Carroil
-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Sean Andrews Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 9:18 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Cornel West at the Left Forum
I'm not going to stick up for him that much, and this little talk was ridiculous, but I think he's just spread himself too thin.
McLemee is right: it's been years since he produced a text like his early criticism. But for the past few weeks on Sunday at about 1pm I've had to run errands in the car (most of the week my wife has it). And I keep bumping into the program he and Tavis Smiley are doing together on PRI. He seems much more genuine and asks decent questions of the guests, usually without coming off like a pompous ass. Maybe it's just because I'm one of those white folks who dig his schtick, but most of the program is interesting because it sounds like an actual conversation about the intersection of African American and American culture. I'm also listening in my car, checking that my coffee isn't too hot to drink, trying to remember what I need to get at the store, so maybe that's the level of attention at which he excels right now.
In any case, I think we have very few leftist intellectuals that have this kind of public face--maybe Zizek compares, and occasionally I think he's losing his edge as well. Chomsky is probably more public, but he gets no coverage at all in the US. So on that level, I'm glad West is around to do things like talk about the racism, sexism, xenophobia, capitalism and the US empire on NPR (he's certainly one of the only ones), but then again, maybe that's just my white guilt.
s
On Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 18:31, Michael Smith <mjs at smithbowen.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:47:31 +0000 (UTC)
> 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
>
> > Seems very unfair to criticize a man over his style, but in this case
> > there is just this overwhelming effect of fakeness....as you say....
> >
> > Perhaps he has spent too many years being an official academic
> > radical. Who knows? or cares?
>
> I knida think it's worth pondering, how a guy ends up like
> this.
>
> --
> --
>
> Michael J. Smith
> mjs at smithbowen.net
>
> http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org
> http://www.cars-suck.org
> http://fakesprogress.blogspot.com
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>
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