Harry Belafonte compares Colin Powell to house slave

[rowrrbazzle]

In this telephone interview, Belafonte compares Colin Powell to a slave who "got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master...exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him." Because we haven't heard from Colin Powell lately, that means he has been turned out of the house just for disagreeing.

http://www.760kfmb.com/personalities/ted_leitner/index.php

The interview itself (Windows Media only): http://www.760kfmb.com/asx/2002/10/harry_belafonte.asx

The passage in question starts at about 12 minutes into the interview.

I would think you'd know this, Harry, but if a white guy doesn't do the job his boss wants, he'll won't be in the house any more either. And of course, you always accepted all of your musicians or support staff who disagreed with you.

You are now officially on the list of idiotarians. Jerk.

[Bryan Ekers]

Harry should do a hitch in the service if he thinks working your way up the military ranks is at the whim of the massa.

[apotheosis]

Ah, he's just cranky about this (http://www.cheatmonster.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/binlarden6.htm). Can't blame him, personally...that's some atrocious singing.

Note to Mr. Belafonte: let it go, man. Call up Farrakhan (http://www.fadetoblack.com/farrakhan/) and start planning the comeback tour.

Perhaps it could kickoff here (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20021002_2410.html).

[Fenris]

Hmmmm....

Colin Powell: Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State, one of the...oh...50? most powerful people on the planet.

Harry Belafonte: Has-been singer who had, what? One? Two? hits songs 50 years ago.

And I should care what Belafonte thinks, why?

Fenris

[beagledave]

Originally posted by Fenris

And I should care what Belafonte thinks, why?

Fenris

Because he tallies yer bananas..duh.

[Milossarian]

I love the implicit message that, if you're not a liberal Democrat, you're a traitor to the black race.


uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh ..... yeah.

"Colin Powell's committed to come into the house of the master. When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture."

Uh-huh. Sure. I can vividly remember how Powell was banging at the door, begging Bush for a job in his cabinet.

He was practically dragged kicking and screaming to the Capitol!

I believe in using this sparingly, but at times, it is so obviously called for: :rolleyes:

[Fenris]

No he doesn't, he's just a nocturnal banana stacker. The tallyman tallies Belafonte's bananas 'cause daylight come and he wan' go home an' drink some rum.

And why the hell is he stacking bananas at night, anyway?

Fenris

[beagledave]

Originally posted by Fenris

And why the hell is he stacking bananas at night, anyway?

Fenris

It's just another way that the man is keeping him down.

[Floater]

All this reminds of when someone shouted "nigger" to the then American ambassdor to Sweden. There was a big commotion about it and no one really cared when the shouter, who BTW was a black American himself, explained to the media that "I never called him a nigger. I called him a house nigger, which is something completely different".

[december]

Harry Elefante

[gobear]

Eh, me say "day", me say "day", me say day-ay-ay-o, daylight come and me wan' go home.

I can't play the sound file at work, but I'm curious why Harry Belafonte (who, to be fair, has a sterling record of humanitarian and civil rights work) thinks Colin Powell is a "house nigger." It seems to me that General Powell, who worked his up through the ranks while enduring racism and the backroom scuffles of DC politics, is an excellent example of the rewards of discipline and hard work. Why is it you never hear liberal blacks denounce Jesse Jackson, adulterer, corporate shakedown artist, and cuddler of dictators?

[lurkernomore]

Hey Harry,

I care as much about your politics as I do about Powell's singing.

[carnivorousplant]

Anyone heard Powell and Ms. Rice referred to as "People who look like us"?

[friedo]

Powell responded a bit on Larry King. Here's the summary (http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/09/powell.belafonte/index.html).

Some nifty excerpts:

In an interview taped for Wednesday night's edition of "Larry King Live" on CNN, Powell responded: "I think it's unfortunate that Harry used that characterization....

If Harry had wanted to attack my politics, that was fine. If he wanted to attack a particular position I hold, that was fine," Powell said. "But to use a slave reference, I think, is unfortunate and is a throwback to another time and another place that I wish Harry had thought twice about using."



"As people said when [Powel] sang at ASEAN [that] he should keep his day job, you could say the same about singers who get into politics," the [State Dept] official said.


Indeed, I think Powel comes off as being orders of magnitude more reasonable.

[Intaglio]

Colin Powell is a much better Secretary of State than Madeline Albright ever was or could have ever hope to have been.

General/Secretary Powell knows the Military being Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Private Sector. I respect him for taking the position of Sec-State.

