LH

Passionate Protesting for the Ladies

If at age nineteen, Michael Hotaling could have been given an It’s a Wonderful Life type glimpse into the future he would be nothing but awed. Hotaling was the high school student who skipped school to go to New York City to protest the Vietnam War. He was the college student who organized traffic causing, city stopping protests in Washington, DC. He was the rebel who would test the police right up until their last straw before compromising. This protest organizing, school skipping young boy, would have never imagined that in thirty years he would be sitting with his daughter (wearing argyle sweaters) talking about how exciting and radical his life used to be during the Vietnam War. Like any red blooded American, a solemn Hotaling admits that he was “very much opposed to the war,” and nothing about Vietnam was “a happy scene”. Hotaling’s draft number was never picked, but he was aware of the destruction around him. “Many of the kids I grew up to with went over to the war and never came back, and those that did were scarred for life because of what they ’d seen.” Hotaling’s smiles proudly, “I was very much opposed to the war and I did a lot of things to express myself and my feelings against it”. He was not going to sit back and wat ch his nation fall apart. In high school, attended many Vietnam protests all along the east coast. “I was in high school for the bulk of the war.” But it made sense that when choosing a college, it would be located in our nation’s capital and would be the perfect place for Hotaling to further voice his beliefs: American Universtiy. “I was a big protestor and an organizer for a couple of protests that locked up the city of Washington”. Hotaling laughs as he admits that his antics were a little extreme at times. “For one major protest, I went to meetings and eventually when the time came, I got [|people involved] and got people with cars. We’d actually stop the cars that were commuting in the middle of circles and intersections in Washington DC so people couldn’t get to work. We would wait for the police to come, then move the car a few feet until the police left, and then I’d stop my car again in the middle of the road.” “HELL NO WE WON’T GO!” Like it was a song on the radio, Hotaling taps his foot to the popular protest chant. “I remember going to rallies where people would put their [|draft cards on fire], and everyone would hold picket signs and chant” He continued chanting this catchy phrase throughout the next couple of questions. Often the protests that he participated in got so out of control that “the police would throw gas into crowds to settle them down and disperse them.” Hotaling comments that getting gassed, “was crazy. You don’t get that smell off you so fast”. Smiling proudly when speaking about the protest, Hotaling breaks into a chuckle when discussing what the consequences could have been. “ I would try to avoid getting [|arrested], I wasn’t big on getting arrested, my parents wouldn’t have appreciated sending their kid to college to get arrested.” Stopping hundreds of cars and being covered in smelly gases may seem like drunken college events, but there were more serious aspects of protesting: girls. “Protesting was a great way of meeting girls,” Hotaling gleams and puts huge emphasis on the word great. Meeting girls was fun, and getting gassed was exciting, but in all seriousness Hotaling was vehemently opposed to the US involvement in the Vietnam War. He actually volunteered at a [|veterans]’ home. “I also spent a lot of time with the Veterans of Foreign War. They had places in DC like old soldiers homes and I would talk to them and they were pretty much adamantly opposed to the war too. They had a pretty big impression on me, old time soldiers, people who fought in WWII and the Korean War were so opposed to the Vietnam War.” He does not laugh when he retells this memory. It is apparent that bonding with men who had supported other wars but opposed the Vietnam had a greater impact on him than any protest. The Vietnam War gave Hotaling a lot of great [|memories], a lot of gas ruined clothes, and almost a night’s visit to the DC jail, but still one of the most impacting beliefs Hotaling took away from the time period was his jaded view. “I now have jaded view of the whole political process. I don’t believe what they have to say and they’re either in it for themselves or for the money. [|When I was growing up I kind of trusted politicians],” he laughs at the nonsense of this notion, “but now I wouldn’t trust them for anything”. “I was very politically active when I was younger because of my mother’s influence, she enrolled me as a young republican in New York. I still am somewhat politically active. I write my Senators and congress people regularly, they know who I am.” The man that I see who dresses in cashmere sweaters everyday and plays golf on the weekends is no longer the thrill-seeking college protestor he once was. Nowadays he is the suburban resident who emails politicians and writes in local newspapers about his ideas. It is hard for me to believe that my dad could not possibly be the same man who was getting gass ed in crowds and nearly getting arrested to voice his opinions. Boy how things can change.media type="youtube" key="W6L8J3L-2Kw" height="221" width="272"media type="youtube" key="neetUmqIXqM" height="219" width="267"

 Lesson Plans

Book 1: Spin Art [|Brainwashing Techniques] [|Could the US government be brainwashing us?]


