Black is not the correct terminology, one should use African American.

>Black is not the correct terminology, one should use African American.

Mmmmmkay...

You have a ways to go to convince a white boy like me that you have cultural chops outweighing those of Dick Gregory.

Good speech, but my favorite part was the ExxonMobil Wells Fargo McDonalds backdrop.

Alas, there's nothing in that 40 oz but alcohol. And Dick knows damn well that people who walk around looking mean do it because inside they're afraid.

...and in a world where being pulled over for Driving While African is routine, they're right to be afraid. Hell, these days I'm afraid, and I'm about as Caucasian as they come.

what ethan said..

I still remember dick gregory from the seventies when his famous line about how to convince people to quit smoking "if it was discovered that smoking would turn you black, all Americans would quit tomorrow.. hell I know some black folk who would quit too"

He definitely lost me on the "what's in my malt liquor" part.

Yeah,unfortunately he went off the rails with the malt liquour rant,which makes it easier for those so inclined to dismiss everything he says as crazy.
And the irony of the corporate logos was not lost here either.

Dick Gregory's NEVER been crazy, but they sure did a good job of taking him off TV and burying his career.

When I think of Gregory, I think of Malcolm X with a sense of humor. A proud man with much to be proud about.

we definitely do not get enough "loving" from dick gregory -- heck, i didn't even know he was still alive!

in re the malt liquor, i hardly expect that he literally believes there is something in the malt liquor other than alcohol. it is my belief that he was using humor to make the point that the white business/political establishment harms blacks/african-americans every day (marketing cigarettes and cheap liquor in low-income black neighborhoods, among other things -- shall we discuss the cia's responsibility for crack cocaine?) and that the bad outcomes which result are thrown back at blacks/african-americans as proof that they are "inferior" in some way and also that blacks/african-americans have responsibility for recognizing when they are being played. as in "malt liquor is a good idea if you're playing but not when you try to use it as your address."

you really have to be grasping for any reason to dismiss gregory to believe that he was speaking literally with regard to malt liquor.

er ... ahem ...

i come crawling back into the room to apologize for sneering at those who professed disdain in re gregory's malt liquor comments ...

after i watched the video, read the other comments and posted my own, i googled dick gregory and visited his website ...

i still believe that he would agree with my interpretation of what he said, however, i am willing to concede that it is actually not just possible but perhaps likely that he did literally mean he thought there was something sinister being added to malt liquor.

thanks, folks, for being patient with those of us who speak before we know ALL the facts.

I knew Dick in Chicago in he 50s and that he's still with usis a testimony to the fact that he has taken care of himself pretty well. I have no idea whether he has a point or was being hyperbolic about mlt liquor but he flagged continuing racism with his remarks about driving. I am glad to see him up and running. He must be close to 80. Cheers, S

An argument should stand on its own merits, not on the merits of other things the one presenting the argument believes.

To put it another way, ideally there should be no-one whose assertions you simply accept.

So if you reject someone's views on the basis of one thing you know(1) is false, but accept the views of those who say things that seem right all the time, you will be mistaken about a great many things.

But trust is a natural and necessary part of life. How should one decide who to trust? I think there can be different types of trust applied to different people; they should be trusted in different capacities. The capacity to make an argument, and the capacity for accepting unfalsifiable theories.

That said, the idea there's something other than alcohol in liquor sold in black neighbourhoods is fairly easily tested, unless one posits some kind of secret undetectable chemical or a conspiracy of scientists (including the numerous black scientists, presumably).

1. or strongly believe