Chris Hedges on the Occupy Movement

2/8/2013

5 Comments

 
Cut to the good part at 4:12" in when Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges begins discussing how POWER is being arrested from the people in our democracy. He talks about the power of civil disobedience and what happened in the Occupy movement.

Rosa Parks 50 years ago refused to sit in the back of the bus and it took 5 years before real change was evident nationally. That was her political speech act.

It's your job to do some background work on who Hedges is, how influential he is and what he has been up to lately relative to the Obama adminsitration.

I am curious what you each know about Occupy and what you know about the points Hedges makes? How have you enacted your civil liberties to speak about political issues that matter to you in public (whether oral or written or artistic)? How have you to date enacted the power of your voice or influence. Give us an example no matter how small in the comment section.

This is optional but it's essential that we begin to share with one another as a group. 75 minutes in class is not enough.

An upcoming task that each of you will be responsible for is creating your own PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORK (PLN) to develop your voice in an area that matters to you. That area may be related to your final political speech act but if you have no idea yet what area that might be, just start looking into an area that matters (i.e., fashion, literature, politics, health, finance, saving money, domestic abuse, etc.)
Here are two great resources for learning how to create a PLN. Be sure to Google the term on Wikipedia and get an overview of what a Personal Learning Network is:

SPECIAL REQUEST: I am looking for a blog facilitator or two from the course to post once a week on things related to our discussion and to coordinate this with me each week. This is perfect for someone who is not a technophobe but you do not need to KNOW IT ALL to do it. This is great for a self-starter
5 Comments
Tabssum Adeel
2/8/2013 07:33:59 am

What is the occupy movement? The occupy movement is driven by individuals like you coming together to create real change from bottom up. A Chris hedge is speaking behalf for everybody. He lights the issue on such as unemployment health insurance. Sometime one people can make difference. He gave example of Rosa Park. She is first stood for her rights.

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Anthony B. Taveras
2/9/2013 07:08:49 am

Not many people understand what the occupy movement is and how it works. It is similar to when a small group of people get together and open up a company and it expands and grows and makes an impact. Chris Hedge speaks in regards to everyone, especially those who are unemployed, that we can all make a difference in life even if it is just one person alone. He focuses on one individual who made a big impact who stood for her rights, Rosa Parks. One person can make an impact in the world if they can stand up and take action.

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SM
2/10/2013 04:13:25 am

I think Chris Hedges hits the nail on the head within the first few seconds of his speech. The Government is a slow, outdated machine which is too bogged down to be able to make the swift turns necessary to keep up with progress. It has allowed corporations and money to capture the state and use political powers for the advantages of conglomerates. Although he gave Rosa Parks as an example, it is very hard for me to believe that today that it is still possible for a single person to make the impact she made 58 years ago. An effort such as the Occupy Movement however has the strength to make changes. What is also important to note is the fact that this isn’t a local movement – it indicates that the problems we face here are in fact very similar to the issues people face in other points of the world.

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Aleksandra Madej
2/10/2013 11:30:37 am

Chris Hedges looks familiar to me but I honestly never paid attention what he is delivering. Haven't know before that he sued members of US government for the vaguenessof critical terms in the NDAA. I agree that TV and newspapers are full of junk! We read and watch what THEY( rich companiers and corporations full of greed for money and power) want us know and belive in. Some people are not even aware how easily media control and wash their brains.

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Silviya Lukanova
2/18/2013 03:02:04 am

I probably learned the most about OWS from a Baruch professor and in a way that made it easy to understand and relate to… In her words OWS is both a space and a movement - radical space of possibilities and a movement of criticism of the economic and political systems in place causing harm (to the 99%). It is a relief by expressing this critique that brings possibility and with that hope and strength.

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