Slackers Unite!

“Monday, September 27, 2004
The ‘Slacker Uprising Tour’ begins
by Michael Moore

We kicked things off last night in Elk Rapids, Michigan, a small village in the North Country. The high school auditorium was packed and we probably could have filled it three times over. The event was put together by a group called the “AllDems” who are from an even smaller village than Elk Rapids. Nobody up here knew there were so many liberal-leaning people! The AllDems were founded by one woman, a while back, who thought she was the only Democrat in the area. It then grew by leaps and bounds once word got out that it was safe to come out of the closet. Word also got out that there was free beer and wine at the meetings. Following the belief that it is better to go to where people are than expect them to come to you, the AllDems are a perfect model of how ANYONE can just go ahead and start their own political organization where they live and make things happen. If you are waiting for someone else to do it (or for the official party representatives to do so) it’s going to be a long wait.

So we had a reception beforehand (which was also a fundraiser for some local candidates), then about 80 republicans showed up to picket the event. I was so happy to see them. Every minute they spend protesting me is another minute I’ve kept them away from getting out the Republican vote. They should have been making phone calls or going door to door — instead, they were standing on some dirt street in the middle of nowhere holding “4-More-Years” signs. It made me feel good.

The Native Americans who live on a reservation in Sault St. Marie, Michigan sent down two representatives to ask if I would show ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ on the reservation. The theater chain which has a monopoly in the Upper Peninsula, GKC Cinemas, declared that F911 would NOT be shown in any of their theaters “while the war was on.” So, it was effectively banned for an entire section of Michigan, which stretches for hundreds of miles. If you wanted to go see my movie, you had to drive to Canada.

I told the reps from the tribe that I would make sure there was a free screening of the film and that I would address those gathered, either live by phone or in person if I could. They were sure that they could get hundreds, if not thousands, of Native Americans to come out and vote this year.

Well, I’m off to Big Rapids, Michigan, which actually isn’t that big but there’s a college there called Ferris State, so I’ll speak there at 2pm and then on to Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant at 8pm…”

Well, that’s interesting. I didn’t know the movie was banned by GKC in the U.P. Besides the 55 miles (one way) I’d have to go to watch a movie, there’s one more reason not to give GKC Theatres my money… and one more reason to donate to the Kerry campaign. Heh.