Cornel West LOSES IT....Calls Al Sharpton a ‘Bonafide House Negro of the Obama Plantation’

[Cali_Democrat]

I've always thought he had a few screws loose. This pretty much confirms it:

Cornel West Attacks Al Sharpton: ‘Bonafide House Negro of the Obama Plantation’

Public intellectual Cornel West tore into this week’s speeches surrounding the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech as lacking in “truth,” blasting speakers like President Obama and Rev. Al Sharpton as having given a “sanitized” verison of Dr. King’s vision.

“Brother Martin himself, I think, would’ve been turning over in his grave,” West said of the event. “[King would have wanted] people to talk about Wall Street criminality, he wants people to talk about war crimes, or drones dropping bombs on innocent people,” he asserted.

“Instead,” he lamented, “we saw the coronation of the bonafide house negro of the Barack Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton.” West then declared that Sharpton’s decline was “supported by [MSNBC analyst] Michael Dyson and others who’ve prostituted themselves in a very ugly and vicious way.”

West and his co-host Tavis Smiley both lamented that black leadership has become “so sold-out” so as not to have the courage to be a “bull in the china shop,” break rank, and talk about “racism, poverty, and militarism” at an otherwise “bought-out” event.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/cornel-west-attacks-al-sharpton-bonafide-house-negro-of-the-obama-plantation/

It's sad to see someone like Cornel West turn into such an asshole. The 50th anniversary of MLK's speech was such a grand occasion and West is doing everything he can to sully it. Why would he attack so many speakers there?

His Obama hatred is literally eating him alive.

[struggle4progress]

1. When people seek attention, sometimes the proper response is simply not to notice them

[TheDebbieDee]

4. Agreed.........Dr. West wants some attention.

And Tavis Smiley acts as though he was planning to be the first black President but Obama beat him to it! And good old Tavis will NEVER get over it.

[HangOnKids]

24. Good old Tavis?

Really?

[kelliekat44]

121. Just think what might have been accomplished if the "black intelligenci" had put their efforts

behind the President in as much force as they put into joining the ranks of the GOP that vowed to make Obama fail. They are as critical of Head Start and other anti-poverty programs and the poor as the RW. For instance, I examined the offerings of one of the Ben Carson foundations. The benefits and grants go almost exclusively high performers from well-off backgrounds. These folks talk a good game, have resources to help others but often do not. They spend their time and money helping each other through their connections to the white elite RW who sponsors their many ventures. (Think Clarence Thomas).

[kelliekat44]

26. The only prescription they have it to TALK about poverty more. What would they like Obama to do?

No legislation on anything can become law without the CONGRESS first passing a law AND the en CONGRESS holds all the purse strings. They can pass a law, the President can sign it and then the Congress can withhold authorizing funding. Of course, I am not satisfied with a lot of stuff the President hasn't been able to do but I do recognize what he is faced with. What does Mr. West and Mr. Smiley prescribe that in reality will happen? All they seemed to complain about is that poverty, incarceration etc. were not addressed enough by the President and the President does not talk bad about white people.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. He's a brilliant man that speaks the truth, based on fact, not rhetoric.

[nolabear]

51. So "House Negro" is fact? Sonofagun.

Name-calling is never fact. It's rhetoric. And it obscures fact. This is what he will be remembered for, and not the many things he has said that do have value, and are factual. Pity.

[orpupilofnature57]

112. After a LIFEtime of struggle, a disparaging remark won't

cancel a noted scholar . And people fail to see the truth in the basis of his remarks, that are backed with facts.

[Safetykitten]

113. He is a brilliant man. I agree completely.

[kelliekat44]

119. The "brillant" are often "stupid!" nt

[orpupilofnature57]

143. The " Brilliant " lack " Common sense " that's why they don't sell well ,

but they can spell.

[sendero]

117. Oh but dont you know..

... he's an "attention seeker" a "narcissist", like anyone who chooses to speak the uncomfortable truth that can't be refuted, we'll just smear his character.

[Safetykitten]

120. Anyone that goes against the grain of what can be considered regular, mainstay points of

what is put out by a corporate media is always attacked. This is the way we argue for us Democrats, do not go off freelancing, same with the republicans.

This is the way we get to gay rights, this way, and this is the accepted way.

These are the things we say about stopping war.

Well the truths are the truths and they don't fit nicely into those boxes.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I've watched Sharpton grow from a sleazy grifter to...

a worthy statesman. And West reduce himself from a leading intellectual to a carnival barker.

Of course there is enough racism left in this country to never let down our guard, but I thought at least one of King's goals was to have Black leadership become leadership without color. Wasn't there something about a color blind society somewhere in King's words?

For Black men and women to become part of the mainstream isn't selling out-- it's the goal.

[orpupilofnature57]

6. Dr King wanted Equality and Mainstream isn't a goal, it's a place.

[TreasonousBastard]

62. And mainstream isn't equality? Then what is equality? Is being...

accepted as a member of society too low a denominator?

