Glenn Beck's Bioneers Obsession

Yeah, I saw Beck only once for like two minutes, but I could tell immediately he was a hot-headed, dogmatic, thoughtless attacker. So I surfed away. I knew I wouldn't get anything from it. That's all I have to say.

this is a really good explanation

The stuff of Glenn Beck, has anyone calculated the carbon footprint of his fabrications? Annie, thank you for creating an easily understood story of how our consumptive system will affect young people in their real lives. This will not be fringe thinking, rather mainstream soon, and you are leading a change by demonstrating how all this really happens. As corporations begin to calculate the costs they have traditionally externalized, Earth will lurch to balance with its homo sapien species and nature.

Glenn Beck is a dangerous idealogue who doesn't care for facts or the research it takes to unearth them. He is totally irresponsible and should be held accountable by the viewing public.

I hope Beck attacks me some day... I'd be in great company!

Here is an 80 sec. video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbjSIq8Hh3U of a Glenn Beck protest in Mt. Vernon WA Sept. 26 where the mayor unilaterally decided to give Glenn Beck keys to the city although opposed by the majority of the city council. Hundreds of anti-Beck and some pro-Beck people turned out. This was filmed by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young of Moving Images for Reclaim the Media.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbjSIq8Hh3U

My family signed ColorOfChange.org's petition to stop Glenn Beck's lies and
distortions, and so far, 62 major companies have stopped their ads
from running on his show. These companies have decided they don't
want to be associated with Beck's race-baiting.

To make sure advertisers keep leaving, and stay away from his
show, add your voice to the cause -

http://colorofchange.org/beck/?id=2175-1086030

I've have seen both the Story of Stuff and it's criticism on YouTube, as well as heard Glenn Beck's take on it. And his argument is more about the factual and ideological content of the video, and less about it's narrator. He also takes aim at its use in schools, when there seem to be a number of factual errors (according to his research).

I can't sit and defend everything he has said, but denouncing him as an ideologue not worth paying attention to is part of the problem in our country these days. No one really wants to debate the issues. We seem to have made up our minds and "joined a certain camp" and anyone who disagrees is an dogmatic idiot. I see this happening from both sides, so I'm not chastising anyone group.

For what it's worth, I agree with the underlying premise of the Story of Stuff... that we as a society have allowed ourselves to be defined by our consumption, and I believe our current economic predicament is a result of our bankrolling our consumption with debt. I agree that we as consumers have a right to know the health effects of the things we buy; that we as a society need to think about the consequences of our consumption; and that corporations have too much power.

But Beck's indictment of the video is based upon his dispute of facts in it and it's use in his belief that it is "indoctrinating youth" in schools biasing them against the capitalist system (according to him). If you have a problem with that indictment then debate his criticism. He'd probably be happy to give you a forum on one of his shows.

The problem is no one will respectfully disagree anymore. We tend to shout past one another, without listening to what we have to say to each other.

   Personally I think the portrayal of Beck as an ideologue is very accurate and I would not give his "facts" to much value, he has demonstrated over and over again that he will lie and smear like the worst of them,
   But as to his problem with showing the "Story of stuff" in schools. That is ridiculous. I am a teacher and there are many reasons why that should be shown. First of all students can and should hear opposing views and be able to make up their own minds. There are lots of problems with capitalism the way we practice it and if people are not educated about these things, the problems will persist. A few factual errors, these can be found in our school's text books! The premise of the short film is such an essential lesson for the kids to be exposed to and the should be taught to be critical viewers of any point of view. They are born into a system that accepts capitalism like a faith so as educators it is our responsibility to open their minds beyond the mall, cell phones, and video games that make up their world.
   These kids are going to need to be successful in a globally linked world with many necessary paradigm shifts in the way people live on this planet. Let's get these kids prepared for that!

In the excellent response to Beck' critique, Bioneers missed an opportunity: It was indeed corporations pushing for flame retardant requirements. The major financial backers of United Firemarshals (the only ones calling for required toxics in often needless situations) are the chemical manufacturers which benefit directly from increased consumption - a point often made by another Bioneers presenter, Arlene Blum of the Green Chemistry Institute.

