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News: Protests & Direct Action |
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Fat Cats Eating Ollie Burgers
by Andrew Broman
Email: andrew1bro (at) yahoo.com (unverified!)
Phone: none
Address: none |
Current rating: 1
17 Jan 2004 |
Maybe Ollie North was nursing a scotch on the rocks inside the lounge at the Madison Hilton. The folks managing the hotel's private club told us that North hadn't arrived. But, we weren't buying it.
Gardner and I settled onto some stools at the bar's end to kill some time. I had spent my last buck on a bus ride over here. Gardner was out, too. We ordered a couple waters, and I kept my tape recorder rolling. My aim was to uncover the remaking of Oliver North, from Iran-Contra sleaze bucket to loyal, patriotic defender of the American Way. Goodness gracious. What the hell was happening with America? |
Maybe Ollie North was nursing a scotch on the rocks inside the lounge at the Madison Hilton. The folks managing the hotel's private club told us that North hadn't arrived. But, we weren't buying it.
Gardner and I settled onto some stools at the bar's end to kill some time. I had spent my last buck on a bus ride over here. Gardner was out, too. We ordered a couple waters, and I kept my tape recorder rolling. My aim was to uncover the remaking of Oliver North, from Iran-Contra sleaze bucket to loyal, patriotic defender of the American Way. Goodness gracious. What the hell was happening with America?
Gardner helped open that dusty political theory book tucked deep inside my brain. We have a conservative president and a conservative congress pushing a conservative agenda. "Do you understand the theory of conservatism?" he said. "If you ask most people that question just on sheer a do-you-know basis they can't answer you because they don't know what it means."
"Well, what does it mean?"
"Conservatism has two key words to it: One is tradition, and one is caution. In other words, never let the masses get ahead of themselves. Go back to the basic fundamentals that got you to this point and stick to it. Don't ruin the framework that you're in. Now, if you're in a small framework as an individual, you're not trying to expand. You're not trying to grow. ... What do you have to be afraid of? ... What do you have to be cautious about? Why is caution relevant? What's the logic behind it? You have to give some reason for it ... because it has nothing to do with values. Do you feel me? You understand?"
Yeah, I said. On this mild winter night, a protest against North's coming to Madison was in high gear at the front of the hotel. North would spend the night here and give a speech about free trade to Big Business at the Monona Terrace tomorrow. About 100 people were shouting: "Crack dealers off the street! Ollie North, go home!" The protesters moved like a bicycle chain, parading along a sidewalk in front of the hotel before reaching the end and turning around to head back the other way.
They didn't like that North was receiving the royal treatment, and that the Wisconsin Association of Manufacturers and Commerce was sponsoring his visit, paying him $30,000 to give a speech on free trade. On top of that, corporate Fat Cats would be paying $5,000 a plate to eat lunch with state lawmakers and then wash it down with Ollie's right-wing ramblings.
Seventeen years have passed since the Iran-Contra scandal. Young people have no idea, and the rest vaguely remember. The Young Republicans holding "We Love North" signs across the street from the protest refused to rehash the details.
North's visit begged the question: "Why should the person at home, sitting in front of his TV, watching another re-run of Law & Order, care about coming out here tonight?"
Tom Neale - poet, garbage man, songwriter and former mayoral candidate - took a stab at this question as we meandered back and forth in front of the Hilton. "At least theoretically we are all citizens of this Republic," he said. "And we live in a Republic that's no longer a Republic but a Corporate Dictatorship. And it will only continue to get worse if we sit in front of the television and watch fascist propaganda, like Law & Order.
Life has a funny way of passing you by if you sit on your ass on your Stratolounger and that if you want a better tomorrow, you have to get up and do something about it, and this is as good as place to start as any. Oliver North, in my opinion, represents all that is evil and sinister about the form of governance that now rules America. And if we really believe, in any way shape or form, in Democracy, we need to get up off our ass and come out and let the Powers That Be know that we're not going to put up with it."
Corporate Dictatorship. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Powers That Be. Ollie. I was sensing a theme. On the bus ride to the Capitol Square, I met Harry Richardson, a volunteer for WORT radio. In the course of conversation, I discovered that we were both heading to the same place. I asked him what he thought of this North/WMC connection.
