tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post8175696643850883481..comments2024-03-28T10:49:14.510-05:00Comments on Horizons: Passing the batonNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-33522108320989974482013-03-30T16:47:41.505-05:002013-03-30T16:47:41.505-05:00SP, reading this post (thank you) AND watching Swe...SP, reading this post (thank you) AND watching Sweet Honey In the Rock reminded me of their rendition of the Ballad of Harry t. Moore which I had forgotten.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_wEPZ0rTsHsVCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-41488319926835943422013-03-26T09:37:47.298-05:002013-03-26T09:37:47.298-05:00What's interesting to me is that you see evide...What's interesting to me is that you see evidence for an Obama cult of personality in an article that is clearly not about him - but a MUCH larger story.<br /><br />By the way, Ellis Cose has written a whole book on the topic that IS under discussion here . Its titled "The End of Anger." And yet you feel comfortable dismissing his whole theory based on reading one very short article about it. That is certainly your prerogative. <br /><br />But Cose is known to many African Americans due to his previous book: "The Rage of a Privileged Class" that seriously touched a chord. So you might want to educate yourself just a bit before dismissing him so completely. <br /><br />Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-35567572544211890922013-03-26T09:22:29.422-05:002013-03-26T09:22:29.422-05:00this is a fabulous and insightful post, smartypant...this is a fabulous and insightful post, smartypants. thank you. rikyrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10982657053583534299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-86736008118208663482013-03-25T23:34:17.638-05:002013-03-25T23:34:17.638-05:00Well, I had replied to the previous comment before...Well, I had replied to the previous comment before it was unceremoniously jettisoned by our gracious hostess. Now to the points you raised. I agree that Obama is an historical figure, and I worry that that helps feed the cult of personality around him. Where is the "general rule" you believe I am trying to invalidate "by the existence of exceptions?" Best I can tell from the article linked, the author compared the responses of black Harvard MBA graduates born before 1945 with those born after 1970 and concluded that the latter group had a more positive outlook on race and race relations in America. I think that is a fairly mundane conclusion and what you would expect to find in a country that has experienced a great deal of social upheaval over the past half century. There might well be a more extensive review and analysis of Cose's data; I am just restricting myself to the article linked. My particular contention was with the notion that this nomenclature had explanatory power. It was the blogger's assertion that Cornel West's actions could be "best understood" by his membership in a generational cohort. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-26442212052104766442013-03-25T22:55:02.957-05:002013-03-25T22:55:02.957-05:00"Dude" can be gender-neutral when used i..."Dude" can be gender-neutral when used in a friendly context :-PJ. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-57108813874513306502013-03-25T22:53:01.520-05:002013-03-25T22:53:01.520-05:00His mom starting up La Raza's like Bobby Seale...His mom starting up La Raza's like Bobby Seale being your dad. I like how Obama's screening for leaders with organizing instincts. It's good to get away from the top down model. I have to take my hat off for picking leaders with organizing chops. It's the traditional liberal way. <br /><br />Vic78Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-71214854587192728902013-03-25T22:26:53.161-05:002013-03-25T22:26:53.161-05:00Smarty's a female.Smarty's a female. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-32865197531609408282013-03-25T21:57:13.045-05:002013-03-25T21:57:13.045-05:00J. Farmer, most would agree about the dangers of c...J. Farmer, most would agree about the dangers of cults of personality. I'm not a fan of the "great man" theories of history myself. But I wonder at the thinking behind such a rigid rejection of personality as to deny world-historicity to the first African American POTUS. And I'm fairly amused at the idea that any general rule could be invalidated by the existence of exceptions. Does that argument still work on anyone worth arguing with?Botelhohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298073777653875458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-32059769611241770612013-03-25T21:14:01.298-05:002013-03-25T21:14:01.298-05:00Dude, why do you have a comments section?Dude, why do you have a comments section?J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-56672504717961094292013-03-25T20:23:19.372-05:002013-03-25T20:23:19.372-05:00So you don't agree with Cose's analysis of...So you don't agree with Cose's analysis of his research. Fine. <br /><br />I don't agree with your "personal beef." Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-19468057513922903632013-03-25T19:55:34.248-05:002013-03-25T19:55:34.248-05:00I don't particularly care about Cornel West. Y...I don't particularly care about Cornel West. You used him as an example, which is why I went in that direction. In my opinion, the Fighter/Dreamer/Believer nomenclature is not particularly useful, as I do not see what analytical or explanatory power it has. How, for instance, does it account for black conservatives like Thomas Sowell or Shelby Steele or celebrities with points of view like Bill Cosby or of some of the later radicalism surrounding the Afrocentrism movement in the late 80's and 90s? My personal beef is that I think political leaders surrounded by a cult of personality can be very dangerous, and I think Obama's depiction as a sort of world-historical figure abets that. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-72936793108868800392013-03-25T18:13:08.153-05:002013-03-25T18:13:08.153-05:00J. Farmer
I'm not going to engage with you an...J. Farmer<br /><br />I'm not going to engage with you any further on the topic of Cornel West. You've obviously decided that you want to argue about him and that's a distraction from the topic of this post.<br /><br />I've written other articles where I get argumentative about West. Google them if you'd like to go there.<br /><br />If you continue this distraction, I'll be deleting your posts.Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-17472197468793355972013-03-25T18:07:21.440-05:002013-03-25T18:07:21.440-05:00J. Farmer
I'm not interested in having that c...J. Farmer<br /><br />I'm not interested in having that conversation. Feel free to find the examples yourself. They are plentiful. <br /> <br /><br />Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-38956118454482278502013-03-25T18:00:43.173-05:002013-03-25T18:00:43.173-05:00Then Cornel West would not be a "fighter.&quo...Then Cornel West would not be a "fighter." He was born in the 1950s, eight years before Obama.J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-41757629197317913942013-03-25T17:59:35.836-05:002013-03-25T17:59:35.836-05:00What are some examples of the "viciously pers...What are some examples of the "viciously personal" critiques that did not have anything to do with policy?J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-10623561863752631462013-03-25T16:06:08.025-05:002013-03-25T16:06:08.025-05:00You can blame that one entirely on me Monala. Cose...You can blame that one entirely on me Monala. Cose identifies anyone born before 1945 as a fighter. <br /><br />I was mostly interested in how these three generations are interacting today.Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-31706108226290464112013-03-25T14:26:31.796-05:002013-03-25T14:26:31.796-05:00If Cornel's critiques had simply been on polic...If Cornel's critiques had simply been on policy, you'd have a point. But since they were so often viciously personal, its clear there was much more to it than that. Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-90039940601439900902013-03-25T14:10:29.397-05:002013-03-25T14:10:29.397-05:00My only quip with this article is that there were ...My only quip with this article is that there were Fighters before the 1950's, folks such as A. Philip Randolph and W.E.B. DuBois, who set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement that took off in the 50s and 60s.Monalanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-29521540665019702312013-03-25T12:25:47.443-05:002013-03-25T12:25:47.443-05:00Is it possible that Cornel West spoke negatively o...Is it possible that Cornel West spoke negatively of the president because he disagreed with the president's policy or position rather than on some convoluted generational divide?J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-28800032528996819442013-03-25T11:24:45.140-05:002013-03-25T11:24:45.140-05:00What Botelho said.
Smartypants, you are a full ...What Botelho said. <br /><br />Smartypants, you are a full on genius at analysis and one of the best writers anywhere. Thank you!!!!Tien Lenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-7874962238050679052013-03-25T10:37:20.150-05:002013-03-25T10:37:20.150-05:00Wow. From 'the Fighters' to 'the Drea...Wow. From 'the Fighters' to 'the Dreamers' to 'the Believers'... that's more than poetic description; it seems to me to be an indicator of just how much inalterable generational social progress has been made. (And as if that wasn't inspiring enough, you provided the wonderful video; thanks!)<br /><br />Ms. Smartypants, you continue to be the most insightful chronicler of this administration on the internets today. Plenty of the commentariat have a "head" for politics and a keen eye for social change, but you leaven your fine mind with a fierce and full "heart" for the world. Keep doing what you do, please. I, and I'm quite sure many others are far richer for the perspective you share.Botelhohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298073777653875458noreply@blogger.com