King seemed to be saying that color shouldn't matter, and I agree with that. "Equality", on the other hand, implies that color counts--different but equal, the very thing we fought against back then.

[orpupilofnature57]

114. If mainstream is the only symbol for society, we're screwed . Accepted by who ? the 1% ?

[TreasonousBastard]

123. This makes no sense...

what do you think "mainstream" means?

[orpupilofnature57]

136. Pat Boones version of 'Tutti Frutti ' not the REAL one .

Last edited Sat Aug 31, 2013, 01:36 PM - Edit history (2)

[JustAnotherGen]

107. Mainstream isn't a goal?

I believe it is. It's black Americans - our broad problems, priorities and perspectives being recognized as just an everyday common part of the American experience. To date - that has not been achieved, when well meaning black "leadership" cannot even recognize the diversity within their non dominant culture.

"Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner. You must be eating some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American."
-- "The Ballot or the Bullet," speech, April 3 1964, Cleveland, Ohio (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 3, 1965).

[orpupilofnature57]

115. Please !!!! I can't imagine what Malcolm X would of said about either of those gentleman

But I think you might be mistaking Equality and acceptance with In on the scam or being accepted by the 1%, which is the distinction Dr West was making . Maybe you missed something .

[JustAnotherGen]

122. I don't really need video of this

Here's what you are not seeing - many black Americans identify with Barack Obama. I missed nothing. You can't see it - because you can only see things from the dominant culture perspective. See it as a black person - and he might as well have called us all Oreos.

He used a racially loaded terminology that right on this thread he is being applauded by white Americans in order to get their support for THEIR belief system.

If you want to at minimum - give him a sly wink and nudge - that is your prerogative.

But dont shove a "a be a good little girl and listen to MLK" videos down my throat. That's insulting and plays into the stereotype that "black people are child like and need someone to tell them what to think.".

Kind of like Cornel West. He is becoming to come across as someone who has little if any regard for the majority of black Americans.

I'm not going to be USED by him.

[orpupilofnature57]

138. Too bad you can't cut Dr West the same slack ,with your Omnipotent view.

He of course has no Idea of attaining success amid racism and exclusion.

[JustAnotherGen]

148. Why should all black people cater to him?

Malcolm X had it right my friend - prosperity from within. And never ever - dare I say blindly trust "black leadership". You can trust him - but I trust my husband and brother first. My brother owns a green building supply company and goes out of his way to find young black and Hispanic kids from his high school to bring into his business . . . That they never thought they would have a shot at. He still hires other people - but they won't come out to the burbs for a high paying job unless the burbs reach outta them.

My husband is an Italian immigrant . . . He's now plucked 5 African American kids out of the Camden School district and given them a shot at a skilled job that starts at $20 an hour. Twanda has been with him since she took a welding class in High School and he came in there and saw her skills - and artistic talent. She's now 23 and making $38 an hour and traveling a world she never dreamed was open to her as a forewoman who is Unesco certified for metal restoration.

So while you get all jolly over this man who speaks a lot and writes a lot - there are people - black people (my husband considered himself black from the day what he thought was a friend called him a nigger lover) - who are actually bring prosperity to the black community inch by inch.

Too bad you are so blinded that you can't see how he is pandering to you - and that he looks at people like my brother as a House Negro - while he lines his own pockets and does nothing of any real value to lift black people out of poverty.

We have a hard enough time with the niggers, and porch monkeys, and nigger lovers, and thugs, and all the other bullshit from the "But I'm Not A Racist" white folks - we really don't need race based derogatory terms thrown at us from other black folks.

Why don't you go buy one of his books that only benefit HIS selfish, self absorbed personal financial interests.

And tip - don't shove that MLK nonsense down black folks throats. It's very very demeaning to think we don't know the content of that speech. It also reeks of, "go be complacent and wait for us to throw you a bone."

See - you might run into an uppity one like me.

[orpupilofnature57]

150. God Bless you and your husband, I'm not being a wise ass, really.

[Gravitycollapse]

13. Mainstream is not the goal. And it is selling out, no matter how you put it.

[TreasonousBastard]

59. What is the goal, then? And to be...

accepted as a person is selling out?

I am well aware of buying out the opposition, but acceptance is being bought out? Is everyone with a grievance to remain a militant, even when their grievances are addressed?

[hfojvt]

140. "If there is a lower class, I am in it"

Eugene Victor Debs.

That is the very definition of selling out. That you stop fighting for the poor, you stop caring about the poor once YOU become part of the non-poor. The fact that some people are still being stepped on, abused and discarded is no longer a concern once "it ain't me" who is on the bottom.

It's a difference between changing the system or just becoming a better compensated part of it. And then what? Singing a chorus of "I've got mine"?