Richardson said: "The WMC has a long history of degrading the environment, of cutting back on labor rights. They have a jobs bill in the legislature now. And basically what the jobs bill is doing is cutting back on environmental regulations so the DNR, the Department of Natural Resources, can't regulate smaller waterways and probably some wetlands. ... Really, it's just about making more money.
WMC is a bad actor in the state and working people know that, and they should be reminded that this is going on everyday. The WMC isn't a friend of them domestically, and they're not a friend of them as far as foreign policy goes, either."
North was invited to help celebrate "Business Day." He would "draw on his knowledge as a former staff member of the National Security Council and assess the United States' role in the world - militarily, economically, and politically," according to the WMC.
Four Ollie supporters had gathered across the street from the protest to declare their love for a drug dealer. But, maybe they knew otherwise. Maybe North wasn't the sad soul that I was told he was. And so I asked one gentleman, standing with a sign praising North's service with the Marines, for the story. I asked him why North deserved to be speaking on behalf of Wisconsin industry.
"You'll have to ask WMC. They're the ones that invited him."
"Well, what's your answer? You got to have an answer. What's your answer?"
"Huh?"
"What's your answer?"
I dogged him for a couple minutes, but he wasn't cracking. I'd be back.
I joined some protesters, who had broken off the bicycle chain still circling in front of the Hilton. "I'm so high on this Patriotism," local activist John Peck was shouting. "I'm a Super Patriot. I'm just high as a kite."
"That was quite the expression of speech right there," I said.
Peck laughed. "Well, you know when I think of Ollie North, I think drugs, guns and patriotism."
"I was talking to my friends over there, on the other side. They had no comment."
"No comment?" Peck said. "They had nothing to say about Ollie North's breakdown on Okinawa, that he was running around with a gun, and they had to put him into the Bethesda Naval Hospital to recover?"
(In 1974, Ollie reportedly had a mental breakdown requiring three weeks treatment in the naval hospital. Ollie was seen running "around naked, babbling incoherently and waving a .45 pistol," according to a 1994 report in Playboy.)
Why is Ollie popular with so many people? How did he get his own "War Stories" segment on Fox News?
"It probably fulfills a lot of people's fantasies of criminal wrongdoing and getting away with it," Peck said. "He was so proud. Went into Congress, had all his metals on, showed them all that he could stand up to the law and break it and get away with it."
"God Bless America," I said.
"That's it. Yeah. Draped in a flag."
"Red, white and blue shit sandwich."
"All-American, E. Coli, Mad Cow Burger," Peck shouted.
"Ollie Burger," I said.
"Ollie Burger! WoooooooooHoooooeeee!"
I wandered north a half-block, where I ran into Gardner. I wanted the passerby's opinion on this thing.
We got to talking, and I said that my reporting was going well, except with the pro-Ollie folks. Gardner wanted to hear from them, too.
So I went back to the guy with no answers. "Excuse me," I said. "I know I was here before. I was talking to this gentleman about this, and he wanted me to ask ... if you could explain the reasons why you think Oliver North should be representing Wisconsin industry."
"I think that question would be better answered by WMC officials," he said.
"Well, no, if you just have the reason, you might as well say it right now. Just get it out there."
Gardner looked at the man's sign. "Why are you thanking him?" he asked. "What are you thanking him for?"
"For service to our country," the Young Republican said.
"And how was that?" I asked.
"My sign says."
"It doesn't say."
"Service to our country."
"OK. And what was that? That's all I'm asking."
He wasn't budging. A new line of questioning was in order. "Do you like crack cocaine?" I asked.
"Never done crack cocaine."
Gardner said, "You must like cocaine because Oliver North deals cocaine. Right?"
"Oliver North does not deal cocaine."
"So, what was that that happened with the Iran-Contra scandal? Could you explain that for us."
"Iran-Contra," he said. "I don't ... No, No. I don't want to comment about it."
 He didn't want to talk about the front group that North established to smuggle drugs out of Costa Rica (which has since banned Ollie from entering the country). CIA and Contra operatives brought the drugs into the west coast, and the profits went to fund North's campaign against the people of Nicaragua.
