Why is DU so concerned about Louis Farrahkan's "Starship Connection"?

[CatWoman]

If you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys!!!

[thebigidea]

1. I guess Sun Ra was right after all: Space is the Place!

[CatWoman]

2. I never learned how to swim

:D

[thebigidea]

4. my favorite bit of dialogue from his movie:

SOME GUY: "You heard of this Sun Ra?"

KID: "Dude’s got a tight rap"

KID 2: "He hasn’t yet betrayed his black brethren to the racially exploitative and culturally co-opted white power structure."

--

"Dude's got a right rap" makes my brain explode every time. I hate that Ken Burns guy forever for never even mentioning Sun Ra in his droning jazzzzzzz documentary...

[hatrack]

6. He really WAS from Saturn

:toast: to the late lamented Planetary Master!!

[H2O Man]

3. I noticed Russell Means was there.

I've always thought highly of Russell. I remember when his friend Dennis Banks stayed at Onondaga for a while. Most of the Native nations have interesting creation myths. I suppose that people could mistake them for being intended to be taken literally, rather than symbolically. I guess then people could write off the Native American communities as allies in the struggle that we all face.

At some point we need to reach the understanding that we are not sitting on a fence. It isn't going to be a case of select groups surviving, while others perish. We are going to have to work together to survive. Thus, some may not like Louis -- they don't have to shake his hand or donate to him. But I would think that almost all of us should recognize that what that man said yesterday was very powerful. And it is the general direction that we need to head in, not because Louis said it, but because it offers the best alternatives we have.

[Pithy Cherub]

5. Louis has the same first amendment right like anybody else.

Nobody was singing Galileo's praises when he did that Earth revolves around the Sun routine. (It took the Catholic Church until 1992 to say G may be right.) LF was getting his story out there and it is just one of 1000's. There were some big scientists in the twentieth century who had hissy fits over the Big Bang theory and now look where we are...

Doesn't mean I personally have to agree with someone's speech, just uphold the right to say it.