Shut the Fuck Up Harry Belafonte, you Fucking TOOL.

[Shodan]

Some people consider it a moral obligation for blacks to belong to the Democratic party.

Not to do so is considered a betrayal of the race.

Harry Belafonte probably remembers when the same was said about black men who married white women.

Regards,
Shodan

[Ferrous]

Well, at least his daughter's a major hottie. I saw her photo spread in Playboy a few years ago, and at 45, she has the body of a 25 year old. Hummina!

Of course, I don't suppose that says anything about Harry's political credibility...

[Rilchiam]

Anyway, didn't Malcolm X say the same thing about MLK, back in the day?

[Demise]

Yeah, it was a pretty asinine thing to say, and I'm sure that Belafonte will come to regret saying it. I bet we'll hear about how he was "taken out of context" or "misquoted". ;)

[japatlgt]

How arsinine! Its staggering to think these could be serious remarks. I'd be as willing to believe that he was drunk. Way to go, Harry! Another victory for the black man.

[rowrrbazzle]

If this article originally from frontpagemag.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20010621190435/www.frontpagemag.com/columnists/radosh/2000/rr07-18-00.htm) is correct, in June 2000, Harry gave a eulogy for the Rosenbergs "at Castro's annual tribute to the executed Soviet espionage agents in front of the only statue erected to their memory anywhere in the world."

I can understand why he and others might turn to Communism in the days of segregation, but I can't understand why he would continue that way now after the fall of the USSR and the revelations of decoded Soviet messages.

[EasyPhil]

Originally posted by rowrrbazzle
If this article originally from frontpagemag.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20010621190435/www.frontpagemag.com/columnists/radosh/2000/rr07-18-00.htm) is correct, in June 2000, Harry gave a eulogy for the Rosenbergs "at Castro's annual tribute to the executed Soviet espionage agents in front of the only statue erected to their memory anywhere in the world."

I can understand why he and others might turn to Communism in the days of segregation, but I can't understand why he would continue that way now after the fall of the USSR and the revelations of decoded Soviet messages.

Are the revelations contained in these documents? (http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/meeropol-on-rosenbergs.html)

[Fenris]

Hey, Phil: this is the second time you've linked to a site where someone's trying to sell a book or film pushing an agenda (your last one was to a fictional book about how evil the "Jewish Defense League" is). That's not a legit cite. Learn the difference.

To everyone else: The link is a press-statement by the Rosenberg's kids where they say "Everyone's lying! " which links to an advertisement for a "documentary" film about the Rosenbergs...from 1975 :rolleyes: There are no actual documents there other than the obviously useless statement from the Rosenberg's kids.

Fenris

[ralph124c]

Just what makes show biz celebrities (or has-beens like Bellafonte) experts on race relations, foreign affairs, or anything? Most of these people have less of a grasp on reality than your average HS grad! Take matt Damon: a fresh-faced young actor, with some obvious talent, but he thinks he knows more than president Bush-I saw him babbling away on TV-it is obvious he hasn't a clue about what he was talking about! Or Tom Cruise-this guy has been thoroughly brainwashed by $cientology-I wouldn't trust him to run a hot-dog stand. Lets face it-most movie stars are busy practicing roles 9or trying to get them). They don't know a whole lot about ANYTHING outside of Hollywood (and their colossal egos!)

[pizzabrat]

Gawd. Just cause he's famous, some tiny little comment he made is getting picked apart. Nobody says that celebrities are experts on politics, but they've still got opinions just like we and everyone else does. It's the media and us that makes a big deal out of what they say. So he made some stupid comment that's not even that outlandish (in that it's a pretty obvious comment to make that doesn't really take much imagination, not that it has much validity). Treat him like you would some mouthy guy at a bar, don't crucify him.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally posted by ralph124c
Just what makes ... (or has-beens like Bellafonte) experts on race relations,.

Maybe he's a Black guy who had a rough time as opposed to a wealthy Black guy? Maybe he had to sit at the back of the bus. Maybe a cop profiled him yesterday.

:)

[kingpengvin]

But If I remember a recent Biography on Mr. Powell he had to go through the same things growing up. Explain why Belefonte's attack on Powell is justified?

That being said I did hear an interesting perspective.
I discussed this issue with a friend of mine who has a different perspective on these things. Me being a white him black and he explained to me that among his black friends there was a feeling that Powell was somehow appearing to distance himself from the community.