The Young Republican insisted that North had been exonerated, and I said that was horseshit. He got off on a legal technicality in an appeals court. But, he wasn't exonerated for lying to Congress about the Reagan administration's trading arms to Iran for release of hostages, for destroying documents, among other things.
Gardner and I had had enough. "I told you I couldn't get shit out of them," I said.
We started walking back toward the Hilton. "Do you think Oliver North is still here?" Gardner said.
"I have no idea, to tell you the truth," I said. "I never even bothered to go in there. You know I'm going to go in there and try to find out."
"Can I go with?"
"Sure."
We hit the hotel's private club first. I figured that Ollie was locked inside his room, but this looked like his kind of place. It was all pink, too pink. It was a make-you-gag pink. I wanted out as soon as we walked in. But we couldn't leave, not yet.
"Hi. We're with Madison Independent Media," I said to two women working a desk. "Do you know whether Oliver North has arrived?"
"No, he hasn't," one woman answered.
"Do you know when he's coming?" I said.
"It's invitation only," she said.
"No media?"
"No. I'm afraid not. Sorry."
"Does anyone from the hotel ..."
Gardner jumped in: "So he's not even here?"
"Oh, he'll be here eventually, but he's not at the moment."
"How's he coming?" I said.
"I can't tell," she said.
"Not by helicopter?" I said.
She laughed, slightly. "No."
"Ok."
I turned to a guy sitting on the furniture, leafing through a newspaper. "Are you with the Oliver North thing?" I asked.
"I'm sorry," the woman from the desk broke in. "This is for members only."
"Damn. Members only," I said.
We walked back outside. The people were chanting: "WMC, you don't speak for me."
We decided to try the other side of the hotel. But, like I said earlier, Ollie wasn't in the lounge, at least as far as I could tell. We needed a new gig. Gardner pointed out a large group of people standing near the check-in, and I thought that they might be Ollie's make-up crew from Fox News.
There I met Bob Beck from Dallas. He was on a business trip. He was holding a pamphlet protesting Ollie's visit. But, he wasn't about to say anything for or against Ollie. I shifted gears. "So is Madison a pretty good business city?" I asked.
"I think it can be. Depends on the industry," said another guy standing next to Bob.
"Batteries, apparently," I said.
"Huh?"
"It's home to Rayovac."
"Oh, yeah."
The three of us were standing at the front desk, with Bob having to juggle my inquiries and questions from the check-in lady. "Are you parking at all here today?" the check-in lady asked. "How many vehicles?"
"Of course, Rayovac is leaving," I said.
"Where are they going, China?"
"Yeah. They just announced that today or yesterday or something like that," I said. (Rayovac is moving its headquarters to Atlanta, not China.)
The lady behind the desk said to Bob, "Ok, if I could just get your initials and signature."
"What a slap in the face," I said, referring to Rayovac leaving Madison.
"Probably NAFTA's fault," Bob said.
I asked the lady working the desk: "Do you know anything about Oliver North, when he's coming or anything like that?"
"No," she said.
"That's not chit-chat behind the scenes at the Hilton here?"
"No. I know nothing," she said.
Bob finished checking in, and a hotel worker approached me. "Sir, we don't want you to tape record anything here," he said.
"I was just talking to Bob, here."
"Ok."
"Ok. Thanks," I said.
I returned to my conversation with Bob. But the worker was still hovering. "Sir, we can't have you..."
Fine, I said. Gardner and I left. Boy did the Hilton suck.
The protest was winding down. Gardner and I both happened to live on the east side, and so we started walking that way. I learned that Gardner had "dabbled" in fighting, and that he trained fighters. "Once a fighter, always a fighter," he said. "Know what I mean?"
No, I said. I wasn't a fighter.
The night was warm for the middle of January. The streets were quiet. My mind was reeling. I wanted to know where we, as a country, were headed. I wanted to believe that this North protest achieved something and that we weren't all running on one of those hamster wheels.
Gardner said: "As long as you give the American people an enemy, something to fear, then they'll keep supporting this military industrial complex, which will keep getting these Fat Cats' pockets even fatter and keep these poor and ignorant bastards poor and ignorant.
It's all about capital, man. It's all about a buck. It ain't about war. These people don't want to fight. Fat Cats don't want to fight. They just want to make money. They come up with all these fucking fantasy enemies that don't exist. They don't exist. They just want to play war games. Big toys. They want to buy big toys."
