# Harry Belafonte compares Colin Powell to house slave **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484 "2002-10-09T05:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/1 "2002-10-09T05:22:39Z")
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](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](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. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/2 "2002-10-09T06:08:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![apotheosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@apotheosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apotheosis)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/3 "2002-10-09T06:48:54Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/4 "2002-10-09T10:50:43Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/5 "2002-10-09T11:53:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > And I should care what Belafonte thinks, why? > > Fenris \*\* Because he tallies yer bananas…duh. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/6 "2002-10-09T12:39:43Z")
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: ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/7 "2002-10-09T12:46:03Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/8 "2002-10-09T12:59:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/9 "2002-10-09T13:38:53Z")
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”. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/10 "2002-10-09T14:19:09Z")
Harry Elefante ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/11 "2002-10-09T15:11:22Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/12 "2002-10-09T15:50:03Z")
Hey Harry, ``` I care as much about your politics as I do about Powell's singing. ``` ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/13 "2002-10-10T01:33:46Z")
Anyone heard Powell and Ms. Rice referred to as “People who look like us”? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/14 "2002-10-10T03:17:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/15 "2002-10-10T21:03:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/16 "2002-10-10T21:39:48Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/17 "2002-10-10T22:00:41Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/18 "2002-10-10T22:42:04Z")
Anyway, didn’t Malcolm X say the same thing about MLK, back in the day? ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/19 "2002-10-10T22:54:21Z")
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”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484/20 "2002-10-10T23:05:59Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-belafonte-compares-colin-powell-to-house-slave/131484.md?page=2)