General John Kelly: "He said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law."
Why would anyone listen to those people on CNBC who've been wrong about so much. It's really terrifying to understand that these supposed gurus on the stock market are so clueless and all they really do is make guesses. We'd be just as well off going to a psychic and listening to what he or she has to say.
Go here and watch Colbert's take down of Glenn Beck's stupid "War Room" program. Click on the second and then the third videos under the heading "All New Video."
I never thought I'd be saying this again but, isn't it time --- TO HAVE A REVOLUTION! We are THE PEOPLE and there are millions of us - why should we allow any of these greasy bastards to continue to rob from us and waste our resources? Seriously,isn't it time to just remake our country. What we have now sure as hell isn't cutting it.
You say you want a revolution Well you know We'd all want to change the world You tell me that it's evolution Well you know We'd all want to change the world But when you talk about destruction Don't you know that you can count me out Don't you know it's gonna be alright
BTW, TAO, forget the restaurant, your blog hostess here at P.E. can make a mean strata
The timbale is the same that was featured in the great movie "Big Night," q.v.
And strata is a great brunch dish made with Italian bread, soaked overnight in milk, eggs, then layered with pesto sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesean cheese, and, if you want meat, sausages or meatballs.
Shaw lives near Boston so I vote we have a convention whenever the chick lobsters are abundant (and cheap!) August or September? and have a lobster boil! Shaw's strata sounds wonderful and I make a nice Czech donut, kind of like a beignet heavily sprinkled with vanilla sugar. If we get nothing else done, we can probably feed the neighborhood.
That Czech donut sounds like the fried dough that vendors sell here in Boston's Italian North End during the gazillion feats for the saints that are held almost every weekend in the summer. Lots of street food.
TAO likes to eat; I love to cook.
My nonna (Italian for grandma) used to say you can't argue when your mouth's full of food.
I also have Italian ancestors so I have some of that in my arsenal, too. I love ethnic fairs! Growing up the Lebanese/Syrian community would have this big festival called a Matazhan or something like that. The food was wonderful - first time I ever ate khibbie made with goat meat. With four kids, love it or hate it, I was always cooking! LOL!
TAO - get on that plane and go to that convention, just because you think it's out of your league. Successful people never limit themselves and I think you know that. Go...really, go!
"SPIKE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, LET'S COMPLETE THE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE. YOU SHOULD TELL THEM THAT THEY SHOULD LOOT THE THEATER ON THEIR WAY OUT." ---R. Limbaugh, 1992
This is one where it is easy to imagine the context absolving him of any racism. It depends on what film he is referring to. This statement fits in perfectly with the pro-looting/riot message of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing".
I don't know enough about the context of the other statements, and can't imagine at this point how they can be other than examples of racism by Limbaugh.
And if you come for the convention and I am here in Boston when you are, we'll definitely meet up. You can reach me via my email, which is posted on my site:
(rockync, if you decide to visit, you too can let me know via my email, if you can coordinate with TAO, even better!)
shawkenawe (at) yahoo (dot) com
dmarks,
That remark by Limbaugh was said on his show after he heard that Spike Lee suggested that Afro-American kids get the day off from school to see his film, Malcolm X.
And no matter how you spin it, it's racist.
Certain Republicans will not face the truth of his racism.
Don Imus' career was severely damaged when he engaged in it; Rush Limbaugh is adored when he does.
Limbaugh is a racist; he's the defact head of the GOP; and the Republicans who allow this have no cajones.
You folks seem to enjoy patting each other on your back a lot.
Have a good time.
I think that your guy in the white house. won't last for a second term. In fact he may not even last one term before the country gets so fed up with him and throws him out.
I have a lot going on this summer already, but, you never know. So, I putting your email addy into my address book so I don't lose it! (I'm terribel about losing things) and if I ever manage to hit ole Bean Town, you are the first person I'll try to meet up with.
There seems to be much dewy eyed nonsense from lefties that I would like to chime in myself right here. It's really plain and simple..After Bush was elected in 2000, many liberals were unhappy. They had two ways to deal with that disappointment—a) accept that they lost and vow to get ‘em next time, or b) embrace paranoia and start accusing Bush of stealing the election and becoming a dictator and lying the country into war and torture and fascism. They chose b.
