WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MICHAEL MOORE FAN

In everyday life, you meet people who love Michael Moore. In everyday life, you also meet people who don’t like him or don’t agree with him. And you also meet people who like Black Eyed Peas or who don’t, who agree with Bill Maher or who don’t, who have their likes, their dislikes, their tastes, their opinions. You kid yourself you live in a civilized world.

Then you tell yourself, why not discuss one of your favourite stars on some friendly board where you can share your views with other fans ? And this is when you find, in disbelief, that the nightmare has already begun. For this star is Michael Moore. And nothing about Michael Moore seems to be ordinary nor innocent. Those who love him will never call themselves “fans”. Those who don’t will never admit it’s a matter of taste or opinion. For Michael Moore has asked the fateful question : who are the invaders ? You know…

The Invaders - Alien beings from a dying planet
Their destination - The Earth
Their purpose - To make it their world

The way to recognize them : they can’t wink their eyes. As could be noticed in “The Big One”. I thought everybody knew and I laughed then. But this is not so, for real life’s invaders know better : they don’t (well, not necessarily anyway) murder those who know too much, they certainly don’t fall in love with David Vincent if they’re females and, above all, they don’t flee when confronted to him. No. Real life’s invaders tell you DAVID VINCENT is the invader. HE’s the one who’s rich. HE’s the one who lies. HE’s the threat.

And you believe them. For they have all the mouths. They’re the only ones you can hear. They’re more simplistic, more numerous, more repetitive, and especially, louder. Also, they’re more archaic. They tell you about fear. Why should you hear someone who tells you about freedom ? It’s difficult to be free. Even more difficult to figure yourself as a slave. A slave who could be free and doesn’t want to.

That’s why there are so many anti-Moore sites on the Net, and why they all tell you the same thing, ad nauseam. And nobody even questions the crazy idea of an anti-star site. Ever heard of an anti-Julia Roberts site ? An anti-Michael Jackson site ? Although there’d be good reasons for that ! jacksonwatch.com, this I could understand… Even more disturbing : were there anti-Dylan slander campaigns way back in the old Vietnam days ? Well, the times they are a’ changing. And not for the better I tell you.

The fact there are so little pro-Moore sites is just as striking. You could say the phenomenon is similar to Bush's administration choosing to smear Kerry and even Mc Cain, while Kerry chooses to "remain positive". The anti-Moore people's goal is to attack the messenger, since they cannot attack the message, and the pro-Moore people's goal is to get Moore's message across, thus not caring too much for the messenger.

But it goes further. It has to do with the negative forces having taken over. Lies, cynicism and greed rule your life and, although you don’t like them, all you dare is say : “No lies ! No cynicism ! No greed !” Who dares you to positive thinking ? Who tells you to stand for what you really think ? Who himself stands for selflessness, generosity, dedication, courage ?

Who stands for love ?

Michael Moore.

Ever noticed nobody loved George Bush ? His voters follow him out of fear of a terrorist attack, out of respect for the presidential Father, out of unwillingness to pay for the “lazy” poor, out of lust for powerful oil-fuel cars and consumerism. But out of LOVE ? Who loves George Bush, indeed ?

I feel the need to bear witness that Michael Moore inspires love. It’s not just that I share his views and agree with his message. It’s not just that I think he’s a talented filmmaker and that his movies are original. It’s that Michael Moore is a symbol, a symbol as powerful and as meaningful as were the Beatles, and just as able to promote and polarize all the positive energies that before him were so dormant and pointless.

Yes, the nightmare has already begun. Then Mike came along and the fight begun, too.