YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Animal Farm Read Along Pt. 3 (Ch. 3-4)

Animal Farm Read Along Pt. 3 (Ch. 3-4) — Transcript

by Robert Kennedy · 13,082 words · 2,249 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00direction.
0:01>> Yeah, absolutely.
0:03So, yeah, let's go ahead and get
0:04started. Um I think I just pushed
0:07record.
0:08Um and someone might need to help me
0:11out. I know we were in the middle of
0:12chapter 3. Um I think we were
0:16um
0:18about right here.
0:21The pigs had set aside a harness room as
0:24headquarters for themselves. I could be
0:26wrong on that, though.
0:28Do you have a recollection exactly where
0:30we were at?
0:32>> Um
0:33I think that's where we were at, yeah.
0:36>> Okay. So, um
0:39basically, you know, just a uh one for
0:42um a lot of you have been coming on a
0:44regular basis, so you know the drill
0:46here. We're just going to take turns
0:48reading um and pause to comment when
0:52necessary, and everybody here is welcome
0:55to comment, so uh this isn't a pass or
0:59fail here. Uh feel free to express what
1:02comes to mind, so um and that, you know,
1:05that that's directed to the students out
1:07there specifically. Um
1:11and then um
1:13what's been happening? Well, chapter,
1:15you know, just to recap chapter 1, we've
1:17got um
1:21we've got um Moses, this wise older pig
1:26who gives this very inspiring speech
1:28about the oppression that they've been
1:30feeling.
1:31Um and then we get this beautiful song,
1:34Beasts of England, that kind of rallies
1:37them together. Uh chapter 2 uh is when
1:42we see the rebellion happen. Um and then
1:46we see as a result we see the seven
1:49commandments, so we begin to see their
1:51values become codified. Um
1:55and it chapter 2 kind of ended with a
1:59little bit of kind of a nefarious
2:02foreshadowing
2:04um with um
2:06Napoleon
2:09uh basically saying don't worry about
2:10the milk and when people came or the
2:12animals came back they noticed the milk
2:14was gone.
2:15And so the implication is there that
2:17that oh Napoleon is making use of that
2:20milk for him and his uh comrade pigs.
2:23Um
2:25and so now we're in chapter three.
2:29Um and basically we see them kind of
2:33working
2:35uh
2:36um getting the farm going. Some
2:38production is in here. We've got
2:41um
2:42um
2:44the uh
2:45whatchamacallit uh what what is the
2:48donkey's name again?
2:49>> Boxer No.
2:51>> Boxer yeah. This this idea that I'll
2:53work harder.
2:55>> Mhm.
2:55>> Right. He represents the working class
2:57and all of that.
2:59And so let's just I'm not sure if
3:01exactly if this is where we were at but
3:04uh oh and then we had this uh yeah I
3:06remember having this discussion here.
3:09Kind of this one donkey you know kind of
3:12um or uh Boxer's the mule not the donkey
3:15but this donkey here just basically
3:17saying
3:19sort of implying like I've seen this
3:20before man.
3:21>> [laughter]
3:22>> Don't don't get too excited about this
3:23stuff.
3:24>> I know.
3:24>> Um
3:25but um yeah I think we were about right
3:28here. Let's let's start with this
3:30paragraph and
3:32um
3:33I will
3:35I'll go ahead and begin. I'll just go
3:36ahead and read this paragraph then we
3:38can go from there. The pigs had set
3:40aside the harness rooms as headquarters
3:42for themselves. Here in the evenings
3:45they studied blacksmithing,
3:47carpeting, and
3:48arts from books which they had bought
3:51brought out from of the farmhouse.
3:54Snowball also busied himself with
3:57organizing the other animals into what
3:59he called animal committees.
4:02He was indefat-
4:06What is that word?
4:08>> [laughter]
4:09>> Indefatigable?
4:11That is a That must be a a word used in
4:13England that
4:15Yeah. Be familiar with what that word
4:17is? I don't know what that word is.
4:18>> I think it means like he was
4:21undeterred and worked like it was not
4:24going to be defeated.
4:25>> Indefatigable. Okay. Yeah, just Yeah,
4:27okay. So, students, if you struggle with
4:30words, right?
4:32Here's a guy who's supposedly college
4:34educated and here I am going, "What the
4:35heck does that mean?"
4:37Right? He is indefatigable at this. He
4:39was indefatigable at this. He formed the
4:41egg production committee, committee for
4:43the hens, the clean tail league for the
4:46cows, the wild comrades reeducation
4:48committee. The object of this was to
4:50tame the rats and rabbits. The
4:54Witherwool movement for the sheep, the
4:56various others. Besides instituting
4:58classes in reading and writing, on the
5:01whole, these projects were a failure.
5:05The attempt to tame the wild creatures,
5:07for instance, broke down almost
5:09immediately. They continued to behave
5:11very much as before. And when treated
5:14with generosity, simply took advantage
5:18of it. The cat joined the reeducation
5:22committee and was very active in it for
5:25some days. She was seen one day sitting
5:28on a roof and talking to some sparrows
5:31who were just out of her reach. She was
5:34telling them that all the animals were
5:36now comrades and that any sparrow who
5:39chose could come and perch on her paw.
5:43But the sparrows kept their distance.
5:46Yeah, very interesting. And before I
5:49started recording, we were sort of
5:51referring to Pedagogy of the Oppressed
5:53and
5:54Yeah, taking a page from Fiera's book.
5:58I'm recognizing the problem here.
6:02How would you link Fiera to the failure
6:06here as as pointed out?
6:09Martha
6:10>> Well, that there's there
6:14There's an oppressor coming up by an
6:17ascendant oppressor.
6:19And there and it's it's um
6:22The pigs are ascending to their you know
6:25to becoming the oppressors and they want
6:28to re-educate everyone else according to
6:31their their ways of thinking.
6:35Yeah, animals aren't you know falling in
6:38line.
6:39>> Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm not seeing any room
6:43for dialogue, right? I think Snowball
6:46has an idea of what they need to learn.
6:48What they need to be re-educated on and
6:51he's not recognizing their nature,
6:54right? Rats and rabbits are going to be
6:56rats and rabbits and so if you want them
6:59to be part of the community, well, maybe
7:01you need to talk to the rabbits and the
7:03rats to see how they could contribute
7:05and what are their strengths and all of
7:07that kind of stuff that
7:09yeah, they they want them to be pigs and
7:11they're not pigs.
7:12>> [laughter]
7:14>> Yeah.
7:14>> Yeah.
7:15Okay.
7:17I'll continue. The reading and writing
7:19classes, however, were a great success.
7:22By the autumn almost every animal on the
7:25farm was literate in some degree. As for
7:27the pigs, they could already read and
7:29write perfectly. The dogs learned to
7:32read fairly well, but were not
7:34interested in reading anything except
7:36the Seven Commandments.
7:38Muriel the goat could read somewhat
7:40better than the dogs and sometimes used
7:42to read to others in the evenings from
7:45scraps of newspaper which she found on
7:46the rubbish heap.
7:48Benjamin could read as well as any pig,
7:51but never exercise his faculty. So far
7:54as he knew, he said there was nothing
7:56worth reading. Clover learned the whole
7:58alphabet, but could not put words
8:00together. Boxer could not get beyond the
8:02letter D. He would trace it out ABCD in
8:06the dust with his great hoof and then
8:09would stand staring at the letters with
8:10his ears back, sometimes shaking his
8:13forelock trying with all his might to
8:15remember what came next and never
8:17succeeding. On several occasions indeed
8:19he did learn EFGH,
8:22but by the time he knew them it was
8:24always discovered that he had forgotten
8:26ABC and D. Finally he decided to be
8:30content with his first four letters and
8:32used to write them out once or twice
8:34every day to refresh his memory.
8:36Mollie refused to learn any but the six
8:39letters which she spelled her own name.
8:41She would form those very neatly out of
8:43pieces of twig and then would decorate
8:46them with a flower or two and walk round
8:48them admiring them.
8:50>> Aw, bless her heart.
8:53>> [clears throat]
8:53>> Yeah, any student want to open up their
8:55mic and and give the next
8:58little paragraph here a read?
9:05>> Yes.
9:06>> Excellent.
9:08>> None of the other animals on the farm
9:11could get further than the letter A.
9:15It was also found that the stupider
9:18animals, such as the sheep,
9:21hens, and ducks were unable to learn the
9:24seven commandments
9:26by heart. After much thought, Snowball
9:30declared declared that the seven
9:33command- commandments
9:36could in effect be reduced [snorts] to a
9:39single maxim,
9:41namely, "Four legs good, two legs bad."
9:45This, he said, contained the essential
9:49principle of animalism.
9:52Whoever had thoroughly grasped it would
9:55be safe from human influences.
9:59The birds at first objected, but it
10:03seemed to them that they also had two
10:06legs,
10:07but Snowball proved to them that this
10:10was not so.
10:12>> All right, thank you. Was Is that Helena
10:15that that was just reading?
10:16>> Yes.
10:17>> Okay, good. I just wanted to
10:19Okay, um
10:22Yeah, so here we have the introduction
10:25of slogans.
10:27Four legs good, two legs bad. Um
10:31and
10:33this is sort of a double-edged sword. Um
10:35slogans are a very useful thing for
10:39movements. It binds people together, but
10:42what could be the problem? And I think
10:44we have the problem pointed out here. Um
10:48um
10:50But what can be the problem with
10:51sloganeering?
10:56>> Um
10:57>> Yeah, yeah, Martha or anybody.
11:02>> So, I would say that it reduces the
11:05issues to to you know, like a a litmus
11:09test or or a one one um you know,
11:13there's no room for dialogue or for for
11:17other thoughts to exist.
11:19Um I I was talking to some of my
11:22students and um
11:25I always talk about the pendulum of
11:27history, right? That it swings this way
11:30and swings that way and we've had
11:31Republican presidents, Democratic
11:33presidents, you know,
11:34um
11:35and
11:37I said, "But
11:39what I have learned is, you know, that
11:41doesn't work anymore. The vote blue no
11:44matter who." Or and I had heard that
11:48as far as slogans. And um and then I
11:51thought, "Well, there has to be
11:52something for the Republicans because,
11:54you know,
11:55I've never heard something." So, then I
11:57came up with
11:58um that the Republicans are like, "Vote
12:00red or we're all dead." You know, so um
12:03it's it's just kind of like bringing it
12:06to just one single factor where there's
12:08no thought there's no room for
12:10individual thought. I guess that's where
12:13I would
12:14say. I don't know. What What do you
12:15think?
