60s Radical Now Sees Her Time As "In A Cult"
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- When you have the time, it is worth watching this entire click. What she did at that time. Legal and illegal. Getting a gun. How far she would go. And what happened as time passed. I did this interview for my TV series on the 1960s. Listening to her today she sounds almost like a cartoon character from a TV series. But the time she and her fellow radicals seemed quite real to Americans frightened by what is happening.
You've caught a fabulous moment in History, I believe. A script of this monologue ought be in universities everywhere.
The Weathermen were mostly well off white kids acting on behalf of POC and murdering working class people and BIPOC. I’m glad she woke up, but unfortunately not everyone has. We have a DA in San Francisco (Chesa Boudin) who is the child of two Weathermen who are still in jail who wants to avenge them. And he has been releasing repeat offenders to great disaster. We now have had several murders at their hands. We have a recall movement now. I’m glad to see she had a change of heart, tho
@@satireofcircumstance6458 the radical left? Are you kidding me? The past behavior she described was much more in alignment with those who stormed the Capitol 🧏🏼♀️
@@missmystique8710 yeah that event to all other riots burnings lootings the other side has been doing since 2016
Then the porpose of modern universities will be gone.
Agreed! Many thanks David ❤️ Seattle
It takes a lot of humility and an understanding of how unrealistically seriously we sometimes take ourselves to accept the world for what it is. Making peace with society, despite its flaws, is an important step towards finding peace in yourself, as we can't ever evolve as individuals without focusing on the thing we have the most control over - ourselves. Anyone who skews their perception of the world with angry gated Internet communities needs to understand this.
True. Respect the nature of nature. ☯️
Well said, Tom!. I think we all want a better world but it can be unrealistic to expect perfection from other people. We can get caught up in an ideal instead of accepting the world and people as they are and patiently working with it. It's good to strive for better conditions, compassion, and happiness, but with balance. Some things are critical and in need of immediate change, others simply take time. The media will have us believe that the sky is a falling every 5 minutes, but that is not reality.
Yeah, I would like to understand this and I get that you can't change the world... I'm definitely in the "college movement" but I try to see this as laying foundations for work that will take a long time to fruition. I mean, the society I want to live in will probably only happen when I die. I don't know if I'm still just in a cult mindset though.
People grow and mature and our outlook changes accordingly.
They will, and some already do, of course. They're the next gen, a lot like every gen before them. Working and playing to figure out this strange thing that happens with a planet full of people.
I didn’t think this type of self awareness was possible let alone a person that went through what she did... wow
Took her long enough
@@jimjamjimjam7700 strangely, the accutely intelligent and self assessing are prone to insanity more so than the not.
It’s very easy to demonize the ppl you don’t agree with. Ppl look at a movement or group and say “oh this is bad and I don’t like this therefore every single person associated with these people are dumb and cruel”
You mean what she put herself through...
@Razvan maybe, maybe not but to have the ability to is very important
Your interviews have this quality of timelessness to them, they seem to be speaking directly to our times.
Up until a year ago or so I was in the exact same “revolutionary” headspace as her. Thank god I realized that shit was wack before I went full fugitive.
yeah fuck the revolution its better to OBEY OBEY OBEY Obey all day its the way!
@@jeremyhuff9845 lol ok szchio
@@jeremyhuff9845 your not a revolutionary or a rebel. Don't kid yourself Lmao.
@@savvyb54 point to where I claim to be go ahead and kid yourself that you know what I think I am. then laugh at yourself
@@jeremyhuff9845 yes of course, your initial comment was so ominous nobody could figure out what you think through your veil of mystery...
Would be interesting to hear her perspective on what's going on today.
She prbly supports all the wokeness
@@arthurreed2391 I'm not sure that she would support modern day wokeness. I think she would actually be quite critical and dissatisfied with how today many just follow a crowd because it's trendy not because they actually have a belief of themselves and of the society that they are part of.
@@cyclinggirl3212 Maybe, she did say she realized she was in a cult. But she did have the views that made her susceptible to them in the first place. and most people develop their political veiws around that time in their lives. Not saying people don't change from their 20's to their 30's+ but the change isn't that drastic for most. say you are slightly left in your 20's when your life gets more settled in your 30's+ you prbly shift slightly right of center as your responsibilities increase. But if you were an extremist you'd still be pretty far to whatever side you were extreme for so I think you'd still hold most of the veiws but realized the tactics were wrong. And leftward politics plays on emotions so I think she she'd agree with most of it prbly not the antifa crowd but most of the sjw stuff. But that's just my opinion formed from the experiences I've had
@@arthurreed2391 I dunno. I'm 59 and in the past two years my own views have undergone a radical (non political) change in the past 2 years. Six years ago I would have said that this particular transformation was unthinkable...and yet here we are, and I'm glad it happened.
@@annainspain5176 Well I did say "most people" not all. and political views was the subject at hand.
But what views did you have that changed?
This is why young people are used to fight wars.
Well also they have more energy, need less sleep, bodies repair more readily, and have less responsibility
@@brianblackwood3120 Not all the time .
War is old men sending young men to their deaths.
Because your brain isnt fully developed until 28 as well. Takes advantage of the youth.
Youth make perfect foot soldiers.
Naive, and inexperienced, eager to prove their worth, combined with high risk, low self-preservation.
This is one of the best interviews, in your cannon. The interviewee is cogent, non-deflective and her probity on matters that might embarrass or even threaten the status quo of a less self-aware subject, is heartening. Hers is a moving report on callow outlooks and maturing beautifully.
Yes, I agree completely- she has such depth and insight into her own character :)
The problem with activism, radical or otherwise, is that so often, it's more about ego stroking rather than genuinely wanting to make the world a better place.
She makes excuses for her activism while admitting it was a waste of time . It seems like she still suffers from her own self importance.
