Michael Moore: “Embarrassing” at Home?

Now this is an interesting controversy and for once I must side with Michael Moore.

This announcement came out January 5 from the Davison, Michigan, Community Schools:

The Davison High School Hall of Fame Selection Committee is accepting nominations for Hall of Fame candidates.
Nominees must be DHS graduates, have demonstrated an outstanding achievement at the local, state, national or international level and are positive role models for youth. Candidates also must have graduated 10 or more years ago and are able to attend the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

Michael Moore is a graduate of Davison High School – he has been nominated and rejected four times for the Hall of Fame honor. Moore fan Ryan Eashoo, Davison class of ’97, decided to force the issue this year with a nomination and PR campaign. His website states:

Michael Moore is up for consideration in his hometown’s High School Hall of Fame. What has he done to get into the Davison High School Hall of Fame?

He is a former Board member of that very school district

He’s donated tons of money to causes in the Flint area

He’s paid the rent of evicted tenants

He started his own local newspaper, The Flint Voice, (renamed Michigan Voice)

His first movie, Roger & Me was a local movie made about his hometown (not someone else’s)

His fifth movie Bowling For Columbine won the Academy Award for best Documentary

His sixth movie Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Cannes Film Festival and The People’s Choice Awards

His movies are the highest grossing documentaries of all time

Is all this enough to get him in? No! Your voice is needed.

Nominate Michael Moore into his High School Hall of Fame. You must be 18 to submit a nomination form. You don’t have to be a Davison High School Graduate or a local resident, ANYONE can nominate Michael. All entries must be entered by Feb 1, 2005.

The story made the Detroit Free Press, and from there AP

The tone of the selection committee would seem to be conveyed by Don Hammond:

“Would you want him as a role model? Would you want your son or daughter to be like him?” asked Don Hammond, a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee. “I haven’t talked to anybody yet who’s for him. The word to describe Michael Moore is embarrassing. He embarrasses everybody.”

Hammond remembers when Moore served on the Davison Board of Education. He was 18, and the youngest ever elected to the board.

He once sat on the board’s meeting table, took off his shoes and socks and picked at his toes, Hammond recalled. And he walked out on a board meeting saying: “I don’t want to sit around with you bums.”

“Davison is a small town,” Hammond said. “The people here don’t like people making fun of ’em. Michael Moore once said he likes to go back to Davison because he’s the thinnest person in town. We’re not all that fat.”

Now, according to Eashoo’s site:

The Davison Hall of Fame Board has closed the Hall of Fame due to ‘controversy’ surrounding the nomination (not induction) of Davison High School graduate Michael Moore!

“All we want to do is get this man in there because of all the accomplishments he’s achieved. But the members told us not to waste our time when we began submitting his name.” — Ryan Eashoo, Davison graduate, leading the fight to get Michael Moore recognized

“Bottom line, they’re cowards for doing this. … I’m disturbed at what they’ve done.” — Kay Adair, former Davison mayor

“There is some serious mental illness going on with certain members…” Jeff Gibbs, Filmmaker, Flint native

I’m outraged they closed the Hall of Fame for this stupid reason! What can I do?
CALL DAVISON SUPERINTENDENT CLAY PERKINS DIRECT AT [deleted] and voice your support for reinstating the Davison Hall of Fame!

So now the local poobahs have closed down their own Hall of Fame because they apparently can’t stand the heat of the controversy.

I mean come on: I think Michael Moore is an unfunny, disingenuous, slovenly, bloated, smug, self-loathing, opportunistic, obtuse sack of spite. He literally makes me physically ill.

BUT surely he has “demonstrated an outstanding achievement at the local, state, national or international level,” and purely based upon his level of success can reasonably be viewed as a “positive role model for youth” whether or not you agree with anything he has to say: he’s an enormously famous, successful and celebrated filmmaker and celebrity, he went to the high school, he’s not a criminal – OF COURSE he belongs in your crappy little Hall of Fame, you petty, constipated pissants. Do you think you are embarrassing Moore or embarrassing yourselves?

Kick ass Ryan – fight the good fight.