12:16>> Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, within the
12:18context of this, yeah, what about the
12:19birds? They got two legs. So, are we
12:22bad? Right?
12:24>> Yeah.
12:24>> Yeah, something I'm thinking of an issue
12:27that had merit after George Floyd was
12:32witnessed to be murdered by a police
12:35officer. Defund the police. And although
12:39behind that slogan, it's it it wasn't
12:42intending to take all the money from the
12:44police. It was
12:45let's allocate perhaps money to social
12:49workers. So, if somebody's having a
12:50mental health crisis,
12:52the first step isn't men with badges and
12:56guns which could escalate it. That kind
12:59of a thing. But yeah, if you're not
13:01abreast of the issues and you hear a
13:04bunch of people that you're not familiar
13:06with out in the streets all yelling,
13:08"Defund the police."
13:10Well, no matter what one's experience
13:13with the police are, which it can be
13:17not a really good experience. There is a
13:19time where we all have had that
13:20experience, "Thank God, the police were
13:22there." And so, that you know, it it it
13:26can
13:27rally people together, but sometimes we
13:30forget
13:32we're preaching to the choir.
13:34Yeah. And Fernando points out, "Slogans
13:37can be so associated with other things
13:39instead of what they should be. For
13:40example, MAGA is associated to Trump."
13:43Yeah, what does MAGA stand for? Make
13:46America great again. So,
13:50who could disagree with that sentiment?
13:53But and yeah, what does that
13:56specifically mean within that movement?
13:59Yeah. So,
14:00>> And I I guess that's what you're saying
14:02that it leaves out context. I I I
14:05um
14:05>> Yeah.
14:06>> So, a slogan leaves out the context, you
14:09know.
14:10And
14:11um And in in seeing what's going on in
14:13France right now with all the um uh
14:17the chaos, I was asking someone with law
14:20enforcement experience, I'm like, "Why
14:22is this happening?" And and um it was
14:25saying that, well, you know, it's crowd
14:27control, whatever, la la la, and he
14:30says, "But you can't start killing
14:32people because it doesn't warrant lethal
14:34action, right?" Which is where we have
14:37problems here that uh you know, I I
14:41don't want to get political, but with
14:42the ice you know, that there has been
14:44lethal action and then that does
14:46creates a bigger problem. Um so,
14:50you know, uh
14:52like I don't know, I guess I'm
14:54focusing on the defund the police like
14:56you said, but um
14:57but it's like a slogan leaves out all
14:59the context and it doesn't leave room
15:02for individual thought. That's what I
15:03would say.
15:05>> Yeah. Yeah, for individual thought and
15:07nuance. Um
15:09And so, yeah, I think we
15:12need to be careful with sloganeering.
15:16Um
15:17it's um
15:18it's a very convenient tool for the
15:20powerful because, yeah, it shuts off a
15:23lot of critical thinking.
15:25Excellent. Yeah, another student want to
15:27jump in uh and give give a read? You
15:30maybe take on the highlighted right
15:32there.
15:39Yeah, go ahead and jump in Lillian.
15:43>> Hi, can you hear me?
15:44>> Yeah, we got you. Thank you.
15:46>> Awesome. A bird's wings, comrades, he
15:49said, is an organ of propulsion and not
15:51of manipulation. It should therefore be
15:54regarded as a leg.
15:56The distinguishnable distinguishing mark
15:58of a man is the hand, the instrument
16:00with which he does all his mischief.
16:03The birds did not understand Snowball's
16:05long words, but they accepted his
16:08explanation.
16:10And all the humbler animals set to work
16:12to learn the new maxim by heart. Four
16:14legs good, two legs bad was inscribed on
16:18the end wall of the barn above the seven
16:20commandments and in bigger letters when
16:23they had once got it by heart. The sheep
16:25developed a great liking for this maxim
16:27and often as they lay in the field, they
16:29would all start bleating, "Four legs
16:31good, two legs bad."
16:34"Four legs good, two legs bad." And keep
16:37it up for hours on end, never growing
16:39tired of it.
16:41>> Well, boy. Yeah, so they're doubling
16:43down. Um so, yeah.
16:45>> And the
16:46explanation.
16:47>> Mhm. And again, this is just coming from
16:50the pigs. They They came up with the
16:52slogan. They thought, "Wow, what a good
16:54idea." They heard some objections to it
16:57and then there was some explanation, but
17:00it doesn't sound like the birds really
17:01understood the explanation, but oh well.
17:04And so, now everybody is like in this
17:08trance uh for hours just saying this
17:11over and over again, "Four legs good,
17:14two legs bad." Um
17:17yeah. Um you know what kind of comes to
17:20mind too is that I think there's a
17:22certain hijacking of something uh that's
17:25really deep-seated in humans. Uh what
17:28we're seeing here when people engage in
17:30this
17:31is being entranced.
17:33Now, I don't think there's anything
17:36wrong with being entranced. Um it's just
17:39how one is entranced. And so, um if you
17:43I think probably the the functional
17:46place to be in trance is in a spiritual
17:48context. This is I think what prayer is
17:50for or church when people sing together
17:54for things that are beyond politics and
17:58fleeting things that men and women are
18:00trying to deal with as far as economics
18:02and whatever this kind of stuff. Um I
18:06think it
18:08I get a sense that prior to
18:09civilization, human beings were
18:11naturally entranced entranced. I I I I
18:14doubt uh people in tribal communities
18:17were ruminating on what happened last
18:20week and anxious about what was going to
18:21happen next year. And so they were
18:24entranced with the solidarity, the the
18:28the family of the tribe. And so I think
18:31it is something really deep in us that
18:33can be hijacked by political forces. And
18:37once and and the whole point of being
18:39entranced is
18:40to stop um
18:42intrusive uh just thinking in itself. Um
18:47Um and so this is what we see happening
18:49here. Um yeah, there's no thinking going
18:51on if everybody is just in unison saying
18:53these words that as we've seen, they
18:56don't actually know what this means.
18:58>> Well, um this reminds me of my daughter
19:00when she started kindergarten. Uh that's
19:03when we moved here to the valley and she
19:05had been in uh Mother's Day Out in
19:07Corpus Christi. And she came home, she's
19:10a kindergartner, and she says, "Mom, at
19:13you know, Hinojosa, that's her
19:14elementary, at Hinojosa they say
19:16Hinojosa Rattlers are the best." You
19:20know, cuz that's like that's part of the
19:22indoctrination. [laughter]
19:24>> Yeah.
19:24>> And she said, she's 5 years old, and she
19:27says, "But I think there are other
19:30schools that are the best, too.
19:32>> Oh, that's her heart.
19:33>> Parkdale,
19:35where she was at First Presbyterian,
19:38where she would would go to Mother's Day
19:40Out there. And I thought, what a
19:42critical thinker. You know, they're
19:44telling her, "Hinojosa Rattlers are the
19:46best." And she's like, "Wait a minute.
19:48I've got I have a I have a brain and I'm
19:50going to use it."
19:52>> Wow.
19:52>> So, uh this, you know, reminds me of
19:55that, that it's like part of that
19:56indoctrination, which is a lot of those
19:58totalitarian governments, authoritarian,
20:01right? It's indoctrination and not
20:03question nothing.
20:04>> Mhm.
20:05>> Don't question where the milk went.
20:07Which I I wonder like
20:09I mean, obviously this is a book and we
20:11can't, but is like if the animals at
20:13that point is like, "Wait a minute,
20:15where did that milk go?" Right?
20:16Investigate, find out, you know,
20:18whatever.
20:20Would it have continued, right? Which
20:22is, you know, where where we should be
20:24as citizens, right? Questioning.
20:26>> That's a really good point cuz
20:29yeah, I mean, that was that was chapter
20:31two if the animals had the word if they
20:34had had the self self-empowerment
20:37of like, "Hey, we're all in this
20:38together and everything we do should be
20:41in service of this entire community." If
20:44they had called out Napoleon,
20:46uh Napoleon would have lost his power
20:48immediately.
20:49>> Yeah.
20:50>> But now the precedent has been set um
20:53and that further empowers I got away
20:55with it. And that's a lot of how, you
20:57know, we look at usually the end of uh
21:00scandals where we see politicians doing
21:03these really terrible things, but it
21:05started probably early on in their life.
21:07They cheated on
21:09an assignment.
21:10>> Nixon was the worst. You know, he was
21:13the
21:14awful in in in California.
21:17Ran all kinds of dirty campaigns and
21:19then he went on and did, you know, on a
21:21grander scale and then blew up his life,
21:23but yeah.
21:25>> But yeah, I mean, that's when, you know,
21:27whether it's a politician or you you
21:29know of an individual who just blows up
21:31their life, it's not all of a sudden
21:33they are just doing it's slow. And it's
21:36sort of a test thing. Can I get away
21:37with it? Oh, I did. And then they keep
21:39doing it and I mean, that's the heart of
21:42a democracy,
21:44right? And I think we have forgot Well,
21:46I don't know, you know, last election
21:48might have shown us we haven't forgotten
21:50this, but there seems to be a for
21:52something we forgot that public
21:54officials work for us.
21:57We don't work for them. And so calling
21:59public officials out is a virtue of
22:01democracy. And in turn, it helps the
22:04leaders out because
22:06I'm sure at heart even the worst of the
22:09politicians want to be remembered for
22:11doing good.
22:12>> Mhm.
22:13>> Yeah.
22:14Excellent. Um yeah, somebody else want
22:16to read uh this little paragraph here?
22:23>> Can you hear me?
22:25>> Got you, Fernando.
22:26>> Uh
22:28Napoleon took no interest in his
22:31Snowball's com- committees.
22:33He said that the education of the young
22:36was more important than anything that
22:39could be done for those who were already
22:42grown up.
22:43It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had
22:46both help whelp
22:48whelped soon after the
22:52hay harvest.
