I'm hungover like shyt, so please excuse my post if it comes off as a bunch of rambling….
The first thought I had when I read the article was "why the fukk is there an article about Cornel West?" In my opinion, the shyt was pointless. Who the fukk really cares about the West-Dyson-Obama feud, in 2015, aside from West, Dyson and Obama?
Secondly, I couldn't read that entire article. shyt was way too fukkn long. I thought I was reading a mini autobiography of West.
I do believe that Dyson made some salient points about Cornel's work ethic and/or academic record one the past 20years. I understand the picture that Dyson creates by juxtaposing Cornel's past and present image in the academic world. I get that.
But I don't think many democrats/progressives who are critics of Obama actually CARED about that part of Cornel's legacy. But Dyson does, because as much as this is a critique of Cornel, it is a validation of Dyson's status.
What it comes down to are 2 things: Does Cornel have the right to levy racial ad-homs at Obama? No - hell fukkn no.
Does Cornel have a right to press everyone who doesn't openly speak about the bankers and military hawks within the White House? Yes. I don't know why people are so hard pressed to understand this? Those of us who truly despise oligarchs, who truly despise war, who truly despise the level of indifference shown for the black/brown/native/chinese experience in the US, will NEVER be okay with people who aren't "peripheral prophets." I don't think Dyson understands this at all, choosing to talk about Wests thoughts on nihilism and celebrity and not his views on war, poverty and the new/old jim crow. In fact, Dyson links us to Wests criticism about Obama using MLK's bible, and that 5minute clip alone trumps this entire article.
How can you be about social uplift and marching for justice, yet canoodle with the architects of the PIC? You're about peace and you model yourself after MLK - yet you know that the Vietnam War was a major issue of his and still remain silent on drone strikes? You believe racism is still alive, you understand that ghettos were social experiments and tools of white supremacy, but when the financial system collapses and black families are the ones disproportionately hit by subprime mortgages, you're still cool hob snubbing with bank execs?
It's gonna be a sight to see when black intellectuals no longer have the level of visibility that they've grown accustomed to over the past 8 years with a black man in the White House. They're in for a rude awakening…..