[iandhr]

72. Isn't that for each person to decide for his/her self

[JustAnotherGen]

111. Being recognized

And accepted in one's country with a dominant white culture is not selling out. It's acceptance by white Americans that non whites know more about them and their beliefs, values, and activity because they are the dominant culture in the fishbowl. We might be on the outside looking in - but we are willing to jump in there if we can jump in as we are. And we are not monolithic. Maybe I'm a house negro to Mr. West. But he is a relic to me.

President Obama - like me and many other black Americans do not get up everyday and think - I'm black first. I'm certain neither my mother nor my husband do this either. Well - okay - to be honest - when Oktoberfest rolls around my mom does think about her German heritage first thing in the morning andon St Patricks day her Irish - but that's about it.


The only time it seems to come up is when well meaning black folks like West say nasty things about the many black Americans who simply feel he's got it wrong - or when white Americans continue to chastises for not accepting their narrative of MLK. Malcolm warned us about this.

[Oilwellian]

18. Sorry, he's still a sleazy grifter

who does a terrible job of reading propaganda to lemmings.

[Daniel537]

25. +1

And West's comments should not be surprising. He's just another ego maniacal loon desperate for attention.

[HangOnKids]

40. Gee do you have creds like this to be calling West a loon?

Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, academic, activist, author, public intellectual, and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America. The son of a Baptist minister, West received his undergraduate education at Harvard University, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1973, and received his Ph.D at Princeton University in 1980, becoming the first ever African American to graduate from Princeton with a Ph.D in philosophy.[1] He was formerly The Class of 1943 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton[2][3] before leaving the school in 2011 to become Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at the Union Theological Seminary[4] in New York City. He previously taught at Harvard before leaving the school after a highly-publicized dispute with then-president Lawrence Summers, and has also spent time teaching at the University of Paris.


I don't think you do but thanks for playing.

[grantcart]

74. Bitterness at becoming a side show irrelevancy has really eaten away at West.

[HangOnKids]

88. Gee thanks DR Phil

I'm sure Cornel deeply cares what you think. Thanks for the diagnosis.

[grantcart]

127. When he spends more time attacking AA commentators who have higher profiles

than he has rather than attacking those that are out to delegitimize the President and undermine AA civil rights its pretty easy to see:

A sampling of his 'opinions'

on Melissa Harris Perry:

but she is a liar . . . “There’s not a lot of academic stuff with her, just a lot of twittering,” says West, who added that her book Sister Citizen, released last year, was “wild and out of control". . . She’s a fake and fraud. I was so surprised how treacherous the sister was.”

on President Obama

I used to call my dear brother [Obama] every two weeks. I said a prayer on the phone for him, especially before a debate. And I never got a call back . . But then a month and half later I would run into other people on the campaign and he’s calling them all the time. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. He doesn’t have time, even two seconds, to say thank you or I’m glad you’re pulling for me and praying for me, but he’s calling these other people. I said, this is very interesting. . .


And then as it turns out with the inauguration I couldn’t get a ticket with my mother and my brother. I said this is very strange. We drive into the hotel and the guy who picks up my bags from the hotel has a ticket to the inauguration. . .

“He feels most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men "


and now on Sharpton

“Instead,” he lamented, “we saw the coronation of the bonafide house negro of the Barack Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton.” West went further declaring that Sharpton’s decline was “supported by [MSNBC analyst] Michael Dyson and others who’ve prostituted themselves in a very ugly and vicious way.”

Perhaps you were not familiar with exactly how West has been expressing himself because any normal well adjusted person can see that for West it has all become very personal and he is very bitter.

The most ironic thing about West is that he continues to attack other AA for "selling out" and not taking personal risk and yet spends his time in the safest academic seats in the plushest universities. A real risk taker who takes tremendous professional risks by taking appointments at Harvard, Princeton, and Union.

If you think that such opinions are unique then have a read of the American Prospect

http://prospect.org/article/cornel-west-not-helping-himself

The standard criticism of Cornel West is that while he started his career as an excellent philosopher, he gave that up in favor of just being a celebrity (West left Harvard in a dispute with then-president Larry Summers over whether he was pulling his scholarly weight, and while he still teaches at Princeton, he hasn't produced scholarship in many years). West would probably counter that being a public intellectual is a worthy endeavor -- bringing a learned perspective to contemporary debates -- and perhaps more worthwhile than writing dusty tomes on arcane philosophical issues that won't be read by anyone apart from other philosophy professors.

That's a reasonable argument. But West doesn't help himself when he makes statements like this, in an interview



Q:You lament in your book "Race Matters" that there’s a lack of black leadership. You're smart, very charismatic — why did you never become what we would consider a black leader in the mold of Martin Luther King or Malcolm X?

West:Well, one, it's because we live in an age where there are no movements. But second, and most important, I have to be true to my calling. Martin King's calling was to be a Christian preacher. Mine is much more linked to the life of the mind and being able to move back and forth. This weekend I was with Bootsy Collins at B.B. King's. We wrote two songs together on his new album — that’s just one context where I try to play a very important role outside the academy. But my calling is still one of being an intellectual warrior and spiritual soldier.