Captain Unusual if that’s not the truth I quit. Neurotic weirdos
I think what is missing is historical context as to why she might have been so angry at the government. In America, it was a time of Jim Crow laws, segregation, the draft, Vietnam, Kent State, very little opportunity for a job for women, much less a person of color, gays/jews/blacks were lynched, gays were married with kids, Hispanics were considered "mexicans" even if they were born here, only the rich went to college, governments were rich men and white, the blacks lived in a separate part of town on the edge of the city limits, with no indoor plumbing, no paved streets, outhouses, no electric, wood stoves, no heat except for the wood stove, their houses were shanties made of scavenged aluminum siding, and it was big, big deal when the city voted to give them a water tower and started to allow plumbing to start being put in. When I worked on the weekends in high school, I got .35 cents an hour.
@Northwest River you could get a grant of $1,000 per semester in '72. I don't know if this was true in the 60s. Maybe? Regardless, some people would work and go to school and pay for it themselves. That $1,000 grant paid for a semester, 12 credit hours, fees and tuition. I bought my books myself and worked to support myself. But, I just worked part-time. We did not have inflation like now. My rent was $65 all bills paid for a decent apartment. You could eat for a month on $25-30. Gas where I was: .11 cents per gallon. I bought a VW bug brand new for $2, 900. My friends said I was over charged and should have paid more like $2,400. We need to bring that kind of prosperity back to America.
BUT, you had to get to a college town for these advantages. In the regular towns across America, it was a different scene. Then the whole hippy thing in the sixties just kept spreading until the whole country loosened up. We travelled like gypsies. A whole generation went caravaning in buses and vans. We wanted to see what everyone was doing. We changed the country is what we did. Mostly for better, I think. I think we sensed that there would never be another time in America when a whole generation (or two) could just up and camp-out all over the country and afford to do it. There were just tons of free places to camp back then. It wasn't like now. There were tons of free places, with restrooms and showers in someplaces, too.
It was incredible. I talk too much, sorry.
@Northwest River this was a time that people could excel and get themselves out of the ghetto or away from the other side of the track if they went looking for the opportunities, because there were great opportunities out there. One would have to travel to a different part of the country, but it would be worth it for many.
This sounds like current year
Hypernormalization
The more you learn about history, even recent history, you'll realize that we could've been taken over from within; in the 60s and 70s. We were so far gone even back then. The communist party just rebranded themselves. Literally. One of the head leaders(not sure what terms) back then said they'll accept communism under the name of liberalism. Colleges back then indoctrinated people as well. That's a very basic Russian socialist tactic
That’s because it is. And the trail of influence leads back to the same “cult”. Except it’s an ideology, not a cult. Just as dangerous, if not more.
I think it sounds like the current year because we're still ruled by the same Establishment games. Most things haven't really changed that much since then, or, have for the worse...
@@oliversmith9200 you realize they won right?
5:30 "Living in the underground as person, you begin to live in the underground of your psyche."
Powerful feelings right there...
Hi David, this was an impressive interview especially for a guy like me (a Baby Boomer) who really did not fully understand what female "Baby Boomers" or their children were going through since we were segregated in my younger days. She is very articulate and sensible in describing what she went through. Thank you, Ciao, L
And here we are once again, the cult of the “woke”.
Except this time the government is woke.
It's because the Saturn - Jupiter conjunction repeats every 60 years. In 1960 the democrat Kennedy won over republican Nixon. In 1900 there were also socialistic ideologies and political tensions brewing.
@@souptouchesme the Weathermen murdered some Brinks security guards who were simply doing their jobs, bombed places, were extreme radicals. They weren’t just nice little student protestors. They were very radical and destructive
Study the civil war in Germany that happened after WW1 and before WW2 and the 1930s will start to make a lot more sense.
@@ordinarydevin study your face
Those words the woman says are really powerful. I've watched this video twice already. I've shared it on my Facebook page.
When I hear such kind of people who have made a long distance towards self-acceptance and self-exploration... well, there's one thing I can say, one thing I yearn for: I want them to be happy. Serene.
This woman is strong and really, really sincere.
If she's alive, I hope she's OK. I'll pray for this.
Thank you for the video, Mr. Hoffman.
she brave and also delusional imo
It would be very interesting to hear her perspective today-how much more she has grown and in what direction. Very interesting interview. Thank you, David.
David, when was this interview originally recorded? 1980-something?
StringGene People are complex, and have a myriad of backgrounds that influence their thinking. And even children from the same family can respond to the same environment in different ways. Maybe your life has been relatively free from influences that twisted your perception, or maybe you have a strong mind that rejects those influences . . . or maybe the trigger, like her getting arrested, or some other significant event that precipitates self-examination, has yet to happen in your life.
PilgrimLJC rr
@@raymonddeflaviis9532 especially worn with a sweater that has shoulder pads and a jacket that has shoulder pads....
Lmao! Van Halen Live
*Hi David: This is another **_great_** interview: you're doing yeoman's work! I'm a Boomer as well (1952), and was also in the same circles as this woman. It's interesting how we **_all_** seem to carry that period with us - it's never far from the front of memory, and almost everything is filtered through that lens, even today. I was deeply involved with SDS, and up until the Port Huron Statement, with the WU as well. It's more than interesting hearing the thoughts of a fellow traveler like this, even though we took different routes during our return to sanity. I chose to go overseas (yeah, that got a hell of a reaction!), but as a consultant rather than a combatant. I was fortunate in that I had skills they needed enough to allow me to sidestep my eventual draft, and more lucky that I realized that this was the only sane as well as safe way out of the common dilemma: I don't regret that particular choice **_at all,_** and I am eternally grateful the option was open to me, as I did **_not_** want to come home in either a box of wood, or a box of scrambled brains, as many of my friends had. I'm not even sure why this little side story, it's kind of pointless...*
*Thank you for being a neutral documentarian: there are so few today that it makes me appreciate just how lucky we had it back then. The press of the 1960s may not have been universally neutral reporters of fact, but they were a whole hell of a lot better than what passes for "press" today! You are a national treasure.*
@@Unwise- *I'd be happy to discuss it with you, if you're interest is legitimate. Is there a way to trade telephones #s without posting them here?