I figured as much, but it's good that we have people out there so on top of the facts.

I think your response was very thoughtful and cogent, and adding Mike's comment above is a great counterpoint.
Government hasn't done anything on its own since the Trusts were converted to 'non-profit' corporations. When the McCormick dynasty 'donated' land to the city of Chicago for development, they increased the value of their surrounding holdings. It's always like that, and until we get people to do things for themselves instead of just accepting that 'somebody will do something', we will be saddled with unnecessary middlemen, governments, and the accompanying thieves and liars.
All of the problems lie with our consumptive lifestyles, yet the Republicans are the ones sponsoring the FairTax (sales tax to replace income taxes). They don't know what they have, and the Democrats can't figure out the simplest way to call their bluff: pass the bill and raise the rate until our consumption becomes relative to our needs.
We get the government we deserve, so why not tie it (and all environmental controls) to our purchases? It isn't that hard to understand, and it makes taxpayers into anonymous citizens again.

Of course the Fair Tax is anything but fair. Like most things the republicans do, for them the name is often the opposite of reality, like the "Clean Skies Initiative".
  The Fair Tax impacts low income people disproportionately. Imagine if you are barely able to make it on your income and you pay sales tax vs. if you have millions of dollars in the bank.
    I see your point regarding sales tax slowing consumption, and I might support a sales tax increase on luxury items - yachts, luxury cars, second homes, wide screen TVs, now we're talkin'

First, may I suggest a massive nationwide boycott against Glenn Beck and Fox News.

". . . and the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made . . ."

Mr. Beck is running scared that the great neon god might be cast out of "heaven" (American Dream).

Good commentary, thanks. But we tread a fine line here, as I think the more attention we give Beck in a manner that suggests he is part of a legitimate news organization, the more ammunition he and his tiny devoted following have to use against the majority of Americans. Fox News has a viewership of about five million viewers, the same five million ALL THE TIME. That's a tiny fraction of us, and let's keep it that way. I have boycotted the advertisers too, and the sooner we marginalize Fox News and people like Beck for being the REAL fake news (especially with Jon Stewart doing such a good job covering REAL news, even if it is funny), the sooner that five million and their "tea parties" will stop being the top story, and the idiotic, dangerous, and vicious riot police actions in Pittsburgh become the top story again. I keep thinking about Kent State, and what it would have been like if that story had been relegated while Walter Cronkite put a Charles Kuralt human-interest piece at the top of the show. And Charles Kuralt was actually really GOOD, unlike Glenn Back.

Beck has really been getting on my nerves lately. I saw where there was a campaign to get him fired, and I think I'm going to get involved in that. Don't get me wrong, I welcome free speech from both sides of the spectrum, but Beck is very reckless and is intentionally divisive.

The part about computers is confusing. I realize that some computers become so old that they should just be recycled, but I have in the past upgraded just the CPU, the memory, the hard drive, the video or sound card without having to throw away the whole computer. If you know what you are doing or get help you can even switch out the motherboard and keep all the other pieces. Why does the video show a tiny piece that cannot be replaced???

Thank you, Joe, for the color of change link that's giving Glen Beck a dose of his own medicine. Once again folks, if you want to vent your ire properly on witchunter general Glen Beck, hit FOX where it hurts most: in it's pocketbook.

Here's how: http://colorofchange.org/beck/?id=2175-1086030

I, myself, could not believe that this media maggot managed to oust Van Jones. Isn't there some form of litigation that can hold these bastards accountable? Aren't there laws that prohibit so-called news organizations from doing smear campaigns?

When they attack, FIGHT BACK!

It is one thing to take issue with a fact, but quite another thing to attempt to discredit "The Story of Stuff". It is more than naive, in my opinion, to believe that Beck's opposition to "The Story of Stuff" or to Van Jones, for that matter is not the result of a disguised, but very well organized attempt by the owner of Fox News to spread his agenda upon the American people unwittingly.