So we got eight years of Michael Moore suggesting that Bush and bin Laden were playing for the same team, and of Keith Olbermann calling for Bush to resign, and dozens of crazy conspiracy theories about Iraq being a war for oil waged in order to prop up Halliburton.
This phase must have been embarrassing for rational liberals. It’s one thing to disagree with someone, it’s another to be become unhinged over Bush’s existence. But conservatives made hay with all the liberal insanity—they labeled it Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS for short) and used it as proof that liberals weren’t serious about the real problems facing the nation. Among themselves, conservatives swore that no matter how bad things looked, they’d never stoop so low as to engage in Obama Derangement Syndrome.
Then Obama got elected, and they didn’t waste any time. Conservatives managed, for the most part, to avoid the stupid sort of trutherism that said that Obama wasn’t actually a natural born citizen. But the restraint stopped there. Since Obama’s inauguration, the conservative response has been a) tax cuts, b) Rush Limbaugh, c) Atlas Shrugged, and d) accusations of socialism.
Obama’s stimulus package was a flawed bill—incredible amounts of pork, and it meant massive deficits. And it was (and still is) doubtful whether it would even succeed in its stated goal of pushing the economy out of recession.
All devastating points, and the Republicans did use them. But their solution? Tax cuts. Which would have been a great idea, except that Republicans have made tax cuts the centerpiece of their response to every financial crisis since Reagan. And given the size of the deficit (even without Obama’s stimulus package), cutting taxes would simply be irresponsible.
No conservative managed to particularly distinguish himself in the fight over the stimulus bill, so people looking for a leader of the Republican party looked to Rush Limbaugh for inspiration. And that caused a significant controversy, with liberals angrily demanding whether Republicans support Rush, and conservatives divided into pro-Limbaugh and anti-Limbaugh camps; the former considering Rush a real asset and a true conservative leader, and the other vociferously disagreeing.
How about third option: who cares? Well, everyone does now, due to size of the controversy. But it shouldn’t have been a controversy at all. If you like Rush, enjoy him by all means. If not, find a new leader you can get behind. But Rush isn’t going to go away just because some people think he’s too influential. And while I'm here, let me please put in my 2 cents on that little racist punk Spike Lee who is just and angry young black man who thinks the world revolves around his cheap stupid racist movies. In my opinion he's an overly sensitive insecure jerk that's always looking for some publicity. It's time he grew up and sees the world as more than just a black and white object.
"In my opinion he's an overly sensitive insecure jerk that's always looking for some publicity. It's time he grew up and sees the world as more than just a black and white object."--jwright311
Just wondering--did you lift this little screed from some blogger who's criticizing Rush?
Limbaugh intoned ( and sadly people believed him):
"SPIKE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, LET'S COMPLETE THE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE. YOU SHOULD TELL THEM THAT THEY SHOULD LOOT THE THEATER ON THEIR WAY OUT." ---R. Limbaugh, 1992
Ah yes Rush Limbaugh, cineaste. Avid reader of Cahiers du Cinema for certain. Well if they had an American edition focusing on porn perhaps. Angry black men always frighten white reactionaries. Spike Lee can really rev that crowd up. How dare he?
It isn't as if movies haven't dealt with the issue of people taking the law into their own hands. Spike's grumpy old sparring partner Clint Eastwood wouldn't have had a career without vigilantism. Thirty five years of angry white guys pissed off and not willing to take any more of it. 'Grand Torino' from just last year. A Dirty Harry for the geriatric set.
As for 'Do the Right Thing' from Wikipedia:
"One of many questions at the end of the film is whether Mookie 'does the right thing' when he throws the garbage can through the window, thus inciting the riot that destroys Sal's pizzeria. The question is directly raised by the contradictory quotations that end the film, one advocating non-violence, the other advocating violent self-defense in response to oppression. Spike Lee himself, however, has stated that only white viewers ask this question. Lee believes the key point is that Mookie was angry at the death of Radio Raheem, and that viewers who question the riot's justification are implicitly valuing white property over the life of a black man. Mookie tells Sal to "Motherfuck a window. Radio Raheem is dead". However, some of the other characters in the film, such as Da Mayor and Mister Señor, disapproved of the riot."
