Danny Glover's arrest at the US headquarters of French company Sodexo has got the Internet buzzing a bit, but it's not as bad as it reads and marks a new more intense sprit of activism for the legendary actor who was most recently in 2012.
Readers of this space may remember that Danny Glover called on male Oscar presenters like Sean Penn and Quentin Tarantino to boycott Hugo Boss suits before the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. His letter protested the clothing company's plans to close plants and lay off 300 workers.
In this case Glover's protesting Sodexo's alleged union-bashing practices, telling a crowd "We're here today to say no more to deplorable pay and working conditions." The protest was international in scope as it involved a French company, and the protesters consisted of both American and French workers.
Glover and several others were arrested after crossing a police line. But in all honesty and not to take away from the sprit of what Glover did, such arrests are always staged with the cooperation of local police officials.
I'm personally glad to see Danny Glover getting involved in politics, but while protests do bring attention to an issue, the common theme of demonstrations and arrests fall on deaf ears in a New Media era. If Danny Glover wants to make a real splash he should start a lobbying company and a political action committee.
Stay tuned.
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