MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Hits of the Day
Empire State of Mind
By A Guy Called LULU on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:20am |In the face of creeping disfranchisement, unbridled corporate power, growing poverty, an expanding police state, 2.3 million people in cages, vigilantes and cops taking our children’s lives, a presidential policy of assassination-by-drone, global environmental disaster, attacks on reproductive rights, a war on trade unions, a tidal wave of foreclosures, and entrenched racism camouflaged beneath a post-racial myth, why do we care if Harry Belafonte and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter have “beef”? Do social movements need Mr. Carter’s money or power or influence? Is justice a matter of charity or wealth? So what if Carter believes—as he retorted in response to Belafonte’s skewering of navel-gazing black celebrities—“my presence is charity”?
URL:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/16/empire-state-of-mind/
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Comments
Mr. Kelly offers insightful commentary on overlapping subjects that have been constant topics here at Dag. I encourage everyone to read this essay.
by A Guy Called LULU on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:23am
I read it and see it as a polemic against Wattree's polemics. Basically what I gathered from it is that there must be enough other writers out there writing Wattree-style polemics to warrant writing a polemic against them.
by artappraiser on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:59pm
I disagree to the extent that describing both Wattree and Kelly as being polemists, just on opposite poles, seems to imply that their writing is of equivalent value. One paragraph by Kelly essentially describes most everything I have read by Wattree.
But that is far from being his entire point, his article has much more substance than mere attacks on those he describes and its essence cannot be condensed to one polemic paragraph. Some version of that paragraph is usually Wattrees only point except where he spends lots of words tooting his own horn as being an example of a right-thinking paragon of wisdom standing on higher moral, ethical, and intellectual ground than those he criticizes.
by A Guy Called LULU on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:15pm
Aren't both "sides" of the argument taking the stance that they have the higher moral ground?
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:08am
Fair enough, but one lets a moral basis be assumed and lets the nature of his moral judgments be expressed by the nature of the arguments he makes. The other has a much different style.
by A Guy Called LULU on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:21am
Christian morality is the basis of West's statements just as they were the basis of Martin Luther King's words.Where MLK referred to Blacks as "my people" West calls Blacks "MSNBC plantation Negroes" and said Melissa Harris-Perry was a "treacherous sister". There is more venom than love in West's words. MLK was able to inspire and energize. West serves as a depressant.
King found common ground with Bayard Rustin who introduced King to the teachings of Ghandi and organized the March on Washington fifty years ago. Rustin was an open homosexual. King found common ground with Whitney Young of the Urban League who sought change in corporte hiring practices by engaging with members of corporate boards. King found common ground with Malcolm X.
Cornel West seeks only to divide. He uses his "moral" position to hurl attacks on other Blacks. West's biggest failure, is that he has actually accomplished nothing concrete.
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:57am
Well, it's legitimate for Obama's defenders to respond to criticism by citing his positive accomplishments. But they tend to avoid talking about the other things he had done. Few Democrats have defended his record on civil liberties.
by Aaron Carine (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:18am
The point has been made that Presidents rarely give up power. The Congress was a useful force in the past in reigning in Presidential power. The Church Commission reigned in the CIA. The current Congress is incompetent and their will be no organized attempt to reign in surveillance. We have to rely on the courts to rectify the situation.Yelling about overreach will accomplish little.
Some of us are dealing with Governors that are actively destroying Unions, appointing special masters to oversee cities while plundering public property by selling taxpayer owned items on the cheap nd actively suppressing votes. Pardon us if we see the GOP as the treat that it is.
A judge just ruled that Stop and Frisk as practiced by the NYPD was illegal. The fight was led by one of Cornel West's "MSNBC plantation Negroes" Al Sharpton. Cornel West's "treacherous" Melissa Harris-Perry keeps us informed about voter suppression and legal action being taken by various groups to prevent the assault on our Civil Rights.
Obama and the Secretary of Education made a decision on college funding that would have made it difficult for 28K mostly minority students to get funding for college. Under pressure from HBCU Presidents, parents and students, the program has been altered. Cornel West's rhetoric did nothing. Yelling about bad Obama would have done nothing.