Let us make no mistake, environmentalists are not anti-anything, rather they are pro-sustainable, pro-life, and pro-living systems. Holding anyone, capitalist, communist, industrialist, the finance sector, any government or individual accountable to a concerted environmental justice movement is a very positive move. Annie Leonard is to be congratulated in putting together a very lucid presentation of the many heretofore hidden linkages between economic, environmental, environmental justice, and consumer habits. If more Americans actually understood economics in terms of attitudes, ecological sustainability, habitat, and environmental justice issues we would have a much more abundant and happier life. Among Beck's many errors is that he consistently suffers from narrow vision, lumping democrat-liberal environmentalist communists in one camp as the enemy, while pitting them against the "right thinking" republican capitalists. That guise serves as a recruitment tool for republicans and nothing more.

To be fair, Glen Beck is not really anti-environment, anti-liberal-democratic, rather is merely pro-elitist, but he would never publicly admit it. Glen Beck would be a joke in a healthy society. However, in one day he infects the consciousness of more Americans than the Bioneers will do in one entire year by a factor of a hundred. Because of effect, the Glenn Back phenomena is worthy of scrutiny.

In a healthy society, if someone is confused, then it is only logical that such a person would seek out unbiased facts, news, or information, rather than to fall for lies that tell them that they are right, better, know better, and superior than others; i.e., those evil duped people called liberal democrats.

Because Bioneers have been looking for solutions for many years, Bioneers can easily agree that if this society were less confused, angry, and paranoid, then people like Limbaugh and Beck would not even exist. Rather, what is really going on, if not institutionalized hatred and confusion on behalf of Beck's handlers? This is more than a diversion, but an object lesson for all of us; i.e., that there exists a psychological need within a sizable amount of the American populace who demand this type of demagoguery.

This is like supply side economics versus demand side economics, where poppycock that is dealt by demagogues is blamed as the causal factors, while the cause really rests at the demand side. In short, if there were no widespread confusion, anger, and paranoia, then no Becks, Limbaughs, or fascist demagogues who give people a method to vent their hatred, anger, and fear at the same time being able to blame others for their problems while praising themselves. Of course, it's an old gimmick, and it works. Fear mongering, shifting the blame, It works, that is, "if" there are a preexisting abundance of confused, clueless, angry, and paranoid people to manipulate.

The Beck phenomenon is actually welcome, as compared to the straight hate, vitriol, and vilification strategy used by Limbaugh. The positive thing about Glenn Beck is that he pretends to appeal to those who are confused, pretending that he is trying to make sense of the political economic situation. It is already a Federal crime to be an environmental terrorist (those who would weaken American industrial profits in favor of environmental justice), but it's not yet a crime to be a liberal-democrat until it is proven that liberal-democrats threaten sacrosanct American industrial profits.

Of course, Beck finds the same devil-enemy under every rock to vilify, e.g., the liberal/communist and un-Christian democrats, but the way he does it is in the name of uncovering a conspiracy, as distinct from the straight hate method of Limbaugh. The reason that this is a welcome change, is that such an approach appeals to logic while recognizing that there is a conspiracy, which can no longer be denied, albeit the real conspirators are the collaboration of the financial sector, insurance industry, corporate greed machine, corporate media, the government, military, and police state apparatus which is determined and organized to maintain their grip on America and the world, hence their control, power, authority, and money. I suggest that it is a dysfunctional dream to expect those people to change. They won't, but people at the bottom who are the majority, can and will change, given the right circumstances. The Bioneers must help provide effective strategies where the effective methods are implemented in service to the creative/evolutionary factors, which sustain and honor life on the planet.
We really are witnessing two opposing forces. One which honors life, living systems, health, and well being, while the other being rapacious, exploitive, and destructive recognizes the former as the enemy. Rather than to admit the obvious fact of its own corruption, the financial sector has commissioned the corporate media to pull the wool over the eyes of the American electorate. Beck is a mere puppet in that puppet show.

In order for the "Glenn Beck situation" to withstand successful analysis, one has to apply demand side economic principles. The problem is not in the dumb me down demagogic corporate media or their owners, but rather that people demand to be lied to. In short, there exist tens of millions of people who would rather be lied to in order to vent their anger and frustration at victims, rather than to demand unbiased information as news. Because these people desire to be lied to and enjoy blame and vitriol, and attempt toward critical thinking is helpful. It is not that Glenn Beck offers tools for genuine critical thinking, but he does masquerade as such.