I only connect over email. Please send an email if you like.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker *Well Mr. Hoffman, I was talking to @Wayde Robson, but if you're interested in talking also, I'd be happy to shoot you an email as well!
you were 6 or 7 years old when the Port Huron statement was made, and the weathermen had gone underground and the SDS split and split again by the time you got out of high school. You were in the lottery and not the draft. Sortof creates some doubt about what you're trying to say, whatever that might be.
@@shopshop144 he is clearly totally full of it. I highly doubt (call me crazy) a 10 year old helped compose the Port Huron Statement, or a 17 year old was part of the Weatherman.
Such an interesting interview. Thank you for sharing this.
She speaks with hard-won wisdom when she talks about accepting what is. Not condoning it, the system you find yourself in, but accepting it as it is now. That's the moment, I think, when the inner war stops, as it clearly did for her. We need this wisdom now more than ever.
Working through the system to destroy system has literally never worked outside of authoritarian regimes,because they were authoritarian. A libertarian or anarchist revolution can never take place by leaving that ability up to representatives who benefit from not following through on promises of letting go of power and benefit from furthering their stay in power,"absolute power corrupts absolutely"
It is the main reason why Marxist-Leninist and vanguard party theories failed aswell as the American experiment in terms of "freedom" (not that the concept of metiocracy ever actually existed in the US due to slavery and misogyny)
@@EpochUnlocked sheriff joe arpaio would have a word with you.
So we should just accept everything the government does? Or we should just accept that the system we live under works against us?
@@douchopotamus3755 No, that's not what I meant. This video is about a 1960s radical. You may be too young (I hope) to have lived through that time, but at the time there was almost electricity in the air about revolution and changing everything. That's the point here. She had to accept that she was fighting a 'war' that wasn't a war. The war was inside her, and that's what she came to terms with. Obviously, there are always issues at the time that need our dutiful attention. Just be careful if you're fighting for something real and now, and not just some idea in your mind given by others. For her it was the latter.
This reminds me of the spiritual teachings of Eckhart Tolle- accepting a situation as it stands is the same as condoning it-
Thank you for these, to see people speak like this so long ago and how it correlates to today is incredible.
Very smart woman. Everyone needs to hear her words, especially at this time.
As always, Mr. Hoffman. I have learned something from your work.
The stuff no nornal human would dare tread to uncover. Thanks for documenting these people's own stories Dave.
“Later I would cut my hair into a mullet” lol joking aside fascinating interview
Nice to see this again, David! Thanks for posting it up here on youtube! Been a fan of your work ever since I saw "The U.S. Army Rapid Deployment Force" back in the early 80's.
thank you. I enjoyed making a film on the rapid deployment force back then. Such terrific men.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
I agree. You don't have to bury your head in the sand and live in some infantile state of denial about the way the world works in order to be a functional member of society. Yes, there is absolutely and laundry list of inequities, injustices, and corrupt institutions that run our daily lives. But allowing the weight of that to inhibit you from still trying to make a decent life for yourself is just a waste of the short time we all have here. This world is about as far from a perfect one as any of us could imagine, but unfortunately it's the only one we have.
SS let me ask you this question. Are blacks better off now in 2019 compared to the 1950s? Which group had higher employment. Which group had higher 2 parent households. Which group is stuck on generational welfare. And finally compared to black and white, adjusted to inflation, are blacks more equal to white in term of wealth in 2019 compared to the 50s? What was the civil rights movement? White people telling black people what they should do. Like Bernie Sanders
My comment (which is above) is similar to yours, but I have no hope that Corporate America and it's Wealthy boosters, who really control everything, will truly change. Trump & Co.'s success has taught me again that America, as most all countries, is very flawed, and fife with bigotry and injustice.
They're called "Useful Idiots" for a reason.
@@chipper442 the dem. party thinks they rule them , but they think they rule the dem. party . they're symbionicclones of each other anyway . never support dems ( or rhinos))
@@jamessilver6429 Then you're supporting people who think just like she used to. And arming themselves. A cult, just like she says here.
@@williamdevlin5233 ?!
@@jamessilver6429 Trumpism is a cult.
@@williamdevlin5233 humans have very much been imbaciles since G D created us. thats why u believe the crap u said. you've been inundated with malicous false imformation ! and manipulated by
I'm curious what would the current Antifa, extreme SJW or Proud Boys will have to say in 20-40 years regarding their behavior in this period of time.
Why would you put the proud boy in the category with Antifa.
I think the antifa people will still be against fascism.
@@douchopotamus3755 they are fascists...
@@shipshrekt2156 No, far right wing are the fascists.
@@ryeguy7941 "National SOCIALISTS Workers Party" -- the word "national" is what's key. They were right wing nationalists.
I would love to see a modern day follow-up interview with this lady and what she4 thinks about today's groups such as Antifa.
She is right to identify it as a cult, it gave her a great sense of belonging. I think about Churchill's quote
"There are two non-God religions, Nazism and Communism - two peas … Tweedledum and Tweedledee. You leave out God and you substitute the Devil. You leave out love and you substitute hate.”
The issue with your comment is that you believe it's all black or white, God or devil, good or bad, one side vs other side... love or hate. It isn't like that.
A very meaningful and compelling testimony coming from this young woman and I identified with a lot of what she said about those times, particularly the profound alienation and negative consequences of disengagement that she talked about - which was a typical reaction to the war and all the rest. I respected her honest and candid account in talking about these things and her eventual brave decision to change course and grow spiritually and emotionally in life - and her emphasis on the regenerative power of love in making those changes. It was very rewarding to listen to - and thank you for this presentation.
The system wants you to rebel. The ultimate form of protest is absolute compliance. It's the only thing the system cannot prevent.
Hopefully people in BLM and Antifa will come back to reality like this lady did.
