Stupid White Men: And other sorry excuses for the state of the nation,
by Michael Moore
Regan Books, HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York. 2001
If you want to dig dirt in U.S. politics, Michael Moore's movies, books, and talks are fertile territory. He works against both the Democrats and Republicans (says that both serve the rich) and supports, more or less, from time to time, if he's in the mood, the U.S. Green Party and Ralph Nader.Stupid White Men is stimulating, funny, full of knocks against the rich and famous. If you enjoy fast putdowns and depth-free assessments, this is for you.
Backed by footnotes mostly from newspaper sources, it's a recycling of the same old scandals. But a quick read. Which is just as well, because Moore does not offer any genuine alternatives -- demos and a flood of e-mails may embarrass a senator, but won't persuade any responsible person with better ideas to seek office.
Here's a quick guide to Stupid, and note that it was published pre-9/11 and therefore pre-Afghanistan, pre-Iraq:
Chapter 1 for a rundown on who is related to whom and where the money comes from for the folk in the G. W. Bush cabal.
Ch. 2 for what George W. did in his first few days in office, and his driving and drinking habits in what passes for younger days.
Ch. 3 for the incredible tax advantages doled out to incredibly rich corporations.
Ch. 4 for a good take on what it means to be black in the United States.
Ch. 5's title is Idiot Nation, and it includes comments on U.S. education, impoverished schools, demonized teachers, and corporate intrusion into classrooms.
Ch. 6 is air pollution, global warming, impotable water, steroid steak, mad cow, brown-outs.
Ch. 7 foretells the End of Men -- cheerful reading for feminists until the bit that says women have had the vote for 80 years and still have not kicked the men out.
Ch. 8 looks at the U.S. in the eyes of the world. Check p.174 for items in which the U.S. is No. 1, including road accidents, firearm deaths, low voter turnout.
Ch. 9 peers at the prison population (doubled to two million in the Clinton years), the war on drugs, pardons and charges dropped for corporations in Clinton and Bush II administrations, executions.
Ch. 10 presents Democrat Bill Clinton record, revealing him as the nation's best-ever Republican president.
Comments by Edna Toth