Michael Sheen is so disturbed by the rise of far-right populism he is quitting acting to become an activist, and says he does not know if his relationship with Sarah Silverman will survive.
Sheen will leave Silverman, his partner of two years, and family in Los Angeles and move to Port Talbot in south Wales to combat the wave of “demagogic, fascistic” politics he believes has engulfed the West in the past decade.
He told The Times: “In the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the Thirties, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped.
“It’s not going to look like this in 10 years’ time. Everything has shifted. The dice are being rolled again.”
His steel-making hometown, population 37,000, voted for Brexit and the Welsh actor says his frustration at this has formed, in part, the impetus for his decision to begin his activism back where he began. His fears were exacerbated by the ascension of Donald Trump and the tensions stoked by his divisive rhetoric.
You know I would like to think that the hours that I put in on this blog have some meaning, and that I am doing my part to fight the good fight and push back on the fascism that we see invading our country. (And let's not bother lying to ourselves to say that fascism is not coming, because we are already seeing it in North Carolina.)
But truth be told I am not sacrificing nearly as much as I should, and neither are most of us.
Make no mistake, despite interference by James Comey, and hacking by the Russians, American voters are ultimately responsible for casting the votes that helped Trump win the electoral college.
Even if we assume that some voting machines were hacked the election still has to be close enough for that to matter.
So We the People are ultimately responsible for helping to usher in fascism and for defying the will of the Founding Fathers.
To rectify that, to save what is left of our republic, we need to rise up and fight.
No, I am not suggesting that we start shooting each other in the streets, or plan assaults against Washington, I am suggesting that we fight back with the same tools used to cripple us in the first place.
If fake news and Right Wing propaganda got us here in 2016 then real information and Left Wing fact checkers can steer us back to where we need to be in 2017.
For starters if you are a Facebook fan of this blog then promote it to all of your friends and family every single day. Or if you are more comfortable with Twitter than by all means use that.
And no not just this blog, but every blog and news site that is working to get information out to the masses.
If we want to make real change, if we want to rescue this nation that we love so much, we must be ready to irritate, frustrate, and ultimately educate the people we love until they see the reality of what is happening in the world.
We should present a deafening roar of facts and figures, a cacophony containing compilations of vital statistics, a constant drumbeat that shatters any illusion that this is business as usual and awakens people to the danger we face as a nation.
I know we cannot all just up and quit our jobs to make activism a full time occupation, but I also know we can always do more.
And truly what ultimately is more important than our future, the future of our families, and the future of this great country?
When I read and comment on this site and other sites I like, I am so aware that we are mostly all singing to the choir. The people who are Trump fans do not see the info presented here, nor in The New Yorker, nor The Atlantic, nor The New York Times. Perhaps Trump supporters read v little. How to get fair info to them?
ReplyDeleteI think a huge question going forward is how to access those supporters? How to open a dialogue? How to agree on some common sources of truth versus fake news and lies.
How to discuss climate change challenges with anyone but ourselves?
You would think our leadership, like Hillary, would have had a plan and some sort of an approach for that.
You would think our leadership, like Hillary, would have had a plan and some sort of an approach for that.
Delete\
No.
They don't have a plan.
They never did.
2009, when the banksters and torturers were left free?
No accident.
Working with republicans?
Let me know how that turned out.
2010 all the midterm losses? How did that surprise anyone?
DO IT YOURSELF or it won't get done.
Go to Netflix and watch the series, 'Zeitgeist', and its sequel, 'Zeitgeist Addendum'. That will be an eye opener for many if not all of us!
Delete"You would think our leadership, like Hillary, would have had a plan and some sort of an approach for that."
DeleteWhat is YOUR plan? Stop blaming the "leaders" and start blaming the voters.
What a cheap, ingenious way to promote this blog! Do more folks, first by promoting my blog! Oh, and other places too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cheap sniveling way to attack the owner of this blog (who lets you post here).
DeleteYou just do not get it, do you?
