Climb into the time machine, put on the love beads, drop a tab of acid and listen to this groovy 1968 recording of Bob Scheer speaking at a rally for the Oakland 7. [Scheer's speech starts at approx. 20:30 min. into the broadcast and lasts about 10 minutes]. Scheer shared the podium that day with Black Panther co-founder (and future BBQ wizard) Bobby Seale and future Revolutionary Communist Party chairman Bob Avakian.
Kudos to the enterprising Freepers who found the speech and posted a transcription here. (There are a few minor mistakes in the transcript, most notably the misspelling of "Che Guevara" as "Jay Kevara").
Here are a few of the 1968 Scheer's choicest lines
my fear about the next few years in America is that people are going to be picked off and put in jail for long periods of time.Bob Scheer's own biography does not say that he was put in jail for a long period of time. Instead, it says that "His columns appear in newspapers across the country" and that he has "interviewed every president from Richard Nixon on through Bill Clinton". So much for the crushing of dissent.
the war in Vietnam is clearly a war of example, aimed at crushing revolutions. Once the Hanoi Government said that it would negotiate if there was a halt in the bombing, once it gave it’s unconditional commitment to talks, and everyone knows that commitment was made, and the Administration continued it’s bombing, we knew that this was a war to the finish. This is a war for total victory. To establish the military supremacy of the United States Government, and to teach a lesson to people in the world that they cannot make the revolutions of their choice. That the only kind of peace that will be tolerated is the Roman peace.Compare with Scheer's column of Mar. 18, 2003: The Azores gang apparently realizes that if it doesn't start dropping bombs now, a peaceful solution to the crisis might actually be found. In this coming war, Hussein, as loathsome as he is, is not the aggressor -- we are. ... the stark fact is that a barely elected president has made the United States the first colonizer of the 21st century, openly declaring that he plans to reorder the politics, economy and culture of the Muslim world.
And we have to say that dissent cannot be a joke. Dissent cannot be a private matter. And dissent is unimportant in a society unless it forces a society to confront the enormity of its crimes. To consider in a deep sense what it is doing. And if it is true that our society is committed to preventing revolutions in the world, then we have to indicate our solidarity with those people that have resisted.the people he was refering to were the "people", that is to say the dictatorships, of North Vietnam and Cuba.
And we have to act in the spirit of Che Guevara, not because we were raised in the spirit of Che Guevara, but because the times call for the spirit of Che Guevara...People do not become Che Guevara’s out of choice; they become Che Guevara’s when the situation demands that they become Che Guevaras, if they have the personal integrity to meet that demand.Che Guevara was a middle class physician from Argentina, who became a guerilla out of choice, joining the Cuban revolution where he became notorious for his brutal suppression of, uh, dissent.
This 1968 speech provides important context to Scheer's more recent columns. It helps illustrate that Scheer's opposition to the Iraq war, like his opposition to the Vietnam War, was not motivated by pacifism or a concern for human rights and the American way. To borrow a phrase from Glenn Reynolds, "He wasn't a peace activist, he was just on the other side".
Do listen to the recording if you can. It's worth it to hear the hysterical passion in Scheer's voice and for the dog, who barks at just the right moments.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 28, 2003 07:42 AM"Climb into the time machine, put on the love beads, drop a tab of acid and listen to this groovy..."
I figured it out; these young conservatives are all jealous that they missed the 60s. One of the most important times, one of the greatest generations of the century --- and they were mere babes! Too young to grok it. So sad.
Posted by: "Dave" on May 28, 2003 06:55 AMWell, Dave, I was there in 1968 and if I'd read Stefan's blog at the time I'd have cheered. Berkeley/Oakland then was a fine stew of unrestricted cultural flings - except that the lefties, in a mighty wave of urban sprawl, siezed control, inaugurated the political monoculture that still exists, and shouted down all dissent. Some expression of 'freedom'. The music was grand, but the politics sure sucked.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on May 28, 2003 07:28 AMHey I didn't say the 60s were perfect. Of course there was a lot of BS in the 60s. As there is in Bezerkly now. Cant sickens, whether it is form the right or left. And the 60s were a whole lot better than the 50s by my cant-meter.
I find it amusing that so many youngsters appear contemptuous of the 60s.
Posted by: "Dave" (don't forget the quotes) on May 28, 2003 08:01 AMBob Scheer brags about having interviewed six presidents in a row. It is unlikely that he will have a chance to make it seven. How's that for crushing his dissent?
Posted by: Dr. Weevil on May 28, 2003 08:11 AMgreat tom friedman article today - (huge sarcasm here) - that the madness of the middle east causes our metal detectors - and he lumps in the people of iraq, "palestine," and israel as needing to be liberated.
I know i am deathly afraid of walking by synagogues flying israeli flags, israeli restaurants in L.A. and driving through israeli neighborhoods - those madmen are causing us all this grief.
man, friedman must miss the good old days of arafat spouting peace when he could really rail against israel - now he really has to stretch it to make the israelis look like madmen.
how sad.
Posted by: neal on May 28, 2003 09:18 AMStefan,
I liked reading your blog when you were in SF, but I love reading it now that you are here in Seattle. The PI editorial you skewered yesterday is unfortunately not an exception, and I don't really think the Times has a different editorial line. So keep up the good work, and welcome to Seattle.
By the way, I'm sure you noticed the FPM article on Scheer that mentioned your blog. Maybe eventually the LA Times will get the message about Scheer, and maybe sometime even the Seattle PI readers will notice and come to resent the biases you are exposing. Let's hope!
Hollywood and Lynch...
This story should be the litmus test for sanity in the United States. Those who believe this is true should be kept in a soft safe environment and given nothing sharp to play with.
Blanks! Rangers! Seals! Jarheads! Blanks! In a War Zone! Behind enemy lines! Blanks!
Posted by: bjbarron on May 28, 2003 04:54 PMbjbarron:
When Scheer is put away, I hope the nice men in the clean white suits tell them they are doing it "In the spirit of Che Guevara."