Danny Glover shares views on activism

News & Record ^ | 9/04/03 | MATT WILLIAMS

[Libloather]

Glover shares views on activism
9-4-03
By MATT WILLIAMS, Staff Writer
News & Record

GREENSBORO -- When Bush administration supporters denounced Hollywood actors who opposed a war in Iraq, Danny Glover didn't understand why his profession had anything to do with speaking his mind.

"The fact is when you speak truth, you're always going to be attacked, whether you're an actor or whether you're a plumber," Glover said. "Without dissent, it's not really a democracy."

Glover took that message to Bennett College on Wednesday, invoking the words of Martin Luther King Jr. to urge students to make activism part of their service to the community. The 56-year-old actor and activist spoke as part of college President Johnetta Cole's "The President Presents" lecture series.

During his speech, the star of the popular "Lethal Weapon" movie series read extensively from King's writings on pacifism and nonviolence. Glover said many who were born after King's death may not see the connection between his opposition to war and recent events.

Glover was a vocal member of many anti-war protests earlier this year, eliciting boycotts from conservative groups against his movies and MCI, which employs Glover as a spokesman. In an interview before the speech, Glover argued his position as an actor doesn't preclude speaking out on political issues.

"I consider myself a citizen first," he said, likening his situation to that faced by King when he opposed the Vietnam War. "Because he was a civil rights leader, he wasn't supposed to say anything about the war. He was out of line, and he was attacked for that."

Months later, Glover said he was just as opposed to war as he was before fighting began. Recent events have validated opponents' fears about government deception and the war's human cost, he said. As long as soldiers are in the position of being killed, people should ask questions, he said.

"Obviously it's not over ... we're still going to talk about the war."

Glover was a popular draw for the lecture series, which last year brought Coretta Scott King to speak. Cole said she had a sense that the actor's appearance would be well-received by students.

"I knew if Danny Glover accepted my invitation and came to this college, my young Bennett sisters would declare that their president is the bomb," Cole said.

Cole and Glover serve together on the board of the TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group for African issues. Glover was involved in the civil rights movement as a student at San Francisco State University and has spoken out against apartheid and sanctions against Cuba. He also is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and has focused his efforts on helping children with AIDS in Africa.

[Libloather]

Glover said many who were born after King's death may not see the connection between his opposition to war and recent events.

All depends on what the public schools are teaching...

[angkor]

This news article is completely incoherent.

[God luvs America]

"The fact is when you speak truth, you're always going to be attacked, whether you're an actor or whether you're a plumber," Glover said "Without dissent, it's not really a democracy."

And when all else fails make racist comments against your own kind when they have dissenting views from yours.

[Libloather]

This news article is completely incoherent.

Sure. But when was the last time I saw YOU in a hit movie?

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"During his speech, the star of the popular "Lethal Weapon" movie series..."

How many decades ago?

[Astronaut]

Another high school graduate talking out his ass about things he knows nothing about. Why do celebrities assume anyone cares what they babble about between rounds of booze or coke?

Danny, shut your pie hole and go back to the unemployment office.

[RJL]

Glover called President Bush a racist.

That is a lie and he knows it.

[lilylangtree]

Glover is another H'weirdo that just doesn't get it. He gets paid to speak as a celebrity plus he gets press coverage, that's denied the average Joe and Jane Does, just because of his celebrity status. So when he speaks his speech is advertised on a wide basis. The only outlet to the average person is a unified voice to shut turkeys like him off when he decides to express his disloyal viewpoint. When the money isn't rolling into his coffers because no one wants to watch his movies, he might just get the message but I won't hold my breath. Because he'll fall back on the same tired role of playing a victim. He'll be announcing to all asunder that Bush supporters are denying him his 1st amendment rights. It will never occur to jerks and jerkettes like him that the average person is exercising his/her 1st amendment rights by tuning him off and out.

[T Lady]

"...He gets paid to speak as a celebrity..."

Correction. He GOT paid. MCI just recently dumped him as their spokesperson. Guess they got tired of seeing all of the minus symbols in the account ledgers, huh?

-Regards, T.

[krb]

Danny lost me when his character (obviously at his insistence) in Lethal Weapon 3 lashed out at Mel's character complaining about no one coming to help his people when they were enslaved.

My heart suddenly fell for the hundreds of thousands of northerners who fell in the civil war. It really sucks how some folks seem to forget the role of a lot of white folks in the termination of slavery in our young country.

[william clark]

"The fact is when you speak truth, you're always going to be attacked, whether you're an actor or whether you're a plumber..."

The difference is that a plumber knows his s**t

[hellinahandcart]

When Bush administration supporters denounced Hollywood actors who opposed a war in Iraq

Oh yeah, we were all Bush administration supporters. (eye roll)

Not true even on this forum, let alone in real life. There are a lot of people out there, even some Democrats, who supported the war and who don't like elite commie trash like Danny Glover.