The problem here is that he takes a perfectly reasonable argument -- not everybody ought to be a political leader, and he'll make more of a contribution as an intellectual -- and embeds within it something almost designed to make sure nobody takes him seriously. Apart from the name-dropping, you just can't describe the privileges of celebrity as "play[ing] a very important role outside the academy." I'd like to hang out at B.B. King's house and write songs with Bootsy Collins, too. It'd be awesome. But if you think that the fact that you got the chance to do that means you're making the world a better place, then you've been spending too much time with famous people. If I said, "Last weekend I was at Clooney's, and we ate sushi off Jessica Alba's naked body, then later I gave him some notes on a script he's working on. That's an important role I'm playing," you'd think I was just about the biggest jackass you'd ever met. And you'd be right.

So yeah I think he is a bitter person, and a lot of other people share that opinion.

[Hekate]

86. Very well put about the both of them. I remember Sharpton back when....

Nowadays I have a lot of respect for Rev. Al.

West? Not so much. The acid of his hateful ODS is eating him from the inside out.

[LWolf]

5. That comment

taints his point, which was right on.

It was ugly. Maybe he thinks he's being "the bull in the china shop," but he clearly doesn't know how, if he's trying to channel MLK.

Somehow MLK was able to make his points without that kind of ugliness. It takes a hell of a lot more courage to reach out to people than to fling shit at them.

[Supersedeas]

7. so it how he says it but not what he says?

a style objection but not an objection about the substance

[LWolf]

11. An objection about the incivility. nt

[orpupilofnature57]

20. +1000 !!!!

[nxylas]

102. I'd agree with that

Dr. West is far from the only person to say that these events present a sanitised version of Dr King's teaching. However, when you make The Rude Pundit's article on the same subject look like a beacon of calm rationality....

[David__77]

8. I like Cornel West.

He is being provocative, it's true. Sometimes it's needed. We need more ideological and political debate and not less. The problem with his statement is that he's saying that Sharpton is no the other side of the barricades, and I simply don't think that's true - and I don't think Cornel West thinks so either.

[longship]

9. I am not a big Cornell West fan.

He says too damned many things that grate against my common sense. He has little credibility with me. Not a big fan of Smiley either. He seems to want to come off as a big insider -- all the Hollywood interviews and such -- until he interviews somebody like West.

The Matrix movies were the final blow with Cornell West for me. I always saw him as an interesting fringe. I leave others to argue what the featured role in a very popular cinema franchise meant.

[BuddhaGirl]

29. His occasional appearances on Bill Maher's show were rather grating

in how he was attacking Obama

He thinks very highly of himself, it's quite obvious. But this language toward Al Sharpton is nasty and un-called for...just exactly how does that further any civil discussion??

[jakeXT]

10. some videos

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017141218


starts at 9 minutes

[upi402]

12. Cornel West is great

Merit, I think King said something about judging folks on their merit - not their race.

lol

Reactionaries incoming!

[Gravitycollapse]

14. West was absolutely right. Sometimes reality is tough to swallow.

[iandhr]

73. Really?

Comparing the first black president to a slave owner is a bit over the top to pit it mildly.

[KittyWampus]

15. In his tenured Ivory Tower, Cornel West can say anything.

[VanillaRhapsody]

16. More evidence of Obama Derangement Syndrome

its very contagious...a strain has broken out on DU even.

[Thinkingabout]

28. K & R, President Obama is president to all.

[bravenak]

17. Cornell west is one of the most irritating characters on the left.

When he and Smiley get together, it's enough to make m lose my lunch. Everything he says is tainted by bitterness and the need for revenge against the president. Why the need for revenge? Obama didn't call him and he couldn't get tickets with his mother and brother to the inaguration.
http://blacksnob.com/snob_blog/2011/5/17/cornel-wests-legitimate-obama-gripe-comes-with-an-unfortunat.html#.UiE-rMu9KSM
And unfortunately for Sharpton, Obama has called him. So Cornell must attack.

[NYC Liberal]

19. West is a fucking joke.

[jessie04]

23. + 1,000

Except you're being to nice.

[HangOnKids]

27. Do you have creds like this? Post your fucking creds please. Then call him a joke.

Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, academic, activist, author, public intellectual, and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America. The son of a Baptist minister, West received his undergraduate education at Harvard University, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1973, and received his Ph.D at Princeton University in 1980, becoming the first ever African American to graduate from Princeton with a Ph.D in philosophy.[1] He was formerly The Class of 1943 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton[2][3] before leaving the school in 2011 to become Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at the Union Theological Seminary[4] in New York City. He previously taught at Harvard before leaving the school after a highly-publicized dispute with then-president Lawrence Summers, and has also spent time teaching at the University of Paris.

[NYC Liberal]

30. West is a fucking joke.

I need only read and watch the stupid things he says to come to that conclusion.

I didn't say he was stupid; I said he was a joke.