I really hope so. Change is possible she says it right "it must come from a point of love and compassion instead of confrontation and hate" I hope that today's 'activists' take this quote to heart if they see this interview.
But she didn't really, though. She just either finally got caught by the law or decided, as she couldn't help but reveal, that she could accomplish more (in an imagined "leadership role") from prison than she could as a fugitive. It's sad, but once someone is well into their twenties they're unlikely to change their worldview too much, especially if they lived in such a dedicated mindset and trained themselves to be _revolutionaries_ for years.
They’re actors.
Doubt it propaganda today is 1000 times easier and 1000 times more effective
trumpers need to see this, and break free from the Kool aid
The Weathermen are still here. They just go by different names.
names please
Yes, name some names.
Blue-Anon
@@shopshop144 antifa....
@@zenolachance1181 anything else?
i am loking forward to the woke crowd giving such interviews for my children to see
Yeah the woke crowd AND the trump crowd any extreme is stupid
@@saidullah146 I think you mean the alt-right crowd, the trump crowd is much more ideologically diverse with some practical base
@@colelinse6196 well I guess you can put it like that as well but when the extremes of either side are so much and so loud it’s hard to distinguish between the two and the ones who are more reasonable get drowned out by the extreme on both sides
maybe grandchildren will get a bigger effect from it
@@saidullah146 Trump was simply a wrench thrown into the machinery, dumbass. Now, it's back to the status quo.
Whether by videos or by public lecture, this is the message that is missing on American college campuses today.
YES
Why? are most kids joining antifa orrrrr
Who cares about this shit? I will stick to my engineering homework
@@GoldChampion23 It is important for young, impressionable college students to see what could happen to them down the road if they get caught up in the allure of radicalism/Marxism/communism.
big obstructions are put up against anyone that doesn't tow the sjw b.s , by professos , students , and university admin. an example ( theres zillions) 1) a n administrator and professor were forced to step down , because the professors research said the male mind is better wired for mathmatics than the female mind , and the administrator wouldn't fire him , so he got fired also. 2) ridiculous standards were set in sexual abuse cases , where the female was believed - period, and obama admin. cut off money if those guidlines weren't followed,(well intended? MAYBE , but dumber than dried pig sh#t!)and now we got biden- harris . obama 2.0. 3) when conservatives and pro israel speakers are scheduled to speak there were riots and police were told to stand down. well you know i' m sure ✌
People like this woman need to speak up to Antifa today
She is so brave to be this honest about being so naive
So many young kids today are doing this kind of group self deception
There was a genocidal, illegal war going on back then. Antifa today is angry over gender pronouns
is it just me or are people this well spoken becoming more rare with every generation?
Its just you
you
Look into Common Core, from an objective, apolitical context. It doesn't take a genius to see the truncated linguistic effect that modern, public-school education is having on children.
@@StudioCluiss A member of the head in the sand are you ?
@@StudioCluiss *It's
Oh the irony....
Thanks David Hoffman for another great interview. This woman is very intelligent and articulate. And what a story she has to tell. She was scared straight after she stole a check to buy some groceries. What an evolution she has gone through. I wonder what she would say about America in 2019. I remember marching to protest the United State's and South Vietnam's incursion into Cambodia on May 1st of 1970. At the end of the march from our campus to the downtown square, there were speeches. None of the speeches were about the Vietnam War. Instead, they were all about far left political issues. The political Left had coopted our war protest demonstration. Four days later, on May 4th, four students died at Kent State University in Ohio from National Guard gunfire during a confrontation between protesting students and guardsmen.
Love it what she said on being a fugitive living underground @7.08 "To live underground is to suspend participation in our society and participation in self development"..Bingo! This is the problem today..Living underground is the same in today's standard as living on the internet. It shuts out other voices and isolates you in your groups. God bless this woman for doing this interview. It gives me hope for the future and that this " woke generation" can wake up to evolve and grow up to be functioning adults in society..
A wise man once said to clean your own room before you attempt to change the world.
@@timbrady6473 big yikes. Your comment is hilarious considering the original commenter is talking about people who live on the internet. The entirety of JP’s *CULT* live online as well. The cleaning your room bit is the only thing he has said that is worth listening to.
@@S71597 I don't hold JP very highly myself, but if it's worth listening to, then why not listen to it? I'll bet there are many people who didn't even know who he was alluding to till you mentioned it.
And stop saying things like 'big yikes' you sound imbecilic.
These are the type of videos we should be showing our kids in collage. Really showing kids that when you grow up reality hits you hard.
@@31minutesago no thanks to many McDonald manager’s already.
It wont work. The indoctrination is too damn strong.
@@-kdot-2332 Trust me, there are plenty of uneducated democrats.
@@-kdot-2332 What a load of crap..
Glad to see she grew up. That isn't easy.
Lack of compassion, lack of understanding, rejection of reality, and a desire for control - any parent will immediately recognize that list as the worst qualities of children. *Especially* the desire for control.
I'm no shrink. My two cents is worth as much as any other Joe's. But I've read a few memoirs, talked with a few of the rather rabid activist types (left and right) - often it seems like the craziest radicals are just people trying to fill a void. Immature individuals stunted by some trauma or unhealthy family situation, hungering for acceptance, purpose, and clarity. Radical, totalizing ideologies offer that. They offer comrades, offer a family. They offer Truth(tm), which smashes bewildering and compromised reality and replaces it with a purer world colored in beautiful black and white. And they offer a cause, a redemptive struggle. With the cause comes enemies, opposers. People who can be destroyed without guilt. One gets no sense of shame for destroying an enemy - instead, they get a hit of pride for dealing justice to evil. But there's a stronger high than the pride: the thrill of having power over someone, of being better than someone, of crushing somebody - violently or otherwise. Look at all this. What nectar could possibly be sweeter to a lonely and directionless nobody?
