General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDR. Cornel West. The Story.
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What it said to me on a personal level was that brother Barack Obama had no sense of gratitude, no sense of loyalty, no sense of even courtesy, [no] sense of decency, just to say thank you. Is this the kind of manipulative, Machiavellian orientation we ought to get used to? That was on a personal level.
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I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men. Its understandable. As a young brother who grows up in a white context, brilliant African father, hes always had to fear being a white man with black skin. All he has known culturally is white. He is just as human as I am, but that is his cultural formation. When he meets an independent black brother, it is frightening. And thats true for a white brother. When you get a white brother who meets a free, independent black man, they got to be mature to really embrace fully what the brother is saying to them. Its a tension, given the history. It can be overcome. Obama, coming out of Kansas influence, white, loving grandparents, coming out of Hawaii and Indonesia, when he meets these independent black folk who have a history of slavery, Jim Crow, JaneCrow and so on, he is very apprehensive. He has a certain rootlessness, a deracination. It is understandable.I was thinking maybe he has at least some progressive populist instincts that could become more manifest after the cautious policies of being a senator and working with [Sen. Joe] Lieberman as his mentor. But it became very clear when I looked at the neoliberal economic team. The first announcement of Summers and Geithner I went ballistic. I said, Oh, my God, I have really beenmisled at a very deep level. And the same is true for Dennis Ross and the other neo-imperial elites. I said, I have been thoroughly misled, all this populist language is just a facade. I was under the impression that he might bring in the voices of brother Joseph Stiglitz and brother Paul Krugman. I figured, OK, given the structure of constraints of the capitalist democratic procedure thats probably the best he could do. But at least he would have some voices concerned about working people, dealing with issues of jobs and downsizing and banks, some semblance of democratic accountability for Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats who are just running amuck. I was completely wrong.
Then on Obama's failure to be progressive:
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/05/cornel-wests-continuing-feud-barack-obama/350794/
pangaia
(24,324 posts)sheshe2
(83,967 posts)They both trashed him every dayum day.
He was never good enough for them.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)They're both weird, and regardless of whatever they may gave said about obama, just 2 weurd dudes..
Shaddox
(384 posts)TexasTowelie
(112,521 posts)there were certain professors that all of the students avoided taking classes with unless they were the only instructor and the course was required for their majors. After 36 hours of mathematics, I had no qualms skipping topology. I learned a lot taking two courses from that professor (and what I learned had very little to do with mathematics).
sheshe2
(83,967 posts)TexasTowelie
(112,521 posts)was when I had that professor for calculus II. The redemption came a year later when I took calculus III and had a 98 average.
It's difficult to gauge how one is doing in a class when there is only a mid-term and a final. The worst part is that we didn't find out our grade on the mid-term until two weeks before the final and it was too late to drop the class.
That professor always had an overly ambitious syllabus and we only made it through about one-third of the content. The other class that I had with professor was theoretical in nature and we only made it to page 47 of the text that semester. I made an 'A' in that course, but there was no way in hell that I would ever take another course from that professor. I don't know how that professor ever received tenure since none of the students liked him and he couldn't remember the names of his students one semester later. That's pretty sad considering that there were only seven students in the class and I actively participated each class with only one excused absence when I was on a band tour.
Hekate
(90,868 posts)But what brings up the esteemed Professor West at this moment?
Grins
(7,239 posts)Cant stand listening to his droning on and on and his responses on any subject. For YEARS. Dont know why media brings him on.
The first African-American wins a presidential election and he says this? Bye-bye, Cornel!
Demonaut
(8,931 posts)I'll list them here:
sheshe2
(83,967 posts)Good list!
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Tickets
oasis
(49,430 posts)Convention platform committee. He thanked them by showing his ass and walking out.
sheshe2
(83,967 posts)Docreed2003
(16,884 posts)Buckeyeblue
(5,504 posts)Obama was not as liberal or progressive as Republicans tried to make him out to be or as Democrats hoped he would be. But in his defense, the country was a mess when he became president. I think his strength was his pragmatism. And I think he was genuinely a good person who wanted the best for his country.