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    Cornel West's Attack on Jay-Z: A Prime Example of Black-on-Black Racism

    By Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 7:00am |

    Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

     



     

    Cornel West's Attack on Jay-Z: A Prime Example of Black-on-Black Racism
    .
    Dr. Cornel West seems to have gone on a shameless mission to disparage anyone in the Black community who tends to overshadow him. Now he’s after music mogul and entrepreneur, Jay-Z, regarding his business holdings. West seems to be bound and determined to demonstrate to the world that Jay-Z's business holdings aren't as impressive as he's increasingly being given credit.
    .
    But what Jay-Z owns or doesn't own is not the point of this piece. The bigger issue is the pettiness of a mind that can become so fixated on such a trivial issue. Considering West's, fading, yet substantial influence in the Black community, the possible impact of such a petty mind during a time when we are fighting for our very existence is indeed frightening.
    .
    During a time in this nation's history when powerful forces in this country are hell-bent on establishing an era of corporate feudalism, how does Cornel West's attack on Jay-Z show "love" for the Black community? How does it help to reinforce the Black community and abolish poverty, as West insists to any and everyone who will listen, is his primary goal? In short, it doesn't - and that, is the point of this piece.
    .
    Cornel West's petty fixation on such issues as the extent and source of Jay-Z's wealth, why a baggage handler could get inauguration tickets over his own illustrious personage, and why the President of the United States failed to return his personal phone call, clearly demonstrates that poverty and suffering within the Black community, and America as a whole, is not only less than his primary concern, but is, in fact, merely being used as a tool to gain personal attention and to promote his own self-aggrandizing agenda.
    .
    In addition, West's all consuming penchant for attacking high-profile Black people - and in racially drenched terms - suggests far more than what many attribute to West's exaggerated sense of self-importance. It more clearly suggests a form of black-on-Black racism - an intense disdain and condescending attitude toward his own people. Black people tend not to look closely enough at this syndrome, but we should, because it's one of the most toxic maladies in the Black community. It's been killing us for over 400 years, and it's past time to bring it to an end.
    .
    I was discussing this issue with a friend the other day, and she insisted, "No, it's not racism; it's a form of self-hatred." But I beg to differ. People like Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, Larry Elder (who Smiley just recently had on his show), Clarence Thomas, and Herman Cain, don't hate themselves at all - it's not themselves, but the Black community that they look down their noses at. During the Republican primaries Herman Cain said that Black people weren't supporting him because we were brainwashed. That's politispeak for stupid. But as things turned out, being stupid notwithstanding, with respect to Cain, it seems that the Black community was way ahead of the Republican Party. We saw right through Herman Cain from day one, so who's stupid?
    .
    But we're not quite as practiced at seeing through people like Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, because Tavis and West have put a different spin on their game through the use of reverse psychology. Herman Cain tried to use the direct approach - using our ignorance to bamboozle us into supporting Republicans. Tavis and West, on the other hand, knew that wouldn't work, so they tried to accomplish the same goal, but through the back door - using our anger to hornswoggle us into NOT supporting the president. But in the end, it amounts to the same thing - our being flimflammed into cutting our own throats.  
    .
    The Black community needs to start wrapping it's head around the fact that you don't have to be White to have racist attitudes towards Black people. Clear evidence of that fact can be had by simply asking yourself when was the last time you heard of a drive-by being perpetrated by a shooter wearing a sheet?
    .
    One Black man responded to the above assertion with the following comment:
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    "I don’t hate myself. I'm dark and a handsome man, but niggas I can’t stand. I love my lineage enough to not put it with a group I see going downhill real fast. Black people have become a scab that will not heal as a collective. I’m doing like my Moorish/Kemetic ancestors and exploring the world. Blacks have shown to me that they can’t/won’t defend themselves because they don’t love each other. Blacks just have lost the luster they once had."
    .
    You see, I know a little something about Black racism. It's not a new concept to me. I've been observing Black racists plying their trade for most of my adult life. I worked for the United States Postal Service for 28 years, and for 12 of those years I was a union representative who specialized in EEO claims. And during that time I witnessed Black managers and supervisors engage in some of the most vicious forms of racism against other Black employees that I've ever seen - in fact, a White manager wouldn't have been able to get away with it.
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    Personally, I believe the postal service incorporates that fact into its business model. You see, it's next to impossible for a Black employee to file a successful claim of discrimination against another Black person, so part of the postal service's business model is to elevate Black people to rob, steal, intimidate, harass, and fire other Black people. As a direct result, I have an Asian friend with a Master's degree and she's been being passed over for promotion for over 10 years by a parade of Black racists who barely made it through high school, because the only qualification for promotion was their willingness to abuse other Black people.
    .
    The following is an eye witness account of a Black bigot at work:

    Customer Statement
    "Atten: Miss Stanley, Station Manager
    To Whom It May Concern:

    “My name is Elizabeth Crawford. I along with my wife Michelle Lo, own [address withheld]. On August 13, 2011 we were landscaping our front yard and witnessed an altercation between our mail carrier, Sylvester Burton and a woman whom I later learned was Juanita, his supervisor.