Some white film critics predicted riots at screenings of the film. Unsurprisingly none occurred. Poor Rush. Wrong once again.
Rush's fans do not want to face what he is: A racist who they've empowered and to whom they have given permission to express what they haven't the cajones to express themselves.
Shaw: "Is there a reason Spike Lee is singled out for producing "violent" films"
There's a big reason...that is why context is important. The quote is from the time the film "Malcolm X" was released. This was big news, and being discussed all over. And guess who made the film "Malcolm X"? Yes, Spike Lee. That is why he was singled out. It was the big news of the day.
As I said, the other quotes look pretty bad. But it is just this one which is non-racist, and is aimed at a filmmaker whose previous most famous film justified mindless looting/rioting.
Arthur: I've read Lee's boneheaded claim before about justifying violence in "Do the Right Thing". It is in itself racist, as it contains the claim that blacks are more likely to favor the mindless violence of rioting/looting. I don't buy that. The thugs in the movie go after someone else, not the cops who killed Radio. Racism from Lee is hardly new, and hardly a thing of the past. Spike Lee is famous for bashing "golden boys" and coined the "Magic Negro" term.
And the riot in "Do the Right Thing" is rather mindless: it justifies making new victims out of innocent people. And yes, I have seen both that film and "Malcolm X"
Thanks for the nuanced reading of Spike Lee and his body of work dmarks. I particularly was impressed with your reading of Lee's 'racism' as concerns persons of color.
Spike Lee did not coin "Magic Negro." David Ehrenstein writing in the LA Times in 2007 did. (He's an African-American man who writes about the cinema.)
http://tinyurl.com/8atnwq
dmarks, I'm catching you in too many of these errors. Pretty soon I'll have to fact check everything you write.
Spike Lee is a flat out racist. All his movies are about race. Every time he is in the news it's about race in one way or another. That's why he was picking on Clint Eastwood for not having Afro-Americans in his war movies. The fact is there were no Afro-Americans that raised the flag at Iwo Jima during World War II. So what! There are millions of movies without Afro-Americans in it. If Clint Eastwood doesn't want to put blacks in a move, who cares? Blacks? Why? What difference is it going to make in your everyday life? And when Spike makes a movie every white in it is portrayed as an idiot. It reminds me of that TV sitcom "THE JEFFERSON'S' with that blabbering white guy idiot next door who was married to a smart black women and the white door man always looking for a hand out.
I have learned not to click on tiny urls. But I do go to real urls.
"Spike Lee did not coin "Magic Negro." David Ehrenstein writing in the LA Times in 2007 did....dmarks, I'm catching you in too many of these errors"
In this case, as with many, the error is yours. From Wikipedia: "Spike Lee popularized the term" (in 2001). It is a subset of an even earlier term "magical negro".
Ehrenstein and 2007 have nothing to do with it. I first heard it myself several years ago, long before 2007.
P.S. Spike Lee is a racist. He makes at least as many racist statements as Limbaugh does.
Arthur: Again with the colored people? My reading of Lee's work is accurate. And there is nothing nuanced about Lee's justification of mindless violence in "Do the Right Thing" (including his racist claim that black people are more likely to favor mindless violence). And there is no need to put quotes around Lee's racism. Spike Lee's racism is blatant enough that there is no doubt.
Jim: Have you actually seen Eastwood's Iwo Jima movies? Yes, this is another example of Lee's racism. And color did not matter much in the movies: he made both of them look rather grey.
Lee would distort history with his racist agenda. The people in the movies were the Iwo Jima flag-raising teams, and the Japanese defenders.... who, by history, were 100% White, Japanese, or Native American. What Lee demands is identical to a white racist wanting whites to fill the ranks of the Tuskegee Airmen.
He might as well moan that there were no African-Americans appearing among the Spartan army in "300".
