West: Obama a Rockefeller Repub in blackface; Sharpton, MED, Harris Perry sold souls

[jadillac]

I lost a lot of respect for West, and here's why. For a dude that has stood for uplifting black people for so long, he doesn't seem to make the same sacrifices that he asks us to make (correct me if I'm wrong). Like someone else said, he teaches at one of the most prestigious and expensive colleges in the nation. If the president has to cater to the black agenda, why doesn't Cornell West teach at a HBCU? They need help. It would bring a lot of attention to the school right?
But the biggest problem I have with West and his minions is the name calling. These are supposed to be intelligent dudes. I don't mind them being critical of the president, that's fine, but this isn't the first time he's called him out for not being black enough, or brought up his race with negative connotations. Why can't he just say he doesnt like his policies, or whateverthefukk?
It's like whatever level of success we achieve as black people, we always have that crab in a barrel syndrome. Barack walked into a literal shyt storm. There was so much that needed to be done.He did put in place (or tried to) legislation to help a wide array of people, so we can't knitpick him for not directly passing a black folks bill.
Something else that someone said that hold true, why isn't he touring black cities and talking to black youth and adults to help them move forward? Other than speaking and giving classes to rich folks, what exactly has he done to help anyone?

and yes I know about the Poverty tour.

You're right man.

West, some of these big name preachers, M. Eric Dyson, other prominent blacks, etc., sit on these C-SPAN panels from some education hall or something and all talk about the problems facing our community and what needs to be done.....it's good to watch/listen to, but what are THESE guys(who have the money & influence), doing about it?

They get back in their limos and go back to the mansions or uptown apts and live in their world.

Like you said, West teaches at one of the most expensive coleges in the country and probably makes $200,000 a year, if not more.

I just dont understand how these black "leaders" cannot consider the fact that black peopel have been crapped on for 600 years by others, and now we have a black president...something that NOBODY ever believed would happen, and less than 4 years into his first term these black leaders were dumping on him at every turn.

Like I said, OBama isnt obligated to specifically do anything for black folks.
Why should he? Let's be honest, MORE white people voted for him than did black people.

Obama being black and the president is more important than any money he could "give to the hood"

 

[The Real]

Obama being black and the president is more important than any money he could "give to the hood"

I disagree strongly with this point. Him being Black is much less important than the actions he takes that affect Black people, good or bad. As for the stuff about how he doesn't need to specifically do anything for Black people, while that may be true from the standpoint of his political office, the fact remains that other interest groups lobby and receive favors in the form of legislation in return all the time. The only difference is that Black people have very little lobbying power and are considered a low-value group not worth catering to in forms other than speeches and other low-cost, low-decision gestures.

 

[Mr Hate Coffee]

My only problem with Dr. West is that he's playing the most convenient role in ANY situation. He's the contrarian. He can criticize Obama without fear of ever being proven wrong because the shyt he's asking for is damn near political suicide and impossible.

If it was that easy Dr. West would be president.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

I disagree strongly with this point. Him being Black is much less important than the actions he takes that affect Black people, good or bad. As for the stuff about how he doesn't need to specifically do anything for Black people, while that may be true from the standpoint of his political office, the fact remains that other interest groups lobby and receive favors in the form of legislation in return all the time. The only difference is that Black people have very little lobbying power and are considered a low-value group not worth catering to in forms other in speeches and other low-cost, low-decision gestures.

What would you have black people lobby for?

 

[jadillac]

I disagree strongly with this point. Him being Black is much less important than the actions he takes that affect Black people, good or bad. As for the stuff about how he doesn't need to specifically do anything for Black people, while that may be true from the standpoint of his political office, the fact remains that other interest groups lobby and receive favors in the form of legislation in return all the time. The only difference is that Black people have very little lobbying power and are considered a low-value group not worth catering to in forms other in speeches and other low-cost, low-decision gestures.

but there's a difference in other interest groups in that they're not defined by their race. If this interest group is rich people, that's not a race. There's all sorts of rich people of every race.

You can disagree cool, but whatever Obama is doing is not going to affect solely black people, as many whites & hispanics are also living in poverty.

My point with what you quoted is that him being black should at least be an inspiration that you(as a black person) can be anything. Not that every black person can be president, but you can at least have hope of getting out of ur situation.

People talk about role models....there's no greater role model than seeing a black man who is the leader of the free world.

 

[The Real]

but there's a difference in other interest groups in that they're not defined by their race. If this interest group is rich people, that's not a race. There's all sorts of rich people of every race.

You can disagree cool, but whatever Obama is doing is not going to affect solely black people, as many whites & hispanics are also living in poverty.

My point with what you quoted is that him being black should at least be an inspiration that you(as a black person) can be anything. Not that every black person can be president, but you can at least have hope of getting out of ur situation.

People talk about role models....there's no greater role model than seeing a black man who is the leader of the free world.

Other races do get favors that primarily target them, though. Look at hispanics/latinos. But really, I don't think that matters much- Black folks are as unique a group as any other, whether it's a race or some other kind of group, defined by a commonality of sociological indicators and features. Sure, I agree that there aren't any problems that only Black people experience, but there are a number of issues which affect a higher percentage of Black people negatively than other populations, like prison policy, drug laws, education policy, certain aspects of health policy, and so on.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

My only problem with Dr. West is that he's playing the most convenient role in ANY situation. He's the contrarian. He can criticize Obama without fear of ever being proven wrong because the shyt he's asking for is damn near political suicide and impossible.