    “At first I only heard a woman (Juanita) shouting and cursing. Since my back was to them I did not see who was yelling. Then I saw our letter carrier Mr. Burton drive by in his mail truck and pull over to the curb just past our driveway. A black woman raced over to the now parked mail truck cursing and shouting at Mr. Burton saying “you tried to run me over” and that she was going to “call the police”. As I watched I became very very alarmed because I could not tell at first from the casual attire she was clothed in that she was a postal employee. All I could see was an extremely unhinged woman going ballistic and attacking our mailman. I watched Juanita as she reached inside the mail truck and shook her hand in Mr. Burton’s face as she shouted ‘I don’t give a fuck about you and by the way I think your ass is GAY!’ Then she shouted ‘you take your ass back to the station right now…this is MY ROUTE, MY ROUTE…and you take your ass back to the station right now...’ She then shouted ‘I’m calling the postal police on your ass you take your ass back to the station right now.’

    “Mr. Burton drove away in the mail truck. I don’t know what Mr. Burton was saying in response to all this as he NEVER raised his voice or shouted back during the entire episode.

    “My entire family including my seven year-old niece had to witness this entirely unprofessional vulgar outburst. The cursing and swearing peppered with the f-word and the homophobic remarks was nothing less than shocking and completely inappropriate. I was extremely offended by her homophobic remarks and I am myself gay, not to mention the cursing and swearing in front of our child.

    “Don’t know and I really don’t care what prompted Juanita’s tirade. I was shocked to see someone in a so-called “supervisory position” treating someone who works for her so brutally. Needless to say law in the state of California the law prohibits the attack on Mr. Burton based on his sexual identification in the workplace! You should take note of this.

    “You need to DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS WOMAN. While representing the USPS no one should be able to behave that badly and make that big of a scene in public plus publicly attacking a subordinates sexual orientation and be allowed to keep their job.

    “If Mr. Burton sues for harassment I will gladly be a witness on his behalf.

    Signed,
    M. Elizabeth J. Crawford"
    .
    The postal service lost the case and gave the supervisor involved a tap on the wrist (sensitivity training). Now it's back to business as usual.
    .
    So with respect to Cornel West, just take a minute to ask yourself the following questions. First, with everything the Republican Party is trying to do to Black people - obstructing our right to vote, trying to destroy our educational system, attempting to take away our parents' and grandparents' access to Medicare and Social Security, and trying to destroy our future by making higher education beyond our children's reach - why is West focused on something as unimportant to our welfare as what Jay-Z is doing? In addition, West is as quiet as a church mouse regarding the role that his buddy, Tavis Smiley, played in helping Wells Fargo Bank swindle Black homeowners - at least, former Black homeowners. All of a sudden, "accountability" doesn't apply in that case. http://washingtonindependent.com/59633/suit-alleges-trusted-black-figures-drew-minorities-to-high-rate-loans
    .
    And secondly, since the most direct road out of poverty is to ensure that our young people obtain a quality education, why is it that Dr. Cornel West has failed to teach at any school that more than 1% of Black students can even afford to get into in his entire career? Wouldn't you think that one who is renowned as an educator, and who claims to "love" his people so passionately that he was "forced" to publicly attack the first Black President of the United States, would at the very least, apply his skills to educating Black youth? Come on, people. Connect the dots.
    .
    What we have to begin to understand regarding people like Cornel West and others of his ilk is, Black people are the product of the very same racist environment as White people. And as a result, many of us are just as racist and condescending towards other Black people as any racist Hillbilly. So what West is clearly demonstrating is, in spite of everything that's coming together to destroy the Black community, it all has to take a backseat to America's favorite pastime - dragging a successful Black man through the mud. And West’s attack on Jay-Z is not just an aberration - he’s done the exact same thing to President Obama, Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Yet, he seems to be fine with Walmart, and the others who are trying to cut the Black community's throat.
    .
    No other group of people in the world thinks that way about their own, and for that reason, Black people are at the very bottom of the social and economic ladder. New arrivals to this country all but stumble over us as they move forward and leave us behind. So we need to wake up, and stop tolerating this sort of thing, regardless to how we might feel about Jay-Z's wealth.
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    We shouldn't be doggin' Jay-Z. We should take pride in what he's accomplished, because whether you're a hip hop fan or not, the brother has demonstrated the intellect to rise to the top - and without Walmart.
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    Finally, it's easy to understand why West is so popular among many - he's the most prolific champion of intellectual masturbation in the Black community - bar none. He's an entertainer. But don't be bamboozled by a wooly head and hardcore rhetoric. While Cornel West has been hyped by the establishment as one of the Black community’s premier intellectuals, he’s been repeatedly demonstrating the very worst in Black behavior for over twelve years now. So while it’s both understandable, and appropriate, for the Black community to despair over this public embarrassment, we should use it as a teaching moment: Always look beneath the hype, and never allow others to define our heroes.
     