'Arthur: Again with the colored people? My reading of Lee's work is accurate. And there is nothing nuanced about Lee's justification of mindless violence in "Do the Right Thing" (including his racist claim that black people are more likely to favor mindless violence). And there is no need to put quotes around Lee's racism. Spike Lee's racism is blatant enough that there is no doubt.'
Your 'reading' of Spike Lee's work is preposterous. As is your suggestion Lee is a blatant racist. As is the comment that somehow Spike Lee 'claims...black people are more likely to FAVOR mindless violence.'
You have to do better dmarks.
Recommended weekend reading:
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Arthur: "Your 'reading' of Spike Lee's work is preposterous. As is your suggestion Lee is a blatant racist"
I referred to specific racist statements by him. It is not "preposterous" as I have backed it up with specific examples.
"black people are more likely to favor mindless violence.'"
That is derived from your quote of Lee, where he claims that "only white viewers" question whether Mookie's mindless act of violence against innocent victims is "the right thing". I made a fair paraphrase of Lee's implication that blacks are more likely to justify thuggery. I am not a racist: I do not buy Lee's statement at all.
"Recommended weekend reading"
Do these contain information on Spike Lee's statements?
Shaw said: "A black man that pushes back against the majority that perpetuates it is perceived as racist? That is rich."
Any man, black or non-black, who makes racist statements is not "pushing back", as the vast majority of the targets did not push him to begin with.
"He sees America from his perspective and it is a perspective that is accurate."
He has made accurate statements. He has also made some racist statements. Racist statements aren't really accurate.
It is rich and insane to absolve a man of racism due to his skin color.
I refuse to let him off the hook for racist generalizations because he is a black man.
----
By the way, Shaw. Are you aware of Spike Lee's famous statement about Larry Bird? You ought to look it up and see the discussion of it. It is every bit as ludicrous and racist as Limbaugh's Quote #5 in your list. And you simply can't excuse Spike for doing this because he was "pushing back" at Larry Bird.
And reading up on the issue of Spike vs Clint is illuminating. It turns out that "Flags of Our Fathers" had an accurate proportion of African-American soldiers shown. Spike would have likely been happy if Clint Eastwood had an African-American actor play Ira Hayes.
Glad Clint got it right in the reel world, because in the real world VN action 14.4% US KIA casualties were black; from a general population of 13.4% (I'm intrigued by the distribution of religions KIA vs general population, but gee, the post was about John Stewart...)
47 comments:
That was FREAKIN' OUTSTANDING!!!
James,
Why would anyone listen to those people on CNBC who've been wrong about so much. It's really terrifying to understand that these supposed gurus on the stock market are so clueless and all they really do is make guesses. We'd be just as well off going to a psychic and listening to what he or she has to say.
No wonder our economy is in the toilet.
That sort of factual incisive reporting is why some of us are
Stewartheads and Colbertheads....
Go here and watch Colbert's take down of Glenn Beck's stupid "War Room" program. Click on the second and then the third videos under the heading "All New Video."
I'm in complete agreement with John Stewart regarding CNBC's crew and all the economists and bank CEO's. Fuck you.
that was really funny. sat here laughing during the whole thing.
good post, shaw.
I never thought I'd be saying this again but, isn't it time --- TO HAVE A REVOLUTION!
We are THE PEOPLE and there are millions of us - why should we allow any of these greasy bastards to continue to rob from us and waste our resources?
Seriously,isn't it time to just remake our country. What we have now sure as hell isn't cutting it.
Rocky, You and I need to get together real fast for coffee....
I am all for a revolution....
I found my lovebeads and tye dyed shirt...
Why don't we have our own "PAC" convention and get ourselves on CNN....
We could get Shaw and all the folks at Swash Zone, Jennifer and Patrick and our convention would be just about as well attended as CPAC was.
Find someplace with good restaurants....
You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
BTW, TAO, forget the restaurant, your blog hostess here at P.E. can make a mean strata
and
timbale
The timbale is the same that was featured in the great movie "Big Night," q.v.
And strata is a great brunch dish made with Italian bread, soaked overnight in milk, eggs, then layered with pesto sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesean cheese, and, if you want meat, sausages or meatballs.