22:54Uh giving birth between them to nine
22:57sturdy puppies. As soon as they were
23:00weaned
23:02I'm I'm sorry. Napoleon took them away
23:06from their mothers saying that he would
23:09make himself responsible for their
23:13education.
23:14He took them up into a loft which could
23:18only be reached by a leader a ladder
23:22from the harness room.
23:25And there kept keep them in such
23:29seclusion
23:31that the rest of the farm soon forgot
23:33their existence.
23:35>> Ooh.
23:36So, we got some kind of nefarious stuff
23:38going on here.
23:40>> Yeah.
23:41>> Um
23:43This kind of reminds me somewhat of the
23:46boarding schools for Native Americans
23:48taking the kids away from their parents
23:50to
23:51educate them on how to be white and
23:53Christians and all of that. Um
23:55But uh there's something even more
23:57nefarious going on here.
23:59>> Yeah. It also reminds me of uh in Spain
24:02during this the the Spanish Civil War
24:05that they would take the children from
24:08uh the I guess they were they were given
24:10all to the the Catholic Church, right?
24:12To for the nuns to raise them and and so
24:15it it it happens not just I mean
24:18everywhere, you know, where they want to
24:20uh have this you know, like I said
24:22totalitarian authoritarian
24:24um
24:25government.
24:28>> Yeah. Yeah, it's you get them young, you
24:31can teach them and
24:33I don't think it it it takes a lot to
24:35figure out what my what Napoleon might
24:38be doing with these puppies. These
24:40These are going to be his his personal
24:42bodyguards.
24:43>> Mhm.
24:44>> Yeah.
24:45Excellent. Somebody else want to jump in
24:47read the the next paragraph here?
24:58Okay. Well, I'll [clears throat] go
24:58ahead and read it but I'll do something
25:00>> it.
25:01>> Okay, cool. Bernice, please.
25:03>> The mystery of where the milk went to
25:06was soon cleared up. It was mixed every
25:09day
25:11big smashed here early
25:14apples
25:15Sorry, the early apples are now ri-
25:19ripening
25:20and the grass of the orchard was
25:23littered with windfalls.
25:26The animals
25:30of
25:30as a
25:31first
25:35assumed
25:36orders that these would be shared out
25:38equally. One day, however, the order
25:41went forth
25:43that all the windfalls were to be
25:45collected
25:47and brought to the harness room
25:51for the use of the pigs.
25:54At
25:55At this, some of the other animals
25:58murmured. It was no use.
26:00All the pigs were in full agreement on
26:04this point, even Snowball and Napoleon.
26:08Squealer was sent to make the necessary
26:10explanations to the others.
26:13>> Hey, thank you.
26:16Yeah, somebody want to read the next
26:17paragraph?
26:19>> I can read it.
26:20>> Excellent, Bianca.
26:22>> "Comrades," he cried, "you do not
26:24imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing
26:26this in a spirit of selfishness and
26:28privilege.
26:30Many of us actually dislike milk and
26:32apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole
26:35object in taking these things is to
26:37preserve our health. Milk and apples,
26:39this has been proved by science,
26:41comrades,
26:42contain substances absolutely necessary
26:44to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are
26:47brain workers.
26:49The whole management and organization of
26:52this farm depend on us. Day and night we
26:55are watching over your welfare. It is
26:57your sake that we drink the milk and eat
26:59those apples. Do you know what would
27:01happen if we pigs failed in our duty?
27:04Jones would come back. Yes, Jones would
27:06come back. Surely, comrades, cried
27:08Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping
27:10from side to side and whisking his tail,
27:12surely there is no one among you who
27:14wants to see Jones come back.
27:17>> Ooh, okay.
27:19I'll go ahead and read this last
27:21paragraph of the chapter and then uh
27:24maybe we can discuss
27:26the overall themes of chapter three if
27:28available to us.
27:30Now, if there was one thing that the
27:32animals were completely certain of, it
27:34was that they did not want Jones back.
27:38When it was put to them in this light,
27:41they had no more to say. The importance
27:43of keeping the pig in good health was
27:45all too obvious. So, it was agreed
27:48without further argument that the milk
27:50and the windfall apples, and also the
27:53main crop of the apples when they
27:55ripened, should be reserved for the pigs
27:58alone.
28:00>> Uh
28:01What's going on here?
28:04>> I want to hear from students. Yeah.
28:07>> Students, what's what's what's happening
28:09here that
28:10the milk and the apples, the windfall
28:13and even other windfall crops, main
28:17crops,
28:18uh are reserved for the pigs.
28:21And the animals are go The other animals
28:23are
28:25going along with this.
28:29>> Well, they they
28:30they're using a lot of tactics to kind
28:33of keep the animals at peace like fear
28:36fear mongering.
28:38>> Yeah. Yeah, what happened
28:40Yeah, what happened
28:41>> Yeah, the same like if they don't if the
28:43pigs fall or they they lose control the
28:46farmer might come back
28:48and nobody wants that even though
28:51um they're just eating all the food and
28:54all the good stuff for themselves and
28:56they're keeping it for themselves.
28:58>> Yeah, absolutely. And what's the
29:01justification of the pigs?
29:04>> Oh, that they because they use they
29:06think for everyone and they are smarter,
29:09they need more nutrients.
29:11>> Yeah. Yeah, so
29:14>> And who does that remind you all guys
29:15of?
29:20>> Yeah, are there any parallels that
29:22you've noticed
29:27in your lives or
29:38You One thing that comes to mind for me
29:40and and and students, there's all sorts
29:43of avenues of of how this parallels, but
29:46you you brought up Martha vote blue no
29:48matter who.
29:50Um
29:51and the implication of that is and I
29:55think this has got the Democratic Party
29:57in a lot of trouble in the past is at
30:00least we're not as bad as the
30:02Republicans.
30:03>> Mhm.
30:04>> And so
30:05um
30:06that's a very dangerous thing and
30:09they're using fear mongering, right? You
30:10either want us or you want them, right?
30:13We're not as bad, but still
30:17prices are going up, wages are going
30:19down year after year and so is it any
30:21wonder
30:23we have these wild swings in our
30:25election because
30:27you know, most people aren't
30:28ideological, they're just looking at
30:30their pocketbooks when they go vote.
30:32And so they're not thinking
30:35the implications of which party to vote
30:38for. It's just like maybe this party is
30:40going to get my wages up. But yeah, that
30:43where you know, they almost be explicit
30:46to that where we we can't we can't get
30:49your wages up as quickly as we would
30:50like to, but man, do you want the other
30:53party to come into play?
30:56Keep feeding us political power.
30:58>> Which is what I I I was thinking because
31:02it's some it's in especially here. It's
31:05not a vote for the pigs, it's a vote
31:07against the farmer.
31:10And that happens a lot, right? It's not
31:12a vote for these people, it's a vote
31:13against these other.
31:16And
31:17I saw that in the in 2016.
31:22Uh
31:25The Democrats elected
31:28or chose Hillary Clinton. Now, there
31:29were people that said she has she's not
31:32the best candidate, right?
31:34Well, that's what you're going to get
31:36and we're going to shove her down your
31:37throat whether you want it or not. And
31:39and people some people didn't want it,
31:40right? Cuz that that that's where that
31:42individual thought is so
31:46crucial. Because I remember seeing a
31:49I think he was some guy and he's like, I
31:52would have voted for Donald Duck.
31:54Like I was not going to vote for her.
31:57And that just kind of makes me again,
32:00it's like it's not a vote for them, it's
32:02a vote against this other person, right?
32:05And so the pigs are using the same
32:07thing. I don't we Do you want the
32:11farmer? No, we you don't want the
32:13farmer, you want so like us, you know?
32:16But I also see parallels to the wealthy,
32:20to the elite, to the you know, we know
32:23how to run this economy.
32:26You don't know how to run this economy.
32:28Even like, you know, during the Gilded
32:30Age, us monopolists, right? We are
32:34building America on the backs of you
32:36people, but we're the ones that are
32:38building America, right? And you you you
32:40don't know that. You know, you you
32:42cannot um you're incapable of knowing
32:45how to run an economy. Um and so I I
32:47mean, maybe I'm those are like far
32:49reaches, but that's kind of what I see.
32:53>> No, I don't think it's a far reach at
32:54all. Yeah, Helena, please I just open up
32:57your mic.
32:59>> Yes.
33:00Um without trying to be to be like
33:03political or anything like that, but uh
33:06what Miss Martha was was uh saying just
33:10now, I remember seeing
33:13um a lot of look you know, like backlash
33:17against the Florida because they did it
33:19they
33:20uh voted red.
33:23It's one of the the states that didn't
33:26didn't go blue.
33:27And uh like everyone was like putting
33:30them down, right?
33:32Cuz they didn't follow
33:34um everyone else.
33:36But then uh later I was seeing uh I
33:38don't know how real it is, but I was
33:40seeing a a um
33:42something in social media saying that
33:45the last
33:47couple of days or I don't I mean, years,
33:50uh they had really good uh Republican
33:54representation. Like they they did a lot
33:58in
33:59in the state.
34:00And that is one of the things, you know,
34:03that they're going
34:05they're not voting just because
34:08uh
34:10uh against or like to go with one of the
34:14parties, it's because that worked for
34:16them.
34:17And like they're
34:19it made me think that they're putting
34:21more thought into the voting process,
34:24right? Because they have had good
34:27um
34:28uh Republicans in the government, so
34:31they decided to go
34:33with the same thing without the
34:34pressure, you know, external pressure or
34:36trying to go blue.
34:38>> Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people forget
34:40that I mean, a lot of people I think
34:42identify with political parties um
34:44becomes their identity. And so, no
34:47matter who is running, I'm voting
34:49against that party and I'm voting for
34:50this party every single time. And there
34:53might be actually material gains from
34:56because we forget it's individuals
34:58running within the political party. And
35:01also, we forget that political parties
35:04over history have changed. I mean, at
35:06one point the Democrats were the party
35:09of white supremacy. Um that began to
35:12change
35:14um
35:15really following World War II. It was a
35:18slow change, but by the 1980s, there was
35:20a realignment between the political
35:22parties. Um and so, that's a real good
35:25thing to keep in mind. But yeah, this is
35:29you know, I also see this is very
35:30fairarian as well. Uh the pigs are
35:33assuming that they have all of the
35:35intelligence.
