Awesome: Cornel West

[enframed]

I like his substance but dislike his style.

Yeah, we need more boring, drab intellectuals like Chomsky who do not engage anyone at all except for other boring, drab intellectuals.

I wouldn't go that far, but I prefer intellectuals who don't "whore out" to Hollywood.

He's not crap, but many waffles for the above complaint.

[jimmy two hands]

Yes, he was in the last two Matrix films.

I hereby rescind my not crap vote

[Robert G]

I wouldn't go that far, but I prefer intellectuals who don't "whore out" to Hollywood..

Yes, he was in the last two Matrix films.

I hereby rescind my not crap vote

Yeah, that Cornell West, dude's a sell-out. I only roll with OG philosophers.

[jimmy two hands]

I wouldn't go that far, but I prefer intellectuals who don't "whore out" to Hollywood..

Yes, he was in the last two Matrix films.

I hereby rescind my not crap vote

Yeah, that Cornell West, dude's a sell-out. I only roll with OG philosophers.

He should have realized the Matrix had some shitty ass philosophy.

[connor]

Here's his speech from Friday night at Left Forum. It was awesome.

[Ernest]

I wouldn't go that far, but I prefer intellectuals who don't "whore out" to Hollywood..

Yes, he was in the last two Matrix films.

I hereby rescind my not crap vote

Yeah, that Cornell West, dude's a sell-out. I only roll with OG philosophers.

If he's a philosopher, so am I. It doesn't make it smart, or good simply because the guy isn't wrong.

[dabrasha]

This guy's still around?

Popularity matters.

Crap.

[brisket]

I think he comes across as crass and obvious to people who already agree with him.

But he's right. and he makes these points without looking too much like "an intellectual".
maybe that sounds condescending, but fuck it, people are stupid.

NC.

[Andrew.]

Here's his speech from Friday night at Left Forum. It was awesome.

This is as close as you'll get to hearing (the best bits of) Christ's message in the 21st century. My parents are both left-leaning Christians and I actually sent them this speech because it demonstrates all the common ground between them and me and my atheist politically-radical friends. Christ was a radical; so be we.

(Btw, Christ's Bits -- Probably would not see.)

Anyway, if nothing else, the guy can deliver a powerful secular sermon. There is a role--a need--for that in our world and in America (all you past and present Obama partisans knowwum-sayin? Hey!). The guy has performative, sermonic power. I felt rejuvenated, buoyed, inspired watching and listening to this. I feel no shame--zero--about that.

There's much to be critiqued in his writing, certainly. I just read a great passing critique of West's writing on "the role of art" in Curtis White's fucking wicked and funny little book The Middle Mind, just yesterday.

N/C

[kai]

It's a tough call about West, for me he's somewhere between crap and not crap, which I don't see an option for. He's definitely charming, spirited, and poetically engaging.

but he's not saying anything new. Music rocks, give the arts of voice in philosophy, down with the man, and let's put all this philosophy crap down and love each other, which comes from other voices all the time. he just happens to say it in a crowd where he stands out.

he says good things, but he seems to have become a caricature of himself, and is working it every minute, from what I can see. Ride the wave Cornell, it seems to have paid off so far.

[etch]

Cornel made an impressive appearance on Riz Khan. I will post it when it becomes available.

NC.

[krs]

“[President Obama's] formation is such that I think he does have a predilection much more towards upper-middle class white brothers and Jewish brothers and has a certain distance from free black men”

While I agree with the overall thrust of his argument (see the video), West loses me with this comment. Respkt lost.

[less_cunning]

Crap. Feel-good Latte Liberalism & Rhetoric for white people with White Guilt to feel good about themselves. f-his phony Oxford garb (do you teach at Oxford bro?). His books are boring undergraduate seminar fodder. He speaks at super-elitist white colleges but never at public colleges, commuter schools, historically black colleges & universities, junior colleges or Public Libraries. He is epitome of the Black Bourgeiose at the highest order.

Crap.

[connor]

He speaks at super-elitist white colleges but never at public colleges, commuter schools, historically black colleges & universities, junior colleges or Public Libraries.

Not even remotely true. Try again.

[less_cunning]

“[President Obama's] formation is such that I think he does have a predilection much more towards upper-middle class white brothers and Jewish brothers and has a certain distance from free black men”

While I agree with the overall thrust of his argument (see the video), West loses me with this comment. Respkt lost.

the Pot calling the Kettle black if you ask me...

[punch_the_lion]

I was reading this thread as Cornel Wilde.

[Antero]

“[President Obama's] formation is such that I think he does have a predilection much more towards upper-middle class white brothers and Jewish brothers and has a certain distance from free black men”

While I agree with the overall thrust of his argument (see the video), West loses me with this comment. Respkt lost.

the Pot calling the Kettle white if you ask me...

fyp

[Marsupialized]

Seeing this dude on TV recently 500 times, I'd say he's got all the symptoms of publicity/fame sickness. It happens to damn near everyone who gets a certain amount of press or fame or even attention. It's a mental disorder. People go bonkers, even ones you think wouldn't. They throw everything out the window and continually seek that high, eventually you end up like Sarah Palin, saying the most asinine, ridiculous things just to get that blurb written, to keep it rolling. You sit and talk to people for no reason whatsoever, vapid people who can do absolutely nothing to push forward anything even remotely worthwhile, just because they are going to write something about it or show you on TV again. You play your character and say these wild, inflammatory things and they say 'look what he said, isn't it wild?'
It's one of the most pathetic things about human beings, if you ask me. To crave that attention from strangers, to crave that fame, it's creepy as fuck. Weird, creepy shit.

[dontfeartheringo]

Seeing this dude on TV recently 500 times, I'd say he's got all the symptoms of publicity/fame sickness. It happens to damn near everyone who gets a certain amount of press or fame or even attention. It's a mental disorder. People go bonkers, even ones you think wouldn't. They throw everything out the window and continually seek that high, eventually you end up like Sarah Palin, saying the most asinine, ridiculous things just to get that blurb written, to keep it rolling. You sit and talk to people for no reason whatsoever, vapid people who can do absolutely nothing to push forward anything even remotely worthwhile, just because they are going to write something about it or show you on TV again. You play your character and say these wild, inflammatory things and they say 'look what he said, isn't it wild?'
It's one of the most pathetic things about human beings, if you ask me. To crave that attention from strangers, to crave that fame, it's creepy as fuck. Weird, creepy shit.

You sure read funny books for a coal miner.

[Wood Goblin]

Seeing this dude on TV recently 500 times, I'd say he's got all the symptoms of publicity/fame sickness. It happens to damn near everyone who gets a certain amount of press or fame or even attention. It's a mental disorder. People go bonkers, even ones you think wouldn't. They throw everything out the window and continually seek that high, eventually you end up like Sarah Palin, saying the most asinine, ridiculous things just to get that blurb written, to keep it rolling. You sit and talk to people for no reason whatsoever, vapid people who can do absolutely nothing to push forward anything even remotely worthwhile, just because they are going to write something about it or show you on TV again. You play your character and say these wild, inflammatory things and they say 'look what he said, isn't it wild?'
It's one of the most pathetic things about human beings, if you ask me. To crave that attention from strangers, to crave that fame, it's creepy as fuck. Weird, creepy shit.

This isn't new with West. Similar behavior contributed to his dispute with Larry Summers at Harvard.