Idiots abound over West and Katrina

Here's the thing about Kanye West's statements.

THEY ARE EMPIRICALLY FALSIFIABLE.

With all of the blather about this coming from people with traffic high enough you'd think they would know better...I think some enlightenment is in order.

Take Dean's statement about Harold Washington, and how whites in Chicago didn't like him because Washington "hated whites".

All of Washington's actions as mayor are on record. Find me one line item on a budget where black people received more of a resource than whites that was not pegged to their need.

West's statements about Bush, CAN ALL BE EMPIRICALLY FALSIFIED.

You don't think they're true? Don't give me definitions about a concept you can't quite wrap your head around.

Give me some data that shows they are false.

And then while you're at it, put up some loot as collateral.

Comments

[Temple3]

You won't get empirical responses to this one that are substantive. I guess John McWhorter could take up the Negro Apologist mantle, but the weight might crush his spine. Anyway, keep the cash flowin - and not to the damn RED CROSS. Tom Joyner's doing good stuff. The UNCF is doing good stuff. www.brothersbrother.org is doing good stuff. The last group was started by a black MD and is based in Pittsburgh.

[tootsie]

What about Tiger's statement;talking live and politically"that he can't understand people fightning and raping each other when people are trying to help them"Shut up Tiger and offer $

[Temple3]

yo kid, that dumass dean reminds of the cats i knew in high school...that barack obama stuff is about the dumbest sh!!$$$ i've read in awhile. but that's how folks think. it ain't logical and it ain't seeking empirical proof...just dumass' with an audience preachin to the choir...if you wrote some stupid stuff like that in a logic class, the prof. wouldn't even read it. F. and get the hell out of my class.

[Sheila Steele]

I may not be making this comment in the right place. It is not even a comment -- it is a question. I want to know your perspective on Huey Long. That is slightly more recent history than the material I was reading which prompted me to ask the question.

[Lester Spence]

long was a populist who was responsible for much of the infrastructure la has. more than a tad racist though.

[Peg Kaplan]

Guys, guys, GUYS!

Read Dean's post more carefully. Look at these words:

The man worked pretty hard to reach out to white voters and gain their respect. While some of them never bought it and never trusted him, the truth is Chicago was one of the only cities during that era where "white flight" (remember that?) more or less stopped cold--thanks in large part to Harold Washington.

Dean is PRAISING Washington... and saying that those who thought he didn't care about whites in the city were wrong.

[Temple3]

"Pretending you know what's in another person's heart just because of his skin color and because you don't agree with his politics is racist. It just is. So is holding black people to different standards than you hold white people to."

I won't say that Kanye did the research on Bush, but his position will stand quantitative scrutiny...just as applying this measure to men like Washington, Jefferson, Wilson, Roosevelt (take your pick), Johnson, Reagan and Clinton will stand quantitative scrutiny. Bush may or may not be an exceptional racist, but he has diverted from the mainstream of white supremacist practice in the realms of politics and economics. To the extent that Kanye's statement reflects some heartfelt aspirations for a kindler, gentler Bush, it is naive, if not racist. It may be racist - but it would be absurd to think that West applies this broad stroke to everyone with the same "skin color" as Dubya...therefore, the reasoning used by Dean still falls short...the Barack Obama example is absolutely ridiculous.

Rather than castigate West, Dean and others of his ilk would be wise to consider why the White House is seeking to shift responsibility for the response to state and local officials when the federal government CLEARLY used the 9/11 attack as the shoehorn to displacing state and local agencies in this line of work.

If West knows nothing else, he knows that when America (the government, really) can do, it can do for its white folks; when it can't do, it can't do for its poor black descendants of enslaved africans. Forget about what is in Dubya's mind...what's in his budget?

[Temple3]

"Pretending you know what's in another person's heart just because of his skin color and because you don't agree with his politics is racist. It just is. So is holding black people to different standards than you hold white people to."

I won't say that Kanye did the research on Bush, but his position will stand quantitative scrutiny...just as applying this measure to men like Washington, Jefferson, Wilson, Roosevelt (take your pick), Johnson, Reagan and Clinton will stand quantitative scrutiny. Bush may or may not be an exceptional racist, but he has NOT diverged from the mainstream of white supremacist practice in the realms of politics and economics. To the extent that Kanye's statement reflects some heartfelt aspirations for a kindler, gentler Bush, it is naive, if not racist. It may be racist - but it would be absurd to think that West applies this broad stroke to everyone with the same "skin color" as Dubya...therefore, the reasoning used by Dean still falls short...the Barack Obama example is absolutely ridiculous.

Rather than castigate West, Dean and others of his ilk would be wise to consider why the White House is seeking to shift responsibility for the response to state and local officials when the federal government CLEARLY used the 9/11 attack as the shoehorn to displacing state and local agencies in this line of work.

If West knows nothing else, he knows that when America (the government, really) can do, it can do for its white folks; when it can't do, it can't do for its poor black descendants of enslaved africans. Forget about what is in Dubya's mind...what's in his budget?

[Temple3]

I tried to delete my first post, but was unable to do so.

Just one other thing, though...with respect to the question of disproportionality, the issue is one of equity. Given that black folk are an extreme minority in the US (roughly 12-14%) it is not logical that more blacks folks would be in the categories highlighted by dean...so, the question of proportions - as an indication of balance or equity (not equality or "sameness") is the one raised by most civil rights organizations. That would not be my argument, but the pursuit of equity was central to the aims of the CRM - and it has proved elusive.

When bloggers roll out three or four illogical arguments in a row to suggest that it's improper to claim that 'RACE-ISM' is a factor in America, there is little left to do but laugh. It may not be the only factor--or the primary factor...but it's a factor. After all, isn't race a proxy for how Americans play identity politics...and identity economics. Dean's stuff is amateurish, high school stuff. I'm done on that...and you're right - he was defending Washington.