Do you have a problem with any of Mr. Bell’s beliefs? Do you think any of them are extreme? And this is the most important question- which beliefs of his do you have a problem with and/or think are extreme?
I’m not trying to knock you here, because I’ve acknowledged I have not read anything by Bell, but when you say you’ve skimmed a 500-page book - how much of the thing have you actually read? Do you feel like it was enough to understand what he was saying?
Personally no I don’t have any problems with what Mr. Bell believes. I have no point of reference with what he had to go through growing up that shaped his beliefs. I can not even begin to understand the treatment his race had to endure. I, for the life of me, do not understand racism. I tend to think of myself as logical and there is no logic behind racism. I understand the root cause of racism is ignorance but how that ignorance is perpetuated generation after generation is beyond sad.
That being said I still defend my argument that his views would have been considered “extreme” at the time he was teaching and writing them. And those supporting him would have been lumped into the same category. When the president had him as a teacher not so much. You have to take into account the era in which he was the most active. He succeeded at a time when “whitey” was truly trying to keep the black man down. ANYBODY during that time black, white, green or blue would have been considered extreme.
I learned all I needed to. I want to put this a delicately as possible but, I really don’t care that much about the guy. I borrowed the book out of the library because A. it was convienient and B. I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Turns out not much. As stated earlier by soemone else anybody with a megaphone saying what he said when he said would have been considered controversial. I didn’t need to read about every case he fought or why he chose to fight them. I was more interested in where and how he grew up.
But I still say he was a controversial figure. Primarily because I think he wanted to be. He may have been a bit over the top with some of his retoric but that’s what you had to do back then. Even though he was fighting for equality not entitlements it was still controversial.
Now, unless we want to change the title of this thread to Into The Mind of JQPublic I think this has run it’s course.
Peace Out
OK. But I think your last couple of posts completely confirmed what Miller was saying.
Please name just one such view that Bell held that would have been considered “extreme.” Then we can evaluate Obama’s hug in context.
Which views? That’s really what I’m asking. I want to know which views of his are or were considered “extreme”.
The Beatles were controversial in their hayday. Not sure if it was an active plan by the Beatles to become mainstream or if it just evolved but it happened. Hence they are no longer considered controversial so unless there was a picture of Obama and John dropping acid together (even that wouldn’t matter to some) there would be no impact.
Bell could have pursued a more out in front role but didn’t. Either by design or it just happened that way. The fact that he stayed in the shadows so to speak adds an air of mystery to him thus making him controversial.
Now what really intrigues me is that after this video came out I did not hear the president come out and defend Bell at all. If I missed it please let me know what he said, or more importantly when and where he said it. I’m sure you can find some eloquant words at his funeral. But what did he say right after the video came out. You would have thought that would have received more coverage than the video. It’s sort of like how he totally dismissed Rev. Wright when the heat started come down on him for his views.
So maybe that’s a better question, if Derrick Bell is not a controversial figure why didn’t the President defend his hug?
Desegregation of the public schools was very extreme
Oh My Fucking God. If we are going to trash our President because he hugged some guy who supported school desegregation, I guess we have to come up with a new definition of “controversial.” Hell, an earlier President put a black desegregationalist on the Supreme Court (and that was years before Obama and Bell hugged). I wouldn’t buy this argument even if you had a video of Obama hugging someone who supported desegregation in 1909. I’m at a loss for words.
Um… as I already explained, that’s not how it works. You don’t become controversial by “staying in the shadows.” If you’re in the shadows, you’re not controversial where the general public is concerned. Let me point this out: MLK Jr. was extremely public and extremely controversial in the 1960s, and that’s why he was murdered.
He hasn’t comment on the situation at all because as far as I know, he had not done anything to give any more attention to this attempt at creating a controversy. He hasn’t defended the hug, he hasn’t said he regrets the hug, and so on. I assume your question is asked in earnest, but it’s actually a classic example of the kind of thing a commentator or a bad journalist would say if he’s trying to hype a controversy.
This would be an utterly insane way to view “controversial” figures. For example: Martin Luther King Jr. was undoubtedly considered a controversial figure in his time. And while there’s still the odd holdout, there’s very little controversy around him now - because we decided he was right! But to say that anyone who supported MLK Jr at the time “supported a controversial figure” is to tar someone for being ahead of the curve. It’s the tyranny of the status quo.
By what definition are unanimous Supreme Court rulings considered to be “very extreme”?
So was abolition.
Oh my god! My son dressed as a controversial figure in school yesterday.
I have no son.
Bell’s view of “bros before hos” means that the hug indicates that Obama is secretly gay.
Neither would I, but that would raise a whole new objection: Obama is a necromancer!!! :eek:
So that’s why that witch doctor poster wasn’t racist!
Actually, it makes him like most academics.
What’s to defend?
And he was quite a hugger, too, from what I’ve heard. It all starts to fit together, now . . .
Why does he have to be a necromancer? Maybe he just put a flux capacitor in Air Force One. Just have to get the 747 up to Mach 0.88 (that’s about 580 mph at cruising altitude.)