If it was that easy Dr. West would be president.

You may be right, but that doesn't mean that I have to be cool with with. I on the safe nikka approach that Obama's choosing when dealing with issues facing the black community. The dude is literally trying to pull a mini Gundam! Denying his black side at all costs!

 

[Mr Hate Coffee]

You may be right, but that doesn't mean that I have to be cool with with. I on the safe nikka approach that Obama's choosing when dealing with issues facing the black community. The dude is literally trying to pull a mini Gundam! Denying his black side at all costs!

You're going a little too far there buddy. Obama is far from an Uncle Tom. He embraces his black side publicly. Much to white folk's chagrin.

The bad part about being black is that everyone expects us all to act alike and handle situations the same way. We're all completely different. I attribute most of this shyt more to personality (conflict adverse) being a sellout or not caring about his community.

Why do people forget that Obama made it this far being who he is? SAFE. Aint no "The revolution will not be televised" ass nikka bout to make it to the white house. I take it for what it is and appreciate the positive black role model and black family image he portrays.

 

[jadillac]

You may be right, but that doesn't mean that I have to be cool with with. I on the safe nikka approach that Obama's choosing when dealing with issues facing the black community. The dude is literally trying to pull a mini Gundam! Denying his black side at all costs!

How?

Is he supposed to get up and say, "I am proud to be the first BLACK president ever!" If he was married to a non-black woman, hated rap music, shunned away the black celebs, hated bball, etc, then I could see you saying he denies any of his "blackness"

You never see a white president referring to the white community.

The President of the USA is the President of the USA.

Honestly, if ur black and voted for Obama b/c you LEGIT thought that the next morning you'd wake up with diamonds & gold in ur mailbox, then you should've just kept ur vote.

 

[Mike Otherz]

other than that black face comment, cornel and tavis are on point. barack is obviously better than the alternative. but being the first black prez is not enough. he got to do more with regards to drug laws that have black men in prison. thats my one criteria for him. for a man who used drugs in his teens, to allow black men who make similar mistakes to have their lives ruined. unacceptable. so i am with cornel and tavis. they can take the personal animus out of it though, and their criticisms would carry more weight.

if obama ends his presidency as just a successful centrist. it would have been a waste of everyones time as far as i am concerned.

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

A lot of people are talking about Obama and his blackness(/whiteness) as if he hasn't written a damn book about it.

Seriously, it's a great read and clears up a lot of issues/confusion you might have about him as an individual:

 

[BamdaDon]

You know what I've always wanted to read a study or a book on? When African-Americans became anti-intellectual. That's the one thing none of my African-American studies class or discussions with old heads never covered. At what point did the people who were willing to undergo racist and death threats for the right to a better education lose that fervor? I don't know when that happened.

I think about that too. I think it in the 70s. The riots popped off all over the nation - and nothing happened as a result. Malcolm and Dr. King, were murdered. Stokely went in to exile. The black panther movement got phased out. Damn near all our leaders were killed, locked up or silenced. I think that sent a subconscious message to say that any resistance to uplift your people will be stomped out. I think that deflated a lot of confidence in the movement which focused on education, social awareness, and most importantly black pride. Maybe the psyche was, "no matter how hard we try, we're not gonna make it". I think a lot said, fukk it, black intellectualism aint paying the bills. I'm just doing for self now, I'm not risking my life on a losing battle. To me, it snowballed into institutionalizing these low expectations we've been told we were destined for.

I think it just comes down to the fact that doors opened for people to progress and when they did, Instead of staying in the communities and sacrificing for the good of the people and building up those communities they moved away to be accepted by whites. But when you add the crack epidemic,murders of black figure heads and just the overall "crab" mentality most inner city people have its easy to see how now days its basically a me against every body else attitude in the community. Lets not get into how the media pushes these fukking pipe dreams with rap, sports ect...Hell when you have a self proclaimed coke dealer, sitting on hundred of millions being the opening rap act for a presidential candidate before election night its not hard to see why things are fukked up.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

Here is something you guys should check out.

Slideshow: What has Obama done for black America in 2010? | theGrio

BLACK FARMERS’ SETTLEMENT. On December 8, President Obama signed legislation that provided $1.15 billion to black farmers who sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invests $5 billion for early learning programs such as Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, and children with special needs

MINORITY ACCESS TO CAPITAL. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the Obama stimulus package, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has expanded its outreach to minority owned businesses. Twenty percent of the billions of dollars in SBA loans provided by the stimulus have gone to minority-owned companies.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. Obama funded the design of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History, which is scheduled to open in 2015 on the National Mall in Washington. The museum will occupy a five-acre site near the National Museum of American History and the Washington Monument. The Smithsonian is reviewing design proposals from six architectural teams.

 

[OG Talk]

The blackface comment is over the top, but most of the people who reject West's commentary base it around his alleged motives, rarely critiquing the content of his critiques.
Melissa Harris is the main culprit IMO. Her article about Cornell was nothing but a pure ad hominem attack.Half of the names West bring up as selling their souls for Obama will disappear from the mainstream media once Obama's presidency comes to an end.

Amen brother...


It's quite possible that most of what West's critics say about him is true...

It's also possible that most of what West has said about the president is also true...

One has absolutely nothing to do with the other, because at the end of the day facts must stand on their own regardless of the source or intent behind displaying them..

That's why ad hominem is always counter productive to real debate...

 

[Mike Otherz]

Here is something you guys should check out.

Slideshow: What has Obama done for black America in 2010? | theGrio

thats the bare minimum breh.