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    Comments

    Waiting for column where you attack Henry Gates for attending Yale and and Cambridge University, rather than a proper slum school where brothers can afford to go. That Cornel West - had to be uppity and go to Harvard & Princeton. And that Michelle Obama - what's up with her going to Princeton and Harvard? Doesn't the girl know her place? One pimped out white college is okay, but to do all your studies there?

    Oh wait, you said "teach", not 'attend', and Gates did his time at Howard University - never mind. So Cornell should get out of Princeton and start teaching at a real homeboy school - otherwise his streetcred is dirt.

    (Princeton has 37% minority enrollment, but only 8% African American, though another 4% mixed which might be part black. But it's not enough for West to teach other minorities - he should stick with his own.)

     


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 8:39am

    No, Peracles,

    Once again, you missed the point entirely. I'm simply pointing out that Cornel West is more prone to preaching us a sermon than living us one.  His sermon is reminiscent to that of ultraconservatives who insist that they love America, while hating everything that America stands for.

    In addition, Peracles, once again you've betrayed your own mindset.  What's a "homeboy school?"


    by Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 9:57am

    I'll apologize for Cornell West for not being the person with the lifestyle you wish on him. It's a shame he's disappointed you by not being Al Sharpton or MLK or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (fill in). 

    Do you think he hates everything America stands for?

    As for a "homeboy school":

    And secondly, since the most direct road out of poverty is to ensure that our young people obtain a quality education, why is it that Dr. Cornel West has failed to teach at any school that more than 1% of Black students can even afford to get into in his entire career?

    I figger that's a school where more than 1% of Black students can afford to get in - you know, "acceptable to black folks". Wasn't that what you were getting at? The right kind of school, not the uppity privileged smartass white folks schools like Cornell West teaches at? I'm beginning to see your point - I think West might be passing at being black.


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 10:29am

    What could possibly be wrong for a black man to be fronting for a super-rich Russian mafia figure and Barclays Arena/Bank which got slammed for manipulating the LIBOR rate?  (as an aside, Romney met with Barclay's CEO in London to do a bit of fundraising, so I guess they're not all that bad, eh? Wonder if Barclays illegally foreclosed as many mortgages in Brooklyn as they did in Detroit). As well as helping out Forest City's Bruce Ratner who used eminent domain to get granted a few blocks of Brooklyn to build the stadium.

    Of course people can decide if it makes any difference, presuming they know Jay-Z has only a couple mill in the Nets while Prokhorov has over $300 million. If they're happy with paragraph #1, it's their choice. Doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Cornell West pointing out what the NY Times had on its front page, does there?

    Back in August, the New York Times reported that Jay-Z, who has been instrumental in the franchise's move from New Jersey and has become a courtside fixture at games, owns just 1/15 of 1 percent of the franchise.

    ...Jay-Z first disputed the reported percentage -- telling his audience that he didn't know where the media got their numbers -- before asserting that "some" in the media have presented his role in the ownership group in a way that was intended as a purposeful slight.

    "That's their way of diminishing our accomplishments," he said. "Don't let anyone diminish your accomplishments."

    The real story, he explained, goes like this: "[I'm] a young black African male who was raised in a single-parent home in low-income housing and I stand before you as an owner of the Brooklyn Nets."

    The Barclays Center crowd erupted in cheers.

    "As an owner". Well, in terms of uniform design & image & leaving his mark, yes, Jay-Z is an owner. In terms of cash, well, "minority owner" works in more than one sense of the phrase. See, to point out Jay-Z's actual ownership percentage is "diminishing your accomplishments", rather than just reporting the unglossy truth, the way papers always do for superstars, whether Mel Gibson or LiLo. But if we're going to get all civil rights about this, I suppose Chris Brown just gave Rihanna a "love tap", and no one should have been the wiser.

    To conclude, I don't know if the Nets move is good for Brooklyn or not - and people who live there probably have to decide for themselves. I just don't see what's wrong with knowing the truth behind it, much less how discussing the finances behind a public land issue and sports venture is "black-on-black racism", seeing as Jay-Z's using his cachet with the black community to get them excited about a commercial venture. Think they'd do that for Prokhorov?


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 9:35am

    Peracles,

    You seem to have an absolute penchant for obfuscating, distraction, and missing the point (on purpose, no doubt). I know very little about Jay-Z, but even if he was the biggest and worst criminal in the United States, I'd question why Cornel chose Jay-Z to attack over someone like Paul Ryan.

    In addition, West wasn't criticizing Jay-Z's activities, but the fact that his holdings weren't as extensive as many people believe. Thus, West was attacking his stature as a Black businessman, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the conditions in the Black community, which West professes is his primary concern. So my point was, the Black community should be very careful in accepting counsel from such a devious and petty-minded individual, because while his mouth says one thing, his behavior says another.

    So, Peracles, my intent in writing the article was to warn the Black community to beware of a self-serving demagogue. What was your point, and what your interest in this matter? 


    by Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 10:32am

    In addition, West wasn't criticizing Jay-Z's activities, but the fact that his holdings weren't as extensive as many people believe. That suggests that West was attacking his stature as a Black businessman, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the conditions in the Black community, which West professes is his primary concern.

