Cornel West vs. Barack Obama vs. Melissa Harris-Perry: Not This Foolishness Again?!!

Well, the minute I read Chris Hedges' piece on Truthdig titled The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic, that there was gonna be serious contention here in Negronia. As you know and as we've discussed on this site a time or two. You just can't be Black and levy any criticism of America's first Black president - yes, it's in the official Negro handbook; you know, the one that tells "us" what to do should we ever encounter police in a traffic stop? Yeah, that rule is in there too; the Skip Gates arrest made it happen.

There's so much I wan't to say about this whole mess, but due to time constraints as I type, I'll leave it up to you folks to have at it. Do share your thoughts, and be sure to read Hedges' piece, as well as Melissa Harris-Perry (here). If you ask me, I think all of this plays into the notion that white folks salivate about Negro infighting. While black folks focus on the trivial and ignore the larger issues. The oligarchy and plutocracy prospers while poor people not able to afford their scraps drown in the sea of economic inequality, hopelessness, and downright neglect by way of public policy.

Checkout the reactions of Twitter's Backademia via Dr. Goddess here. In it you'll find that much of the thoughts expressed centered on Dr. Cornel West feeling slighted or "betrayed" by then President Elect Barack Obama. In the Hedges piece, West reveals how he felt about the fact that he was not able to get a ticket to the inauguration after all the work he basically put in for Obama, and all the personal phone calls and counsel with then candidate Obama. But for some, this is a petty point of contention; yep,, the typical "he's a hater," talk.

What is truly missed in all the subsequent commentary however, is West's larger point. That would be, just how democracy has, is, and continues to be compromised by someone touted as the most progressive American president in history. And you know what? I think this is very sad that this is the focus as opposed to the albeit hostile takeover of democracy by elites and by extension some of Obama's appointments and their reward links to Wall Street. And of course while this is happening, poor marginalized folks have been the scapegoat for economic woes and are being punished via cutbacks.

You might not agree with me, and that's fine. However, I'll say this last bit and I'm out. President Obama spoke at Booket T. Washington High School at their commencement execise this past Monday. He spoke at the first all-black high school in the city of Memphis. A school that is located in one of (if not the most) most impoverished communities in the city. A school which with effort and dedication has improved drastically recently. In his address to those kids he said: "It's about the possibilities and not the excuses." With that said, don't tell me what the first black president can or cannot do for struggling poor and working poor among us. Seriously, miss me with that talk, people....

It's a wonder how slaves were emancipated....

Now a few words from Harry Belafonte...



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