Ok ok. There are some serious intellectual/academic problems with projecting political positions onto dead folk. It's all well and good as a political strategy, but I wouldn't touch that project for an intellectual conference with a ten foot pole.
But in this case, I'll wade into that pool quickly, then take my black ass out.
My boy Bowen thinks that Malcolm would be a Republican if he were alive today.
I actually don't think it matters much what Malcolm WOULD be, given that he isn't actually HERE to engage in practical political engagement NOW. But for what it's worth while it is easy to point to Malcolm's pro-self defense stance, his stance on black life, and his stance against the government, the central reality is that Malcolm X was an anti-imperialist at the time of his death. And it is very difficult for me to imagine the brother who spoke highly of the Bandung Conference being willing to step arm in arm with the son of the former head of the CIA. Don't get me wrong, Malcolm was old school. Not South old school like the heads in Alabama (who kept quiet until it was time to pounce), but Detroit old school. But just as Farrakhan and his ilk are extra conservative on social matters, they all supported Jesse when push came to shove.
Posted by at November 4, 2003 09:04 PM | TrackBackWhere's does the third party,i.e. communist,green,or libertarian,in Malcolm persona.Cobb private or public sector in the big D.
Posted by: tootsie at November 6, 2003 07:07 AM
I suppose the only fair thing to suppose of Malcolm would be that he would be down with mainstream Sunnis. I'd hate to see a modern Malcolm mixed in with muslim malcontents in Indonesia. I'll let it go too.
Speaking of Detroit, there's a 35% chance that I'll be working there within the next 3 weeks.
Posted by: Cobb at November 6, 2003 01:10 AM