So many people get hooked on it. The thrill of power, the acceptance - the cult narrative used by so many movements today sucks people in, and they never escape. The most dangerous, most addictive drug? It isn't heroin. That was popular in Vietnam, and when the GI's came home the vast majority went cold turkey without complications. For whatever reason, this narrative, this millenarianist narrative, is the single most addictive and damaging drug in modern society. And it is everywhere, with a very low rate of recovery.
So good on her for going clean.
You think she grew up? Listen again from 8:00 onward.
kugmoco I listened to the entire video. I’m not sure what you’re getting at 🤔
This was a decent read. You said you aren't a shrink, but what exactly is your occupation? Your prose is eloquent.
One thing I wanted to ask though was about the maturity of these people that swing to left and right and become radicals; in what sense are they immature? This isn't a very clearly quantifiable thing, so I was curious in what sense you're using this description.
I've personally observed that among a lot of people my age the key attraction of the left and right is the failure of the so called centre. For a long time (among the middle class at least) it seemed to be working, but the complete failure of 2008 gave people a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak. Before then, people were extremely apolitical. Depending on who you talk to, this gave rise to the problems that have polarised people so much now. A society that loses touch with the needs of the everyday citizens is almost inevitably on course for some kind of reckoning sooner or later.
@@Mrjmaxted0291 Not OP, but you raised good questions. Immature people lack self-awareness: when asked "what", they give you fantasies, and when asked "why", they give you cliches. They're easily angered when attacked, and easily flattered when praised. Rather than really listening or trying to understand others (as Mr Hoffman does in his interviews), they prefer to interrupt, and gather in little mobs to mock them. They never learn from their mistakes, or even admit they made any -- they're much more interested in criticizing others' failures. But immaturity is something we're all guilty of sometimes, and to some degree. Recognizing that is paradoxically a major part of maturity. You learn to be more patient and compassionate with others, as well as humble and watchful with yourself.
Things are really simple...when you drop your ego and pay attention...wisdom is NOT intelligence.
You ever considered doing a follow up series to these? It's been 30 years since the 80s. It would be interesting to see what that generation now thinks of the young today compared to their own times.
I really do believe it would be fascinating to do that follow-up. And studies indicate that viewers on TV love “time passing” documentaries. But I just don't know who would fund it today. Back then, I got the money from PBS in part.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmakerPatreon and crowdfund each episode.
@@NationandState somehow he needs to pay the insurance on his BMW.
I admire such articulation! It takes great experiences, mindfulness and introspection to translate one's experiences so clearly and I love how thought inspiring it is to hear her speak. Thank you for this content.
Wow - glad she left that radical lifestyle behind. She seemed very insightful and honest in her reflections of the past.
Justice is the great healer-not love.
The cold emotionally sterile family creates the radical who views the culture as being a echo of the environment they grew up in. Governments and society appear as the same cold sterile places that do not affirm life that they escaped. The family, society and the government are viewed as expressions of the same thing. The truth seeker looking for meaning and the family they never had is drawn into the cults that offer resolution of this existential crisis . The family they never had and a path to meaning to escape the meaningless and suffering that all humans face. The machinery of civilization threatens to turn its inhabitants into anxiety ridden purposeless blobs of protoplasm unless they find a solution to the consequences of the domination that man now exerts over his environment. Man's success is his curse. Cults are an expression of this. Cults are the tribe that band together not to ward off external enemies but internal enemies.
What is this? Did you write this or is it quoted from somewhere?
My words but something I have been trying to understand. I see similar behavior at different universities I have either attended or worked at. Various activists but with a different focus. Some more intense or radical than others but always with a cult like air about it. It seems to be a universal phenomena that crosses time and cultures
@@katherinekelly6432 well, it is well written and has brought to my attention something that i had not presviously considered. Bravo!
Thank you for the kind words. In my own way I struggle with the same darkness she talks about. Different time and different actions but what she shares resonates deeply with me. I understand her.
Very interesting ideas and observations. But I suppose the cult member's core idea still holds true: i.e. that there are evil people in the world (evidenced by wars, corrupt politicians etc.) and that society would be better off if the violence of war and corruption could be prevented. So let us fast forward to the time in the cult member's life when he/she realizes all you have observed, a time in the future when he/she reconciles their issues with family, the world, "meaninglessness", etc. What now for this ex-cult member? Should that ex-cult member still try to make the world a better place...or is any attempt to change the world to be labeled cult-ish...to be labeled radical. Surely having a strong emotional reaction to witnessing someone else suffering is reasonable? Wanting to help is reasonable?
I've seen the weatherman documentary as well as the propaganda film for them, appropriately titled Underground, by Haskell Wexler and Emile D'Antonio, but nothing can surpass a one to one interview the way you do them in your work.
thank you. Clearly you know your stuff on the great documentarians or at least the famous ones. I never was that famous but I am loving presenting my work on UA-cam.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
Perfect example of the individual versus the group/collective.
@StarDust How so?
Retrostar619 ignore .... leftists can only insult people’s intelligence. It’s what being consumed by anger and hatred does to you. Then you have to prove your superiority by either intelligence or morality or both. It’s exactly what’s going on all over our country. The fight for the individual is the core to it all, and then your arguments or ideas result in shut up your stupid or racist, et. al. (Morality). And my IQ is way above average, so I don’t need to debate or respond to petty and petulant people. Neither do you.
@@henrymorgan3420 Haha " And my IQ is way above average, ..." yeah you go and put that in a comment. Nobody will take you serious. You have it all figured out huh, you just run with that buddy. Funniest comment. Arrogance and stupidity combined.
Admitting you were wrong is one of the hardest things
It's only hard if you think it's hard. It gets easier.
Only if you have a sensitive ego.
Only if you haven’t matured in that aspect yet. It’s really not hard, in fact the earlier you just own up the sooner and easier things are resolved & more respect you earn cuz it shows you’re able to put your ego to the side
Wow, this is so interesting. Thanks for sharing!