It wasn't a concrete ation or incident that made them think this, instead, it was this weird nebulous feeling they had. I'm not sure I understand it. As he put it Powell is in a unique and influencial position that could be used to help American blacks but didn't seem to be doing it. I told my friend that Powell didn't need to proclaim his blackness he just needed to be there to show that it was possible to rise to the top.

Plus if there was to be a black President one day, he was the most likely candidate and wouldn't that be a more influencial and positive image?

[Avalonian]

Originally posted by friedo
Indeed, I think Powel comes off as being orders of magnitude more reasonable.

He always does... whether one compares him to Bellafonte or Bush, Powell is one of the most reasonable (and likable) men in Washington today.

Hell, if he took a shot at the Oval Office, I'd probably vote for him. He's earned it, unlike... certain... others. :D

[Soup_du_jour]

If Powell runs, he'd win.

Period.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally posted by kingpengvin
But If I remember a recent Biography on Mr. Powell he had to go through the same things growing up.
I have been given to understand that "he never took part in the struggle" which as a white guy I took to mean the bus and profiling thing.
Your friend's explanation (compared to my friend's) is of course equally valid.

I feel so damn liberal "Some of my best friends are Black." :rolleyes:

[pesch]

Isn't it supposed to be a good thing when minorities don't have to fly to the barricades to obtain the same rights as the majority? When the decision to help others can be made on a personal level and not because you're obligated to because of your race / gender / religious belief / celebrity.

Besides, it will be a sign of equality in this country when a mediocre black rises to the same levels of powers as a mediocre white.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally posted by pesch
it will be a sign of equality in this country when a mediocre black rises to the same levels of powers as a mediocre white.

No.
When all mediocre people of color rise to the same levels as mediocre whites.

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally posted by carnivorousplant
No.
When all mediocre people of color rise to the same levels as mediocre whites.

Mediocre people of color? You mean, like, beige?

[carnivorousplant]

LOL, yeah.

[PunditLisa]

Maybe Belafonte went to the Alec Baldwin School of How to Get Free Press Cause Your Artistic Merit Sure as Hell Won't Get Any....

Or perhaps he checked out Barbra Streisand's video, "How to Get Americans to *Hate* the Sound of Your Voice in One Easy Step."

[Fenris]

Originally posted by PunditLisa
Maybe Belafonte went to the Alec Baldwin School of How to Get Free Press Cause Your Artistic Merit Sure as Hell Won't Get Any....

Or perhaps he checked out Barbra Streisand's video, "How to Get Americans to *Hate* the Sound of Your Voice in One Easy Step."

:D

< insert standard "spewed coffee through my nose on the keyboard" line HERE >

[rowrrbazzle]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=579&e=5&cid=638&u=/nm/20021012/en_nm/people_belafonte_dc "This was not a personal attack on Colin Powell," Belafonte said in a statement issued through his New York-based publicist. "However ... speaking on behalf of so many African American citizens, I have found Colin Powell to be a tragic failure." Open mouth, insert other foot.

[Fenris]

"However ... speaking on behalf of so many African American citizens, I have found Colin Powell to be a tragic failure."


as opposed to Belafonte, a has-been with a single (or two) hits to his 50 year 'career' and who'd be totally forgotten today if it wasn't for a semi-recent movie (BEETLEJUICE) that used a couple of his songs for camp value. Uh-huh.

Like I said: one of the say, 20 most powerful and influential people in the world or a has-been singer. I know who I consider the tragic failure.

What an ultra-maroon.

Fenris

[Una Persson]

I just love reading the rants of people who are defending Belafonte on other Boards. I will not start a "cross Board war" by posting links, but I will share one particular bit of...stuff, that shows the mentalities involved:

Originally posted by Some Idiot Elsewhere
...Powel (sic) is just a (sic) another konservative (sic?) hedgemoniest (sic). All he does is kill and kill and Kill and KILL! Bellafonte (sic) is a beatifull (sic) man who shares his gift of song with the peoples of the world. We need more Bellafonties (sic) and less murdrers (sic) like POWELL!
Well. Maybe I'll just shut my mouth...

[carnivorousplant]

Come on, Anthracite, you made that up.
:)

[Una Persson]

Originally posted by carnivorousplant
Come on, Anthracite, you made that up.
:)
Nope, but I wish I made this one up, because it's pretty funny:

reelect President Groe!

Which had me laughing, because it sounded like a line from an alternate universe version of Zork:

It is dark here. You are likely to be eaten by a Groe.