Ah Shaw, you stole my song off my blog! :)
So, when can I make a reservation....I LOVE food!
Shaw lives near Boston so I vote we have a convention whenever the chick lobsters are abundant (and cheap!) August or September? and have a lobster boil!
Shaw's strata sounds wonderful and I make a nice Czech donut, kind of like a beignet heavily sprinkled with vanilla sugar.
If we get nothing else done, we can probably feed the neighborhood.
rockync,
That Czech donut sounds like the fried dough that vendors sell here in Boston's Italian North End during the gazillion feats for the saints that are held almost every weekend in the summer. Lots of street food.
TAO likes to eat; I love to cook.
My nonna (Italian for grandma) used to say you can't argue when your mouth's full of food.
I also have Italian ancestors so I have some of that in my arsenal, too.
I love ethnic fairs! Growing up the Lebanese/Syrian community would have this big festival called a Matazhan or something like that. The food was wonderful - first time I ever ate khibbie made with goat meat.
With four kids, love it or hate it, I was always cooking! LOL!
Well, I am looking into attending an Internet Retailer Convention in Boston in June....
One side of me wants to go and the other side, well it thinks I would be way out of my league!
TAO - get on that plane and go to that convention, just because you think it's out of your league.
Successful people never limit themselves and I think you know that.
Go...really, go!
Shaw: About your latest Limbaugh quote:
"SPIKE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, LET'S COMPLETE THE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE. YOU SHOULD TELL THEM THAT THEY SHOULD LOOT THE THEATER ON THEIR WAY OUT." ---R. Limbaugh, 1992
This is one where it is easy to imagine the context absolving him of any racism. It depends on what film he is referring to. This statement fits in perfectly with the pro-looting/riot message of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing".
I don't know enough about the context of the other statements, and can't imagine at this point how they can be other than examples of racism by Limbaugh.
TAO,
I agree with rockync,
There is no way you would be out of your league.
And if you come for the convention and I am here in Boston when you are, we'll definitely meet up. You can reach me via my email, which is posted on my site:
(rockync, if you decide to visit, you too can let me know via my email, if you can coordinate with TAO, even better!)
shawkenawe (at) yahoo (dot) com
dmarks,
That remark by Limbaugh was said on his show after he heard that Spike Lee suggested that Afro-American kids get the day off from school to see his film, Malcolm X.
And no matter how you spin it, it's racist.
Certain Republicans will not face the truth of his racism.
Don Imus' career was severely damaged when he engaged in it; Rush Limbaugh is adored when he does.
Limbaugh is a racist; he's the defact head of the GOP; and the Republicans who allow this have no cajones.
You folks seem to enjoy patting each other on your back a lot.
Have a good time.
I think that your guy in the white house. won't last for a second term. In fact he may not even last one term before the country gets so fed up with him and throws him out.
To Debbie,
Everyone needs a fantasy to hold onto. It helps people get through their difficult times.
"And no matter how you spin it, it's racist."
Not on this one, with Spike Lee's most famous movie up to that point being one where he encouraged rioting and looting.
But that is just one out of the 5 or so you have so far.
Shaw,
I have a lot going on this summer already, but, you never know. So, I putting your email addy into my address book so I don't lose it! (I'm terribel about losing things) and if I ever manage to hit ole Bean Town, you are the first person I'll try to meet up with.
BTW - I think we should all join hands and sing a round or two of Kumbaya for Debbie! :)
dmarks,
Is there a reason Spike Lee is singled out for producing "violent" films and for being accused of encouraging violence through their production?
That's pure b.s.
What about other films that glorify violence? Or are we to criticize only Lee?
That smells like racism to me.
There seems to be much dewy eyed nonsense from lefties that I would like to chime in myself right here.
It's really plain and simple..After Bush was elected in 2000, many liberals were unhappy. They had two ways to deal with that disappointment—a) accept that they lost and vow to get ‘em next time, or b) embrace paranoia and start accusing Bush of stealing the election and becoming a dictator and lying the country into war and torture and fascism. They chose b.
