24 quotes
Perceptions of Fear and War in America
Michael Moore
As an American, I gotta say this all seemed kind of strange. Until I looked up at the TV in the bar and noticed what they watched for their evening news. They're friends of ours. We'll certainly listen to them courteously and carefully, but you don't just make war just cause someone says so. ] weren't being pumped full of fear. And their politicians seemed to talk kind of funny.
[''Amazed at how Canadians do not lock their front doors (in the day time) after opening them in [[w:Toronto|Toronto; [w:Canadian people|The Canadians]
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Confronting America's Fear and Gun Culture
Michael Moore
I left ] atop ] and walked back into the real world. To an America living and breathing in fear. Where gun sales are now at an all record high. And where, in the end, it all comes back to Bowling for Columbine'.
[[w:Charleton Heston|the Heston estate; [w:Beverly Hills|Beverly Hills]
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Gun Under the Pillow
James Nichols
I sleep at night with a gun under my pillow.
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Introducing the Columbine Survivors
Nicole Shleif
I'm Nicole Shleif.
Amanda Lamontagne
And I'm Amanda Lamontagne.
Michael Moore
And you went to Columbine?
Nicole Shleif
Yes.
Michael Moore
And you were with Eric and Dylan? In their class?
Nicole Shleif
Yeah, We were in their bowling class.
Michael Moore
In their bowling class?
Nicole Shleif
Yes.
Michael Moore
What's bowling class?
Nicole Shleif
Just an elective you can take for a gym credit.
Michael Moore
Where's the educational value of this, though?
Nicole Shleif
Um... I guess there isn't really any.
Amanda Lamontagne
No, there's not.
Nicole Shleif
I learned how to bowl a lot better, that's for sure.
Michael Moore
What were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold like?
Amanda Lamontagne
Weird.
Michael Moore
Yeah?
Amanda Lamontagne
I mean, not very social.
Nicole Shleif
I didn't really know who they were.
Amanda Lamontagne
Not very social, just kinda kept to themselves.
Michael Moore
How good a bowlers were Eric and Dylan?
Nicole Shleif
When we played them, all I remember is they were just, like, crazy, they would just chuck the ball.
Amanda Lamontagne
Chuck it down there.
Nicole Shleif
Throw the ball down; didn't really care how they bowled.
Amanda Lamontagne
Yeah, they didn't really care about their scores.
Deputy Sheriff Steve Davis
What were the suspects doing the morning of attack? I told you that I'd heard that they were bowling; that's the only thing I'm aware of.
Moore
So did Dylan and Eric show up that morning and bowl two games before moving on to shoot up the school? And did they just chuck the balls down the lane? Did this mean something? Um, I guess they went to their favourite class. Why wasn't anyone blaming bowling for warping the minds of Eric and Dylan to commit their evil deeds? Wasn't that just as plausible as blaming ]? After all, it was apparently the last thing they did before the massacre.But wait a minute. There's lots of bowling going on in other countries.
[''Voiceover''; [w:Marilyn Manson|Marilyn Manson]
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The Paradox of Gun Ownership and Safety
Canadian
If more guns made people safer, then America would be one of the safest countries in the world. It isn't. It's the opposite.
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Fear Manipulation by Media and Corporations
Michael Moore
The media, the corporations, the politicians... have all done such a good job of scaring the American public, it's come to the point where they don't need to give any reason at all.
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Questioning Mental Health and Its Implications
Michael Moore
Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective? Or have you ever been committed to a mental institution?" Well, I've never been committed to a mental institution. What does that mean, have I "ever been adjudicated mentally defective"?
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Student's Perspective on High School Experience
Interviewer
What's your view on high school?
Male student
Uh, I love it. Uh, I learn, I get picked on by bastards who hate me, and the principal's a dick.
Interviewer
All right, what causes school violence?
Male student
Uh, him.
[''Points to an overweight boy sitting nearby'']
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National Identity and Gun Culture
Taglines
One Nation Under The Gun
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Questioning Gun Distribution at Banks
Michael Moore
Well, here's my first question. Do you think it's kind of dangerous handing out guns at a bank?