    Because there's nothing wrong with Jay-Z's activities - he's building up a team. The only issue is whether he's pretending to be a serious owner when he's more like co-CEO/VP for Business Development/main PR man.  The Nets are more than just a Black business - it's a major cultural symbol for Brooklyn now - how much of a Jay-Z rags-to-riches fable is it - one where he was rich enough to co-own, or simply one where he bought in for a few million? Neither takes away from his building the Nets' image and attracting fans.

    Your "this suggests" is just you being paranoid. West wasn't mean in how he said it - but it's just dishonest for Jay-Z to run around acting like he coughed up $50 million or more to be a real co-owner - he doesn't have to pose like that - what he's doing is fine on its own. Jay-Z got caught in a silly lie, and all you do is attack the messenger.

    And it's curious for you to criticize Cornell West for not criticizing Paul Ryan, but you can't say boo about black unemployment or the "fiscal cliff" or anything else for months except Cornell Cornell Cornell. How about letting West decide what he wants to talk about and where he wants to teach and treat him as if he's free, black and 21 and not just chained to someone's expectations of how a black leader has to act?


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 10:39am

    In addition, West wasn't criticizing Jay-Z's activities, but the fact that his holdings weren't as extensive as many people believe. That suggests that West was attacking his stature as a Black businessman, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the conditions in the Black community, which West professes is his primary concern.

    Because there's nothing wrong with Jay-Z's activities - he's building up a team. The only issue is whether he's pretending to be a serious owner when he's more like co-CEO/VP for Business Development/main PR man.  The Nets are more than just a Black business - it's a major cultural symbol for Brooklyn now - how much of a Jay-Z rags-to-riches fable is it - one where he was rich enough to co-own, or simply one where he bought in for a few million? Neither takes away from his building the Nets' image and attracting fans.

    Your "this suggests" is just you being paranoid. West wasn't mean in how he said it - but it's just dishonest for Jay-Z to run around acting like he coughed up $50 million or more to be a real co-owner - he doesn't have to pose like that - what he's doing is fine on its own. Jay-Z got caught in a silly lie, and all you do is attack the messenger.

    And it's curious for you to criticize Cornell West for not criticizing Paul Ryan, but you can't say boo about black unemployment or the "fiscal cliff" or anything else for months except Cornell Cornell Cornell. How about letting West decide what he wants to talk about and where he wants to teach and treat him as if he's free, black and 21 and not just chained to someone's expectations of how a black leader has to act?


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 10:39am

    Peracles,

    You've gone off on a meaningless tangent. Cornel West has a penchant for attacking prominent Black people. Period. Of course, you may not see anything wrong with that, but it is essential that the Black community take that into account while assessing his character.

     


    by Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 11:08am

    Typically the President is open for criticism, white or black.

    Aside from Jay-Z, who are the other prominent Black people Cornel's been "attacking"? 

    (if that's an attack - if Prokhorov said he invested $500 million in the Brooklyn community, would you want to know whether the $ amount was accurate?)

    Didn't Harris-Perry attack West first?

    West called Harris-Perry a “fake and a fraud” last year after she wrote a calling him a “self-aggrandizing” man who “offers thin criticism of President Obama and stunning insight into the delicate ego of the self-appointed Black leadership class that has been largely supplanted in recent years.”

    He called Larry Summers the "Ariel Sharon of higher education" - I think West has a penchant for attacking prominent white people too, no?

    But mostly I just see that he called Obama a (centrist old-school Republican) "Rockefeller in blackface" and you can't get over that. That's been his criticism of others, backing Obama uncritically, and he hasn't much wavered from that position.

    Here's some more of West's ideas, as you seem to think he only runs around trashing Black people. BTW, he voted for Obama.


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 11:20am

    Peracles,

    You obviously don't know your subject. You asked what other prominent Black people has West attacked other than the president. He's attacked Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and virtually the entire Black staff of MSNBC.

    Finally, you said,  "BTW, he [West] voted for Obama."  How do you know? With that, I'm done with you, because that alone, speaks volumes. Even if a thinking man believed West's claim, he would never make such an unqualified public assertion. 


    by Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 11:38am

    I noted before that Cenk Uygur had the same comment - MSNBC was in the tank for Obama, specifically referring to Al Sharpton's comments saying this out loud.

    From 60 minutes (and Glenn Greenwald):

     

    Sharpton told us that having a black president is a challenge: if he finds fault with Mr. Obama, he’d be aiding those who want to destroy him. So he has decided not to criticize the president about anything — even about black unemployment, which is twice the national rate.

    The segment also described Sharpton as “now a trusted White House adviser” and recounts that “given his loyalty and his change from confrontational to accommodating, the administration is rewarding him with access and assignments.”

    How can a media outlet such as MSNBC that purports to be presenting political journalism possibly employ someone as a journalist — even an opinion journalist — who publicly and categorically pledges never to criticize the President of the United States under any circumstances?  That would be like hiring a physician who vows never to treat any diseases, or employing an auto mechanic who pledges never to fix any cars, or retaining a pollster who swears never to make any findings about public opinion.