[HangOnKids]

31. Where are your creds?

Do you think you can take on Cornel in a debate? If he is such a joke, I mean come on. The semicolon in your last sentence tells me you are the joke.

Nobody said stupid. Why did you?

[NYC Liberal]

56. I said he is a joke because of the idiotic things he says. Case in point: his comment from the OP.

It has nothing to do with "creds". You can have a resume a mile long, yet still be a joke and still say dumb things.

It's quite amusing (albeit baffling) that you think using proper punctuation makes me the joke here. Are you going to defend West's dumb comment, or just keep asking anyone who disagrees with him for their "creds"?

[HangOnKids]

89. I think you are a joke for a many reasons

I can't post them here. And Cornel is right.

[NYC Liberal]

129. Yet all you do in this thread is go around demanding "creds"

from anyone who dares disagree with the vaunted Cornel West.

[Hekate]

146. He's not sincere with the "creds" demand. I gave him mine and he gave me an Iggy.

Thank the gods for that. At least he won't be following me around like he's doing to some people here.

[WeekendWarrior]

41. Professor at Princeton, taught at Harvard

Sounds to me as if he's just as "establishment" as Obama or Sharpton.

[HangOnKids]

42. You obviously do not know West

Get on with your bad self though.

[WeekendWarrior]

45. He's just another bullshit artist like the rest of them.

[HangOnKids]

46. Them?

[WeekendWarrior]

100. Yes. Them. Almost any highly visible person with a public forum. They're all bullshitters in

one way or another.

Please tell me you didn't go there. Because I certainly didn't.

[Logical]

76. We get it, "them" meaning back people? n-t

[WeekendWarrior]

101. I'm talking about anyone with a voice. Politicians, activists,

anyone with a forum. Them. They're all bullshitters in one way or another.

But I think it's pretty telling that you would so narrowly define the word.

[iandhr]

77. Comparing the first black President of the United States to...

a slave owner is atrocious. I don' care if he has a PHD

[HangOnKids]

83. Call Cornel and let him know

I'm sure he cares what you think!

[Hekate]

92. I take it you have his personal home number or email. I'd be glad to join the throngs ...

... sharing our impressions of his slander.

My creds? He's not the only one with a PhD.

Hekate

[HangOnKids]

93. Oh the comedy act has begun

Don't quit your day job Hekate. Welcome to ignore. Plonk.

[Hekate]

94. You kept asking for people's "creds". Weren't you sincere?

I guess not.

Thanks a bunch for agreeing not to follow me around. I do appreciate it.

[BuddhaGirl]

130. Professor of Christian Practice??

Gee, and he engages in that kind of ugly, nasty name calling??

From the same Wikipedia article:

"Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor of political science at Tulane University, criticized what she described as the "utter hilarity" of West's statements, writing that his comments are a "classic projection of his own comfortably ensconced life at Harvard and Princeton Universities" and that West "offers thin criticism of president Obama and stunning insight into the delicate ego of the self-appointed black leadership class""

She got it right!

[senseandsensibility]

21. I see nothing wrong with what he said.

The language is inflammatory, but he has strong feelings and expresses them in a way to attract attention. He's not boring. I can see how many would disagree and/or be offended. But that's what free speech is all about.

[Cali_Democrat]

37. Excuse me? Calling Al a ‘Bonafide House Negro of the Obama Plantation’ is so fucking offensive

Ask any African American DUers if they find it offensive and they will say YES. Some African American DUers are even on this thread and none of them appreciate what West said.

It's extremely offensive.

[senseandsensibility]

47. Personally, I find it offensive too.

I would never say anything like that. However, he has the right to say it. You have the right to object in any terms you wish.

[HangOnKids]

48. What about your cling post the one you deleted

It was offensive wasn't it?

[Cali_Democrat]

50. You again? Still following me around, eh?

Actually I was trying to reply to another poster, but I accidentally replied to my own thread.

You're really very interested in me, aren't you?

I'm flattered.

[HangOnKids]

52. Sorry you need to look for your flattery elsewhere

I am just posting on an open discussion board. Do you not get that? This isn't your site Cali, but the cling post was quite interesting. And quit bullshitting... that post was right here where it was meant to be, you deleted it because it was shitty and racist.

[Cali_Democrat]

53. LOL

I know you'll continue to follow me around in the future.

I am very flattered actually.

[HangOnKids]

55. Groovy

You are such a blast!

[Cali_Democrat]

71. Thanks!

[JustAnotherGen]

58. Thanks you!

He calls forward thinking blacks House Negros - we get to call him an Antique. He keeps talking about brother Martin and folks at DU keep saying MLK this and MLK that . . .

Let me tell you - Brother Malcolm would think he was a joke.


Ohhhhhh wait - we aren't allowed to hold up Brother Malcolm at DU - he doesn't elicit the warm fuzzies.

Cali - this is just for you:


"I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King."



But what if - what if Cornel West is a "part of it"?