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A Typical Morning in America
Michael Moore
It was the morning of April 20, 1999, and it was pretty much like any other morning in America. The Farmer did his chores. The milkman made his deliveries. The President bombed ]. Out in ], Cary McWilliams went on his morning walk. Back in ], Mrs Hughes welcomed her students for another day of school. And out in a little town in ], ]. Yes, it was a typical day in the ].
[[Kosovo|another country whose name we couldn't pronounce; [w:Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo, North Dakota; [w:Michigan|Michigan; [w:Colorado|Colorado; [w:Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold|two boys went bowling at 6 in the morning; [w:United States|United States of America]
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The Cost of Violence and Its Consequences
Chris Rock - HBO's Bigger and Blacker (1999)
And people would think before they killed somebody if a bullet cost $5,000. It'd be like, "Man, I will blow your fuckin head off...if I could afford it! I'm gonna get another job, start saving some money, and you a dead man! You better hope I can't get no bullets on layaway!
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Contemplating Alternatives in Conflict Situations
Michael Moore
What if I had a spear?
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Questioning America's Relationship with Guns
Taglines
Are we a nation of gun nuts or are we just nuts?
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Debate on Weapon Restrictions and Public Safety
Michael Moore
What about ] Should you be able to have weapons-grade plutonium?
[[w:Nuclear weapons of the United States|nuclear weapons?]
Michael Moore
Oh, so you do think there should be restrictions.
James Nichols
Well...there's wackos out there.
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The Connection Between War and School Violence
Michael Moore
So you don't think our kids say to themselves, Dad goes off to the factory every day, he builds missiles of mass destruction. What's the difference between that mass destruction and the mass destruction over at Columbine High School?
McCollum
I guess I don't see that specific connection because the missiles that you're talking about were built and designed to defend us from somebody else who would be aggressors against us.
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Gratitude in the Face of Violence
Michael Moore
Thank you for not shooting me ].
[[w:Nathan Tucker|Nathan Tucker]
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Children Transformed into Little Monsters
Michael Moore
Suddenly, our children had become little monsters.
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The Power of Words and Preparedness
James Nichols
I use the pen, because the pen is mightier than the sword. But you must always keep the sword handy for when the pen fails.
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The Cost of Bullets and Violence
Chris Rock - HBO's Bigger and Blacker (1999)
You don't need no ]. You know what you need? Bullet control. I think all bullets should cost $5000. You know why? If a bullet cost $5000 there'd be no more ] ]. People would stop and go, "Damn, he musta done something! Shit, they put $50,000 worth of bullets in his ass!
[[w:Gun politics in the United States|gun control; [innocent; [bystanders]
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Discussion on School Attendance Expectations
Michael Moore
Where are you supposed to be right now?
Man 1
School.
Man 2
School.
Woman
School.
Michael Moore
Aren't you worried about what you're not learning?
Man 1
Nah, I'm mostly helping everybody else in the class. Then I barely get to do my work.
Michael Moore
How about you? You're not worried about your education?
Woman
Well, I've got the textbook.
Michael Moore
Why do you think we have so many, uh... gun murders in America?
Man 2
Uh... I have no idea. People must hate each other or something.
Michael Moore
Oh, you mean Canadians don't hate each other?
Man 2
].
[[w:Exceptionalism|Well, we do but we don't go to the point of shooting somebody just to get revenge]
Michael Moore
What do you do?
Man 2
I don't know. Tease them, maybe. Make fun of them, ridicule them. ].
[[w:Egging|Throw eggs at them]
Woman
], it's always about a murder here, a gunfight, hostile position... I just think the States, their view of things is fighting. That's how they resolve everything. If there's... there's something going on in another country, they send people over to fight it and... They are the most powerful country in the world, though. Canada's more just, like, "Let's negotiate, let's work something out." Where the States is, "We'll kill you and that'll be the end of that." Um, if guns were... If more guns made people safer, then America would be one of the safest countries in the world. It isn't. It's the opposite.
[[w:Mass media in the United States|Every time I turn on the TV in the States]
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Mental Defectiveness and Criminality Explored
Michael Moore
Oh, with a crime. Okay, so if I'm just normally mentally defective but not criminal...
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Reflections on a Glorious Time
Michael Moore
Yes, it was a glorious time ].
[[w:American people|to be an American]
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Childhood Excitement for Guns and Violence
Michael Moore
This was my first gun. I couldn't wait to go out and shoot up the neighborhood.
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