Eddie Vedder has said Zinn is one of his favorite authors. “You can’t be neutral on a moving train,” I would tell them. February 21, 2012 in Uncategorized. You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. You believe this country is worth defending, or you don’t. A rush of words, Pleading to disperse, Upon your naked walls, alive, A political call, The fall guy accord, We can't afford to be neutral on a moving train, Beyond the Staples Center you can see America, With its tired, poor, avenging disgrace, Peaceful, loving youth against the brutality, Of plastic existence. ... a gay man are judged and prosecuted every second for being who they are because it is out of the dominant paradigm’s definition of what is “normal.” I also know that there is a strong unease among gay men and trans-men. Others immediately saw what I meant: that events are already moving in certain deadly directions, and to be neutral means to accept that. You will fight for your rights, or you … So questioning the status quo comes with risks either way. “You can't be neutral on a moving train”: The psychosocial connection between patient and analyst Lynne Layton 1 Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society volume 17 … it best: “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” That means it’s time to take a stand. “A racist idea is any idea that suggests one racial group is inferior or superior to another racial group in any way,” he writes. I think he meant to say that you can't be still on a moving train, but he invented his own metaphor, and it is stupid. The risk of stagnation if you don't; or the risk of divorce if you do. That's the name of a book by Howard Zinn. So, after we watch, we look forward to talking about how Zinn’s message resonates and carries meaning today. It’s the same when we teach in the classroom and feign neutrality. Nobody knows what it means bit Mr Zinn thinks it's profound. If they can't meet you where you're at (or don't want to), they might change by changing partners. You change. Either you believe in the rule of law, or you don’t. “You can’t be neutral on a moving train” is the title of radical historian Howard Zinn’s autobiography. Some were baffled by the metaphor, especially if they took it literally and tried to dissect its meaning. I've been on moving trains and, yes, you can be very neutral on them. Assumptions change. “You can’t be neutral on a moving train” – Howard Zinn. What did Howard Zinn mean when he said, “You can’t be neutal on a moving train”? And when you change, the family system is affected and shifts to accommodate your change. Vedder and McCready wrote this after seeing the band Social Distortion in Los Angeles. Kendi explicitly defines what we mean by “racism,” essentially a marriage of racist ideas and racist policies. Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train Directed by Deb Ellis , Denis Mueller A rousing documentary about the radical historian and activist who has risked all to make a prophetic call for peace and justice in America. While I am sure Zinn’s words are open to interpretation, I have always… You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train Derek Pearce, James Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY American historian and activist Howard Zinn, who passed in 2010, released his memoirs in 1994 under the title “You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train”. The line, "You can't be neutral on a moving train" is the title of a book by author Howard Zinn. I signed out Zinn’s biopic, You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train, from my library and just finished watching it now. It’s a reminder that if we stand still as the world moves, we move in the same direction as the world, even though we experience ourselves as stationary. There’s no room for neutrality. 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