So we got eight years of Michael Moore suggesting that Bush and bin Laden were playing for the same team, and of Keith Olbermann calling for Bush to resign, and dozens of crazy conspiracy theories about Iraq being a war for oil waged in order to prop up Halliburton.
This phase must have been embarrassing for rational liberals. It’s one thing to disagree with someone, it’s another to be become unhinged over Bush’s existence. But conservatives made hay with all the liberal insanity—they labeled it Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS for short) and used it as proof that liberals weren’t serious about the real problems facing the nation. Among themselves, conservatives swore that no matter how bad things looked, they’d never stoop so low as to engage in Obama Derangement Syndrome.
Then Obama got elected, and they didn’t waste any time. Conservatives managed, for the most part, to avoid the stupid sort of trutherism that said that Obama wasn’t actually a natural born citizen. But the restraint stopped there. Since Obama’s inauguration, the conservative response has been a) tax cuts, b) Rush Limbaugh, c) Atlas Shrugged, and d) accusations of socialism.
Obama’s stimulus package was a flawed bill—incredible amounts of pork, and it meant massive deficits. And it was (and still is) doubtful whether it would even succeed in its stated goal of pushing the economy out of recession.
All devastating points, and the Republicans did use them. But their solution? Tax cuts. Which would have been a great idea, except that Republicans have made tax cuts the centerpiece of their response to every financial crisis since Reagan. And given the size of the deficit (even without Obama’s stimulus package), cutting taxes would simply be irresponsible.
No conservative managed to particularly distinguish himself in the fight over the stimulus bill, so people looking for a leader of the Republican party looked to Rush Limbaugh for inspiration. And that caused a significant controversy, with liberals angrily demanding whether Republicans support Rush, and conservatives divided into pro-Limbaugh and anti-Limbaugh camps; the former considering Rush a real asset and a true conservative leader, and the other vociferously disagreeing.
How about third option: who cares? Well, everyone does now, due to size of the controversy. But it shouldn’t have been a controversy at all. If you like Rush, enjoy him by all means. If not, find a new leader you can get behind. But Rush isn’t going to go away just because some people think he’s too influential.
And while I'm here, let me please put in my 2 cents on that little racist punk Spike Lee who is just and angry young black man who thinks the world revolves around his cheap stupid racist movies. In my opinion he's an overly sensitive insecure jerk that's always looking for some publicity. It's time he grew up and sees the world as more than just a black and white object.
Jwright311 seems to have lifted most of his comment.
Too bad, because the original was better.
Good catch, BBIdaho,
jwright311, are you and Daniel Ruwe the same person or are you just a simple plagiarist?
There's no shame in using other people's written words so long as you attribute them.
"In my opinion he's an overly sensitive insecure jerk that's always looking for some publicity. It's time he grew up and sees the world as more than just a black and white object."--jwright311
Just wondering--did you lift this little screed from some blogger who's criticizing Rush?
Limbaugh intoned ( and sadly people believed him):
"SPIKE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, LET'S COMPLETE THE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE. YOU SHOULD TELL THEM THAT THEY SHOULD LOOT THE THEATER ON THEIR WAY OUT." ---R. Limbaugh, 1992
Ah yes Rush Limbaugh, cineaste. Avid reader of Cahiers du Cinema for certain. Well if they had an American edition focusing on porn perhaps. Angry black men always frighten white reactionaries. Spike Lee can really rev that crowd up. How dare he?
It isn't as if movies haven't dealt with the issue of people taking the law into their own hands. Spike's grumpy old sparring partner Clint Eastwood wouldn't have had a career without vigilantism. Thirty five years of angry white guys pissed off and not willing to take any more of it. 'Grand Torino' from just last year. A Dirty Harry for the geriatric set.
As for 'Do the Right Thing' from Wikipedia:
"One of many questions at the end of the film is whether Mookie 'does the right thing' when he throws the garbage can through the window, thus inciting the riot that destroys Sal's pizzeria. The question is directly raised by the contradictory quotations that end the film, one advocating non-violence, the other advocating violent self-defense in response to oppression. Spike Lee himself, however, has stated that only white viewers ask this question. Lee believes the key point is that Mookie was angry at the death of Radio Raheem, and that viewers who question the riot's justification are implicitly valuing white property over the life of a black man. Mookie tells Sal to "Motherfuck a window. Radio Raheem is dead". However, some of the other characters in the film, such as Da Mayor and Mister Señor, disapproved of the riot."
