Voting Station

Todd Gitlin

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Advocate

The Resume

    (January 6, 1943-February 5, 2022)
    Born in Manhattan, New York
    Activist, sociologist, and author
    President of Students for a Democratic Society (1963-64)
    Wrote 'The Whole World Is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the Left' (1980), 'Inside Prime Time' (1983), 'The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage' (1987), 'The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America Is Wracked by Culture Wars' (1995), 'Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives' (2002) and 'Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street' (2012)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was married three times, divorced twice.
    He left the SDS for academia and writing because, 'I realized I wasn't a very good organizer. I wasn't patient enough.'
    He would complain that the left never got anything done because of constant infighting, while simultaneously berating fellow liberals for their interest in 'identity politics.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science as valedictorian at age 16.
    He organized the first civil disobedience in favor of divestment from apartheid-era South Africa, a sit-in at the Manhattan headquarters of Chase Manhattan (March 9, 1965).
    His advice to the reader in 'Letters to a Young Activist' (2003): 'Be original. See what happens.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 108 Votes: 54.63% Annoying