35:37Um
35:38And what they what the pigs are just
35:40failing to understand is they have
35:41certain strengths,
35:43but the other animals also have their
35:46own attributes that can contribute to
35:48the farm. And so, this is there's not
35:52going to be a lot of buy-in to this
35:53movement. It's it has to be from an
35:56authoritarian
35:57um regime if it's just going to come
35:59from one perspective.
36:02And we see early on in this book,
36:03they're justifying getting the bulk of
36:05new
36:06the nutrition.
36:07Uh which is no small thing. That means
36:11the other animals are going to have to
36:13do without.
36:15Uh who Yeah, brain work does take
36:17calories, but so does using your body to
36:21do hard work.
36:23Everybody gets this nutrition.
36:25>> Yeah. Did you uh
36:27Hayden
36:29I I think it's is that Clarissa Hayden?
36:30Is she on?
36:31>> Oh yeah, hey Clarissa. Yeah.
36:34>> Did you see her note there?
36:36Oh, there you are.
36:38>> Yeah. It might be a bit but the pigs
36:40taking the apples and the milk made me
36:43think of the tech bosses saying we need
36:45to give up our drinking water for their
36:48AI sk- scale. That's a great analogy. I
36:51mean
36:53Yeah, so yeah, what are we supposed to
36:56do if
36:58you know, most of the water on this
36:59planet is is not drinkable. So, the
37:02limited water we have if it's going to
37:04cool down
37:06the these uh huge data centers
37:10uh what really is the benefit to most of
37:13us? The only benefit is it's going to
37:15further enrich these tech
37:18uh bros.
37:19Um
37:20And yeah, what are we getting out of
37:22this? I don't even know what these tech
37:24centers are actually going to really do.
37:27Uh
37:28And um yeah, I think that's a great
37:31analogy cuz yeah, without drinkable
37:33water
37:35uh it doesn't matter what your politics
37:37are.
37:37>> [laughter]
37:39>> Yeah, I think somebody has two people
37:41had a question, but I I see um
37:44>> Okay.
37:45Uh oh, yeah. Go for it, Helena.
37:48>> Um well, without trying to
37:50>> [laughter]
37:51>> uh give any spoilers, but um this with
37:54the apples and the and the milk like
37:57it's it's the the starting point or the
38:01way that uh the pigs are like kind of
38:04like justifying going back to every
38:06single point that they were against like
38:08the farmer. Like
38:10uh with saying like we're not going to
38:12sleep in their house, we're not going to
38:16uh eat differently, this and that. Like
38:18in in slowly they're coming back to all
38:20of that and justifying it, you know,
38:22like one by one.
38:25And counting on the ignorance of the
38:29other animals. Kind of like very similar
38:32to
38:33>> Yeah.
38:34>> the world in general. [laughter]
38:36>> Yeah, without getting very specific
38:37about this, but you know, one of the
38:39problems with our political system is uh
38:42we allow our public officials to stock
38:45trade.
38:46And so, when one party is in office,
38:50then you have this kind of malfeasance
38:52going on, which is legal. Why is it
38:54legal? Because they made it legal.
38:56That's a big problem because they're the
38:58ones making the law that's regulating
39:00industries, and that gives them not just
39:02insider information, it gives them
39:04information right from the get-go, so
39:06they greatly profit from it, which
39:09really disrupts the the dynamics of the
39:12economy. Uh but what's Yeah, to your
39:16point, Helena, um
39:18if one party's out of office, they'll
39:20point fingers at those people and
39:22saying, "Look, they're stock trading."
39:23But then the other party gets in and
39:25they're doing the same exact thing.
39:28These people make about $200,000 a year
39:32in
39:33you know, a rep or a senator, but these
39:35people are multimillionaires by the time
39:37they leave office, and a lot of that has
39:39to come from stock trading. And that
39:41it's not partisan. The Democrats and the
39:43Republicans, not all of them, but many
39:46of them are doing that, and that should
39:48not be legal. It once wasn't legal.
39:51Uh for very good reasons,
39:53uh but yeah, it's uh it's a problem
39:56there.
39:57Okay, well, yeah, great discussion
39:59there. Let's continue. Uh does somebody
40:01want to start off with chapter four?
40:04>> I'll start um
40:07By late summer, the news of what had
40:10happened on Animal Farm had spread
40:11across half the county. Every day,
40:14Snowball and Napoleon sent out flights
40:16of pigeons whose instructions were to
40:18mingle with the animals on neighboring
40:21farms, tell them the story of the
40:23rebellion, and teach them the tune of
40:25Beast of England.
40:27It's almost like they're sending out
40:28missionaries, right? Most of this time,
40:30Mr. Jones had spent sitting in the tap
40:33room at of the Red Lion at Willingdon,
40:36complaining to anyone who would listen
40:38of the monstrous injustice he had
40:40suffered in being turned out of his
40:42property by a pack of good-for-nothing
40:45animals. The other farmers sympathized
40:48in principle, but they did not at first
40:50give him much help. At heart, each of
40:53them secretly wondering whether he could
40:56not somehow turn Jones' misfortune to
40:58his own advantage. It was lucky that the
41:01owners of the two
41:02farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on
41:04permanently bad terms. One of them,
41:07which was named Foxwood, was a large,
41:09neglected, old-fashioned farm, much
41:11overgrown by woodland and
41:13and with all of its pastures worn out
41:17and its hedges in a disgraceful
41:19disgraceful condition. Its owner, Mr.
41:21Pilkington, was an easy-going gentleman
41:24farmer who spent most of his time in
41:26fishing or hunting according to the
41:28season. The other farm, which was called
41:31Pinchfield, was smaller and better kept.
41:33Its owner was Mr. Frederick, a tough,
41:36shrewd man perpetually involved in
41:38lawsuits and with a name for driving
41:40hard bargains. These two disliked each
41:43other so much that it was difficult for
41:45them to come to any agreement even in
41:47defense of their own interests.
41:49>> Oh, this is a really interesting opening
41:52to chapter 4. And again, uh, I'm so glad
41:57that common reading text, uh, committee
42:00put these two books together, Pedagogy
42:02of the Oppressed and the Animal Farm,
42:03because
42:05what we're seeing here is
42:08uh, these are the former oppressors. Mr.
42:10Jones is really down on his luck. He's
42:13getting drunk at the local the tavern.
42:17The other farmers are sympathetic to
42:18him, but you know, what are they doing?
42:20At heart, each of them was secretly
42:22wondering whether they could get somehow
42:24turn Jones' misfortune to their own
42:25advantage.
42:27Rather than helping out this poor guy.
42:29And so, what
42:31um,
42:31Freire points out is that
42:34um, the oppressed
42:36typically turn out if if they have some
42:38sort of revolution, turn out to become
42:40oppressors themselves. Why? Well, that's
42:43how they were raised. They absorbed
42:45their oppression, internalized it, and
42:48viewed it as
42:50almost viewed it as a normalcy
42:53Um, and it's basically in their heart
42:56this that trauma of being oppressed and
42:58now I'm in charge it's my turn. And the
43:02old story is you know you know the old
43:04saying of hurt people hurt people.
43:07Um
43:09So yeah, this is their this is the pig's
43:12model here all of this this uh
43:16self-interest and backbiting that's
43:18going on. And in the previous chapter
43:22did anyone recall uh
43:24what you know Snowball is doing
43:26something that's actually pretty
43:28productive. I don't think he's going
43:29about it the right way. It's kind of
43:31top-down but he's creating all of these
43:33committees like a division of labor to
43:35get this thing going but what is
43:36Napoleon doing behind the scenes?
43:42What does Napoleon think of those
43:43committees?
43:47>> He thinks it's a waste of time and he is
43:49well working behind everybody's back
43:51even Snowball's by taking like the
43:54puppies and everything.
43:56>> Yeah, right and yeah.
43:59So where did yeah, obviously Napoleon
44:01learn this by watching the humans
44:05the oppressed
44:06is now becoming the oppressor because
44:08this is his model.
44:10Um
44:12And so it really points to an importance
44:14of what Fiera is getting at in Pedagogy
44:16of the Oppressed that uh
44:18if we ever want to get pra past
44:20oppression
44:22uh
44:24then we it really needs to start in the
44:27schools to to to to model um
44:32dialogue and
44:34to try to leverage everybody's talents
44:36and and use those talents as a means of
44:40contribution to a greater end
44:42whatever the enterprise is you know
44:44whether it's education uh
44:47city planning uh
44:49the economy politics.
44:52We all do have something to contribute.
44:55But with an authoritarian regime, uh
44:57people's potential gets squeezed out.
45:01>> Mhm.
45:02>> Yeah. Um
45:04excellent. All right, another student
45:05want to jump in and get through this
45:08this paragraph here?
45:10>> I can read it.
45:11>> Excellent, Bianca.
45:13>> Nevertheless, they were both thoroughly
45:15frightened by the rebellion on Animal
45:17Farm and very anxious to prevent their
45:20own animals from learning too much about
45:22it. At first, they pretended to laugh to
45:24scorn the ideas of animals managing a
45:26farm for themselves. The whole thing
45:28would be over in a fortnight, they said.
45:32Sorry. They put it about that the
45:35animals on the Manor Farm, they insisted
45:37calling it the Manor Farm.
45:40They would not tolerate the name Animal
45:42Farm, were perpetually fighting among
45:44themselves and were also rapidly
45:46starving to death. When time passed and
45:48the animals had evidently not starved to
45:50death, Frederick and
45:52Sorry. Uh Pilkington changed their tune
45:55and began to talk
45:58to the talk of the terrible wickedness
46:00that now flourished on Animal Farm. It
46:02was given that It was given out that the
46:04animals there practiced cannibalism,
46:06tortured one another with red-hot
46:09horseshoes, and had their females in
46:11common.
46:12This was what came of rebelling against
46:14the laws of nature, Frederick and
46:16Pilkington Pilkington said.
46:19>> Uh
46:20this is kind of interesting. Again, this
46:22is all an analogy of what happened in
46:24Russia leading up to Stalin.
46:27Um
46:28sort of reminds me that they wouldn't
46:29even call it Animal Farm. Yeah, Western
46:32countries, the United States, England,
46:34France, all of them after the Russian
46:36Revolution referred refused to recognize
46:39them. Uh they had no diplomatic
46:41relations with uh the Bolsheviks,
46:45communist Russia, until uh the 1930s.
