2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Can't the Cornel West apologists admit that his use of the word "n***ized" [View all]ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...at all when West used it. That said, he's an academic, and they sometimes use incendiary language in order to make a point. It reminds me of BLM using the term "white supremacists" in Seattle -- apparently the phrase is commonly used in academic discussions of racism in our society, but many of us found it offensive at the time. It also reminds me of Ward Churchill's use of the term "little Eichmanns" after 9/11. While at one level I got his point, at another level I found it deeply offensive -- just like West's remarks about Obama. But I don't think West's language w.r.t. Obama means he must be ostracized from polite society, which seems to be the position of some here.
While I wish he would apologize for the wording he used, that doesn't seem likely. So we're left with a prominent black academic who has made some questionable remarks, and who likes Bernie Sanders. Who would be a better black person for Bernie to have on his side? Reverend Wright? How about Al Sharpton? They both have used some pretty questionable rhetoric from time to time too. Of course, Obama distanced himself from Rev. Wright once their association became controversial, so maybe Bernie should learn from that and run from Dr. West.