John Trudell

Before watching the film, I had heard of John Trudell, but I didn't really know anything about him at all. I thought the opening was interesting with the "Extremely eloquent, therefore extremely dangerous" quote from the FBI. I was surprised the FBI didn't think he would therefore probably be helpful. A guy that eloquent is probably very smart, able to give insights others do not have access to. I found him to be a very endearing man, with noble motivations despite so much hardship in his life- from his battles with the U.S. government and the resulting loss of his family in a fire. I thought the Alcatraz incident was an interesting showcase in the battle of sovereignty and the disregard for treaties. Some compelling comments or quotes from him I thought were "America does not have the spirit to live". "The great lie is that it is civilization, or civilization is a lie" Some interesting things about his life to me was that his mother died when he was only six years old. He said he didn't like God, didn't trust him. I was surprised to find out that a such a peaceful protester type of guy that he is had been in the military, even though he only did it because he wanted to get away from his current situation at the time. I found interviews with him to be very compelling. He is a very engaging speaker; I can see why many people listen to what he has to say. I also thought it was pretty ballsy of him to burn the American Flag on the steps of D.C.