I could feel the circuits in my head overloading. "How can you help from feeling helpless in this whole paradigm you're explaining?" I asked.
"Well, you are helpless. I mean you don't control it. Big Business is calling the shots."
"But give us a reason to resist," I said.
"The reason to protest is because, in the long run, it affects us all," he said. "All this greed comes back to haunt you. You have people running planes up your ass and you don't know why. You have people running planes up your ass because these greedy-ass corporations are fucking people all over the world. And they're not standing for it anymore.
Soon as they get a little education, they realize that you'd never cut a deal like that. You'd never let anybody do that to you. That's why we have unions in this country, so our labor won't be exploited. You know? Their resources are being exploited. You feel me?"
Yeah, and it stung.
"America is not so far from its past," Gardner said. "Its past pretty much lies in its future. If you think about where America came from and the atrocities that it's committed against humanity, then you understand this country very well. I mean this is not a benevolent country. This country was born on slavery, rape, robbery, kidnapping and theft. And murder. That's what it was built on.
Meaning murder to Indians. They kidnapped the African; they enslaved them. They robbed them of their heritage and their culture. They tried to oppress them; they tried to dehumanize them, as they did the Indians.
They tried to reserve humanity for themselves. But instead, they lost it. They lost humanity because they were a bunch of goddamn criminals, a bunch of thieves and cutthroats. ....
It took them God knows how long before they came to the realization that what they did to the Native American was wrong, what they did to the African was wrong. So they were never invested with any type of morality or any type of true conscious or any type of true humanity. America never had a monopoly on that, as you know. Right?
All you got to do is look at its history. So what you see George Bush doing now. What you saw Ronald Reagan do. What you see what Oliver North has done. That ain't nothing new. I don't see why they're protesting him. They worship Columbus."
"Just the characters are different," I said. "The plot's the same."
"That's right. The end justifies the means. They still believe in Machiavelli. They even taught it to the black man. Malcolm X said, 'by any means necessary.' That's Machiavelli. Same statement: The end justifies the means. It's the same thing. You know? He said he learned from Patrick Henry: 'Give me liberty or give me death.' So, he took up the philosophy that (the country's forefathers) took up: Anything that gets in your way, crush it. Destroy it! Annihilate it! Smash it!
They've been practicing systematic genocide in this country for a long time. Still practicing it today ... They didn't have a problem with terrorists when the Ku Klux Klan was running around, lynching black people. They didn't declare global war on terrorists then, when they were killing little girls in churches. So there you see their hypocrisy; there you see their racism."
"What would you say of those victories along the way?" I asked.
"What victories?"
"Would you consider the civil rights movement a victory? I know that it hasn't come through ... Ah ... I know that it hasn't fulfilled the ideals of ..."
"Martin Luther King?"
"What Martin Luther King was getting at."
"So what would you call it then?"
"I'd say it has a ways to go."
"So America still has ..."
"But I do think there were some victories."
"Oh, yeah. There were some, but there was never equal share of power."
"That's where I mean to say it's fallen short. But, there's been improvement."
"Improvement? What do you call improvement? You stick a man in the back with a nine-inch knife and pull it out (part way) and you call that what, progress? What do you call that?"
"Well, that particular incident ..."
"The analogy is this: Until you take the knife all the way out of his back and heal the wounds and apply some medicine to the injuries, then you don't have any progress."
"Is mankind capable of that?"
"It's not about mankind. It's about the President, the Congress and the Senate. And the people of the United States. It ain't about mankind. It's about America."
"Well, it ultimately is about how you treat people."
"If you want to put it on a global basis."
"Is mankind capable of ..."
"Of having a sense of humanity?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you can't be human alone. You need somebody else to confirm your humanity. You can't be a man by yourself. No man is an island onto himself. Of course you have. John Dunn said that. Of course you have the capacity. It's whether you will act on it. You have the ability but do you have the courage to go forward with it?"
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Commentary: Protests & Direct Action |
Re: Fat Cats Eating Ollie Burgers
by hunter s thompson
(No verified email address) |
19 Jan 2004 |
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interesting piece. me likey. |
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