Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
Tavis, West, and Malcolm
While browsing the web this morning I came across an article written by Dr. Boyce Watkins blaring, "Cornel West Says that Sharpton, Dyson are “Up for Sale”: Let’s Talk about That One, Shall We?" My first reaction was, "Hmmmm, Dr. Dyson must have gotten a new job.".
The reason that's the first thing that came to mind was because Cornel West is rapidly building a reputation for attacking anyone in the Black community who tends to overshadow him. This tendency, and the reckless and petty way in which he pursues it, has become so pronounced in West that it's beginning to betray his primary agenda as a whole. He's not interested in the Black community at all. All Cornel West is interested in is keeping Cornel West in the media spotlight.
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West is quick to drag out any shortcomings that he can conjure up regarding anyone black that tends to step into his spotlight. Take President Obama, for example. I don't recall West ever being so disrespectful to George W. Bush. That speaks volumes about his mentality and both he and Tavis' lack of respect for Black people in general. But they always try to claim that their critics are simply "trying to kill the messenger." Well, in a sense they're right, because with respect to President Obama, their true message is, "How dare that spook try to con us into believing that he's good enough to do a White man's job?" And that's a message worth killing.
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And West's hatred and envy continue with his disrespectful remarks about Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry. Just like with Obama, West was fine with Dr. Perry at first. He recruited her to come to Princeton and they were colleagues. But once it became clear that Dr. Perry had a mind of her own, and that she wasn't prone to hero worship, West began to undermine her at Princeton, so she quietly left.
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That should have been the end of it, but once West found out that she had been given a show on MSNBC, all hell broke lose. Instead of this good brother - who only lives to serve his people - being gratified that another intelligent Black voice gained access to the national media - as anyone who is genuinely concerned about the Black community should be - he caved in to his petty personal sentiments and publicly insulted Dr. Perry by calling her “a fake and a fraud.” That’s not the behavior of either an intellectual, a mature adult, or even an intelligent Black man, at least, one who has even an iota of respect for the very womb of his culture.
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So again, it seems that Cornel West is always prepared to preach a much better sermon on black love and respect than he's willing to live. His comments were extremely disrespectful toward both Black women, and the Black community as a whole. A true brother - a true man - wouldn't even speak to a lady like that in private, much less, badmouth her like that publicly.
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And West's hatred and envy continue with his disrespectful remarks about Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry. Just like with Obama, West was fine with Dr. Perry at first. He recruited her to come to Princeton and they were colleagues. But once it became clear that Dr. Perry had a mind of her own, and that she wasn't prone to hero worship, West began to undermine her at Princeton, so she quietly left.
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That should have been the end of it, but once West found out that she had been given a show on MSNBC, all hell broke lose. Instead of this good brother - who only lives to serve his people - being gratified that another intelligent Black voice gained access to the national media - as anyone who is genuinely concerned about the Black community should be - he caved in to his petty personal sentiments and publicly insulted Dr. Perry by calling her “a fake and a fraud.” That’s not the behavior of either an intellectual, a mature adult, or even an intelligent Black man, at least, one who has even an iota of respect for the very womb of his culture.
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So again, it seems that Cornel West is always prepared to preach a much better sermon on black love and respect than he's willing to live. His comments were extremely disrespectful toward both Black women, and the Black community as a whole. A true brother - a true man - wouldn't even speak to a lady like that in private, much less, badmouth her like that publicly.
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Whatever happen to the concept of cherishing our women? No one should have to teach Cornel about that. As a so-called Black intellectual, that's exactly what he should be teaching our young people - that it's impossible for them to have any respect for themselves, if they don't respect the very womb of their culture. How can anyone profess to be an intellectual and fail to understand that very fundamental concept? West also betrayed his elitist sense of entitlement, as well as his disdain for the poor and working class, when he complained about a mere baggage handler getting tickets to the Presidential Inauguration while he couldn't.
Whatever happen to the concept of cherishing our women? No one should have to teach Cornel about that. As a so-called Black intellectual, that's exactly what he should be teaching our young people - that it's impossible for them to have any respect for themselves, if they don't respect the very womb of their culture. How can anyone profess to be an intellectual and fail to understand that very fundamental concept? West also betrayed his elitist sense of entitlement, as well as his disdain for the poor and working class, when he complained about a mere baggage handler getting tickets to the Presidential Inauguration while he couldn't.
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And it doesn't end there. West has also seen fit to go after Jay-Z. Obviously Jay-Z was getting a little too much publicity over his part ownership of the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclay Center. So West took it upon himself to set the record straight. In essence, he said, "Wait a minute, world! That pickaninny don't own nothing. TheWhite man owns it! So you see, I'm still the man!" Okay West, but what does fronting off Jay-Z have to do with moving Black people forward?
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So Cornel West is not only a demagogue, but he's a demagogue of the very worst kind. Just before he sticks a knife in your back, he starts talking about "how much he loves his brother, however . . ." That may be so, but with "good brothers" like Cornel West, we'd all be better off orphans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E6lS0gLH18
Some of us have allowed ourselves to be bedazzled by two words - Harvard and Princeton. The establishment has effectively used those two words to convince many of us to accept, without examination, that Cornel West has more sense than we do. That's what accounts for the rabid defense of him in some quarters. These people need to step out of their media-constructed bubble, open their eyes, ears, and minds, and stop letting others dictate who they listen to.
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The White establishment has been propping West up with their very special kind of hype for all of his 35 years in the public eye. Yet, I have never met one person who can tell me one profound sentence he’s uttered in the three-and-a-half decades that he’s been on the public stage - and a stage is exactly what it's been, because West is more of an entertainer than an intellectual.
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Tavis and West are exactly like Herman Cain, but with one exception - at least Herman Cain is honest about supporting the GOP. But Tavis and West are using a technique used by the FBI during COINTELPRO, when J. Edgar Hoover was trying to bring down the civil rights movement in the sixties. During that time Hoover sent in a bunch of "undercover brothers" just like Tavis and West. They were so radically militant that they turned off the American people, and they were so divisive that they caused the movement to turn on itself. That’s exactly what Tavis and West are doing today.
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These two turncoats are trying to place Obama in an untenable position. They’re using militant rhetoric to insist that President Obama play Blackjack at a poker table, knowing damn well that he can’t do that. If he tries, he'll turn the American people against him - in which case, he becomes impotent and can't get anything done for anyone. But if he doesn’t, Tavis and West are going to try to turn Black people against him, which would also serve to destroy his presidency.
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That’s exactly the same thing the FBI did in the sixties. In the end, they had young Black people (who supported the harder line of Malcolm) calling Martin Luther King, "Martin Luther Coon" - including myself, I’m ashamed to admit. That’s exactly what Tavis and West are doing today. I saw the parallel immediately, and that’s why I’m dead on their asses. Maybe I can make up, just a little bit, for the stupidity of my youth.
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Malcolm saw through the problem back in the sixties and tried to instruct his followers not to allow the establishment to divide us among ourselves. He’s said that it didn’t matter whether or not we saw eye-to-eye with Martin's approach on every issue. Our goal was the same, therefore, we were allies. He then made it a point to join with Martin, but they took him out before he could complete the process.
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So while Tavis and West are always talking about, "Brother Malcolm," Malcolm would have long since seen through their game, and he would be absolutely disgusted with both of them, just as I am.
Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
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So Cornel West is not only a demagogue, but he's a demagogue of the very worst kind. Just before he sticks a knife in your back, he starts talking about "how much he loves his brother, however . . ." That may be so, but with "good brothers" like Cornel West, we'd all be better off orphans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E6lS0gLH18
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Now he's also badmouthing Rev. Al Sharpton and Dr.Michael Eric Dyson, saying they're "up for sale." What's wrong with this guy? What evidence does he have of that? If he has evidence to substantiate what he's saying, he should produce it. If he doesn't, he should shut up. How does it benefit the Black community by his running all over the country slandering every high-profile Black person who doesn't see things his way? He seems to have something to say about everybody but his buddy, Tavis, who's one of the most prolific corporate shills in the Black community. Tavis also have close associations with several corporations, including Walmart, that are, or have been, a member of ALEC, an organization that's left no stone unturned to deprive Black people of their right to vote - and we've got evidence of that.
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So the fact is, many in the Black community have allowed themselves to be hornswoggled by both the media, and Cornel West. The bottom line is,West is nothing more than a self-absorbed, egomaniacal fraud who hasn’t had an original thought in 35 years, and it looks like the Black community is the last to recognize that.
.Some of us have allowed ourselves to be bedazzled by two words - Harvard and Princeton. The establishment has effectively used those two words to convince many of us to accept, without examination, that Cornel West has more sense than we do. That's what accounts for the rabid defense of him in some quarters. These people need to step out of their media-constructed bubble, open their eyes, ears, and minds, and stop letting others dictate who they listen to.
.
The White establishment has been propping West up with their very special kind of hype for all of his 35 years in the public eye. Yet, I have never met one person who can tell me one profound sentence he’s uttered in the three-and-a-half decades that he’s been on the public stage - and a stage is exactly what it's been, because West is more of an entertainer than an intellectual.
.
Tavis and West are exactly like Herman Cain, but with one exception - at least Herman Cain is honest about supporting the GOP. But Tavis and West are using a technique used by the FBI during COINTELPRO, when J. Edgar Hoover was trying to bring down the civil rights movement in the sixties. During that time Hoover sent in a bunch of "undercover brothers" just like Tavis and West. They were so radically militant that they turned off the American people, and they were so divisive that they caused the movement to turn on itself. That’s exactly what Tavis and West are doing today.
.
These two turncoats are trying to place Obama in an untenable position. They’re using militant rhetoric to insist that President Obama play Blackjack at a poker table, knowing damn well that he can’t do that. If he tries, he'll turn the American people against him - in which case, he becomes impotent and can't get anything done for anyone. But if he doesn’t, Tavis and West are going to try to turn Black people against him, which would also serve to destroy his presidency.
.
That’s exactly the same thing the FBI did in the sixties. In the end, they had young Black people (who supported the harder line of Malcolm) calling Martin Luther King, "Martin Luther Coon" - including myself, I’m ashamed to admit. That’s exactly what Tavis and West are doing today. I saw the parallel immediately, and that’s why I’m dead on their asses. Maybe I can make up, just a little bit, for the stupidity of my youth.
.
Malcolm saw through the problem back in the sixties and tried to instruct his followers not to allow the establishment to divide us among ourselves. He’s said that it didn’t matter whether or not we saw eye-to-eye with Martin's approach on every issue. Our goal was the same, therefore, we were allies. He then made it a point to join with Martin, but they took him out before he could complete the process.
.
So while Tavis and West are always talking about, "Brother Malcolm," Malcolm would have long since seen through their game, and he would be absolutely disgusted with both of them, just as I am.
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Related Articles
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Wells Fargo to pay $175 million
. "If Tavis Smiley was white, Wells Fargo and ‘Ghetto Loans’ would be front page news," 'wrote Genma Stringer Holmes, a Nashville, Tenn., business owner and blogger who has blasted out several posts on the seminars."'
http://washingtonindependent.com/59633/suit-alleges-trusted-black-figures-drew-minorities-to-high-rate-loans
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"The Washington Independent
. "If Tavis Smiley was white, Wells Fargo and ‘Ghetto Loans’ would be front page news," 'wrote Genma Stringer Holmes, a Nashville, Tenn., business owner and blogger who has blasted out several posts on the seminars."'
http://washingtonindependent.com/59633/suit-alleges-trusted-black-figures-drew-minorities-to-high-rate-loans
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WELLS FARGO HIRED TRUSTED BLACK FIGURES TO ALLEGEDLY DRAW MINORITIES TO HIGH-RATE LOANS
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Tavis Smiley Headlined Seminars
Targeting African Americans
Targeting African Americans
reports that Wells Fargo & Co. allegedly targeted African American borrowers for higher-cost subprime mortgages. The bank attracted attendees to a series of day-long "Wealth Building" seminars held in black neighborhoods in eight cities across the country by featuring trusted black speakers.
"The seminars, promoted heavily in black media, featured prominent African American commentator and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley as well as Kelvin Boston, the host of "Moneywise," a multicultural financial affairs show."
http://www.mysanantonio.com//business/article/Wells-Fargo-to-pay-175-million-3703567.php*"The seminars, promoted heavily in black media, featured prominent African American commentator and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley as well as Kelvin Boston, the host of "Moneywise," a multicultural financial affairs show."
Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.