Last night I clicked a link to watch a youtube video of Chris Hedges giving an interview at the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York. I ended up watching six more clips and finishing the entire hour-long interview. Hedges lands blow after blow to the chin of the financial/corporate class. The timely beatdown is hard to stop listening to, and he touches on everything from banks, to food, to Anthony Robbins. Like I said, I only planned to listen to the first clip, but found myself hitting the 'play next' button till the end of the hour.

I've written here before about the OWS protests (and even sent a bit of music to keep the protestor's spirits up by way of twitter). Br. Trevor has likewise written a good introduction to Hedges and he's definitely one of our favourite topics of discussion around here (there was a killer Facebook thread the other day that I wish I could link to here!). So having Hedges actually at the Wall Street protests seemed too good an opportunity to pass up here in Bits & Pieces.

For those with limited time, I'll break down each segment with a few key themes.

Some themes from Part 1:

The criminal class in the US has seized power.

The protestors are conservatives in the real sense - they call for the rule of law. The real radicals are those from the corporate class who are tearing down all legal impediments to the creation of a "neofeudalistic corporate city".

Hedges: "Im sitting in a park with the only free people in New York City".

Part 2:

Going beyond consumer society and "dismantling empire".

Self-help gurus.

Why resistance is necessary.

We resort to fantasy to cope with the reality around us.

Part 3:

Why he doesn't like the term "revolution".

All correctives in history have come from movements that have never obtained political power (civil rights movement, women's suffrage, labour rights).

The media is not your friend. If you have a TV take it out of our house and leave it for trash collection. Instead listen to the authentic voices around you and read books.

Hedges "remains rooted in print," so he can "think". You cant think in the cacophony of modern culture.

The problem is not the tea party. It's the corporate system and unregulated capital.

Part 4: 

Movements must be leaderless. It'll be more chaotic, but will allow for greater health and longevity.

Globalization is dying, and the corporate system only serves it, not you. It doesn't know how to do anything else.

Access to local food is extremely important. We must build alternative systems that allow us to be self sufficient.

Some of Hedges' must-reads: Democracy Incorporated, by Sheldon Wolin; The Great Transformation, by Karl Polyani; anything from Chomsky; The Lonely Crowd, by David Riesman;  and anything by Wendell Berry and Ralph Nader.

Part 5:

One line we shouldn't cross is violence. It doesn't work.

Militarization of police forces and the crack downs on local protests.

Speaks at length about non-violence and how it drives the government "bat shit".

Airports are a way of conditioning us to accept humiliation and control.

We're locked out of corporate media so we must play around the edges, this is harder but was true for all previous movements.

Part 6:

The moral depravity of the corporate state.

How his theology helps him see that resistance movements are fighting on behalf of life.

We have power through consumption.

West Virginia coal.