There are battles going on that some may not realize. There was a sit-in at the Florida Governor's mansion that wound up forcing the Florida legislature to revisit Stand Your Ground. no one expects success with this initial review, but the protest will continue.
Let's not pretend that people are not actively fighting for their rights. If you have a viable solution to surveillance other than the Courts, please let us know.. In the meantime, the battle against voter suppression, etc goes on.
Cornel West's rants will have no impact, because all we will be talking about is what West said about Obama. Those who want to criticize Obama are free to do so. Others are trying to effect change by action, not words.
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:45am
And that is what is happening here and now. In this context, that very talking about West rather than about what Kelly is talking about is itself an example of producing a negative impact, or at least a hindrance to moving in the direction of a good result. To the very small extent that Kelly's article was even about West and his ilk, I think he would say, is saying, that the "impact" of those who respond with personal attacks on him are diverting [particular segments?] of the publics attention from even noticing and understanding what the far more important issues are, and instead concentrates their thoughts and talking points on West and his ilk rather than on any legitimate criticisms that are hoped to and intended to alter policy by spreading awareness. I think he sees the polarization as a symptom and a result, one which in this case does cause feedback which then amplifies the problems, rather than that the polarization itself is the beginning of the problems.
It is often the tension between polarized views which bring about progress, ... or its opposite, depending on how that tension is resolved.
by A Guy Called LULU on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:12pm
A good result IS happening in spite of West. West is the one who initiates the attcks, Wattree reports on what was said. West's role in the scrimmage cannot be ignored.
I pointed out, Stop and Frisk, Stand Your Ground, voter suppression, educational funding support are all being challenged by people who care bout their futures. Sharpton got LBGT groups and OWS to participate in a protest against Stop and Frisk in NYC. People are united. A gospel singer Donnie MClurkin got "uninvited" to an MLK celebration because McClurkin, a "former" homosexual made homophobic comments. Black leadership is stepping up to it's responsibility in fighting for Civil Rights including LGBT rights. Unity again.
How can you see West as being the uniter in this scenario?
by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:33pm
There are many battles to be fought. The courts are addressing voter suppression. PA was just prevented from putting it's GOP Draconian voter ID laws into place. The NC voter suppression law is being challenged in court. Progress is th new norm. People are awake to the threats. Fast food workers are fighting for living wages. The battle has been engaged
The courts will have to address the massive surveillance program. Just because people are not on a constant rant against evil Obama. does not mean that they are unaware of the surveillance. However the simple fact is that the militarization of local police forces that send SWAT teams to shut down home grown okra crops are a more clear and present dangers. People are concerned about SWAT showing up because of marijuana plants or looking for non-violent drug offenders. They are are pleased by Holder's retreat on those drug offenders on the federal level, but continue to fear local police action.
Cornel West takes the focus off the ongoing struggle. It takes real work not just rhetoric to effect change. West comes with words that seek to divide the Black community and he is upset that it is not working.
If West wants to call a truce and actually work on voter suppression, etc, tell him to give Rev. Al a call.
The battle against drones and surveillance is important, but so are the issues the Black community is battling. I respect your battle., please respect mine. If you see a solution to your issues that does not require action from the courts, let me know.
by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:51pm
The bottom line is that no one is avoiding the challenge to change policy.
Bloomberg is appealing Stop and Frisk and now wants to fingerprint those in public housing to seek out criminals. Bloomberg was prevented from fingerprinting food stamp recipients by Governor Cuomo. His current attempt to infringe Civil Rights will be resisted. The courts will come into play if the Governor does not have a role to play.
A situation now exists where a crime victim in NYC public housing calls 911 they could face eviction because a crime occurred in their unit. No one is diverting attention from real issues. We can walk and chew gum. Critical issues are being addressed. Cornel West is getting criticized just like Allen West gets criticized.
by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 3:31pm
And if it isn't clear, no one cares about the JayZ vs Harry Belafonte beef. It was TV theater. Not one step towards changing policy occurred.
by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 3:41pm
And if it isn't clear, no one cares about the JayZ vs Harry Belafonte beef. It was TV theater. Not one step towards changing policy occurred.
by AnonymousRm (not verified) on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 3:41pm