When you've got a cause you're not alone. It's very attractive. If one can still do it when alone with no prospect of it changing anytime soon... One must be constantly mindful of their method/motivations. So that when fighting monsters they themselves do not turn into a monster when power changes hands.
I'm skeptical, especially when someone is saying "Love is the healing force of the world."
Your videos are so inspiring. I'm gonna start making videos that are future time capsules full of interviews about today and what society is like.
While you are giving it a try, make some videos from the using the techniques I described in the community pulldown menu on my channel homepage. I would love to help you and increase the audience size of your viewership.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
What an amazing piece of footage. What a fascinating person, I could listen to her for hours.
Why does it seem; whether it's the Anarchists in the 1900s, the Weathermen of the 1960s, or those looting and destroying in this past year - it's always about destruction and tearing down, and never building up? But then - I suppose - it's always easier to destroy than to create. Sadly, this ideology is now enshrined in our cultural institutions at great cost to our society. Thanks as always for sharing this; even if I don't always agree with the viewpoints expressed; it is highly informative and good to get different viewpoints.
Great job with the interview, and thanks for posting it here.
She sounds like she was in a cult when this was filmed- I mean her manner of speaking. there’s something peculiar about her - like a combination of ghislane maxwell , a member of the Manson family, and a Scientologist
Yes , I agree.
I would say that this is how people spoke in the 60s.
Yes!
It does sound like one rhetoric was replaced with another. Something robotic about the delivery.
Most radicals of that period were not 'in a cult.' The Weather Underground was indeed a cult. She gives a good analysis of what it was like to go off into the fantasy world of paranoid violence. (Know anyone who sleeps with a gun by their bed? The same thing. )
I think I met one of the Weatherman in about 1977. I was in the Ann Arbor Film Co-op and we were showing De Antonio/Wexler movie Underground in the Modern Languages Building. While selling tickets, I was asking people who came if they had any connection to the Weather Underground. They were all wanted by the FBI by then. We expected to see the FBI show up to see the movie. Guess they had their own print. One guy, tall, about thirty, arrived late, I asked him, he quickly looked around then asked, "What do you want to know?" I hadn't prepared a second question so I blurted out, "Should I join?" He looked me right in the eye, "It was a big mistake. A big mistake." After about half an hour he left. I've always seen that and the Politburo of the Soviet Union choosing to end the USSR as two highlights of the Marxist far left: they admitted failure. This woman too admits her mistakes. You never see that on the extreme right. Individuals, yes, movements, never.
I see a journey here from the love of power to the power of love.
❤ this! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this!✌
What this woman says at the end of this video is quite insightful. I wonder if these activists today will ever realize what this woman realized.
I'm impressed this woman overcame her programming, and is at peace with her involvement in a dark time. Most of these late 60's early 70's radicals went in to education. Their "love" turned into intolerance. Every window broken or fire set in 2020 is the true legacy of these educators. Our mayors, governors and school boards encouraged it, they wanted to be on the right side of history. They thought it was an extension of the civil rights movement not anarcho-syndicalism. Why isn't the true history taught ? The holodomor, Leysenkoism, the killing fields or the Chinese revolution ?
Christopher Hitchens once said that the essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks. It is the saying in the New Testament when Jesus says that the kingdom is within you just as it is outside of you that exemplifies her experience. Sums up the Hermetic saying as above, so below, so below, as above, as within, so without, so without, as within.
He was a radical leftist
@@muhilan8540 and?
@@muhilan8540 he was more of a Nazbol
@@bro4539 Sorry, you must not have done as much research on him as I have. If you knew anything about Hitchens and his viewpoints beyond just religion and critical thinking, you would have known that he was a lifelong Marxist (a former Trotskyist, to be exact) who started to lean more to the right after the Clinton presidency and 9/11. He has repeatedly called himself a "very conservative Marxist" both in interviews and in his memoir Hitch-22
He was a major supporter of the Iraq War, opponent to political correctness, and staunch socialist. perhaps Nazbol wasn't the best fit description for him, but it was what came to my mind the fastest at the time of writing that comment
@@muhilan8540 Meaning, he had views to the 'left' of your own? A radial leftists who supported ,id east war. Try again.
this channel is an essential resource for anyone interested in how our collective society and mind works. thank you.
aThere is also the issue of gratefulness, not being thankful for how much you have. We all struggle with this.
Beautiful ....what a learning experience ....and so powerful ...the message ....very nice to listen the talk and the voice .... energy gets brighter and brighter .....love it .....🌞
A generation was not with her in the 60s & early 70s: most of her generation were ordinary, patriotic Americans who held the violent Left in contempt
The violent left??? Why was she a radical in the first place??? Because patriotic Americans blindly supported murderous empire. Her tactics may have been misguided, but her principles were noble.
@@eemoogee160 "Her tactics may have been misguided, but her principles were noble."
Oh really ?
So, I guess Hitler had the welfare of the German people guiding him....but, unfortunately for others, his "tactics" were flawed ???
Bullshit, if it wasn’t for these people I’d be going to segregated schools. My dad stood up for what was right and I owe him everything.
Not many people are with the extremists. We have a political group in Australia called called the silent majority; roughly 70-80% of the country who isn't blindly partisan, rather they vote based on policy. While I'm sure that number is lower in the United States, I think most people can call a spade a spade. If Mitch McConnell and Mike Pence can eventually admit bullshit when they see it, I'm sure the majority of Americans can come to that conclusion sooner.
I think that most young people were against the Vietnam War - but most of us did hold the violent Left - or any kind of violence or extremism - in contempt.
Wow, super good interview there. Very interesting woman and very interesting things she said about her growth. Excellent documentation!
I think she’s saying we were being duped with politicians telling us nam was necessary in fear of communism. And showing me TV shows like Gomer Plyle, and Hogan’s Hero’s. Waiting for draft lottery. That was truly propaganda.
