Cornel West

[xchrom]

Last edited Sun Aug 5, 2012, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

[Poiuyt]

1. A leader who's unbought?

Do they exist?

[L0oniX]

14. No! n/t

[mazzarro]

2. Thanks a million - buddy! -- n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

3. I LOVE Dr. West!

Just thought I'd get that in there before his detractors show up. Rec.

[xchrom]

4. frothing at the mouth -- they'll be here. nt

[drokhole]

5. Reminds me of this quote from Dr. King...

And another favorite from Jiddu Krishnamurti:

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a sick society"

Thanks for the thread!

[xchrom]

6. ...

[Le Taz Hot]

7. In my case,

that explains a LOT!

[freshwest]

8. Thanks, drokhole, you always bring the best.

[drokhole]

22. My pleasure, freshwest!

Always good to see you, and thanks for the kind remarks!

[lunatica]

9. I don't always agree with Mr. West but I always respect and admire him

Society needs people like him to keep us honest.

[freshwest]

10. I wish that West would run for office in New York.

They need a new mayor in NYC and likely a new governor as well.

[msanthrope]

11. A pet peeve...There is no Cornell West, unless you are talking about the West Campus

Houses at Cornell University.

Cornel West, however, is a seminary professor.

[xchrom]

12. it's his name after all. nt

[msanthrope]

15. The only time spelling bothers me--proper names, and thread titles. nt

[xtraxritical]

13. Cornfound it, gotta' keep 'em honest.

[brutus smith]

16. Right on

Dr. West knows what it is, and tells it like it is.

[BrendaBrick]

17. He and Tavis Smiley

have been one of the few public figures who have consistently tried to keep the dreaded "P" word - Poverty - a front and center dire issue!

Here's a 5-part video link of their Poverty Tour:

With nearly 50 million Americans now living in poverty, “The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience” was the focus of five special episodes in October 2011. Each episode was devoted to video highlights from Tavis’ August 2011 18-city, 11-state poverty bus tour with his co-host on PRI’s Smiley & West radio show, Princeton professor Dr. Cornel West. Following each night’s highlights from the tour, Tavis also spoke with a leading anti-poverty advocate, including Princeton professor Dr. Cornel West, Feeding America CEO Vicki B. Escarra, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, economist Jeffrey Sachs and ethics and religion commentator Jim Wallis.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/features/poverty-tour/

Kudos to both these men for continuing to fight the good fight and speaking out on behalf of "The Other (invisible) America".

[closeupready]

29. Tavis Smiley is just so terrific.

He's done a lot of eye-opening shows on poverty in the US.

[druidity33]

18. Cornel West sneered at me once...

i was sitting on the Arts building steps (at SUNY Buffalo) smoking a rolled cigarette. Minding my own business, blowing smoke in the other direction on very wide steps, in an out of the way spot. I should mention this was 1993 and i had longish dreads at the time (i'm a white man). He seemed to veer toward me when he spotted me and then paused on the step in front of me to sneer for a moment... directly at me, then kept going into the entrance. It wasn't until later that i saw a poster for a talk he was giving in the Student Union that i realized who he was. Purpose of the sneer? I don't know. Deliberate? I think so. Meaning to this story? None whatsoever. Just thought it was weird at the time... still do.

[fascisthunter]

19. he hated breathing in your smoke...

dunno

[druidity33]

20. i thought about that...

but the steps in front of the building are HUGE. He had to have traveled at least 50 feet to get to me. And i always chose a spot that was as far away from the entrance as was possible. He didn't say anything, just gave me a weird look, kinda frowny...

anyway, that was 20 years ago. I didn't take it personally at the time, just a random encounter with a stranger that happened to be a famous person. I've read some of his stuff since then and i admire his capacity to speak truths.

[fascisthunter]

21. yeah... you never know...

maybe as he was entering, he was thinking of how certain things on his mind would effect the likes of you. Anyways, hopefully he wasn't being a dick, but remember, most of us can be.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

23. Love me some Dr. West!

[goclark]

24. Has he decided to like President Obama

again?
Recently West and Travis were not in his corner.

[Doctor_J]

27. No, he's decided he prefers the president to RMoney

as have most of us.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

30. Because Obama hasn't been in the People's corner.

West and Smiley have spoken for the poor and downtrodden. During election season, Obama tosses a few crumbs and makes great lip service. Then it's back to making international trade deals and such policies that transgress against the working class.

[goclark]

31. That is interesting

I am African American and other than two friends that are Rethugs ~ everyone I know LOVES OBAMA. And, they think he is solidly in our corner ..
Attended a Fund Raiser for Obama a few days ago. It was packed with African Americans that were singing his praises. Didn't hear anyone complaining about how he treats African Americans there or anywhere .

[Fantastic Anarchist]

32. Where in my post did I mention "African Americans?"

[woo me with science]

25. A blast of much-needed honesty

in a political culture of apologism, excuses, lies, greed, and cronyism.

Thank you, Dr. West.

[1StrongBlackMan]

26. Posted to for later viewing

[closeupready]

28. Someone alerted on a post in this thread -

I had never heard of him, but from the tone of the alert, I guessed that he is a controversial figure. So I went to the wiki entry on him.

After reading the entry and reflecting on it, I can see how West may have weaknesses. Apparently, he and Larry Summers didn't get along. Frankly, that's neither a plus nor a negative, IMO. From what I know of Larry Summers from news stories, etc., I don't have a very high opinion of Summers, part. with regard to his approach to gender equality. And we all have weaknesses, as well, so recognizing West is weak in some areas means nothing about his strengths in other areas.

On matters relating to race and power in the US, his views seem to brilliantly pinpoint what is wrong with the US - as a member of an historically victimized US class of people, he seems to be in a position to fundamentally understand racism and how it destroys communities and people.

K&R