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Dr. Boyce Watkins; Tom Joyner Gets Nasty and Personal with Tavis Smiley and Cornel West…

July 3, 2011 by  
Filed under Ent., News, Opinion, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) I love Tom Joyner.  In case you’re wondering, in “black political speak,” when someone mentions that they love someone, that means that they are about to crack a walnut over their forehead.  I remember Tavis Smiley telling Al Sharpton that he loved him right before he proceeded to attack him with the ferocity of an angry baby’s mama looking for additional child support.

My mouth hit the floor this week as Joyner (aka “The Fly Jock”), the man whose work ethic I respect like no other, somehow had the audacity (in a recent article) to compare Tavis Smiley and Cornel West to Mark Halperin, the MSNBC commentator who referred to President Barack Obama as a d*ck on national television.   You no longer need to speculate as to whether or not Tom has a personal issue with Tavis Smiley, the cat fighting is now out  of the bag.

While there is certainly room for Tom to disagree with Tavis and Cornel’s critiques of President Obama (it’s ok to criticize the criticizer), Tom’s comparison of Cornel and Tavis with Halperin is entirely off-base.  Smiley and West have never, at any point, used such distasteful language and the kind of one-syllable thinking that Halperin used during his insult of President Obama.  In fact, even Smiley’s critiques have grown more diplomatic and thoughtful through time, and I still look forward to any of the president’s senior advisors taking the time to explain why Smiley and West are wrong (note: when people can’t debate the facts, they avoid the issues and simply try to discredit you).

But it is Tom Joyner himself who has joined Halperin in the ideological basement by making comments that would be better suited for a high school locker room:

I said I’d wait until something pissed me off so bad that I would have the words harsh enough to express what I was really feeling about him and his side piece – I mean side kick – Cornel West,” said Joyner. 

Now, I don’t know what hood you’re from, but in my city, referring to a man’s friend as his “side piece” is usually a reference to his sexuality.  Whether Tom is trying to imply that the relationship between West and Smiley is more than meets the eye, I have no idea.  But this kind of remark has no place in print during such a critical point in the history of black American political discourse.

Joyner goes further on his peculiar tirade by claiming that somehow, Halperin’s vulgar remarks about President Obama were encouraged by the decision of West and Smiley to critique Obama Administration policies:

“These two have done much worse than what Halperin has done because they set the tone for it, opened the door to it, and must take much of the blame for creating a climate that would make a white, professional journalist feel comfortable verbally and vulgarly attacking the first black president of the United States.”

OK.  So there you have it.  If you disagree with Obama Administration policies on dealing with the black unemployment or mass incarceration crisis, you have now given permission to any white man in America to refer to President Obama as a d*ck. So, the only logical solution would be for all black Americans to mute their Democratic voice and remain silent about any policy with which they disagree.


Tom goes deeper in expressing his personal issues with Tavis by taking us on a trip down memory lane.  He explains how Tavis went from being an empowered advocate for black America to becoming the selfish, jealous, tortured soul who was determined to destroy black America by disagreeing with President Obama.

I had so much respect for him before his primary goal became selling books, and, later, selling out,” said Joyner.

Joyner’s remark about selling books and selling out seems a bit odd from a man who’s earned millions with his “black activism brought to you by Walmart.”  I also remember Tom’s defense of Walmart when we fought on the case of Heather Ellis, a black college student who was facing 15-years in prison for cutting in line at one of their stores (Walmart mysteriously “lost” the videotape that showed Heather being slammed to the ground by police).  As a Business School Professor, I can appreciate Tom’s ability to work capitalism to his advantage, but he is the last millionaire who should be challenging Smiley’s decision to sell products.

Perhaps Tom might consider the possibility that the reason Tavis and Cornel have endured the criticism they’ve received for speaking out is because they care for black people so much.  In spite of their imperfections, Cornel and Tavis have an undeniable and storied track record when it comes to advocating for African American issues.  The same can be said for Tom Joyner, Al Sharpton and others who disagree with them.  The reality is that they simply have different approaches to solving the same problem, but their advocacy is no less genuine than those who disagree with their tactics.

By debasing the conversation into such a nasty personal attack, Tom has engaged in the very same dastardly behavior that many felt Tavis displayed back in 2008.  I expect more from Tom Joyner, and I sincerely hope he has the maturity to issue an apology.  Most significantly, his efforts to terrorize dissenting voices in the black community by demanding that they remain silent is nothing short of ruthless, un-American and ultimately oppressive.  A man who loves black America doesn’t act this way, and Tom might need to grow up.

Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.


Comments

11 Responses to “Dr. Boyce Watkins; Tom Joyner Gets Nasty and Personal with Tavis Smiley and Cornel West…”
  1. lewis orr says:

    Common Sense, what jobs are you talking about? Govert. job? They’re not going to help the economy, factory job? The factories are never coming back! The Industrial Age is over, we’re in the age of Information. There is no cookie cutter programs to get everyone employed. You have to take what information is out there now and use what fits YOU as an individual and creat your own job/business. As they do in most third world countries. Look at Asia, Brazil. This is basically why the third world is passing us up. They know what time it is. You’re looking backwards, you have to look ahead.

  2. common sense says:

    Yes, Obama is counting on people who think as you where it’s ok that JOBS are not coming to urban communities because its a black man in the White House. So we need to re-elect this black man so he can continue stacking paper for George Soros & Co. Well said bro.