    Rachel Maddow with AirAmerica was extremely critical about Chris Matthews' continual gender bashing. Then a few days later she backed off her comments, called Chris brilliant, and then a few months later she was subbing for Olbermann and then she had her own MSNBC show. In short, "to get where I am, I had to kiss a lot of ass - right on the lips". No doubt not criticizing Matthews was understood as part of her contract, and who knows what was required re: Obama.

    And how did MSNBC do the last week of the campaign? No bias for Obama I'm sure...

     


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 4:04pm

    Peracles,

    I don't know what point you're trying to make here, but Black people don't think in lockstep. Any opinion that Al Sharpton might express is purely his own. I criticize President Obama, just like I do any other president, all the time. But unlike Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, whenever I do criticize the president, my criticism is issue specific, always respectful, and I always suggest an alternative approach - in short, it's constructive, and designed to find solutions, as oppose to simply bashing the president:

    BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

    .
    A JOURNALIST'S FIRST RESPONSIBILITY-
    TO PROTECT HIS FAVORED CANDIDATE, OR THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW?
     
    "As anyone who has regularly read my column is fully aware, I've been one of Barack Obama's most fervent supporters since hours after he first declared his intention to seek the presidency, and I continue to support that effort. But I was bitterly disappointed with the position he's taken on the FISA bill now before the U.S. Senate, and I've been quite vociferous in making that disappointment known to all who would listen.

    "On June 20th Senator Barack Obama announced that he was supporting the current FISA bill before the senate. That bill gives retroactive immunity to all telecommunications companies against all private law suits for cooperating with the Bush administration's program of spying on the American people without a court order, as currently required by current law.

    "If that bill is passed, it will preclude private law suits that would reveal when they started spying on the American people, who they spied on, their justification for spying on them (in cases where it was unjustified), and who in the administration the information went to . . .

    I've been roundly criticized by fellow Obama supporters for bringing this issue out. They say that "I'm hurting our candidate", and "I'm not seeing the big picture." But in response I suggest, when truth becomes a hindrance to a candidate's viability, it's not truth that's the problem–it's the candidate. And when the "greater good" involves journalists keeping the people in the dark, it becomes the nation's problem. Thus, it's not up to journalists to keep Obama's candidacy viable--it's up to Obama.

    "I've been roundly criticized by fellow Obama supporters for bringing this issue out. They say that "I'm hurting our candidate", and "I'm not seeing the big picture." But in response I suggest, when truth becomes a hindrance to a candidate's viability, it's not truth that's the problem–it's the candidate. And when the "greater good" involves journalists keeping the people in the dark, it becomes the nation's problem. Thus, it's not up to journalists to keep Obama's candidacy viable--it's up to Obama."

    http://wattree.blogspot.com/2008/07/journalists-first-responsibility_04....


    by Wattree on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 11:27pm

    Wow, you criticized Obama 4 1/2 years ago - big of you to point it out.

    Now how about criticizing others respectfully? Or let others criticize without condemning them in ridiculous terms? West thinks Obama is a corporate sell-out (isn't that part of the Presidential job description? only question is "how far/how high?"). For that you call West a traitor, a racist, a Republican, and a host of other pejoratives.

    Everyone else is calling MSNBC biased, and the stats prove it - but for West to say that, horrible - he's attacking people.

    You don't even think West has a right to discuss Jay-Z (even though West interviewed him 2 years ago at NYPL for Decoded about his book, and besides, the Brooklyn Nets seems a topical conversation for the Northeast black community, no? should Obama ever go golfing or host rappers if staying focused, eyes on the prize, is so key?).

    You slam West just because he's only taught at too rich schools - what kind of petty noxious person are you? What are all your litmus tests for 1 guy to be acceptable? Can't you discuss a particular political issue without dragging in extraneous garbage to weaken your points?


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 1:12am

    Peracles,

    I don't know why I keep going around and around with you - yes I do, to make sure you don't mislead others. You specialize in obfuscation, and you make it a point to refuse to see anything you don't want to see.

    This article had absolutely NOTHING to do with Obama. This article was straight forward and direct it it's intent - to inform the Black community that Cornel West's petty-minded behavior should be seen as a red flag indicating a lack of focus and credibility. Period.

    If you read something other than that in it, from this point on, you're going to have to take it up with the ghost of Sigmund Freud. As I've said before, trying to keep you focused is like trying to teach a goldfish to ride a skateboard. The reason for that is, you don't want to remain focused. Your motive is not to clarify an issue, but to engage in spitball fights. Well, Peracles, I an adult, so I'm not given to engaging in spitball fights. Such things even bored me as a child.


    by Wattree on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 7:28am

    How exactly am I "obfuscating"?

    Your big beef was about Cornel West attacking Obama. Now anything West does is a problem, whether teaching at Princeton or asking Jay-Z to clear up how much of the Nets he is, as a self-proclaimed "owner". I understand West should go teach at Howard University and man the ramparts to protest stop-and-frisk or he's not a proper civil rights leader. Each time he takes a stroll to Starbucks, he's letting down the cause with his lack of focus.