Hogans Heroes was a about a group of POW saboteurs during ww2 not vietnam
Both sides of the dialectic were dangerous propaganda, not just the pro-war side. The 1960s counterculture and the left-wing politics that came with it were incubated and spread by Western intelligence as a PSYOP to make populations more hedonistic and easily controlled.
@@marcopervo KGB infiltration and their utilization of Marxist School of Frankfurt teachers that fled Nazi Germany and in their refuge here in America spread their commie poison here to the nation's youth. The USSR very well may end up winning the Cold War post-mortem unless this upside philosophy is combated with skilled debate and memetics before a new Hitler rises in radical reaction.
@@marcopervo I am not really quite sure how populations who are more hedonistic are more easily controlled. If you look at history, people were most easily controlled in societies where everything was forbidden.
@@mynamejeff785 Yeah, but the depictions of those shows of the military environment is light-hearted when it is anything but...
I still watch this every couple of months. I’m amazed at how similar her message is nowadays. Great work! How is she doing nowadays?
Every single one of us, the Devil inside. (Thanks, INXS.) This is a journey a large portion of us made, in many different ways-fortunately, usually not as dramatically. The question every would-be revolutionary needs to ask is: What happens after you tear it all down? What is your vision of the society you build afterward? I have yet to hear a good answer to that. History strongly suggests there isn't one.
that was AWESOME. this is just the best youtube channel
this woman was the kind of person the KGB used to call "useful idiots".........
Nobodyimportant But who will do the regulating...?
Nobodyimportant Perhaps some things should be regulated, others not. And by whom?
Nobodyimportant Um, I’m 12.
I viewed politics then as I do now -- politics was the ultimate "gyp" -- humanistic shuck n jive -- a restless sea whose turgid waters toss debris on either shore. I didn't care about what Gil Scott Heron had to say about the revolution being televised. I was a long-haired musician and writer within the quiet backwater of America. I worked on a horse ranch. I also created metal sculpture, built cars and custom motorcycles. I wasn't taken in by silly idealism which never works. The purpose in life is to create -- to be an extension of God. I appreciate this woman's candor. Thank you, David Hoffman.
When was this video taped? I’m guessing the late 80’s early 90s. It’s funny how many of the hippie types from the 60s either romanticize about those times of fighting against “the man“. Or they actually grew up and realized they were delusional.
Please read the description. 1989.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker the description doesn’t have the date, nor her name.
So interesting.... I love how open she was and how profound she was 'when you go underground in society, you begin to go underground in your own psyche'
In a sense the entire 60's was a 'suspended childhood', preventing folks from growing up and learning that 'things aren't always fun' or that you 'can't have what you want most of the time' etc.
Explains the social (political) mess we are in now + the utter dysfunctional way we handle relationships and conflict imho..
A lot of zoomers want to live off grid, self sustaining lives. That's the antithesis of what you speak.
@@colto2312 Because they have seen the horrors that the 60's and these leftist boomers brought us.
Hard times create strong men (Greatest Generation)
Strong men create good times (60's People Could Protest BS)
Good times create weak men (Boomers/Millennials)
Weak men create hard times (21st Century Social/Political Strife)
Hard times create strong men (Zoomers)
@@saaaahduuuuude1228 you're off a generation bud.silent's parents were hard times. silent were the good times. boomers the weak. Gatta remember one has to be >30 generally to be a politician.
lol
@@saaaahduuuuude1228 uhhhhh...good times being a millenial? LOL WHAT? my entire life, ive never been under a good economy. good times my ass. and im sure as hell no weak man.
This reminds me of the PBS documentary I saw long ago, _Making Sense of the 60s._
I wonder if this is a longer clip of a shorter portion that was in the documentary.
Yes. Read the description please. Thee are outtakes from my series.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker,
_Making Sense of the 60s_ was a great documentary, and you're right to be proud of it.
She's sort of like Homer Simpson's mother.
Melissa0774 she kind of sounds like he’s wife too
Just seen two videos, just now. I decided to subscribe. Good job. Continue well
Thank you Romeo.
David Hoffman filmmaker
07:45 - 08:25 the level of honesty and clarity is amazing and gives a lot of hope. It's not always easy for me to judge today's radical youth not as what they are in the present, but what they might be in the future. And they might be more like this amazing woman.
And just think of how this "cult" is affecting us to this day. The 2 founders of BLM, who are admitted Marxists, both have publicly stated that Eric Mann is their mentor, and he was in the Weather Underground. Susan Rosenberg handles BLM's finances, and she was also in the Underground. Obama reportedly began his political career at the home of Bill Ayers, who was the leader of the Underground. And multiple members of the Underground are involved in the 1619 project, which is effectively the educational manifestation of the poisonous Marxist critical race theory, and it's now being taught to our children.
So if you're wondering why it feels like half the country is in a cult, it's because they basically are.
More people need to see this, this where alot of what is going on now started.
In NZ- we did not have the economies of scale to create Weatherman. I led a solo effort to ban school hats. We were given detentions for not having one. So I wrote to the local paper stating that there was no interest in local politics because we had no school council. The principal announced the formation of a School Council on the Monday; and the letter appeared in the paper on Tuesday. So our class selected.elected a delegate and they chose "The class bimbo".
The biggest, of many changes, over the last 70 years was the emancipation of women. Believe that- in many cases our cause was noble!
so there were LARPers back in the 60s too
Exactly
As much as we like to think that people have changed over time, they haven't. We are essentially the same people dealing with the same problems since the beginning of time. That's why I don't subscribe to the BS caveman narrative.