Some white film critics predicted riots at screenings of the film. Unsurprisingly none occurred. Poor Rush. Wrong once again.
Arthurstone,
Rush's fans do not want to face what he is: A racist who they've empowered and to whom they have given permission to express what they haven't the cajones to express themselves.
Shaw: "Is there a reason Spike Lee is singled out for producing "violent" films"
There's a big reason...that is why context is important. The quote is from the time the film "Malcolm X" was released. This was big news, and being discussed all over. And guess who made the film "Malcolm X"? Yes, Spike Lee. That is why he was singled out. It was the big news of the day.
As I said, the other quotes look pretty bad. But it is just this one which is non-racist, and is aimed at a filmmaker whose previous most famous film justified mindless looting/rioting.
Arthur: I've read Lee's boneheaded claim before about justifying violence in "Do the Right Thing". It is in itself racist, as it contains the claim that blacks are more likely to favor the mindless violence of rioting/looting. I don't buy that. The thugs in the movie go after someone else, not the cops who killed Radio. Racism from Lee is hardly new, and hardly a thing of the past. Spike Lee is famous for bashing "golden boys" and coined the "Magic Negro" term.
And the riot in "Do the Right Thing" is rather mindless: it justifies making new victims out of innocent people. And yes, I have seen both that film and "Malcolm X"
Thanks for the nuanced reading of Spike Lee and his body of work dmarks. I particularly was impressed with your reading of Lee's 'racism' as concerns persons of color.
Just kidding.
Thanks for the laugh.
dmarks,
Spike Lee did not coin "Magic Negro." David Ehrenstein writing in the LA Times in 2007 did. (He's an African-American man who writes about the cinema.)
http://tinyurl.com/8atnwq
dmarks, I'm catching you in too many of these errors. Pretty soon I'll have to fact check everything you write.
PS. Spike Lee is not racist.
Spike Lee is a flat out racist. All his movies are about race. Every time he is in the news it's about race in one way or another.
That's why he was picking on Clint Eastwood for not having Afro-Americans in his war movies. The fact is there were no Afro-Americans that raised the flag at Iwo Jima during World War II. So what!
There are millions of movies without Afro-Americans in it.
If Clint Eastwood doesn't want to put blacks in a move, who cares? Blacks? Why? What difference is it going to make in your everyday life? And when Spike makes a movie every white in it is portrayed as an idiot. It reminds me of that TV sitcom "THE JEFFERSON'S' with that blabbering white guy idiot next door who was married to a smart black women and the white door man always looking for a hand out.
Tell me thats no racist?
I have learned not to click on tiny urls. But I do go to real urls.
"Spike Lee did not coin "Magic Negro." David Ehrenstein writing in the LA Times in 2007 did....dmarks, I'm catching you in too many of these errors"
In this case, as with many, the error is yours. From Wikipedia: "Spike Lee popularized the term" (in 2001). It is a subset of an even earlier term "magical negro".
Ehrenstein and 2007 have nothing to do with it. I first heard it myself several years ago, long before 2007.
P.S. Spike Lee is a racist. He makes at least as many racist statements as Limbaugh does.
Arthur: Again with the colored people? My reading of Lee's work is accurate. And there is nothing nuanced about Lee's justification of mindless violence in "Do the Right Thing" (including his racist claim that black people are more likely to favor mindless violence). And there is no need to put quotes around Lee's racism. Spike Lee's racism is blatant enough that there is no doubt.
Jim: Have you actually seen Eastwood's Iwo Jima movies? Yes, this is another example of Lee's racism. And color did not matter much in the movies: he made both of them look rather grey.
Lee would distort history with his racist agenda. The people in the movies were the Iwo Jima flag-raising teams, and the Japanese defenders.... who, by history, were 100% White, Japanese, or Native American. What Lee demands is identical to a white racist wanting whites to fill the ranks of the Tuskegee Airmen.