Dr. King on Malcolm X:
"You know, right before he was killed he came down to Selma and said some pretty passionate things against me, and that surprised me because after all it was my territory there. But afterwards he took my wife aside, and said he thought he could help me more by attacking me than praising me. He thought it would make it easier for me in the long run.".

[Cali_Democrat]

61. Thanks!

Very interesting.

[Ecumenist]

96. Cali, been black MOST of my life and I CANNOT stand Cornell or Tavis! TRUST ME, I am just one of

innumerable black folks who hold the same opinion. In fact, I would say that my contempt is INCREDIBLY mild compared to what most black folks feel about these two. It's a revolting comment to make coming from folks who "CLAIM" to hold the interests of people of color first and foremost in their hearts.

Please...the way these two are is dangerously close to "uncle tom-like" in behaviour. Frankly, I don't know too many AA who have any measure of respect for Tavis or Cornell. Easily, most of black America consider both of them are considered to be idiots.

[JustAnotherGen]

108. +1000000

[freshwest]

22. Cornel and Tavis were otherwise engaged and didn't go to the march, either, IIRC. Ah, media.

[JustAnotherGen]

32. Freshwest for the win!

Psst - he wouldn't have lowered himself to stand on the same stage as Obama or Sharpton - based on his many words.

[freshwest]

80. I find the biggest critics are the ones who have done the least for others. n/t

[MADem]

106. +1,000 nt

[Cali_Democrat]

34. Yup!

[kestrel91316]

33. You know, from my probably-naive white girl perspective, Rev. Al may be a lot of things,

but he ain't NOBODY'S "house negro".

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Still with that

"black leadership" nonsense.

Maybe we don't need a "leader". Maybe we are just as intelligent as West, know our own minds, know what the issues are that impact our daily lives, and don't need some big, smart man to tell us what to do. That's why he has lost Gen X and younger. His "story" and approach does not resonate with many young black Americans - including myself.

[freshwest]

87. They've lost Gen X and others because of his 'not black enough' routine.

Where I live, we have many 'inter-racial' folks, not just first generation, either. It used to be rare of controversial in Cornel's younger days, I suppose, and he still sees people in that way.

It's unheard where I live to bring it up, because there are so many 'mixed race' relationships. Only an idiot would feel safe to make a bigoted remark, because they don't know who is in what family.

And here it is a blending of all kinds, not just B&W. It's actually flat offensive to most to stare or act like it's unusual. People want to be considered for what they are, and their talents, and it makes for a happier community.

I think he's made a living off this. At one time I read his stuff as it seemed so powerful at the time. But he's frozen in time with his particular genre and hasn't any new material. So he's holding onto it.

He's tenured and doesn't have to produce any new themes or ideas. I wonder if there is a chance he's not as much offended at what Obama has, or has not done; but what he literally represents, a mixed race person who has achieved more than Cornel has by just being himself.

Mixed marriage was at one time by soime, seen as the only solution to racism. By eliminating the different characteristics it was assumed there would be no reason for people to fight about, as explored in 'The Lathe of Heaven' by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The country still has a long way to go, but most of the youth I see in my area (blue, progressive) don't fit the racist mold that we see at times. There are definitely some in all states, including this one; but in my neighborhood, it's simply anathema. And that makes life so much more relaxing and fun.

I don't think Cornel and the chronic complainers have the abilkty to have fun or enjoy life anymore.

[JustAnotherGen]

109. Re many mixed relationships

You are very right. I identify as black because that is what the law says I must do. But I don't wake up everyday and say, "I'm a black American so this is what my experience must be in the world today."

And you are right in that he has made a career for himself out of it - I think it's from his idea of "blackness first". However, that's not where America is at today. Diversity means so much more than that.

[JaneyVee]

36. Might be time to give up the 'public intellectual' moniker for Cornel.

[alcibiades_mystery]

38. Once heard Ishmael Reed refer to West, H. L. Gates, and William Julius Wilson as the "Vichy Regime"

I near laughed my ass off.

It's all relative, yo.

[BeyondGeography]

39. The ghost of Larry Summers is in here somewhere

West left Harvard after Summers tangled with him over his work habits; a very nasty conflict. Obama brings Summers into his Administration and now rates him as a major contender to head the Fed. It's a small part of what's making Cornel crazy, or maybe a not so small part.

[JEB]

60. The idea that Summers (Mr. Deregulation) could be head of the fed

makes me crazy as well.

[sendero]

116. We all know that Summers is a paragon of virtue...

.. frankly, I'd be happy if folks like Larry Summers would not work so hard...... at fucking the 99%.

[BeyondGeography]

133. The point re. West is that living in a permanent state of anger may not promote intelligent behavior

[otohara]

44. Brother West

what have you done for the African American community?

[SidDithers]

134. Nailed it...

Sid

[Left Coast2020]

54. I gained a lot of respect for Rev. Sharpton over the years.

I am shocked to say the least, that West would insult his fellow man that way. I've really been a fan of Rev. Sharpton since meeting him several years ago when he was supporting a VP candidate for the DNC--at the time Dr. Dean was touring trying to get nomination. Sharpton was at same event Dean was in Sacramento. I'll never forget it.