46:49Um
46:50and there was all sorts of propaganda
46:52about this. So,
46:54um
46:55the the problem with that is
46:58not recognizing something doesn't make
47:00it go away. So, if you view it to be a
47:02problem,
47:03uh first and foremost, you need to
47:05recognize it and deal with it. And so,
47:08um I think this is what Orwell is is
47:11hearkening back to, the the early
47:13Russian Revolution and how Western
47:15countries
47:16uh chose to dealt with it. Um
47:19>> It's the disinformation that they're
47:21sending out, which I think is so
47:23interesting, right? That Let's just
47:25malign them. Let's just
47:27you know,
47:28uh spread lies about them and and and
47:31see who will believe them. And the and
47:33like all disinformation and um whoever
47:36wants to believe them believes it and
47:39whoever you know, it's
47:41those that want to follow along and and
47:43and not question, you know, not uh
47:46not investigate on their own. They just
47:48you know, which
47:50again,
47:51uh you know, uh Tik Tok and all those
47:53things that our students are looking at.
47:55Like, don't just believe it. Investigate
47:57it. You You go find the truth for
47:59yourself before you you you believe
48:02something, you know.
48:04>> Yeah, I mean and yeah, what we're seeing
48:06there is the dehumanization process,
48:08which
48:10justifies and perpetuates violence and
48:12brutality.
48:14Um you know, hu-
48:16human to human, it's almost impossible
48:17to do harm to someone you view as human.
48:20But yeah, if you've been exposed to
48:21propaganda, then it's very easy to fall
48:24sway to political leaders and
48:26>> Mhm.
48:26>> uh rally for
48:29people's deaths through warfare. Um
48:32because they've been dehumanized.
48:33They're not worthy of being viewed as
48:35human beings. Um
48:38rather than dialoguing or diplomacy, you
48:40know.
48:41It's It's inevitable that nation-states
48:43are going to have conflict with each
48:44other, but uh conflicts are often
48:47resolved for the in the long term
48:49through diplomacy rather than warfare.
48:52It turns out when you bomb and kill
48:54other people, uh
48:56those people get resentful. And even if
48:58you win that war, they they tend to come
49:01back to fight another day.
49:04Violence begets violence.
49:06>> Uh yeah, and I
49:08I told you I think I when I saw you on
49:10Wednesday that I've been doing the
49:12teacher observations
49:14uh for dual credit faculty, and I had
49:16one that was teaching about um
49:20uh World War II. She's doing 1302 for
49:23us.
49:23And um talking about the bomb, and she
49:26says the United States is the only
49:28country that has ever used a nuclear
49:31weapon.
49:33And she let it sit there for a while,
49:36and uh I mean, I grade on her, right? Uh
49:40for for doing that. Um
49:43and uh it's
49:47it's interesting to me, right, that that
49:49that we can say, "Oh, they're going to
49:51use a bomb. They're going to use a
49:52bomb." And, you know, Iran cannot have a
49:54nuclear weapon, which that's for you all
49:56to decide, but but the United States did
49:59use it, you know,
50:01uh during World War II. So.
50:04>> Yeah.
50:04>> Very interesting.
50:07>> Yeah, that's
50:11very problematic. Yeah.
50:14Yeah. Well, thank you, Bianca, for
50:15reading that. Does anyone want to take
50:17um
50:18Is this where we're at, or were we here?
50:20Um Yeah, we were Okay, this is where
50:22we're at. Sorry.
50:23Anyone want to take this paragraph here?
50:28>> I'll go ahead and do it.
50:29>> Okay, excellent, Berenice.
50:31>> However, these stories were never fully
50:33believed. Rumors of the wonderful farm
50:37where the human beings had been turned
50:39out
50:40and the animals managed their own
50:42affairs continued to circulate in vague
50:44and dis- dis-
50:47torted forms. And throughout that year,
50:50a wave of rebelliousness
50:52ran through the countryside. Bulls,
50:54which had always been
50:57tractable, suddenly turned savage. Sheep
51:00broke down hedges and devoured the
51:03clover. Cows kicked the pail over.
51:06Hunters refused their friends and shot
51:08their riders
51:10onto the other side. Above all, the tune
51:13and even the words of Beast of England
51:16were were known everywhere.
51:19It had spread with astonishing speed
51:21that human beings could not contain
51:23their rage. When they heard this song,
51:26though they pretended to think it merely
51:29ridiculous.
51:30They could not understand, they said,
51:33how even
51:34how even animals
51:36could bring themselves to sing such
51:38contemptible rubbish. Any animals caught
51:41singing it was given a flogging on the
51:44spot. And yet the song was i-
51:48irrepressible.
51:49The blackbirds whistled whistled it in
51:52the hedges. The pigeons cooked
51:55it in the elms. It got into the din of
51:58the smithies and the tune of the
52:01churches' bells.
52:03And when the human beings listened to
52:05it, they secretly trembled hearing it
52:08hearing it a
52:10prophecy of their future doom.
52:13>> Excellent.
52:15Yeah, what we're seeing here, I think,
52:17is the fruits of the humans not dealing
52:21with the situation
52:23as it is.
52:25Mhm. Right. And things are going
52:27um
52:28they're losing control.
52:30And so
52:31Yeah. Yeah, go on.
52:32>> It It takes me back to the to the
52:35um
52:37quote that I gave, I think, in the first
52:39uh podcast, that of Babington Macaulay,
52:42the guy that was in the parliament, the
52:44British parliament, that in the 1830s,
52:47during the Chartist movement, that he's
52:49like, you know, reform that you may
52:51preserve, right? If If you don't want a
52:53French Revolution at our doorsteps, we
52:56need to reform. And um this is what's
52:59going on, right? Like all the uh farmers
53:02are thinking,
53:03you know, that it's it's kind of like
53:05when they say like the the Arab Spring
53:07or whatever that there's like revolution
53:09in the air and it's it's kind of
53:11spreading. Um, and again to go back to
53:15the English um, example in the 1830s,
53:18they're saying the people want reform
53:21and then we don't give it to them, we're
53:23going to have, you know, the Russian
53:25Revolution at our doorstep, which kind
53:27of brings us back to what's going on in
53:29France. People want change and
53:33you know, that that I guess the easy
53:37sentence one-liner is the French
53:39government should look to how to change
53:41and address these these concerns that
53:44they have.
53:46>> Yeah, um
53:48it reminds me of that quote of Thomas
53:52Jefferson.
53:53Um
53:54>> Tree of liberty.
53:55>> the tree of liberty.
53:58>> Needs to be
53:59replenished with something by the
54:01>> Yeah.
54:02>> patriots.
54:04>> And I think that's exactly what's going
54:06on here. Do we have that? That's
54:08>> I think it's about the top.
54:09>> Yeah, it's not not very legible though.
54:12>> [laughter]
54:13>> Oh, wait, wait. It's right there. Oh, it
54:15was there.
54:15>> must be refreshed.
54:18>> Yeah.
54:19Yeah, the tree of liberty must be
54:20refreshed from time to time with blood
54:22and patriots. So the context of the
54:23speech is basic. This was in response to
54:26Shays' Rebellion and the rest of the
54:28founding fathers were pulling their hair
54:30up hair on fire and Thomas Jefferson had
54:33a a different very he kind of nuanced
54:35view on it and saying that um
54:39no political
54:41uh violence or just upheaval uh is
54:44sometimes necessary because it's
54:46inevitable that the elite class is
54:49uh by its very nature not really
54:51tethered to the earth, right? They don't
54:53have to deal with making a wage and
54:56negotiating their budget and so the
54:58policies that they create taxing people
55:01unduly and all of that. Yeah, they're
55:03not going to feel the effect and so to
55:06bring them back down to Earth,
55:08um
55:09Thomas Jeff- Thomas Jefferson was saying
55:11political violence is sometimes
55:12necessary to keep liberty um
55:16in play. Um but
55:18what I like to point out is it doesn't
55:20really always take violence. The civil
55:21rights movement is also an example of
55:23people refusing to comply with the laws
55:27that were perpetuating uh white
55:28supremacy. And okay, you want to arrest
55:31us for breaking Jim Crow laws? Well,
55:34>> Mhm.
55:34>> put us all in jail then see what happens
55:37to your budgets, right?
55:39We will drain your resources. And
55:41finally, you know, there was like,
55:42"Okay, we get it. I guess we're going to
55:45have to change the laws." And actually
55:48obey or not even change the laws, but
55:50obey
55:51uh the amendments of the Constitution
55:53that protect uh civil liberties and
55:55create new laws.
55:57Um
55:59Uh
55:59Fernando, I have a follow-up to looks
56:01like something that you post uh you
56:04commented on Martha, but nuclear weapons
56:06aren't necessary in current times. And
56:08that's a very interesting question. Um
56:10not to get us too off track here, but I
56:12think the argument for nuclear weapons
56:15is as a deterrent. Um
56:17uh we haven't had a global
56:21conflict that parallels World War II.
56:24Now, one reason for that might be
56:27nuclear weapons, all right? Cuz if
56:30if we ever had another global conflict
56:31probably like that, nuclear weapons
56:33might be used. So,
56:36even though we still have conflict, we
56:37still have a lot of wars, and uh one
56:40could argue that there has been global
56:42conflict, but it has been kind of
56:44splintered and a lot of proxy wars. Uh
56:48it hasn't paralleled the atrocities and
56:52the brutality of World War II. And a lot
56:54of that can be attributed to the
56:55deterrent of nuclear weapons.
56:57>> Right. And you know
56:59>> Oh, sorry.
57:00>> I just add that um the the the
57:03instructor that I observed when she said
57:05that, um she had also just
57:07uh uh on how Okinawa there was 50,000
57:11American uh troops that died. And so, I
57:16mean
57:17again, that's that's that's that's uh a
57:20question for that time for that time
57:22period for Truman to decide, and he did.
57:25Um but the context going back to it's
57:29all about the context and the time
57:30period and you know, what's necessary.
57:34>> Yeah, I think the the broader question
57:36about nuclear weapons, I think we could,
57:38you know, I mean
57:40you know, a lot of Americans have guns,
57:41and most Americans who have guns are
57:44very responsible with them, right?