He might as well moan that there were no African-Americans appearing among the Spartan army in "300".
dmarks:
'Arthur: Again with the colored people? My reading of Lee's work is accurate. And there is nothing nuanced about Lee's justification of mindless violence in "Do the Right Thing" (including his racist claim that black people are more likely to favor mindless violence). And there is no need to put quotes around Lee's racism. Spike Lee's racism is blatant enough that there is no doubt.'
Your 'reading' of Spike Lee's work is preposterous. As is your suggestion Lee is a blatant racist. As is the comment that somehow Spike Lee 'claims...black people are more likely to FAVOR mindless violence.'
You have to do better dmarks.
Recommended weekend reading:
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn
An Essay of Liberation by Herbert Marcuse
Arthur: "Your 'reading' of Spike Lee's work is preposterous. As is your suggestion Lee is a blatant racist"
I referred to specific racist statements by him. It is not "preposterous" as I have backed it up with specific examples.
"black people are more likely to favor mindless violence.'"
That is derived from your quote of Lee, where he claims that "only white viewers" question whether Mookie's mindless act of violence against innocent victims is "the right thing". I made a fair paraphrase of Lee's implication that blacks are more likely to justify thuggery. I am not a racist: I do not buy Lee's statement at all.
"Recommended weekend reading"
Do these contain information on Spike Lee's statements?
dmarks:
'Mindless violence' is your 'reading' of what happens in the film.
Here's an actual 'reading' of the film.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010527/REVIEWS08/105270301/1023
dmarks added:
'I am not a racist. I don't buy Spike Lee's statement at all.'
I'll trust you're right on the first sentence. But as you've built a false argument the second is beside the point.
My reading is actual, too. The trash can incident was mindless violence. It would have been less so if Mookie had attacked the police station.
I don't see how my argument is false since it is based on Lee's claim as quoted by you and dear ol Roger.
dmarks,
I thought Ehrenstein was the originator of "Magic Negor." I had no idea it had been around for so long. My mistake.
But I still maintain that Spike Lee is NOT a racist.
He sees America from his perspective and it is a perspective that is accurate.
Look at the racist images that have exploded since Pres. Obama was nominated and elected. (BTW, they're not coming from the Left.)
Racism runs deep. A black man that pushes back against the majority that perpetuates it is perceived as racist? That is rich.
And insane.
Arthurstone,
That Howard Zinn book should be required reading in every high school in America.
Shaw said: "A black man that pushes back against the majority that perpetuates it is perceived as racist? That is rich."
Any man, black or non-black, who makes racist statements is not "pushing back", as the vast majority of the targets did not push him to begin with.
"He sees America from his perspective and it is a perspective that is accurate."
He has made accurate statements. He has also made some racist statements. Racist statements aren't really accurate.
It is rich and insane to absolve a man of racism due to his skin color.
I refuse to let him off the hook for racist generalizations because he is a black man.
----
By the way, Shaw. Are you aware of Spike Lee's famous statement about Larry Bird? You ought to look it up and see the discussion of it. It is every bit as ludicrous and racist as Limbaugh's Quote #5 in your list. And you simply can't excuse Spike for doing this because he was "pushing back" at Larry Bird.
And reading up on the issue of Spike vs Clint is illuminating. It turns out that "Flags of Our Fathers" had an accurate proportion of African-American soldiers shown. Spike would have likely been happy if Clint Eastwood had an African-American actor play Ira Hayes.
Glad Clint got it right in the reel world, because in the real world VN action 14.4% US KIA casualties were black; from a general population of 13.4% (I'm intrigued by the distribution of religions KIA vs general population, but gee, the post was about John Stewart...)
dmarks-
The only one here using the phrase 'mindless violence' is you.
Ebert doesn't.
I don't.
Spike doesn't.
It's your characterization.
Of course if you were referring to the cops killing of Radio Rahem then you might have been onto something.
Mindless violence refers to what the cops did and to Mookie launching the riot against an innocent person who did not kill Radio.
Is it so outrageous to consider that mindless violence?
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