This was another great interview David And during these times very poignant I’m 60 I remember as a child when I was 10 what was going on and how my grandparents and my parents were reacting to what was going on The mindset and ideology spilled into the seventies albeit with added issues I know that for a fact as I went through that decade and with it the combined ideology of both decades Great work If you ever need an interview on the seventies through my eyes and experience give me a shout Lol Very great work I hope a lot of today’s youth watch this
It was bad to be in a group. So I joined my country and my society. Lmao
She still´s kind of a crazy person. Now she is taking the side of a "peaceful" oriental mishmash. And in fact, she can think whatever she wants. But my point is, even when I believe in intuition and I think you can deal with the mysteries of life the way you like, there´s a childish dance-of-the-rain way of thinking which it´s hurtful for everybody. If you want to see changes in society you have to take it seriously and do your homework. It starts with basic economics and realism, not with idealism in my experience. And by the way, every authoritarian force or regime has its nice "ideal" dress on the surface. Things never end as nice as it seems. The road to hell is full of good intentions. Every time I talk by chance with one of these "idealists" they have some good points. But the measures they would like to take would destroy every country´s economy and functionality. When you show them, in the best possible manners, they fall into irrationalities. It´s not easy if you think, that societies of millions of people can function peacefully. There´s a lot to do but I think we are better than what many think and especially compared with the past in terms of poverty, life expectancy, etc. Still, I think that when the conservative side of society it´s too rigid and intrusive in people life and choices, a response to that sooner or later will come. Maybe not the better, but...
I think you hit home with this one.
the radical side of society( left and right) , can be as , or more intrusive than conservatives , even much much more intrusive !
What she says about dark forces and love reminds me of Marianne Williamson. There's something to be learned here and applied anew to our current moment.
Pick up a felony. It's the Necessary Fork in the road for their - LSD Dropping - Hurdy Gurdy Type Womyn. Angry, Vengeful, Elitist Womyn of White Privilege.
@TheRatstomper I see it more as "be a smarter, more strategic communist." Agree to disagree 😌
@TheRatstomper Vietnam is doing pretty great right now, so I don't think it's all doom and gloom for communism. That's one of the best places to be if you like not dying of COVID-19. And it's not like the red carpet was rolled out for revolution and all failures were on the merits; these movements faced intense opposition. Check out The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins for a look into the more unscrupulous (genocidal) tactics employed against obstacles to unfettered global capitalism.
The human mind is complex, but we are no different to sheep in many respects, you trot along with the flock, some trot with the flock, but aren’t happy, some make a run for it, ‘the shepherd sends the dog for the stray ones’ , some clever ones stay on the periphery of the flock, not quite in it, not quite out , they can feel that freedom, and smell that fresh air, but ultimately we are 🐑 🐑 🐑
@@andrewblack7852 thank you for providing the Sheep Andrew 😉
Sheep behavior is dictated by evolution. This was how they acted in the wild even before captivity. Although they were way more anxious and flighty because they had to be, no human or dog to chase off predators. They kept tightly together in flocks to survive. A lone sheep on the outskirts is dinner for predators. Humans do share characteristics of sheep in that we are social for survival reasons. Life is brutal. Living in groups has worked very well for a lot of species, but living in groups does include living within agreed upon rules, otherwise individuals would not be willing to stay together. If there isn't cohesion it loses its protective advantage. And yes sheep most definitely have rules they live by, not dictated by humans, but by what has worked for them in the past to survive. Those that remain in the safety of the flock have accepted them. Those that don't are on their own. Read into this whatever you like. It's just what is. I'm sure there's plenty of studies on the subject of the behaviors of social species and the reasons it is an incredibly successful method of survival. Sorry for the novel, I like sheep and I love biology.
@Martin Luther it doesn't matter where or how they originated. Even if you believe sheep just appeared as sheep they weren't domesticated then and were very physically different from domesticated sheep when they did. We created the domesticated sheep. (If you are of the judeo Christian belief system Adam and Eve left the garden with nothing. No sheep in tow) But behavior is linked to survival. All creation's behavior is linked to survival, that's kind of the goal of all living things. Despite our intervention most breeds still have social instincts. These behaviors are very ingrained in their genes and are passed down by those that did survive. Those that have inclinations to be loners in the sheep world die (at least in the wild for sure) and so do not pass down their non herding behaviors. Creationism does not deny heritability and survivability of certain beneficial traits. Dog breeding is an example, we see this in real time, except we are the environmental pressure and we decide what traits will continue and which will not. The natural world decides for most other animals. This wasn't an argument against anyone's preferences for how they believe the world came to be. Just an observation of how it is. Sociality is beneficial for us and for sheep.
You become what you hate when you are lead by hate. Hate breeds hate. I'm glad she had that realization.
Smart lady - I'm glad everything worked out for her.
Her loss if identity or being “alone” is why identity politics is so appealing today.
Youth really can be a confusing time. I have to say, im glad to be through that part. "Know thyself" seems, to me, to be some of the best, most concise advice out there
I think I listen to too uch Hip-Hop but when you hear 4:35
"What's your decision ?
Maybe it would have been better to get it over with
I think looking back that it would have been beter to get it over with
Cause they spent five years as a fugitive"
She would have blessed a mic for sure
I'm hearing what she's describing... The thefts, purchasing a gun, stealing people's stuff... And I'm like, that is NOT hippie ideology. "Peace and Love."
That a criminal lifestyle, not a hippie one. If she indeed WAS a hippie, she would've been like "no man, let's not take from others. Peace and loveeee"
You are correct. I never called her a hippie. What she was was a radical, folks who looked similar to hippies and dress style but were in no way hippie philosophical lifestyle.
David Hoffman filmmaker
Great interview-Lost then found it appears. There are still many cults in our world but I have to admit the woke culture seems to be the most obvious or high profile of confused thinking. Prays empathy and help to these people and remembering that all of us have flaws that can destroy us and others unless through the grace of God!
I find it funny how people can believe and get caught up in cult believe I’m just too mentally strong for something stupid like that. I am the person who’s always believed in myself. 👍🏿
I wonder how innocent bystanders might feel about all your "love".
BINGO!!!! They murdered.
Yes in spite of whatever is portrayed of the 60s , how it is now perceived I quote from the book Primary Colors . It was from an older man talking to this generation “ You kids were right about that damn war ! “
This channel is outstanding.
Thanks for this, David.