57:47Law-abiding, but it doesn't take too
57:50many people to make it a problem. Some
57:53people use guns in very disastrous,
57:56tragic ways.
57:57>> Mhm.
57:58>> If we don't get a handle on nuclear
57:59weapons uh and really have a deep
58:02conversation about it,
58:04these weapons only been around for 70
58:06years. It's not inconceivable that we
58:08might have a situation where either for
58:12rational reasons they might be used or
58:15for insane reasons they might be used.
58:18Uh and the
58:20it's not like normal warfare. The
58:22implications of nuclear weapons is
58:25all life on this planet will cease.
58:27So, that question is a pretty complex
58:30question. It's it's kind of an and/or
58:33question.
58:34Uh
58:35but uh
58:36a broader conversation for another time,
58:38but I'm glad you asked that, Fernando.
58:40Uh
58:41something to think about.
58:42>> It's good engagement. Good student
58:44engagement.
58:44>> Uh
58:46Okay. Um yeah, somebody want to read the
58:49the next
58:51paragraph right here.
59:01>> I can
59:01>> I'll read it.
59:02>> Okay, go ahead. Go.
59:04>> Early in October when the corn was cut
59:06and stacked on some and some of it was
59:09already
59:10harvested, a flight of pigeons came
59:13whirling through the air
59:14and all
59:16all righted in the year the yard of
59:21Animal Farm in the wildest excitement.
59:23Jones and all the men with half a dozen
59:26others from Foxwood and pitch pinch
59:30field had entered the five bar bar gate
59:34and were coming up the cart track
59:38that led to the farm. They were all
59:41carrying sticks except Jones, who was
59:44marching ahead with guns in his hand.
59:46Obviously,
59:48they were going to attempt the recapture
59:50of the farm.
59:52>> Boy, people the humans are taking action
59:55here.
59:56Yeah, I'll go ahead and read this brief
59:58paragraph and we can open it up to
59:59somebody else after that. This had long
1:00:01been expected and all preparations have
1:00:03been made. Snowball, who had studied an
1:00:06old book of Julius Caesar's campaign,
1:00:09which he had found in the farmhouse, was
1:00:11in charge of the defensive operations.
1:00:14He gave his orders quickly and a couple
1:00:16of minutes every animal was at his post.
1:00:20Anyone to take on the next paragraph?
1:00:24>> I can read it.
1:00:25>> Yeah, thank you, Bianca.
1:00:28>> As the humans being
1:00:30as the human beings approached the farm
1:00:32buildings, Snowball launched his first
1:00:33attack. All the pigeons to the number of
1:00:3535 flew and to flew to and fro over the
1:00:39men's heads and muted upon them from
1:00:41midair. And while the men were dealing
1:00:43with this, the geese who had been hiding
1:00:45behind the hedge rushed out and pecked
1:00:47viciously at the calves of their legs.
1:00:49However, this was only a light
1:00:51skirmishing maneuver intended to create
1:00:54a little disorder and the men easily
1:00:56drove the geese off with their sticks.
1:00:58Snowball now launched his second line of
1:01:00attack.
1:01:01Muriel, Benjamin, and all the sheep with
1:01:03Snowball at the head of them rushed
1:01:05forward and prodded and butted the men
1:01:07from every side while Benjamin turned
1:01:08around and lashed at them with his small
1:01:10hooves.
1:01:11But once again, the men with their
1:01:13sticks and their hobnailed boots were
1:01:15too strong for them, and suddenly, at a
1:01:17squeal from Snowball, which was the
1:01:19signal for retreat, all the animals
1:01:21turned and fled through the gateway into
1:01:23the yard.
1:01:25>> Yeah, excellent. Looking up something
1:01:27here at Western against
1:01:30Russia.
1:01:32Um
1:01:35There was no direct uh
1:01:37Yeah, this does remind me of I mean,
1:01:40this is not remind me of this is Orwell
1:01:42talking about how when Britain, France,
1:01:44and the United States launched an attack
1:01:47shortly after the Russian Revolution of
1:01:481917 to try to suppress the Bolsheviks
1:01:52Revolution in there um and were pushed
1:01:55back as a result. Um
1:01:58Because yeah, the animal like just like
1:02:00the Russians, uh what we see here
1:02:02happening is that the animals uh do
1:02:04still have hope and that they are in
1:02:06solidarity with each other and they're
1:02:07able to defend themselves where these
1:02:09humans um are kind of approaching this
1:02:12with self-interest or I I don't think
1:02:15we're particularly too organized in
1:02:17their attack here.
1:02:18Uh
1:02:20But uh yeah, this is um
1:02:22a victory for the animals here. Um
1:02:26This uh Yeah,
1:02:28I'll go ahead and read this this larger
1:02:30paragraph here.
1:02:31>> I'll read. I'll read.
1:02:32>> Okay, yeah. Excellent. No, please do.
1:02:34>> The men gave a shout of triumph. They
1:02:36saw as they imagined their enemies in
1:02:38flight, and they rushed after them in
1:02:40disorder. This was just what Snowball
1:02:43had intended. As soon as they were well
1:02:45inside the yard, the three horses and
1:02:47the three cows, the rest of the pigs,
1:02:49who had been lying in ambush in the
1:02:51cowshed, suddenly emerged in the rear,
1:02:54cutting them off. Snowball now gave the
1:02:56signal for the charge. He himself dashed
1:02:59straight for Jones. Jones saw him
1:03:01coming, raised his gun, and fired. The
1:03:04pellets scored bloody streaks
1:03:08uh along Snowball's back, and a sheep
1:03:11dropped dead. Without halting for an
1:03:13instant, Snowball flung his 15-stone
1:03:17against Jones.
1:03:19Jones was hurled into a pile of dung and
1:03:22his gun flew out of his hands, but the
1:03:24most terrifying spectacle of all was
1:03:27Boxer rearing up on his hind legs and
1:03:29striking out with his great iron-shod
1:03:32hoofs like a stallion.
1:03:34He His first His very first blow took a
1:03:37stable lad from Foxwood on the skull and
1:03:40stretched him lifeless in the mud. At
1:03:43the sight, several men dropped their
1:03:44sticks and tried to run. Panic overtook
1:03:47them, and the next moment all the
1:03:49animals together were chasing them round
1:03:51and round the yard. They were gored,
1:03:53kicked, bitten, trampled on.
1:03:57There was not an animal on the farm that
1:03:59did not take vengeance on them after his
1:04:01own fashion. Even the cat suddenly
1:04:04leaped off a roof onto a cowman's
1:04:07shoulder and sank her claws in his neck,
1:04:10at which he yelled horribly. At a moment
1:04:13when the opening was clear, the men were
1:04:15glad enough to rush out of the yard and
1:04:18make a bolt for the main road. And so,
1:04:20within 5 minutes of their invasion, they
1:04:23were in ignominious retreat by the same
1:04:26way as they had come,
1:04:29with a flock of geese hissing after them
1:04:31and pecking at their calves all the way.
1:04:34>> Oh, yeah. Has anyone ever been attacked
1:04:36by geese before?
1:04:38>> [laughter]
1:04:39>> That's horrible. They are mean.
1:04:43>> [laughter]
1:04:44>> Yeah.
1:04:46Yeah, this uh somebody uh another
1:04:47student want to take on, let's say, just
1:04:50to here?
1:04:51>> Mhm.
1:04:56>> No? Okay, I'll I'll go. I'll I'll take
1:04:58it from here. Um all the men were gone
1:05:01except one. Back in the yard, Boxer was
1:05:03pawing with his hoof at the stable lad
1:05:07who lay face down in the mud trying to
1:05:09turn him over, but the boy did not stir.
1:05:12"He is dead," said Boxer sorrowfully. "I
1:05:14had no intention of doing that. I forgot
1:05:17that I was wearing my iron shoes. Who
1:05:19will believe that I did not do this on
1:05:22purpose? Oh, that's very sweet, Boxer.
1:05:25"No sentimentality, comrade." cried
1:05:27Snowball, from whose wounds the blood
1:05:30was still dripping. "War is war. The
1:05:32only good human being is a dead one."
1:05:35"I have no wish to take life, not even
1:05:38human life." repeated Boxer, and his
1:05:41eyes were full of tears.
1:05:43Oh, man. It's very sweet.
1:05:45"Where is Where is Mollie?" exclaimed
1:05:47somebody.
1:05:50Uh Mollie isn't What? Mollie, in fact,
1:05:53was missing. For a moment, there was a
1:05:56great alarm. It was feared that the men
1:05:58might have harmed her in some way, or
1:06:00even carried her off with them. In the
1:06:03end, however, she was found hiding in
1:06:06her stall with her head buried among the
1:06:09hay in the manger. She had taken to
1:06:12flight as soon as the gun went off. And
1:06:14when the others came back looking for
1:06:17her, it was to find that the stable lad,
1:06:20who in fact was only stunned, had
1:06:23already recovered and made off.
1:06:27Yeah, anyone want to take on this
1:06:28paragraph right here?
1:06:30>> There's I think Elena.
1:06:32>> Okay, yeah. Yeah.
1:06:35>> The animals had now reassembled in the
1:06:38wildest excitement,
1:06:41each recounting his own exploits in the
1:06:44battle at the top of his voice.
1:06:47An impromptu celebration of the victory
1:06:50was held immediately.
1:06:52The flag
1:06:53was run up, and Beast of England was
1:06:57sung a number of times.
1:06:59Then the sheep, who had been killed,
1:07:03was given a solemn funeral,
1:07:06a hay thorn bush
1:07:08being planted on her grave.
1:07:12At the graveside, Snowball made a little
1:07:15speech, emphasizing the need for all
1:07:18animals to be ready to die for Animal
1:07:20Farm, if need be.
1:07:23>> Ooh.
1:07:25All right. Thank you.
1:07:27>> Okay.
1:07:29>> Yeah, anybody want to read the next
1:07:30paragraph?
1:07:31>> She She said she could continue.
1:07:33>> Okay, cool. Okay.
1:07:35>> Can Can you pull a little
1:07:37>> Sure, sorry about that. There you go.
1:07:40>> The animals decided unanimously to
1:07:43create a military decoration, [snorts]
1:07:46Animal Hero First Class,
1:07:49which was conferred there and then on
1:07:53Snowball and Boxer.