[stlsaxman]

57. Cornel West is a great, great man in every way.

It's all about Cornel West....

just ask 'im!

[Cha]

63. Vicious and Ugly West doesn't know jack shit about what "Brother Martin" would

be thinking. he's acting like a jealous asshole.

Poor cornel.. did the invite get lost in the mail?

"the Black leadership" should be more like him and his traveling cheap pot shot, carny buddy, tavis..

[Zoeisright]

64. West is a piece of shit bigot.

Tavis unSmiley too. Fuck both of them to hell.

[JEB]

65. Cornel West did not lose it.

He expects more out of our leaders and is unafraid to point out the weakness he sees. Also, I'm sure Rev. Al is fully capable of defending himself.

[zeemike]

68. No he did not lose it.

But it is presented that way to invite the throw him under the buss croud...and they showed up for the job as you can see by the posts here.

Now any critic of Obama is the enemy.

[Cali_Democrat]

70. He said:

Al Sharpton is a "bonafide house negro of the Obama plantation".

That is incredibly offensive.

Are you African American by any chance? Do you realize how offensive this is to African Americans?

[HangOnKids]

91. Are You African American?

My black friends love Cornel. But I live in Oakland so what do I know.

[Ecumenist]

97. Well,I AM BLACK and have family all over the EAST BAY, INCLUDING East Oakland & Richmond & to a man,

Last edited Sat Aug 31, 2013, 04:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't know anyone who respects Cornell or Tavis but don't mind me, an actual black woman.

[JustAnotherGen]

110. I live in Central NJ

And I don't know any black Americans that respect them either - to include myself. But what do we know - we are only black women who aren't the poster's close personal friends.

[Ecumenist]

144. "...And let the church say...AMEN" A native Angelena, (born in LA, Hollywood to be exact),

I find it interesting to watch the flood of these people touting all these "MYTHICAL BLACK FOLKS" who despise Sharpton, Trayvon Martin's legal team and Obama, especially since I literally don't know any. I belong to a lot of natural hair care sites and EACH AND EVERY time West and Smiley vomit anti-Obama statements, there chortles and head-shaking, QUICKLY followed by , "Cornell and Tavis are still bitter that the president doesn't kiss their rings...just bitter" or some iteration of that. Like you said, don't mind me, I'm just a black woman who know my people because I was born into this group and have heard AND read what they've said.

[JustAnotherGen]

147. They need this narrative

They don't like having to admit that they've bought into Reagan's bullshit . . . Many of these folks love Bill Cosby. Nudge. Nudge.

[Cali_Democrat]

142. Yes I am.

And every African American I know including folks in this thread find what he said extremely offensive

[zeemike]

118. No I am not and no I don't

I have been around black people most of my life, and they are the ones who taught me what a house negro was...and I have heard many of them say that.
But then again I am old school and most of the black people I have known in my life lived through real discrimination in the south...you know, where they could not drink at the white drinking fountain.

Sorry but I feel closer to Doctor West and his comments than I do to Rev Sharpton...so sue me....and that goes for Travis Smiley too.

[JustAnotherGen]

125. I grew up with one (Jim Crow Survivor)

Oh - and we couldn't go into a Dairy Queen in Talladega Alabama in 1978. 1978. After having been surrounded for five years by kind elderly people in West Germany who used to fawn over the Captain's bi-racial kids. Isn't that something!

What is real discrimination?

Can you please enlighten the black folks at DU what you personally feel is "real" discrimination and why the modern black American should just be happy?

You seem to have an in depth knowledge of this and can teach us a thing or two about ourselves.

[zeemike]

128. I am not hear to enlighten black folks about anything

I am hear to defend Doctor West, and Travis Smiley too against being thrown under the buss by those who don't think he has the right to express his opinion because we have a black president.

And for your information I was in Philadelphia Mississippi in 1964, and though I was not on the receiving end of discrimination I saw it in real time.

[JustAnotherGen]

149. They have a right to express their opinion

Black Americans have a right to disregard them and laugh at them with derision when one of the uses the term House Negros.

Now since you know so bad damned much . . . Tell us all about what House Negro means. Especially when you are using it towards a black woman.

If Peter King, Rand Paul, etc etc had said it you would be all up in arms.

Oh and they hate Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris Perry etc etc as much as Corny does.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

82. Yep it's disgusting.

They'll throw one of the most important black intellectuals of our time under the bus for insulting their partisan icons.

[SunSeeker]

66. That is such an ugly thing to say.

If West disagrees with what the speakers had to say, then state why. State WHY what they said was "sanitized" or wrong. But there is no room for the ugly ad hominem attacks in an adult debate.

[frazzled]

67. Talk about selling out

Mr. self-proclaimed "public intellectual" sells out day in and day out:

West appears in both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and also provides the voice for his character in the video game Enter the Matrix.