    I linked to some interviews with West that showed him discussing issues - black issues you seem to ignore, preferring instead Al Sharpton's tack of "support the prez at all costs". That's your choice, of course, but nothing you've said makes West's outbursts invalid. You cut-and-paste off Obama's campaign platform, and that's as far as you get into the issues. So you're a true believer - excuse those of us who aren't.

    So I keep asking you, what's wrong with challenging Obama on the issues? Being black means you have to shut up, give the brother more space because whites won't understand? Someday maybe you'll figure out that your interpretation of a political standoff doesn't make it the only correct one, that political dialogue and differing opinions is healthy in politics, and doesn't make one a racist or a traitor or even a spitball fighter.

    It's funny - you bring up a topic, I note the holes in it, and yet I'm the one who's "unfocused". Shame you get "bored" so easily or you might enliven your talking points. So it doesn't matter if Jay-Z pretends he owns more than 0.3% of the Nets? No false advertising?


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 8:13am

    Considering West's, fading, yet substantial influence in the Black community, the possible impact of such a petty mind during a time when we are fighting for our very existence is indeed frightening.

    You know, no offense - but this comment could have been written ten years ago or twenty years ago. The black community in America is apparently always "fighting for our very existence." There is this perpetual, paranoid weird drama about blackness that goes on in the African American community that doesn't happen in other communities and apparently isn't being alleviated by the presence of a black man in the White House.


    by Orion on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 3:31am

    Orion,

    It could have been written 400 years ago, but that doesn't preclude it from being any less true today. And while I'm not one to dwell on it, racism in America is no paranoid delusion. And yes, there is a fixation on racism in the black community that you don't find in other communities. That's because other communities haven't experienced the kind of racist bigotry that Black people have.

    And finally, Barack Obama is just one man - an impressive man - but one man, nevertheless. So do you really expect one man to turn around 400 years of history in a nation of 330 million people in four, or even eight, years?  If Abraham Lincoln couldn't do it, what gives the world such great expectations of Barack Obama? 

    We can look at the election of Barack Obama in two ways. One way is to look upon his election as evidence that racism in America is a thing of the past. But another way of looking at all the hoopla over the election of one Black man, is as evidence of how far we have to go. After all, if racism was indeed a thing of the past, the election of a Black man wouldn't be a big deal, would it? 


    by Wattree on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 7:57am

    Doesn't preclude it, but sure sounds paranoid as Orion notes. Obama's America's CEO, re-elected by good margin, a black man's head of Justice, black woman's ambassador to UN & next Secretary of State,1/10th of Congress is black (43 members) plus 2 black governors, even Al Sharpton's on TV, while Jay-Z is the new face of the Russian Mafia. Fighting for your life? Perception wise, no. Acceptance wise a bit. Economically, yes - but that's just another side of 99% vs 1% - high black unemployment & illegal mortgage foreclosures.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 8:43am

    Guys, I worked at the Heritage Foundation in D.C. I heard "nigger" dropped a whole bunch. I would rather live poor in suburban California, Seattle, Guam, Alaska or any of the other places I've been than be around that bullshit again.

    Nevertheless, those assholes are now the minority. They are defensive about their racism. It sounds slightly demented to be talking about blacks "fighting for their very existence" when a black man is president of this country for two terms. I think a big reason Cornel West may be flying off the handle is because he has no purpose anymore.

    I can relate to the mentality. I know what it's like to grow accustomed to feeling like everyone is against you when they really are. Things change, however, and when people really no longer are against you - it's your responsibility to change the way you think.


    by Orion on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 11:44pm

    How exactly is Cornel West "flying off the handle" except by saying Obama needs pressure on issues?

    And quoting the front page of the New York Times on Jay-Z? Wow, really out there.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:36am

    West called Obama a "Rockefeller Republican in black face." He might as well hang out with Glenn Beck talking like that.


    by Orion on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:41am

    He supposedly explains why he felit appropriate to call Obama a "‘Rockefeller Republican in blackface" and not just a ‘Rockefeller Republican," in this interview @ Counterpunch for Nov 30/Dec 2, 2012, where he also says stuff like this:

    He’s had four years and he’s proved himself to be a Wall St. President, he’s proved himself to be imperial to the core, he’s proved himself to be a war criminal. And you have to call that for what it is. And people say ‘oh you hatin’ ’ and I say ‘I’m a Christian. I hate the deed; I don’t hate the person’, because he has the potential to change.

    Frankly, I don't see a whole lot of specific issue complaints there about Obama.. Actually, I see a lot of the same kinds of name calling, pigeonholing and hyperbole that Wattree uses in his attacks on West, with some Marxism and pro-Palestinian yadda yadda thrown in.

    In general on West, I agree with Orion here: I think a big reason Cornel West may be flying off the handle is because he has no purpose anymore. Wattree, on the other hand, seems to have found purpose in ranting about West, as he formerly ranted about the USPS. Just like Richard Day is know to still rant about right wing talk show hosts that don't really matter much anymore as they no longer even have a network program.

