Eve introduced Naomi Klein but first praised Anthony Arnove of Haymarket books, the publisher of Naomi’s new book. She described Haymarket books, going on 16 years, as “a gathering of great minds, activists, artists, visionaries, radicals struggling in the same progressive direction. It is exactly the publishing force we need now in a world where the commercial publishing industry is still terrified to push the necessary political boundaries and often acts to block the much needed revolutionary thought”. Then Eve went on to remind the audience of the brilliant array of books Naomi is already written and went on to name her books, as a way to “rewire our brains”. “How often do I hear people say in conversation, That’s the Shock Doctrine at work. I think of ‘branding’, new neo -liberalism, the connection of capitalism and climate change. These books allow masses amounts of people that maybe, maybe they might not be bulldozed by the epic proportions of distortions of a world gone mad”.
Naomi began by telling audience that she was making assumptions about them because they’re there on the first night. “You’re ready to cut to the chase”. She then went on to read from her book and “use the word shock to describe Donald Trump’s ‘election’ and the first months of his ‘Presidency’ and understandably so. His first week in office Trump signed a tsunami of ‘executive’ orders that had people reeling trying to keep up”.
“We have to question Not only Trump but, the values and systems that ineluctably produced him. The same values that have been playing out to destroy safety nets, explosion prison populations, normalize rape culture surging white supremacy, democracy destroying trade deals and rising seas. At the same time, perhaps it’s ok, healthy even, for us to be just a little bit shocked by Trump. Here’s why; the stories that produced him were always contested, were always other stories, one’s that insisted that money is not all that’s valuable. That all of our fates are intertwined with one another and with the health or the rest of the natural world”.
I thought the presentation was well done and Naomi does very important work, could be more hard hitting and not fear depressing people because it’s better than the environment giving it to people that will not care if it makes people depressed. It’s time for unfiltered TRUTH.
We are living in very serious times and I just don’t feel that the public is stepping up enough and is prepared to take on what they will eventually be forced to take on in full force.
There are too many people suffering unimaginably and too many others sitting by complacently adjusting themselves to it instead of stepping up to it.
It’s easy to go to a talk, people need to “put their bodies into” to use the words of former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and what I’ve been telling people for decades; people need to get fit or the vulnerable will continue to suffer.
It is very urgent.