By Brian Carnell

Wednesday, March 20, 2002

A reader sent a link to The Arcata Eye, a small newspaper serving Arcata, California, which recently featured a short article about Michael Moore's visit to Humboldt State University.

Apparently Arcata is in the process of approving a zoning system which will limit the number of chain restaurants -- a change of which the Arcata Eye seems to approve. Oddly enough, though, Moore is not that enamored of small businesses competing against large corporations.

After waiting for Moore to appear at his hotel and apparently badgering Moore into an interview, Moore had this to say about chain vs. independent restaurants,

If the small businesses suck they'll be driven out of business. If they got a good restaurant, people will go there and eat. You know in my town the small businesses that everyone wanted to protect? They were the people that supported all the right-wing groups. They were the Republicans in the town, they were in the Kiwanas, the Chamber of Commerce - people that kept the town all white. The small hardware salesman, the small clothing store salespersons, Jesse the Barber who signed his name three different times on three different petitions to recall me from the school board. Fuck all these small businesses - fuck 'em all! Bring in the chains. The small businesspeople are the rednecks that run the town and suppress the people. Fuck 'em all. That's how I feel.

Which brings me to a point I've been meaning to make. Much has been made about Moore's publisher, Regan Books, having cold feet over releasing Stupid White Men after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The controversy over that is at least part of the reason the book is doing so well.

What I never understand is why people who rail against corporations as consistently as Moore does then turn to the very same corporations whenever they write a book. Regan Books is an imprint of Harper Collins. Harper Collins, in turn, is part of -- of all things -- Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

Here Leftists and liberals run around complaining about the concentration of media, but then they run straight to these huge media conglomerates, presumably because that's where the money is. Someone such as Moore easily has the star power to go with an independent publisher or even start his own publishing firm.

It is interesting that the Left always accuses the Right of putting profits before people, but when it comes time to actually put that sort of view into effect in their own professional lives, they chicken out and go with the safest, most lucrative option available.

Source:

Moore confounds anti-corporate conventional wisdom. Cory Ratzlaff, March 12, 2002.

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