    West clearlly and obviously sells himself as a celebrity intellectual (he does have the option of just doing what most professors do, ya know,)  and in that he is no different than his right wing counterparts.. As well as having fans, doing that subjects you to criticism of the persona and shtick you're selling. I don't see anything wrong with that, I think it's rightfully part of pop culture for people like Wattree to do so; it's criticism of pop culture and where pop culture figures are trying to take it. And again, Cornel West does not have to participate in that, he has the option of getting his ideas out there like most intellectuals do.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 2:05am

    P.S. It's hard for me not to see some jealousy in his attacks on other media celebs like Harris-Perry, Dyson, Rev. Al Sharpton or the black-community-love for Obama in general. (And now, Jay-Z.) Not so much mercenary, but he seems angry that his narrative isn't as appreciated as it used to be, that to try to get and keep an audience of their size with his narrative, he has to basically troll them, keep his name in the fore, do troll-like PR.

    This is what makes me a bit uneasy with rants like Wattree's against West and Richard Day's against right wingers like Glenn Beck or Limbaugh: all publicity is good publicity, it's basically helping feed the trolls, often using the trolls own shtick. But when the rants are quality and amusing, it's hard to dis them!


    by artappraiser on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 2:18am

    Re: Jay-Z, it was pretty much a throwaway, and certainly not a vicious attack. I'm sure West said something about Hurricane Sandy as a topical front page issue, but no one recorded it.

    West is a bit deeper here: http://www.vice.com/read/cornel-west-plans-to-vote-for-obama-in-november...

    (might be his Counterpunch interviewer that keeps that interview lighter)

    I have little to criticize in that article. As I noted, others criticize MSNBC whether black or white talking head - Bob Somerby consistently critical of Rachel Maddow's shallowness and deceptiveness, for example. Chris Matthews of course is just an ass.

    And the core of West's criticism are the drone & never-ending Mideast wars, and Wall Street theft. Blacks make up a large section of Obama's constituency, but the black community isn't even pushing him hard on jobs, much less these other issues.

    He's standing up for Occupy Wall Street (forgiving it a bit as a "motion" rather than a fully-fledged "movement") and Bernie Saunders efforts in the Senate. While you can say he's just being bitter about being snubbed, Dawn Johnson and Elizabeth Warren were snubbed too - and it had political consequences. Obama's snubs are tactical even if sometimes a little bit personal. Obama had his Sista Souljah moment with the black community, saying he's president of all America. Fine, but the rest of America seems to get face time with Obama on issues, while the black community gets street dancing with Michelle.

    The difference from his right wing counterparts is I don't see West saying anything patently untrue or deceptively true, even if does engage in some shock talk. So yeah, he's a celebrity intellectual, but I think he's trying his best. When other celebrity intellectuals get us to stop the drone slaughter of innocents - now coming to America, yay! - get a balanced (not anti-Israel) track on Palestine, get us out of Afghanistan, stop bailing out Wall Street, well then Cornel West can slink back to his lectures. 

    As it is, note from yesterday is how almost all of bank profits come from preferential treatment and low-rate loans provided by the government. And here's Citi whacking 11,000 jobs while paying $14 million in golden parachutes - all propped up by $45 billion in taxpayer bailouts. But let's not criticize the President - he'd be liberal if he could.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 4:49am

    Forget it, PP. Waste of time. We've seen this shit for years now. If you take up a critical position to the Left of Obama, you're gonna get ripped for personal reasons. It's like the Assange show. 

    As it is, a black American seemingly cannot critique Obama from the Left. They've got this asinine theory about how doing so must mean something personally bitter, or some image about crabs in a goddamn barrel, and apparently, that means the criticism is off.

    They literally are not hearing you on black unemployment, or the financial sector. They're gonna close shop and go all hard--shelled in the next few months, just like last time, and no matter how obvious the sell-out or the con, we're all gonna have to just wait and watch and applaud.

    God, I can't wait for Hilary in 2016. So we can get even MORE of the same defensive closed-shell, with an identity aspect which shuts down criticism even further. 

    America - good to know you. 


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 10:29am

    Yeah, I am so looking forward to Hillary '16 - just like reruns of Leave it To Beaver and the Edsel. Maybe I can tell the kids how great the Beach Boys are and take them to a concert. I guess there are just no up-and-coming experienced, informed, adventurous, charismatic personalities in the party. In the Age of Compromise, everyone looks like a turtle.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 1:56pm

    Wow, this is the most ignorant article/rant I've ever read in my entire LIFE. Goodness.


    by BS Police (not verified) on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 2:04pm

    West and Smiley are hemorrhaging viewers from their radio show They are talking loud and saying nothing.

    When the GOP was attempting to suppress minority votes, Melissa Harris-Perry was using her show to educate the public on the tactics being used. She had a segment titled"this Week in Voter Suppression". Al Sharpton was lambasting the efforts on his MSNBC show.Michael Eric Dyson pointed out the suppression efforts on his appearances. even radio entertainers like Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey broadcast information about how to handle problems at the polls. West and Smiley were MIA

    When the justice system in Florida was slow to react to the murder of Trayvon Martin, Al Sharpton helped get the wheels of justice in motion. West and Smiley were again MIA.