1:07:55It consisted of a brass metal.
1:07:58They were really some old horses horse
1:08:02braces
1:08:03braces, which had been
1:08:05found in the harness room
1:08:08to be worn on Sundays and holidays.
1:08:12There was also Animal Hero Second Class,
1:08:16which was conferred post-uh humously. I
1:08:20don't know how to say that word.
1:08:21>> Yeah, you got it.
1:08:22>> On the dead
1:08:24sheep.
1:08:27>> Yeah.
1:08:28>> Okay, I'll I'll finish if you want,
1:08:30Sean. Um
1:08:32There was much discussion as to what the
1:08:34battle should be called. In the end, it
1:08:36was named the Battle of the Cowshed,
1:08:39since that's where
1:08:40that was where the ambush had been
1:08:42sprung. Mr. Jones's gun had been found
1:08:45lying in the mud, and it was known that
1:08:47there was a supply of cartridges in the
1:08:49farmhouse. It was decided to set the gun
1:08:51up at the foot of the flagstaff like a
1:08:54piece of artillery and to fire it twice
1:08:56a year, once on October the 12th, the
1:08:59anniversary of the Battle of the
1:09:02Cowshed, and once a midsummer day, the
1:09:04anniversary
1:09:06of the rebellion.
1:09:08>> Okay.
1:09:09>> [clears throat]
1:09:09>> End of chapter
1:09:11four. Excellent.
1:09:13Um
1:09:15Yeah,
1:09:16what's going on with this battle? Any
1:09:18thoughts? Anybody out there? What's
1:09:20what's happened and how might this
1:09:23further affect this movement?
1:09:35>> Well, if the
1:09:37the animals are realizing that there's a
1:09:38lot like for instance example of horse
1:09:40the he killed a young kid, right?
1:09:44>> Mhm. [clears throat]
1:09:45>> And I feel like it's starting to
1:09:49affect his um opinion on like
1:09:53if if he's doing the right thing being
1:09:55in this in in with the animals.
1:09:57>> Mhm.
1:09:59>> Yeah. Yeah.
1:10:00Hold on to that thought, too. Yeah,
1:10:02Boxer is a real endearing character in
1:10:04this in this uh story.
1:10:07Um
1:10:09So, yeah, we have
1:10:11yeah, the implications of violence and
1:10:12how it affects these characters.
1:10:15Uh what else is happening here?
1:10:20What's happening after the this little
1:10:23battle happens?
1:10:26>> Well, they're taking on um the uh again
1:10:29the oppressor, right? That they're going
1:10:31to have these military honors like
1:10:34humans, right? And they're going to have
1:10:37uh decorations, and so they're adopting
1:10:39a lot of their of of their thoughts um
1:10:43how they had um
1:10:44I guess that what they had been against.
1:10:46Uh which is I guess Russia and both
1:10:49China, right? That they'll start
1:10:50adopting some of the capitalist Western,
1:10:53you know,
1:10:55first it was a rejection of it, and then
1:10:57they start to to um to trade and to do
1:11:01things, you know, which this is military
1:11:03action, but
1:11:04um
1:11:05that's what I think. I don't know. What
1:11:07do you think, Sean?
1:11:09>> Yeah. Who do you think's going to get
1:11:10credit for this victory?
1:11:20>> Um Snowball.
1:11:23He was the guy in charge, right?
1:11:24Snowball? Then I Then I remember
1:11:26>> Yeah.
1:11:27Yeah. Yeah, the pigs I think in general,
1:11:29Snowball, Napoleon.
1:11:31Uh we haven't heard too much from
1:11:32Squealer, but yeah, the pigs as the book
1:11:35is an anti-communist or
1:11:36anti-authoritarian.
1:11:38It's um well, from the stand good
1:11:41question, Fernando. Um
1:11:43from the standpoint of the author,
1:11:45George Orwell, he's a social uh a
1:11:47democratic socialist. And so um it is
1:11:51more anti-authoritarian.
1:11:53I think what George Or- from George
1:11:56Orwell's perspective, who shares the
1:11:58politics of communism that the Russians
1:12:02do,
1:12:03I think his contention and what prompted
1:12:06him to write this book is the way the
1:12:09Soviet Union went about it in this
1:12:11authoritarian manner. Um and as a result
1:12:16uh this politics that uh George Orwell
1:12:19deeply believed in becomes completely
1:12:22maligned. I mean, all you have to say to
1:12:24somebody um
1:12:26if you disagree with their politics, is
1:12:28just to call them a communist, and then
1:12:30the discussion is over. And so I think
1:12:33this is what was greatly disturbing uh
1:12:35George Orwell in this.
1:12:38And so but yeah, no matter what the
1:12:39politics are, I mean, you could apply
1:12:41this to capitalism, you could apply this
1:12:43to socialism, uh to
1:12:46to capitalism.
1:12:48Um
1:12:50going about it in this authoritarian way
1:12:52is is always going to be the problem.
1:12:55Um but yeah, I think what we're seeing
1:12:57here is a a further solidification of
1:13:01the pigs' power, right? They're now
1:13:03they're creating rituals.
1:13:05Uh and this is going to further entrench
1:13:07I think the pigs' claim to power. You
1:13:10know, see, now that we got the
1:13:13uh and I think it'll further justify
1:13:14then hoarding resources. We need the
1:13:17apples, and we need the milk. Look, if
1:13:19we didn't I could see them justifying
1:13:21it. May perhaps later on in these
1:13:22chapters we might see that. If we didn't
1:13:25have this brain food, maybe the the
1:13:27humans would have taken us. And so the
1:13:29Yeah, but leadership has saved us. And
1:13:32so I think they the animals are going to
1:13:34fall further in line because I imagine
1:13:37this was pretty scary. Here comes the
1:13:39human beings trying to kill them and
1:13:42they won.
1:13:43And uh
1:13:44who who is to
1:13:46and who is to take credit to make sure
1:13:49that they had defenses, who made the
1:13:50planning? The pigs did.
1:13:53Um yeah.
1:13:55Well, we are at 12:20. So, I'm thinking
1:13:59this is a good time to not not get into
1:14:02chapter 5, but we have a good five
1:14:05or maybe even 10 minutes to
1:14:07discuss anything any further. So,
1:14:10anybody have any questions, comments?
1:14:11>> There is a question in the in the uh
1:14:14chat there that I think you could take.
1:14:19>> What is it?
1:14:19>> He was a democratic socialist, correct?
1:14:23>> Yeah, okay. I already addressed that
1:14:24question, Martha.
1:14:26The book is anti-communist or anti-
1:14:27Yeah, that's what I was addressing
1:14:28earlier, Fernando's question.
1:14:30Yeah, this book is
1:14:33yeah, first and foremost
1:14:35anti-authoritarian. It has been casted
1:14:38as anti-communist. It Uh what's
1:14:41interesting about this book is when it
1:14:44was first published
1:14:46uh it was kind of it was mainly
1:14:48suppressed because it was a direct
1:14:51attack on Stalin Russia
1:14:53at during World War II. And uh
1:14:57in countries like England and the United
1:14:59States, they weren't really in the mood
1:15:02to entertain attacks on Stalin because
1:15:05Stalin's Russia was a critical ally in
1:15:08World War II.
1:15:10But conveniently, after World War II,
1:15:13this book got republished and then
1:15:15becomes a real big bestseller and I
1:15:17think it's casted as
1:15:20an anti-communist
1:15:22uh
1:15:22treatise
1:15:24uh rather than an anti-authoritarian
1:15:27um
1:15:28treatise
1:15:29uh which I think misses the point in
1:15:31what Orwell was trying to get at here.
1:15:35Yeah.
1:15:35>> Which is kind of what we talked about
1:15:37last time that happened with The Jungle,
1:15:39that it was a socialist, pro-socialist,
1:15:42and it came out as like, "Oh, we need to
1:15:43do something about the meat packing."
1:15:46So, it's like, who's your audience? What
1:15:48was the purpose? And it missed the
1:15:49purpose, you know,
1:15:51and it had another
1:15:53>> Yeah.
1:15:54I think Upton Sinclair's quote was
1:15:56something to the effect of, "I tried to
1:15:58stu- target their hearts, but instead I
1:16:02hit their stomachs."
1:16:04Yeah. He was writing the book to focus
1:16:07on the working conditions of the
1:16:09slaughter houses.
1:16:10>> Mhm.
1:16:10>> And in doing so, he's also talking about
1:16:12how disgusting it is with the rats and
1:16:14the feces and all that, and that's what
1:16:16people focused on rather than, "Oh, but
1:16:19also workers are being mistreated."
1:16:20Well, that's that's not as important.
1:16:22>> Yeah. I I think that's that's something
1:16:25that we should really try to address
1:16:27maybe in a every um
1:16:30podcast moving forward, and that kind of
1:16:32can be like the central question is
1:16:36the anti-authoritarian
1:16:39aspect of any government. I I I would
1:16:42say any government has the
1:16:44the the
1:16:46potential to become authoritarian. Even
1:16:49Even I mean, like I believe, I mean,
1:16:51this is again, not to get political, but
1:16:55Greg Abbott, right? He was going to if
1:16:57he had been elected he would have made
1:17:01history being the longest-serving
1:17:03governor of Texas.
1:17:05You know, but
1:17:07um I guess that power, I mean, again, I
1:17:10do not want to be political cuz I don't
1:17:11want to turn off any student. I
1:17:14I want to hear from all of them, but um
1:17:17did some Texans see that as a as a power
1:17:21grab? Like, you know, you've already
1:17:23served. I think he start had served
1:17:24three terms, and he wanted a fourth
1:17:26term.
1:17:27Um
1:17:27and and it was that also a rejection of
1:17:30that? Like, you know, um
1:17:33that's too much. I know, like in
1:17:35Florida, to go back to what the student
1:17:37said,
1:17:38she mentioned Florida. Florida the
1:17:40governor was term-limited, right? He
1:17:42could not have run again. So, he had to
1:17:45step. So, the limits of power, I think
1:17:48is also uh an an an important topic and
1:17:53theme to have.