  3. lewis orr says:

    All of this along with the Repugnates remarks will be water off President Obama’s back, once he’s re-elected and becomes “Obama Caligular”. You think he’s going to be “Clark Kent” in the next 4 years? You have to realize, he’s smarter than we are! A Black Man getting himself elected president of “White America”. Think about it! Who woulda thunk it? No me massah

  4. hoodgirl says:

    Yes, it is Obama’s fault that he gave the banks billions to run with without a string attached!

  5. Shelly says:

    With regards to Tom Joyner’s missive…all I can say is it’s apparent that there is whole lot of growing up yet to be done. Tom has every right to his opinion…and so do both Tavis and Cornell West. It’s not only repulsive, but downright childish the way some black people act. I’ve checked out numerous other websites and the responses are just silly. If you don’t agree with the “group” some people get all bent out of shape. If you didn’t vote for Obama or disagree with his agenda…watch out, it’s all out war. I thought Dr. King fought for equality. Well guess what? We too (black people) have the right to think the way we want…just like any other American. Who says we all have to think alike? It’s a damn shame that independently minded people are the source of ad hominen attacks, character assassination and threats of physical harm if they happen not to like Obama. I could care less about Tavis or West, both are clowns to me. But I’ve never been able to figure out why anyone else would be threaten to the point of acting out in the most childish way, just because someone else doesn’t share their point of view. Grow the hell up. Damn!

  6. Chill4asec says:

    Thank you Tom Joyner for saying something that needed to be said. I’m sick of Smiley sniveling and sucking up to establishment with his off base attacks on the President. That’s right, I said President with a capital P. Not “Obama” not “Mr. Obama”, not “he”, “him” or some other depersonalized pronoun or title. The office is still widely considered the nation’s highest. Just because a black man holds it doesn’t mean that we lower the discourse to the equivalent of a street fight.

    Funny thing is, I was worried about white folks losing their minds when a black man was elected President. Obviously, I should have been just as concerned that black folks would go crazy.

    Despite his herculean efforts to keep the country from falling into a second great depression. Despite dealing with a pandemic and with the potential panic and devastation unleashed when BP knocked a hole in the world. Despite his holding fast against our enemies and holding firm with our allies; despite the fact that he finally delivered 5.56mm of justice, made in the USA, right through the eye of the man responsible for the worst terrorist attack in our history….despite all that, Smiley and West continue to attack, then grandstand as if this is some hyped up game of the dozens.

    I’m sick of them. They need to shut up or they need to focus their attention on the real culprits here. Its not The President’s fault that the banks took their bailout and ran with it. Its not the President’s fault that Wall street took their bailout and funneled it into executive bonuses. Its not The President’s fault that major corporations refused to hire new workers or give raises to current employees and instead chose to sit on their money for months. While you ‘negroes’ are sitting around “signifying”, corporate America is kicking the working class to death. The President can’t stop them. The President can’t force them. It’s not in the Constitution.

    A generation ago, Jesse Jackson would have led a boycott. Real black leaders would have emerged. Someone would have asked us to march. Someone would have been out there in the street everyday drawing attention to the new corporate apartheid. We would have followed. We would have marched. We would have shared in victory or at least by God’s grace, let them know we were there.

    Not today. Today we have the Smiley/West minstrel show, I listen to them and remember what the old heads used to say….”those negroes are like crabs in bucket…”

  7. MsMobetter says:

    When Tavis Smiley first started expressing his lack of support for then Senator Barack Obama, it was long before the invitation to him for the State of Black America program. It was on the Tom Joyner Radio Morning Show when Tom openly provided Tavis a forum for his comments about now President Barack Obama whether positive or negative (actually he never had much in the way of positive comments from the beginning).

    I believe it is every person’s right to speak and write what they believe. However, from the very beginning of the presidential campaign, I felt that Tavis had a personal issue with President Obama. It was something about his message, his tone and his words that really made it clear that Barack was never his choice, which is his prerogative. However, the one person who allowed him to have that voice was Tom Joyner. Whether you agree with President Obama or not, he should be respected as President of United States. As journalists and educators, the expectation is your level of freedom of speech should be respectful and professional. That professionalism has not been extended to President Obama.

    As much as I disagreed with President Bush’s policies, I would never stoop to a level where I disrespected him and I never saw that from journalists black or white while he was in office. Whatever the issues are with these men who are some of the most recognized and respected in the black and white communities, I pray that they can put them aside and come to a mutual understanding that will benefit and not separate.

    MsMobetter Daily Thoughts;
    http://mobetterbysheila.blogspot.com

  8. That's Me says:

    I completely agree with Mr. Tom Joyner and I am glad he went in hard on Tavis.

  9. Jdgwisd says:

    I have some abivelence with Dr. Watkins. I agree with him that Tom Joyner displayed none of the social/political maturity he denounced Tavis/Dr. West for not having. I wonder was Tom commenting about the inability of West/Tavis to move beyond their hatred of Obama personally and move their comments towards civil political discourse? If that was the case, Tom failed miserably. You can like who you want, disagree with who you want. Our people are a disapora of political thought. The cumbya days of the civil rights era is over. If we are to ever move on towards political maturity, Tom has to practice before he preaches.

  10. KAYLA says:

    Joyner like Sharpton are Obama’s rockweilers to send out when black leaders or others dissent. Can’t have the blacks all against him hmmmm?

  11. Public Financing says:

    Well said, Dr. Watkins. Not only was Joyner off-base, he’s the LAST person who should be calling anyone a sell out. Just like the rest of the Civil Rights Industrial Complex, Joyner’s advocacy has been for his bank account and little else. The CRIC is straight out of central casting, why does anyone take anything they say seriously? If Joyner, Sharpton, Jackson, Dyson, and the rest of the self-appointed Armani “advocates” retired tomorrow, we’d be better off.

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