DeleteHow is it an "ingenious" way to promote IM? He's reporting on a story about an English actor. I don't get what you are reading into this, but it's likely I'd find your logic fundamentally flawed in the first place.
DeleteWe can smell Sarah's whining from lower 48!
DeleteSmells like another go fund me is about to be sprung lol. 4:50 is one of the few that do actually get it just fine.
DeleteWhat is YOUR proposal to fight the rising fascism? Or do you not see it? - just like the people of pre-war Germany?
DeleteSee current New Yorker. MOvement already under way.
ReplyDeleteWill post link tomorrow
Talking to trump supporters is like talking to a brick wall.
ReplyDeleteMaybe after a few years of the dictatorship, they will be willing to listen to the truth and facts but for now they are still chanting "lock her up" and "build the wall".
I think it is going to take something big, like the impeachment and imprisonment of trump to turn the tide in this country.
The ignorants are running things, let us hope we will be able to rise back up from the quagmire of 4 years of the dark ages.
Well if that is the case then what Sarah told Trump in hopes of a cabinet position will land her in prison as Donny boy tosses her under the bus! Come see come saw baby!
DeleteMaybe after a few years of the dictatorship, Trump supporters will be wearing brown shirts.
DeleteOr he got sick of having to ignore powerful pedophiles who work in Hollywood. He's fighting the wrong thing. Liberalism will kill th le country. We need the blue collar work ethic.
ReplyDeleteNote: I have no idea who this actor is.
5:33 you obviously have no idea about a lot of things.
Delete5:33 - Damn! You're dumb. Who says liberals don't work hard clown. What liberals have is compassion for their fellow human. Dopes like you aren't bright enough to see through your RW puppet masters propaganda. Did you think you can't be blue collar and a liberal? Does your stupidity hurt?
DeleteOf course you don't, he has grace and class.
Deleteor a good way to get out a relationship?
DeleteYour mommy dropped you on your haid when you were born, obvi...
DeleteSo 5:33, your Daddy works in Hollywood?
DeleteI live in NC and I am beyond pissed about what just happened here!
ReplyDeleteIt can't stand or democracy is the fuck over.
DeleteBe assured your work is appreciated by me and thousands of others. After being disgusted by mainstream coverage of news and issues, it is reassuring to find a site that reflects my own views. Hey, maybe those Faux News viewers feel the same way! Anyway, thanks for what you do.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/12/17/trump-mocks-media-for-predicting-clinton-win.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl
DeleteYes indeed Thank you G.
DeleteLet's get rolling!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous5:33 PM
ReplyDelete"Or he got sick of having to ignore powerful pedophiles who work in Hollywood. He's fighting the wrong thing. Liberalism will kill th le country. We need the blue collar work ethic."
LOL. Goddamn, I wish you weren't afraid of being educated. Ignorant, non-curious people like you are who will kill this country by suffocating democracy with your stupidity and foolishly believing that 'staying the same, keeps America free.
Oh, and fuck you.
GeorgiaPeach
You got to deprogram the brainwashed first!
DeleteBless your heart GeorgiaPeach.
DeleteBILLIONS!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-fannie-mae_us_58557e4ee4b03904470916ff
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/14/oops-jared-kushner-forgot-to-pay-electric-bill.html
Delete"skipped payments on an electricity bill and a security deposit on a series of apartment buildings in Manhattan’s East Village."
Kushner hahaha sounds like atl gangs.
DeleteNo pimp daddy or bro:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/12/17/charity-coffee-date-with-ivanka-appears-to-be-canceled.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl
A cacophony of facts and figures hasn't gotten us very far.
ReplyDeleteI think we should fight fire with fire and create fake news to attack the right but who could come up with stuff worse than what Trump is really doing?
And the sad part? Nobody has to make up anything. All the nasty deals, thrills and victims are right in front of us. 20yrs of trump criminal paper trail is more than enough to deny that person a pass and reject his phony fake election.
DeleteWell, everyone needs to talk, share, spill the beans, on orange ass and his fat goons. Anyone just talk.