[carnivorousplant]

" a has-been with a single (or two) hits"
"has-beens like Bellafonte"
"Has-been singer who had, what? One? Two? hits songs 50 years ago"

What does that have to do with political awareness?
If you have to be as successful as the guy you criticize, very few people can be critical of political figures. He's the President, and I'm a geeky little network tech. :)

[Balduran]

Well, I'm not black or American, so I definitely don't know where Harry is coming from with these statements. It is saddening though since I always respected him as an artist and human rights advocate.

[Fenris]

Originally posted by carnivorousplant
" a has-been with a single (or two) hits"
"has-beens like Bellafonte"
"Has-been singer who had, what? One? Two? hits songs 50 years ago"

What does that have to do with political awareness?
If you have to be as successful as the guy you criticize, very few people can be critical of political figures. He's the President, and I'm a geeky little network tech. :)

It's not a question of success per se, and it's certainly not a question of politics. It's the term "house slave".

Belafonte's claiming that Powell is a sell-out, and (IMO) implying that Powell's life's work has made him no better than a slave dancing for his master.

If he were criticizing Powell's politics, say complaining that he didn't like Powell's stand on one issue or other, I'd say fine, everyone's entitled to an opinion and that would be that.

But Belafonte's claim that Powell is a "house nigger" (let's not mince words...that's what Belafonte meant regardless of whether he said the "n" word or not) is pure ad hominim. And to make matters worse, it's not even accurate ad hominim.

If you're gonna denigrate someone's entire career and claim the person is a sell-out and insult them in one of the worst possible fashions, then you sure as hell had better be squeeky clean yourself.

Considering that Belafonte has had little-to-no impact on the world for 50 years (excluding his first squandered 15 minutes of fame in the '50s and an extra squandered 5 minutes of fame after BEETLEJUICE), I don't think he's in any position to criticize Powell in terms of Powell being a "house slave". Powell's always been his own man...look at all the news reports of his disagreements with the President on various issues.

I mean, if we're gonna talk about a "house slave", let's examine Belafonte. Belafonte was no better than a mistrel*, performing watered-down, white-bread, comfortable "authentic" faux-Jamacian and Carribean folk songs** for rich white folks in the '50s and when his 15 minutes of fame ended, he was put out to pasture.

As opposed to Colin Powell, who's of a similar age (there's less 10 years difference between them) but Powell's still going strong.

So really, if the term "house slave" is to be bandied about, who does it apply to more? The (say) 20th most powerful person in the world who regularly has arguements, discussions and debates with the President that affect the entire planet? Or a one-trick pony singer who's life work amounts to one or two novelty songs and a bunch of mediocre covers who was put out to pasture when people tired of him?***

Like I said: if Belafonte had criticized Powell's specific doctrines or political beliefs, I probably would have shrugged and ignored it...but the "house slave" / sell-out thing really pisses me off.

Fenris

*the connotations of that word were completely intentional.

**Look at the courage Tennesse Ernie Ford had when he recorded "Sixteen Tons", despite the fact that the F.B.I. was telling radio stations not to play Merle Travis's songs 'cause Merle Travis was suspected of being a Commie. During that same period, Belafonte was taking courageous stands by being the black answer to Pat Boone: Belafonte singing crap like "Angelina" and "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" and other "white" songs. Boone recorded black songs and made 'em white, Belafonte recorded white guy's songs and made 'em whiter (at least Dean Martin was able to sound Italian when he sang 'em, Belafonte sounded whiter than The Crew-Cuts).

***Hell, compare Belafonte's contributions to music. When you consider some of the mid-50s Doo-Wop groups in terms of affectinged musical changes, Belafonte looks even worse. Belafonte was about as threatening to the status quo as a teddy-bear and about as relevant to later music as Ricky Ricardo. As opposed to say, The Ink Spots or the Chords (who arguably wrote the first Rock-and-Roll song with Sh-Boom) or the wonderful and horribly underrated El Dorados.

[carnivorousplant]

A bunch of poor Black kids who joined the army aren't going to die because Belafonte's music is not to your taste.
Because Powell can't convince the President that this war this way isn't a good idea, they will.
I very much wish Powell was President instead of Bush, bless his little pea pickin' heart.

[Fenris]

Keen, CarniverousPlant: you feel that a war in Iraq is wrong.

No prob. You have every right to that belief, but it's utterly irrelevant the issue at hand: whether Powell is a "house nigger" or not. I've heard lots of things pro and anti Powell, but outside of Belafonte's little bout of verbal diahrreah I've never heard anyone else claim that he's not a man of conscience who speaks his mind. Even if you disagree with his stand on one issue, does that necessarily make him a "house nigger"?