 * **__Standard__**
 * 1) Media Literacy 3.C.3 - Recognize that creators of media use a number of forms, techniques, and technologies to convey their messages.


 * **__Expectations__**
 * 1) Students will be able to show their understanding for common themes and ideas in 1984.
 * 2) Students will understand the power and techniques of brainwashing.
 * 3) My group will show their understanding of the Pages software.
 * 4) They will discuss the most appropriate and affective way to persuade the public.


 * **__Materials__**
 * 1) Laptops
 * 2) Pages software
 * 3) Instructions on this wikispace


 * **__Opening__**
 * 1) We will discuss the definition of "brainwashing" and look at propaganda from the US government. We talk quickly about which images and slogans are affective in persuading the public opinion.


 * **__Middle__**
 * 1) Students will choose one or more of the given negative themes and ideas and spin it in a way to attract public opinion.
 * 2) Each student will create a brochure, flyer, or poster that could be produced by The Party to support nationalism.
 * 3) Directions and specifics will be on the handout I give them.


 * **__Closing__**
 * 1) Each student will share their creation with the rest of the group.
 * 2) We will discuss which project would be the most useful.

Book 2: "Only a rebel below the waste" **Thrill vs. Change** [|Are you a thrill seeker?] [|Great American Rebels]


 * __**Standard**__
 * 1) __Media Literacy 3.C.3 - Recognize that creators of media use a number of forms, techniques, and technologies to convey their messages.__


 * __**Expectations**__
 * 1) Students will be able to show their understanding of the events in Book 2.
 * 2) Students will draw conclusions about rebels and thrill seekers.
 * 3) My group will show their ability to hold a discussion.


 * __**Materials**__
 * 1) Blank sheet of paper
 * 2) 1984 book
 * 3) Pen or Pencil


 * **__Opening__**
 * 1) We will discuss why people rebel. We will bring in historical revolutions like America's Revolution from Great Britain.


 * __**Middle**__
 * 1) Students discuss the differences between rebelling for change or rebelling for thrill.
 * 2) Each student will draw a Venn Diagram on their paper and compare and contrast Winston and Julia.
 * 3) Students will work alone using their books for about ten minutes drawing their own conclusions.


 * __**Closing**__
 * 1) The group will come together and share their ideas and what they have written on the Venn Diagram.
 * 2) The group will briefly discuss the difference between what drives Julia to rebel and what drives Winston to rebel.



Book 3: Punishment [|Medieval Torture] [|Solitary Confinement]
 * __**Standard**__
 * 1) __Media Literacy 3.C.3 - Recognize that creators of media use a number of forms, techniques, and technologies to convey their messages.__


 * __**Expectations**__
 * 1) Students will be able to show their understanding of the techniques used by The Party.
 * 2) Students will draw conclusions about the forces that make people do things.
 * 3) My group will show their ability to work with the software on the computer.


 * __**Materials**__
 * 1) Laptop
 * 2) 1984 book
 * 3) Pages, Power Point, or Word


 * **__Opening__**
 * 1) We will discuss different types of punishments. What is the proper punishments for certain acts? Which punishments are the best crime deterrents? How does the threat of punishment affect the way society acts.


 * __**Middle**__
 * 1) Students will brainstorm what the worst possible punishment for them would be, and what type of crime they would have to commit to be subjected to this type of torture.
 * 2) Using one of the aforementioned softwares, students will create a poster, flier, or billboard, broadcasting to the public this punishment.
 * 3) The poster will include: the crime and the punishment.


 * __**Closing**__
 * 1) The group will come together and share their ideas and what they have created on their computers
 * 2) The group will briefly discuss why their punishment would be a good deterrent for the crime.