling with interns), and traffic in the greater DC area is horrendous. it's a bit of a one-industry town -- politics -- but it's diversifying a bit in recent years (i work in television, for example, and *not* news) and will probably continue to do so.

and for some reason, we get really great sunsets that compliment the Georgian architecture in Dupont perfectly -- it can be really very beautiful in the best spots.

that said, DC will never be a world-class city like NYC, London, or Paris, but it's not a bad place to be.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Don't worry, Michael Moore still won the LGF fiskie award - only the biggest Idiotarians ever get them.

 

[U2democrat]

funny cartoon.

yeah irvine i'm only an hour and a half from DC and so i go up there often. i know its dangerous but its no more dangerous than richmond. we have a higher murder rate than manhattan.

 

[indra]

where is his hometown? he has a horrible accent
this coming from a southerner who can't stand yankee accents.

Odd...I don't even hear his accent, but I can understand your dislike. I'm often disappointed when a great looking guy opens his mouth...only to have a southern drawl. Ah, well, there are always speech lessons.

 

[verte76]

Yeah, U2dem, when you're representing Virginia in the Senate in D.C. you'll get alot of support and friends!

 

[Macfistowannabe]

I'll be happy to admit that Michael Moore pushed documentary films deep into the mainstream. For whatever reason, his school is ashamed of him - could be that he's too radical, who knows a better reason. He probably doesn't care. He's won awards given by Hollywood for his work, and I bet he can care less.

 

[verte76]

Yeah, if I had an Oscar, I don't think I'd be too upset about my high school.

 

[diamond]

I'll be happy to admit that Michael Moore pushed documentary films deep into the mainstream. For whatever reason, his school is ashamed of him - could be that he's too radical, who knows a better reason. He probably doesn't care. He's won awards given by Hollywood for his work, and I bet he can care less.

i agree w this.

from what i heard he was a smartalec in hi school 20 yrs ago and has continued to be even a larger smartalec and this is why his hometown is not proud of him.

the
half truths
sabotages
instigations and other tactics that he has employed in his fim-making and character have cost him honor among his own.

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[Rono]

the
half truths
sabotages
instigations and other tactics that he has employed in his fim-making and character have cost him honor among his own.

db9

Sound like president material to me.l

 

[drhark]

I assume you're talking about Bush, Nixon and Clinton

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Didn't I hear he was a high school dropout? I could be wrong, and correct me if I am, but perhaps that would be a valid reason to why he didn't make the school hall of fame.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

So what? I agree, HS sucks. I think it makes them look bad that they won't recognize his accomplishments, whether or not they like him or his politics.

HS "halls of fame" are just as silly as popularity contests when you're in HS. I'm sure he wasn't popular in HS either, but that counts for squat in the "real world".

Btw I have a Yankee accent

 

[Danospano]

We must acknowledge that committees that typically choose Hall of Fame recipients are members of the status quo; something Moore is adamently against. There's your controversy! There's your problem!

On paper, Michael Moore deserves to be in a small town's Hall of Fame...unless every other resident has won the Nobel Prize...I mean what are the odds that's his accomplishments are less stellar than the other inductees?

 

[thacraic]

Odd...I don't even hear his accent, but I can understand your dislike. I'm often disappointed when a great looking guy opens his mouth...only to have a southern drawl. Ah, well, there are always speech lessons.

But wait now... the corny joke is...


What is the diffenernce between southern guys and northern guys....

A northern guy walks up and puts "it" in... a southern guy puts "it" in and walks up.

Who cares what they sound like!!

 

[Klink]

Because we live in an age where reality is so absurd that nobody wants to believe it. We reject more complicated realities and replace them with self-serving ones. At least Moore speakes the truth to the best of his ability. If Moore telling truth is an embarrassment, where does that leave GW? And who did Don Hammond vote for? That could be equally embarrassing.

Myself, I don't care how he gets the point across, as long as its valid and reliable. I encourage those worrying about Moore's manners to worry about his habits less and more about the substance of what he is saying....unless that's not important to you. I also hope these people are at least consistent and as critical of mouthpieces like O'Reilly and co.

Jon

 

[Klink]

P.S. In social sciences and liberal arts, 'radical' means at "the root" of. That's where I'd like to be if I were looking at problems. Calling somebody "too radical" is ad-hominem and ignores the possibility that they may be right. It would be difficult to argue that an educational institution that does not encourage free and original thought can be considered a real educational institution.

Jon

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Michael Moore may be right?

I chose the word "radical" for a description because even quite a few of the lefties think he's a nut.

 

[Klink]

He is certainly forceful, but is he more of a nut than Bush? Cheney? O'Reilly? and all the loud right wing mouthpieces?

Jon