1:17:55>> Yeah, people get complacent. Um
1:17:57Yeah, and you just assume it's If you
1:18:00assume you're going to get elected year
1:18:01after year, then why bother really
1:18:03helping out people?
1:18:05You know, power corrupts.
1:18:06>> Which which I wonder like, you know,
1:18:08Snowball and and Napoleon, they weren't
1:18:10term-limited. They kind of guess
1:18:12thought, "Well, I'll just be in power
1:18:14for the rest of my life."
1:18:16You know.
1:18:16>> Yeah.
1:18:17Yeah. Um
1:18:19Yeah, to to go back to your original
1:18:21point, Martha, too, there's It's often
1:18:22said there's two ways of reading this
1:18:24book, as a direct allegory to what
1:18:26happened in Russia, and then also,
1:18:29broadly speaking, this is an
1:18:31anti-authoritarian
1:18:33thing. And this is something I often
1:18:35point out to my students, the default
1:18:37government of any society through 8,000
1:18:39years of history is authoritarian.
1:18:42>> Mhm.
1:18:43>> Uh there are and there's a variety of
1:18:45reasons for that. It's
1:18:47um
1:18:48you know, I was department chair for
1:18:50about 5 years. Um
1:18:53and um
1:18:55the way that is set up, it is inherently
1:18:57democratic, right? A department chair
1:18:59cannot just say, "Faculty, I came up
1:19:03with this idea and we are going to do
1:19:05this. Uh and you will listen to me." But
1:19:08believe me, there were times where I
1:19:10would at least entertain the thought of
1:19:13it would just be easier if faculty would
1:19:14just listen to me.
1:19:16>> [laughter]
1:19:17>> And so, that's a tendency of anybody has
1:19:19I mean, in being a department chair,
1:19:21believe me, it is no claim to power. But
1:19:24there is a certain sense of authority,
1:19:25right? Um in there. And so, I could see
1:19:29anybody in a position of any authority
1:19:32leaning into that tendency out of just
1:19:34efficiency. It's just I've got this
1:19:36idea. I see the broader picture. It
1:19:39would just be easier if you would just
1:19:40listen to me and this these democratic
1:19:42checks on my authority are getting in
1:19:44the way. So, I'm going to remove them so
1:19:47I can get things done because there's
1:19:49things that need to be done. And all of
1:19:51this debate and all of this talking, all
1:19:53of this arguing is impeding the progress
1:19:57that I got in my head.
1:19:59In my head.
1:20:02And then there's also the you know, it's
1:20:04the the the problem with democracy is it
1:20:07is very very inefficient. It requires
1:20:11debate, discussion. Trial and error.
1:20:14Sometimes we try stuff and it doesn't
1:20:16work. Oh gosh, we got to start over. And
1:20:18so
1:20:20and in the meantime, you know,
1:20:22schools aren't getting funded, roads
1:20:24aren't getting paid, wages are going
1:20:26down, prices are going up, and the
1:20:28people themselves might get in a
1:20:31have a sentiment of I just want a daddy
1:20:34to fix all of this.
1:20:35>> Yeah.
1:20:35>> Your my rights. Just
1:20:37>> Yeah.
1:20:38>> create a situation where I got a job and
1:20:40have barbecue on the weekends and hang
1:20:41out with my family. And that means I I
1:20:44can't do this or that and exercise my
1:20:48first amendment the way I used to do. So
1:20:51be it. It's it's a
1:20:53Democracy really is swimming against the
1:20:55current constantly because these kind of
1:20:59human impulses that are within us.
1:21:02Of not really wanting to accept the
1:21:04responsibility of what real freedom
1:21:07means, which is
1:21:09yes, we do need leaders, but leaders are
1:21:11not within a vacuum.
1:21:14Leaders require input from those that
1:21:17they lead.
1:21:18So they don't get funny ideas in their
1:21:20heads out of efficiency.
1:21:23>> Yeah. Yeah, and majority rules minority
1:21:26rights. You know, that that where
1:21:29um
1:21:30because the majority wants something and
1:21:32but the minorities have a right to you
1:21:35know, their own opinions and thoughts
1:21:37and
1:21:39they don't have to necessarily go with
1:21:41the majority, you know, as far as
1:21:44the rules that if the majority wants a
1:21:46rule, but in and our case in the United
1:21:48States, if it's unconstitutional, it
1:21:49doesn't matter. It's unconstitutional.
1:21:52So
1:21:53>> Yeah, yeah, you can't legislate rights
1:21:55away.
1:21:56>> Right.
1:21:56>> Those are those are non-negotiable.
1:21:58Which was, you know, the issue of white
1:22:00supremacy. And that was the
1:22:01justification of the majority want
1:22:03segregation, and that's democracy, but
1:22:06through dialogue, conversation,
1:22:09um
1:22:10uh testimony of how it affected people,
1:22:14uh we were able to at least address some
1:22:17of the issues of white supremacy and
1:22:18make some legislative reforms. And
1:22:22but it does take vigilance to make sure
1:22:24that we remember that that you cannot
1:22:26legislate people's rights away. It
1:22:28doesn't matter what the majority want.
1:22:31Um
1:22:34I would like to ask uh what caught your
1:22:37attention the most in this chapter three
1:22:40and four. Oh, good question. Um ask
1:22:43>> And there was another question up up at
1:22:45the top, Sean. V for Vendetta, 1984,
1:22:48Animal Farm, which book pictures best
1:22:51the reality of the authoritarianism?
1:22:54>> Yeah, I don't think one is is a matter
1:22:57of that was better or not. They're
1:22:59different expressions of
1:23:00authoritarianism,
1:23:01and
1:23:03um
1:23:04kind of
1:23:05uh collective
1:23:07uh mindsets where individual thought is
1:23:09shut off. Uh they're different
1:23:11expressions of the same thing.
1:23:13Uh both worthy of of consuming and
1:23:17thinking about. Uh
1:23:19Uh absolutely. Um yeah, that that would
1:23:23um
1:23:24That's a good That I think it's a great
1:23:26question that we maybe um I'm going to
1:23:29write that down. Uh that would be a good
1:23:31thing for us to kind of recap before we
1:23:34uh jump into chapter five when we do
1:23:36this again. So,
1:23:37uh what was most notable
1:23:43about chapter 3 and 4.
1:23:48Yeah, that would be a good thing to open
1:23:49up our our next discussion. So, yeah,
1:23:51we're at 12:30. Um
1:23:54we will most likely be able to do this
1:23:56again. Martha and I will probably
1:23:59chat a little bit on Monday to see if we
1:24:01could squeeze one more of these sessions
1:24:03in for the fall semester.
1:24:06Um so, yeah, maybe in a couple of weeks
1:24:08we'll do this again. Um and then our
1:24:10plan is to uh cuz we you know, we'll
1:24:12probably get through chapter part of
1:24:14chapter 6 next time the way we go about
1:24:16this and then we'll definitely be able
1:24:18to finish this book in the spring.
1:24:21>> But well, just to kind of
1:24:24what is it
1:24:25for Samuel Lujan?
1:24:28I I
1:24:29when the next time tune in next time.
1:24:31We're going to start our own
1:24:33>> [laughter]
1:24:33>> our own like teasers for the next show,
1:24:36Shawn. Um
1:24:37I wanted talk about the the
1:24:40disinformation
1:24:42um that they had in that chapter. I say,
1:24:46"Oh, they're starving and they're this
1:24:47and they're that." So, we'll we'll pick
1:24:48it up.
1:24:49>> Yeah. Yeah, that would be Yeah, that
1:24:50would be something to open up our next
1:24:52episode with disinformation.
1:24:55And And good distinction. Sometimes
1:24:58people use misinformation like, "Oh, I
1:25:00made a mistake with my information."
1:25:01That the distinction between
1:25:03disinformation and misinformation is
1:25:05this is intentional.
1:25:07>> Mhm. Uh
1:25:09>> intentional lie. It's one thing to give
1:25:10out wrong information out of ignorance.
1:25:13It's another thing to know what you're
1:25:14doing with the information in order to
1:25:17have a greater effect to grab power.
1:25:20Yeah.
1:25:21>> What did Mark Twain say? If you read the
1:25:23news If you don't read the newspaper,
1:25:25you're uninformed, I think is
1:25:28uh and if you read the newspaper, you're
1:25:31misinformed.
1:25:33>> [laughter]
1:25:36>> Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
1:25:38Yeah. So, yeah, I put in the link for
1:25:39the sign-in sheet to sign out. So, if
1:25:42everybody
1:25:44uh still here can sign out, Uh, I would
1:25:47appreciate that. Um, and um, yeah, thank
1:25:51you very much and we'll re- we'll jump
1:25:54into chapter we're at chapter five, so
1:25:56we'll jump into chapter five with a
1:25:58little bit of recap before we do that
1:26:00for the next episode. So, thank you
1:26:02everybody. Um, and uh, we'll see you
1:26:05around. For my students out there, I'll
1:26:07see you next week.
1:26:08>> Thank you.
1:26:09>> Yeah, thanks Martha. Appreciate it.
1:26:11>> Weekend.
1:26:12>> All right.
1:26:13>> I'll talk about the next time.
1:26:14>> Okay. Yeah, we'll we'll we'll circle
1:26:16back uh, next early next week.
1:26:19>> Okay, sounds good. Bye. Bye-bye, guys.
1:26:21>> Take care.
1:26:22>> Bye-bye.
1:26:24>> And if you're having trouble signing
1:26:25out, just make sure you put your name in
1:26:27the chat. Uh, make sure if you haven't
1:26:31done so already, even if you weren't
1:26:32able to sign in, make sure you are if
1:26:35you're signing in in the chat, um,
1:26:38put your name, the instructor, the
1:26:40course, and the section. That's very
1:26:42helpful to instructors cuz they have
1:26:44like five, six, seven courses, and so
1:26:46it's good if they can go straight to the
1:26:48gradebook to put
1:26:50the grade that you're supposed to
1:26:51receive for this or the extra credit.
1:26:56I do I do prefer it in the sign-in sheet
1:26:58because that ensures that you're you
1:27:00will be identified. Sometimes things get
1:27:03lost in the chat. But it does have a
1:27:05chat record. I typically get them all.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Animal Farm Read Along Pt. 3 (Ch. 3-4) by Robert Kennedy, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 13,082 words across 2,249 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.