ReplyDeleteI am deep into Hamilton soundtrack and so I'm reminded every day of what the drive for a democracy was about. The founders were all psychologically driven personally but they also saw the big idea and were willing to die for it, no questions asked. I'm getting old and for the first time I feel like the big idea is slipping away. It's crushing. My thanks to Michael for making his own stand against that.
ReplyDeleteNever hard of this man, and I don't know what moving to Wales has to do with fighting anything, except in his imagination perhaps. Specifically, what does he hope to accomplish, and by what means? Nothing is mentioned which warrants a comparison to pre-WWII Nazi resistance. Maybe he's just tired of Sarah Silverman.
ReplyDeleteI started reading this blog in 2008. I've concluded it's an indulgence of Gryphen's ego, rather than an attempt at "fighting the good fight." (Who even thinks in such trite terms in adulthood?) For the most part, Gryphen recycles what other people have written. He used to say that he questions everything, but he overlooks anything that doesn't fit into his firmly-entrenched worldview.
Mlaiuppa's ideas here sound more creative than Gryphen's. Maybe he'll take a new tack and try something productive.
Jude, if you don't realize that Gryphen's ego is minuscule when compared to that of egomaniac Trump it just goes to prove your judgement is terribly impaired. Sad.
DeleteYea, yea.. whine and piss and moan. If you are finished bitching about others, why don't you share a few of YOUR creative ideas, thoughts, possible solutions? I would like to read them. You may or may not have some good ones.
DeleteVerbally ripping each other to shreds is going to accomplish nothing. It is a distraction and big waste of time. Look how well it's worked the last few hundred of years.
So, we can continue on the shit slinging course or we can come together and do what each and every one of us was raised to do, COME TOGETHER for the good of ALL of us and fight like hell for OUR, got that, OUR country. If WE don't come together, there isn't going to be a we.
Why are these sub humans taking over? Because we're too busy calling each other names to notice. In other words? We let them. How do you like it so far? Yea, me either. So what can we do?
I've never hear of Michael Sheen either. I was thinking maybe Silverman kicked him to the curb. Maybe he is also just trying to stir up some attention to kickstart a non-existent career.
DeleteAnd yes it is extremely ironic that Gryph complains about Trump's ego or narcissism.
I don't like to use the word cycle referring to elections, but every election cycle there are a new type of lies, threats, messages, scams etc. This year was odd. America was bombarded and flooded with nonsense, an evil candidate to track, spin, hate, racism, and lies on daily basis. It is a dirty little Russian trick and spy game. And it will fail. Lousy Russian actors will fail. Those that aid Russian lousy actors will fail. Treason and Espionage are not good boy scout or good girl scout badges.
ReplyDeleteI tried last week. I sat down with old fox only people. I found out who has influenced them. Ayn Rand. A Russian author with loony ideas. I watched fox with them. This channel completely denies world news, accurate news, and important news. The casters are practicing liars, cons and dress like robots. The cold stare on their faces, the dangerous game their playing will end as soon as Americans demand it. Fox news is evil and it has taken some of our citizens and turned them against America.
ReplyDeleteGryphen - you are so totally right. I always feel calmed down (and hyped up at the same time) after coming to your blog. I have promoted it over the years to many people and I would say probably the one thing that might potentially limit the national audience is the interest in the Sarah Palin soap opera. I personally find that intriguing and that story was the reason I first came to your blog, but I think Bristol and all of those stories are of more limited interest nationwide. Anyway, maybe other than Bristol et al I almost always find you right-up-to-the moment with your finger on the pulse of the most important stories. You have a way of cutting through and keeping your eye on the ball that I haven't found anywhere else. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIf the lefties want the righties to see the light, they first must convince them to STOP picking their nose.
ReplyDeleteGet that accomplished and the rest will take care of itself.
Americans need to eliminate this ridiculous, childish leftie/rightie mentallity.
ReplyDeleteHave brains? Use them!
This is not true, Sheen posted on Tumblr that he is not leaving Hollywood or acting.
ReplyDelete