Perhaps this is a stage of development where a large segment of the American population, such as poor southern white racists, religious supremists, misogynists, and other confused people who have taken hate and fear as their path are finally going through adolescence questioning authority.

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that this questioning is predominately white while occurring during a regime of a black president, but still it is welcome if it is a first step in waking up (as critical thought).

The first reaction most people have when they realize that they have been lied to, manipulated, ripped off, and cheated is anger. However, once the American population sharpens its ability to think for itself (without such pundits as Beck), then they will no longer be capable of being misled by demagogues.

It is easy to analyze and criticize pinhead puppets like Glenn Beck, but much more difficult to propose pro-active solutions. Maybe this is a message also for the Bioneers as well; i.e., that although we have reached many people and made many positive strides, we have been losing the climate protection game and habitat steadily for many years. If we are serious in our passion, it past time to change our strategy, analyze our mistakes, thus no longer repeat them. Since America is a democracy, somehow the electorate has to wake up. What is that somehow?

"Crazy Horse
We hear what you say
One earth, on mother
One does not sell the earth
The people walk upon
We are the land
How do we sell the mother
How do we sell the stars
How do we sell the air

Crazy Horse
We hear what you say
Crazy Horse
We hear what you say
We are the seventh generation
We are the seventh generation"

Extract from "Crazy Horse", by John Trudell, "Lines from a Mined Mind", fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado, 2008. http//:www.fulcrumbooks.com

Also see "The Curious Case of Van Jones: Expressing Your Love"
http://prayerdance.wordpress.com/

You can say this for Glen Beck, he was right about ACORN and VAN JONES and he is correct to point out that government in Washington doesn't work for the common good. He does articulate the legitimate anger and frustration millions of Americans feel when faced by the fact that the country is in a mess of trouble. It's always easier to kill or discredit the messenger than admit there is a kernal of truth to his madness.

Hi Little Rock Girl,

Yes, I agree that there is a kernel of truth in what Beck says, and that people are confused and angry. Therefore, this is a good start in any forum to begin dialogue.

Blaming Van Jones or Leonard is not constructive if you are interested in solving the energy crisis, addiction/dependence upon foreign oil, environmental pollution problems, and their economic and social justice connections. If it were not obvious what Beck is doing, then a course in critical thinking would be helpful.

To my mind, Beck, in order to be taken seriously, has to abandon partisan politics as usual, and make some constructive suggestions. First and foremost he has to analyze cause and effect, scientifically, as to how did the United States become the world's number one polluter per capita and number one consumer of "natural resources" (forgive me), if it were not for errant policies allowed for by a hypnotized public (which were not caused by Democrat-liberals, Van Jones or Annie Leonard). This is not to blame the United States, but rather to bring forward necessary facts that the electorate must recognize. Instead of covering up these facts, a good media should inform the public. That should be the number one consideration in issuing FCC broadcast licenses -- "in the public good". Like if your armpits were smelly, a good friend would let you know.

After careful analysis, we have to consider Beck as a messenger for vitriol, confusion, and demagoguery unless he recognizes the causes and suggests real solutions, rather than to shift the blame on the "other party" in order to bolster his own party's supremacy. This is a simpleton's approach, and also a diversion away from the causal factors.

Habitat destruction is a serious problem considering that we all need it. It has to be recognized and its causes identified, and only then can the people in any democracy act functionally and informed on it, electorally. Without habitat, there is no life. End of story. I urge everyone to take this fact to heart.

If you ask me, the two party system is too easy bought off and manipulated, but the bought off media keeps on propagating the illusion that there is no alternative. Again, the real problem is that too many people get their "news" from such organizations, which have ulterior and exploitive agendas. In that sense, Beck is right that there is a conspiracy, but he is pointing the finger away from himself and his organization.

I suggest that you go to the Bioneers Convention this month. You will get a much deeper and honest analysis and many better suggestions, from people who do more than to pretend to care.

See you at the Bioneers!

Chris

Though everyone might be interested in this Yahoo News article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts935