OK, so I'm gonna remain silent on this one and let you guys have at it. If you're been a longtime reader of this site, I'm sure you know where I stand or what I may think about what was said by Cornel West in the above interview via Democracy NOW! Not taking sides, but I dare you to show me where Dr. West is wrong. Yep, this should be interesting; but then again, I expect you neo-Negroes to remain silent. Surely one of you will say that he's just another hater.
Read his words and think it through:
[...] I think what happened was that President Bush understood this and individualistic way, which is the way most fellow Americans understand racism: "Do I actually hate black people individually?" No, I don’t think President Bush individually hates black people. His policies were racist in effect and consequence and especially classist in terms of generating misery among poor and working people, disproportionately black and brown.
[...] And I would say that even about the Obama administration. The Obama administration seems to have very little concern about poor people and their social misery. Look at the policies vis-à-vis Wall Street downplaying Main Street. Look at the policies of black farmers, a settlement already in place but they don’t want to executed because they don’t want to be associated with black folk too explicitly. Look at the dilapidated housing. We can go across the board. Look at the New Jim Crow system: the Prison Industrial Complex. We’re not talking just about individual presidents. We’re talking about a system that is tilted against poor people, against working people, disproportionately black and brown and red.
[...] There is simply no mention of poor people’s plight. Look, for example, at juvenile justice. We just had a wonderful meeting, The Coalition of Juvenile Justice. The Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 needs to be reauthorize. It has been two years now, no re-authorization either from Obama administration or public bureaucracy. Even our dear brother Eric Holder doesn’t seem to want to move on it. Meaning what? Low priority for those young people- disproportionately poor black and brown and red- who are getting locked into a system that leads toward the Prison Industrial Complex. Why is it such a low priority? It’s very clear that the people around President Obama, the economic team, pro-Wall Street, pro-oligarchy, pro-plutocracy in terms of preoccupation with investment bankers, very little concern about jobs for It is very little concern about jobs for every day people come a very little concern about homes for everyday people, very little concern about homes for everyday people, very little concern about transforming conditions that deal with some of the crime out here with all of this terrorism taking place between poor people and other poor people. Young folk being killed every day in Chicago, Los Angeles and so forth. It is a national emergency. It’s a matter of national security as much as Afghanistan but there is very little talk about it. So we’re talking not just about individuals, we’re talking about a particular arrangement of privilege, plutocracy and oligarchy that downplay working people and poor people and those of us who love poor people and working people will not put up with it.
