I've read and listened to a lot of West in the past. I've always respected him, even if I did not always 100%agree with him.
But here he is contradicting himself. He claims he is being "honest", but why is he not asking Russia to make concessions and stop the war? They were provoked by Nato, but Putin did not attack nato, he attacked Ukraine, who were not in NATO.
This entire thing is intellectually inconsistent with what West has said and written about before, AND inconsistent with his own goddamned statement on this particular event. This has shades of intellectual dishonesty and what I always termed "weasel wording" which is a fucking punch in the gut coming from this guy.
Putin has frequently complained about NATO being too close to his borders, and so he attacks Ukraine, which... borders a lot of NATO countries? So I guess West is being just as intellectually consistent as the man he's seemingly carrying water for right now.
Cornel West has been a pissy little shit ever since Obama came on the scene, and West decided that Obama wasn't paying him enough respect and giving him his due as an elder Black leader, or something. He's been a nasty contrarian asshole ever since. This is just the logical culmination.
Oh it is infinitely more petty. He's pissed Obama didn't give him inauguration tickets or make him a part of the inauguration, because he felt he was that important to the campaign
“ I would bring in the Chinese, the Turks, the African rulers. I would sit down with the Ukrainian leaders and say, we must stop this war, stop these war crimes,”
Did he forget to invite the Russian rulers? Seems if you want to put a stop to war crimes, you should include them.
There's one question to ask about every Green Party presidential candidate from the United States since about the year 2000: Cui Bono?
Putin didn't fly Jill Stein out to have dinner with him and Mike Flynn because he thought Jill Stein could win the presidency and he wanted a good relationship with her. He thought she'd act as a spoiler for Clinton, who he abhors.
Is there a meaningful line to be drawn between Stein and West? She's his godsdamn campaign manager.
“War is hell” and yet humans have been constantly at it since they picked up a rock and threw it at a neighboring tribe. Of course most people want to stop the killing, the destruction…but there is a military/industrial complex which can only exist and flourish as long as there is hate and envy…and we know that that will never end. So we must engage in the world with this knowledge. The reason that we pick Ukraine in this case is that a world where Putin is supreme is such a terrible world. I liken it to that Twilight Zone of the kid who comes out of the womb with such malevolent power that he warps time and space to his world view…and it is such a limited and barren world, where even the idea of love cannot exist. No peoples, country, continent is perfect in its justice…but even a place of imperfect justice knows what the word justice means. Putin’s Russia is so perverted that even the meanings of words are perverted and the terrifying prospect of America following suit is one that we must fight every day. We must endure…because we cannot let the world fall completely into the hands of evil.
The hell of it is, I used to admire West, like I originally admired Nader and even tankie Ted Rall. If we weren’t faced with outright fascists in the Rethuglican party, I might consider supporting him. Before this crap, I mean.
But we ARE face to face with fascists, both here and abroad, and whatever Biden may lack, these guys surely don’t have it.
I've read and listened to a lot of West in the past. I've always respected him, even if I did not always 100%agree with him.
But here he is contradicting himself. He claims he is being "honest", but why is he not asking Russia to make concessions and stop the war? They were provoked by Nato, but Putin did not attack nato, he attacked Ukraine, who were not in NATO.
This entire thing is intellectually inconsistent with what West has said and written about before, AND inconsistent with his own goddamned statement on this particular event. This has shades of intellectual dishonesty and what I always termed "weasel wording" which is a fucking punch in the gut coming from this guy.
Putin has frequently complained about NATO being too close to his borders, and so he attacks Ukraine, which... borders a lot of NATO countries? So I guess West is being just as intellectually consistent as the man he's seemingly carrying water for right now.
Cornel still jealous of Barrack. news at eleven.
9/1/1939, a day that will live in infamy, for that is the day that Poland forced Germany to invade.
JFC - what is wrong with these people? Not the Poles, but the tankies.
There were actually people at the time who said that. That Poland provoked Germany.
Yes, Hitler, for one.
He really is an asshole. I hate to say that Lawrence Summers was ever right about a thing, but....
He's always sucked. He's just gotten worse with time.
https://jacobin.com/2016/11/everybody-hates-cornel-west/
https://newrepublic.com/article/121550/cornel-wests-rise-fall-our-most-exciting-black-scholar-ghost
The second link is a pretty long read, and a little personally bitter imho, but still good.
There was a recent twitter thread as well but I can't find it off-hand.
Cornel West has been a pissy little shit ever since Obama came on the scene, and West decided that Obama wasn't paying him enough respect and giving him his due as an elder Black leader, or something. He's been a nasty contrarian asshole ever since. This is just the logical culmination.
Oh it is infinitely more petty. He's pissed Obama didn't give him inauguration tickets or make him a part of the inauguration, because he felt he was that important to the campaign
“ I would bring in the Chinese, the Turks, the African rulers. I would sit down with the Ukrainian leaders and say, we must stop this war, stop these war crimes,”
Did he forget to invite the Russian rulers? Seems if you want to put a stop to war crimes, you should include them.
He’s long been one of Bill Maher’s favorite guests so I can’t say any of this surprises me. Just another guy high on his own supply.
Let's be honest, Brother West is approximately this close 🤏 to supporting Manbaby McDumpsterfire at this point.
There's one question to ask about every Green Party presidential candidate from the United States since about the year 2000: Cui Bono?
Putin didn't fly Jill Stein out to have dinner with him and Mike Flynn because he thought Jill Stein could win the presidency and he wanted a good relationship with her. He thought she'd act as a spoiler for Clinton, who he abhors.
Is there a meaningful line to be drawn between Stein and West? She's his godsdamn campaign manager.
"When “Sister Kaitlan,” as West annoyingly called Collins..."
What, is it 1970?
If you see much of West, he calls everybody that.
“War is hell” and yet humans have been constantly at it since they picked up a rock and threw it at a neighboring tribe. Of course most people want to stop the killing, the destruction…but there is a military/industrial complex which can only exist and flourish as long as there is hate and envy…and we know that that will never end. So we must engage in the world with this knowledge. The reason that we pick Ukraine in this case is that a world where Putin is supreme is such a terrible world. I liken it to that Twilight Zone of the kid who comes out of the womb with such malevolent power that he warps time and space to his world view…and it is such a limited and barren world, where even the idea of love cannot exist. No peoples, country, continent is perfect in its justice…but even a place of imperfect justice knows what the word justice means. Putin’s Russia is so perverted that even the meanings of words are perverted and the terrifying prospect of America following suit is one that we must fight every day. We must endure…because we cannot let the world fall completely into the hands of evil.
Clearly brother West has never been to Czechoslovakia.
The hell of it is, I used to admire West, like I originally admired Nader and even tankie Ted Rall. If we weren’t faced with outright fascists in the Rethuglican party, I might consider supporting him. Before this crap, I mean.
But we ARE face to face with fascists, both here and abroad, and whatever Biden may lack, these guys surely don’t have it.
He used to have great points on political philosophy. This just makes me sad.
What those folks all have in common in 2023 is their need to be seen as clever and 'right' rather than to see actual progress made.
[...I’m trying to be a person that has some integrity and honesty.”]
If you have to try, you already lost.
He sounds just like the people on Alternet who have become brainwashed by Russia Today over the past 7 years.