Fenris

[carnivorousplant]

Belafonte obviously believes rather strongly about this. Two remarks and I'll give up, not knowing how to respond to witty reparte like "Nigger" and "diarrhoea".
1) I think it makes the point more in a Black culture than a White middle class one.
2) It's sort of like buring the flag; you get someone's attention, but they aren't going to listen to what you say.

[carnivorousplant]

Buring the flag; a form of protest against patriotic spell checking.

[apotheosis]

Originally posted by carnivorousplant
1) I think it makes the point more in a Black culture than a White middle class one.
Please tell me that's not a paraphrasing of "It's a black thang, you wouldn't understand."

[carnivorousplant]

Well, it sure as hell ain't a red neck thing, dude.
:)

[apotheosis]

Yeah, that's what I figured.

So are you going to answer Fenris' question? I think it was a valid one, though you apparently take issue with the way he posed it*. Does Powell's having taken an unpopular stance necessarily imply that he's "owned"? Isn't he allowed to hold an opinion that differs from that of mainstream of Black society without being considered a sellout?

In a society that supposedly values freedom of speech, it seems strange to me that someone's exercising of that freedom should be taken to mean they're not really exercising it.

*If "House n-word" is disagreeable, feel free to substitute "oreo," "coconut," "Uncle Tom," or any of the other obnoxious pejoratives commonly applied in such situations.

[EasyPhil]

Originally posted by Fenris
Keen, CarniverousPlant: you feel that a war in Iraq is wrong.

No prob. You have every right to that belief, but it's utterly irrelevant the issue at hand: whether Powell is a "house nigger" or not. I've heard lots of things pro and anti Powell, but outside of Belafonte's little bout of verbal diahrreah I've never heard anyone else claim that he's not a man of conscience who speaks his mind. Even if you disagree with his stand on one issue, does that necessarily make him a "house nigger"?

Fenris

Uh, Fenris, perhaps someone else is posting under your name? Your post is chocked full of spelling and punctuation and/or grammatical errors. Perhaps it's time to spend more time on correcting your own errors? :D :D :D

[yosemite]

Way back on this thread, pizzabrat wrote this:Gawd. Just cause he's famous, some tiny little comment he made is getting picked apart. Nobody says that celebrities are experts on politics, but they've still got opinions just like we and everyone else does.Sure, they have opinions. So do I. But if I were being interviewed on a national broadcast, I'd think twice before spewing out just anything, wouldn't you?

Voicing your opinion to your friends at a party is one thing—but this is completely different. He was telling the whole world what he thought. And he knew that, going in. He chose to say it anyway, and he was obviously aware of the possible consequences. Hell, I wonder if he is even enjoying the attention. Otherwise, none of us would be talking about him, would we?

[celestina]

[giggle]

Well, all I want to know is what Alma Powell thinks about all this. I mean really. Is she just going to stand there and let Belafonte just call her hubby all kinds of mean ol' names or what? If I were Belafonte, I'd be very careful to stay away from Alma.

As far as Belafonte or anyone else for that matter, I have a real problem with folks what thinks they got the go ahead to speak for me or any other black person. Usually them folks ain't asked me nor much of anyone else nothing. They ain't conducted no polls of black folks; they ain't got no data anywhichawheres. I mean where are they getting this: "I'm speaking for black folks" business from? :confused: Somebody needs to sit Belafonte down and just tell him that the only person he can speak for is hisself.

[kniz]

Originally posted by pizzabrat
Gawd. Just cause he's famous, some tiny little comment he made is getting picked apart. Nobody says that celebrities are experts on politics, but they've still got opinions just like we and everyone else does. It's the media and us that makes a big deal out of what they say.
He got on TV and said it where he knew lots of people, including Colin Powell, would hear it. If he'd been with friends and was overheard saying it then that would be another story (one for which your theory would have applied). He meant the world to hear it and therefore should be ready for the world to comment on what he said. He has done lots of good things, but has a proclivity for being an asshole, at select times.

[capacitor]

Belafonte wants Powell to stage a coup for the same reason Musharraf did in Pakistan: to stop talk of a potentially disatrous war and turn of events from which few on Earth will recover. To do less and let Rumsfeld/Cheyney take over is considered a disappointment.

[Koxinga]

Originally posted by capacitor
Belafonte wants Powell to stage a coup

Cite?

for the same reason Musharraf did in Pakistan:

Cite?

. . . a potentially disatrous war and turn of events from which few on Earth will recover.

Cite?

Three unsupportable assertions in one short sentence--is this some kind of record?