(ThyBlackMan.com) “Brother” Cornel West,
.Your explanation for your comment that President Obama is a “Rockefeller Republican in blackface” is as lame and disingenuous a cop out as I’ve ever heard. You claimed that your critics are trivializing your comment by not getting to the core of your assertion, which was President Obama is a “Rockefeller Republican.” Then YOU tried to trivialize the significance of the addendum, “in blackface,” as though it was meaningless, by saying, “I have a black face, you have a black face, my mother has a black face,” etc.
You’re not a complete idiot, so you know full well that the addendum to your comment was drenched in racial innuendo, and you’ve become a serial offender in that regard. You know very well that the phrase, “in blackface,” conjures up images of White minstrels portraying Black people by painting their faces jet black, with huge oversized white lips, then running across the stage shouting, “mammy!” So the subtext of your comment was clear – you think President Obama is a White clown beneath a painted blackface. That’s a grossly racist and disrespectful statement to be directed at anyone, and particularly the President of the United States. Who do you think you are!!?
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Then just as bad, and just as disrespectful – this time, however, directed at the entire Black community – you have the unmitigated gall to now come on this show, and in your most self-righteous and condescending tone, try to tell Black people who took issue with your comment that they’re just being silly for objecting to your blatantly racist statement. In other words, we’re too stupid to know a racist comment when we hear one.
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Cornel West, you’re indulging in the exact same kind of racist act of conflation as any vicious, petty, and unrepentant bigot. You know the kind – the ones who go on Fox News and talk about “Welfare Queens,” when everybody in the world know they’re actually talking about black women in general; or say, “We’ve got to do something about crime,” when they actually mean, it’s time to start brutalize and killing more Black men. Then when they’re confronted with it, just like you, they say, “Ooooh, where did you find that race card? That wasn’t what I meant at all!”
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And regarding this so-called “Poverty Summit” at the White House that you and Tavis are calling for. I assume you and Smiley expect to attend to advocate on behalf of “the people.” Well, I have one question – what people? No one elected you and Tavis to represent the Black community, and we don’t need you to speak for us.
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The Black community is communicating with the White House on a daily basis through thousands of letters, emails, phone calls, and our ELECTED officials. In addition, we just touched base with the president through the polls in the last election. So the president undoubtedly knows more about what’s on the mind of the Black community than you do – that’s how he knows you’re irrevelant.
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So is this so-call summit that you two are calling for designed to help the poor and Black community – after all, you’ve never done anything for us before – or is it actually about shining a national spotlight on a group of nonproductive, loudmouth, egomaniacs who crave national attention? If your history is any indication, I’d say the latter. So here’s a news flash. Your time has passed, and the Black community is sick to death of you. So please, go away and let us handle our business.
Cornel West sits at his benevolent Master’s plantation Harvard University. He has a good master that TolerateS him. Way to go Cornel.
You should have also written a letter to his “Bro Allen West”….then again, that would be a waste of time. That dude STILL can’t believe massa done sent him to da field.
WOW! Eric!?? I can’t beleive you actually got your words posted in defiance of West. Generally I’m shut down before I can get a line in. Your words are gospel son. I have been so disenchanted with this dude. And more so because he has literally brought Tavis down with him. It’s like the “Corny/Smiley Show”.Tavis was a rising star until he fell under the influence of this clown. He wants people to take him serious because he spiels Don King tapestry of 20 letter words and represents them with a 70’s Muslim suit and bow tie that Muslims don’t even recognize. The bottle glasses, back to the future hair and a gap you could drive his short yellow bus through. The POTUS is president of ALL America not Black America and these dunces can’t get it through their heads. We aint’ listening to you soap box idiots. What have THEY ever done for Black folk other than get them to donate to an untraceable charity or buy books inspired by weed rhetoric. They SHOULD be heading to Colorado to smoke that ish while Obama’s in office. And after that, sit down with the goofy repubs and learn what they will learn how the PEOPLE of U.U. wants their govt to represent THEM.
Satchel,
I truly understand and appreciate your benevolence towards Cornel West. I take it that you’re a Christian, and that’s the Christian way. But I’m not responding to his resume; I responded to his behavior. In addition, while he may indeed need prayer, there’s no reason for the Black community suffer while our prayers for him are being answered. I’m no Biblical scholar, but I think the Bible says, “There’s a time for all things,” and “God helps those who help themselves.” So I’d say, nows the time for the Black community to help ourselves by getting Cornel’s attention.
It seem to me you are being too rough on Dr. West. He is in my estimation a highly educated kneegrow, who is only acting out of his years of experiences growing up in Elk Grove, CA (suburban Sacramento), earning degrees from Harvard and Princeton Universities and Harvard Divinity School. He is just a product of his teachers, he needs prayer.