West has made frequent appearances on the political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher.

A character based on West and events in his career appeared in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode Anti-Thesis, significant for introducing the recurring villain character Nicole Wallace

In May 2012, West guest-starred in the twenty-second and final episode of the sixth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock "What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?"

On the musical front, West recorded a recitation of John Mellencamp's song "Jim Crow" for inclusion on the singer's box set On the Rural Route 7609 in 2009. ... etc. etc. etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West

As for Tavis ... well, I watch Tavis on TV all the time. Mr. Hollywood sucks up to the latest stars pitching their movies and often second-rate authors on book tours. Don't get me wrong. I'm perfectly happy to watch that kind of thing, and he's not bad at an interview. But it's suck up and sell out day in and day out. I'm cool with that. Just don't accuse others of doing it.

[Pisces]

69. Poor Colonel West had his feelings hurt by Obama and now he is bitter and hateful. Too bad for him.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

75. Every utterance by Cornell West (Reader's Digest Version)

PAY ATTENTION TO ME!
PAY ATTENTION TO ME!
PAY ATTENTION TO ME!

[SidDithers]

78. DU rec...

Fuck Cornell West.

Sid

[grasswire]

79. Eleanor Holmes Norton was disappointed in Obama's speech, too.

As were the other two African Americans on MSNBC who reviewed it.

[Hekate]

90. Did they stoop to calling Obama a plantation owner w/ Sharpton his house negro?

I certainly did not hear such slander pass their lips. Whatever they said was disagreement on the merits, not vile speech.

[grasswire]

135. well, no, it was agreement on the merits, not disagreement.

They agreed they were disappointed.

And no, you are right, they did not use slurs of the past. But I found their expressed disappointment pretty stunning.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

81. I get it.

If someone doesn't agree with you they "have a few screw loose". If someone makes a point that makes one of your idols look bad you have to paint them as "crazy". Cornel West voted for Sharpton and Obama. There are plenty of people from all different races who are disappointed in Obama bringing in so many people from Wall Street, or Obama's support of drone strikes. I've seen Dr. West speak multiple times and it's always packed, he has broad support in the African American community and you don't get to be offended for the community as a whole, talk about a sense of self importance.

[arely staircase]

84. Cornel West gets weirder and weirder nt

[Hekate]

85. Cornel who? That irrelevant old SOB just made me nauseous with his ODS. ...

To have posters here -- at an allegedly Democratic site actually defending him is making me more nauseated still.

[quinnox]

95. Dr. West is a great progressive who speaks his mind

I have become a fan of Cornel West after watching some you tube videos of various clips of him being interviewed on different shows. I like a flame thrower like West, a fire-breathing progressive is rare to see these days, and there is nothing wrong with being dramatic and somewhat controversial in ways of expressing yourself.

[Raine]

98. the "ugly and vicious way" is the way he took with his remarks. nt

[Surya Gayatri]

99. What a singularly unpleasant man is Mr. West.

Just seeing him on the screen or hearing his voice sets my teeth on edge.

[BillyRibs]

103. DR. WEST

Sir, Please keep calling em like you see em.

[MADem]

104. He and Tavis are just so pissed OFF that they couldn't grab some of that Presidential reflected

glory for themselves. No front row seats at the Inauguration? No state dinner invitations? They thought they'd have a key to the front door of the White House and closet space in the Lincoln bedroom, and that didn't work out at all.

No one watches or listens to them anymore--they're just angry, crabbing outsiders, furious at not being given pride of place. Tavis was beside himself because he thought he "deserved" the "first interview." TFB, Tavis.

Obama was smart to give them the stiff-arm. Clumsy attempts at emotional blackmail with a rich dose of "You OWE me," are a major fail.

Nothing but trouble.

[B Calm]

105. Is Cornel West a black panther?

[orpupilofnature57]

141. No he's a professor at Harvard, Mainstream enough ?

[dembotoz]

124. much truth in the statement-but not so much obama hatred as disappointment

still need to hold obamas feet to the progressive fire

[MzShellG]

126. West is behaving like an ignorant buffoon.

I'm embarrassed for him. All of his envy of Pres. Obama is becoming a brain eating parasite. I don't care about his credentials. At this point, he has no credibility. I'm way more impressed with Pres. Obama's credentials.....#TeamObama

[PragmaticLiberal]

131. (Some) White progressives actually defending what West said.....I've seen it all.

But seeing how DU operates I shouldn't be surprised.....

[Harmony Blue]

139. Yeah the people in recent memory that attacked

Sharpton so viciously were the RW nutjobs. Now, it seems that Sharpton is attacked by the left or right no matter what he does and that is very sad.

I stand with Sharpton.

[SidDithers]

132. ROFL...

Sid

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

145. West is a fraud

On their website, he and Smiley checked off a bunch of dates on their so-called 'poverty tour' that they never bothered to schedule or do.