    A march conducted in NYC to protest "Stop and Frisk" was organized by Sharpton. The reverend was able to get Gay activists and Occupy Wall Street to join the protest along with members of the local community. West and Smiley? MIA

    West and Smiley serve the same purpose on the Left as Limbaugh and Coulter do on the Right. The dynamic dou make outrageous statements but do very little to actually get things done.

    No one is listening to their radio show. No one really cares whether or not Smiley hosts his "State of the Black Union" event. The public realizes that you look to true activists if you want to get things done. If you like word salad,West and Smiley are your heroes.

    Name one accomplishment of the dynamic duo.


    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 11:43pm

    Perhaps with your man-crush on Obama, you just forgot to read anything related to Cornel West and Stop-and-Frisk, Occupy Wall Street, getting arrested at the Supreme Court.

    Here are a few links as your Google seems to be broken:

    http://gothamist.com/2011/09/27/dr_cornel_west_joins_occupy_wall_st.php#...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/occupy-wall-street_n_985153.html

    http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/cornel-west-at-occupy-wall-str...

    http://gothamist.com/2011/10/21/cornel_west_and_other_occupy_wall_s.php

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/occupy-wall-street-cornel_n_102...

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/cornel-west-keeps-the-...

    And while everyone's having vapors about Cornel West's words, he uses phrases like "the deodorization of Jesus" or Jesus as Santa Claus when talking about the mass consumption version of Christianity in the country - I'm sure someone's offended at that. 

    He's a guy who records with Bootsy Collins, a big George Clinton fan - and folks seem to want him to be some stiff Washington DC type who stays groomed and on the reservation. Well, actually, they just want him to shut up - la la la, can't hear you now. How did Al Sharpton get into Occupy Wall Street but miss the Obama/Tim Geithner connection? Will the next austerity program help black unemployment or survival benefits?

    Marc Morial of the Urban League met with Obama to discuss helping blacks how? Through tax cuts? What's he smoking? He sounds like a Republican, take 2 tax cuts and call me in the morning.


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 1:37am

    West made some guest appearances at OWS.  Big Whoop . Sharpton got two groups with a very limited history of cooperation together to engage in the march. 

    It may not have made your radar screen  but. Sharpton has been out in front on Gay Rights issues for years the joining of the two activist groups in the NYC march was historic

    I find it laughable that you feel that pointing out flaws in Cornel West is so outrageous rather than part and parcel of political discourse. Dear brother West cannot be criticized? Talk about suppression of free speech.

    It seems that you don't like people who counter the pleasing sensation yogurt from hearing or printing West's name. You are already projecting your desire to fight the same battle if Hillary is the next Presidential candidate. You ridicule the head of the Urban League.

    Your main role is to be a contrarian. It does not matter if people took a stand against voter suppression. They should have fallen into locks step with West and his anti-Obama obsession. 

    West is free to continue his rants against Blacks in the media. His radio viewed are free to view his bizarre tirades as acts of jealousy and to tune him out 

    While West was ranting, the community served notice that their votes would be counted

    The GOP felt that they would gain points by ridiculing Black leadership. West followed suit. Both failed. Cornel West is the mirror image of Allen West

     

     

     

     

     


    by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 8:43am

    You're welcome to attack West, but all I hear from you & Wattree was how he just didn't do things they way you would have, didn't pick the issues you would have picked, so he's wrong.

    You said West was MIA at Occupy Wall Street. I give you URL's. Now it's "he didn't do enough". Nice song and dance you do.

    And mostly it's just blowback from West's criticizing Obama. He doesn't like the drone war, he doesn't like O's love for Wall Street. Where exactly is West "wrong"?

    Your equating Cornel West with Allan West and Rush Limbaugh is just mind boggling - ever read any of Cornel's positions? Didn't he vote for Obama? What actual policies do you disagree with him over, and why? Does he have to be flying everywhere Sharpton does to be acceptable, parrot the same lines, walk in lock-step? Or can black leaders play more than 1 role in the community, have different shades of opinion?


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 10:47am

    What I said was that Sharpton got Gay activists, black activists and OWS to participate in the Stop and Frisk march. The alliance between blacks and Gays was historic. Cornel was MIA in forming the alliance. I stand by that position

    Obama is getting business leaders to swallow a tax hike. Some love. GOO Governors are ushering in single payer because rather than formulate their own plans, they are turning it over to Obama. If the plans deliver care to the public, single payer will be an easier concept. Point Obama.

    Cornel West and Allen West criticize Obama. I disagree with both of them precisely because of their statements and positions. Where is the surprise in that? Both Wests are free to rant away. Both will receive an equal amount of support in the black community

    You are free to be in lust with the ineffectual West. Others realize the real service provided by the folks West criticizes in the last election.

     

     


    by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 10:58am