Star Actor Will Smith to German Press: 9/11 Changed Nothing for Me

(By Ray D.)

In an interview posted August 9 on the website of a major Frankfurt newspaper under the title "George W. Bush Lied to Me," star actor Will Smith had some interesting things to say about the USA, President George W. Bush, Michael Moore and the September 11 terror attacks among other things.

When asked if 9/11 had changed anything for him personally, Smith answered:

“No. Absolutely not. When you grow up black in America you have a completely different view of the world than white Americans. We blacks live with a constant feeling of unease. And whether you are wounded in an attack by a racist cop or in a terrorist attack, I’m sorry, it makes no difference.”

It is interesting to note that, on a certain level, Smith is comparing American police officers, those charged with protecting society, with Islamic terrorists intent on destroying America and everything it stands for. Smith implies that racism is so rampant among America’s police that it is a threat equal in magnitude to black America as that of international terrorism. Instead of seeing 9/11 as a traumatic watershed event that contributed to uniting black and white America and healing racial tensions, Smith seems to believe that the terrorist attacks have had little impact on what he sees as the poor state of race relations in the USA.

Smith: "UN the Future, Fahrenheit 9/11 Funny and Interesting, Bush Lied to Me"

Smith also praised the United Nations as the idea of the future and mentioned that he had been in contact with Kofi Annan. He stated that he felt lied to by President George W. Bush and his administration when it came to the war in Iraq. He also had the following to say on Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11:

“I found the film very funny. I found it interesting, and if it contributes to more people waking up and looking into things and drawing their own conclusions, then that is a good thing. However, one should not view the film as the Bible.”

Smith’s audiences in Germany and elsewhere in Europe will certainly be highly receptive to the actor’s views on his own country and will, as a result, likely flock in greater numbers to his film "I, Robot." What Americans make of all this is another matter indeed…we may have another Johnny Depp episode on our hands...

Note: We will endeavor to provide a full English translation of the interview (published in German) in the near future.

(Hat tip: Johann Doe)

Comments

[mishu]

I wonder if he was coached by his publicist to say this. Would he dare give such answers to the U.S. press? What I can't believe is that these people with all their millions are so ignornant of the impact of the internet and how it comes back to bite them on the ass. Didn't they learn anything from Alec Baldwin?

[jo]

"Smith implies that racism is so rampant among America’s police that it is a threat equal in magnitude to black America as that of international terrorism"

Yes, because the former is real. You can feel it on a dayly basis. Just ask any African-American how many times he or she has been pulled over by the police. Then ask any Caucasian American and compare the numbers. Racial profiling is real whether you like it or not.

[Sandy P]

The way Hally Berry drives, she should be pulled over.

[Sandy P]

Sorry, HALLE.

[jo]

Sandy, can you get any lower?

[Sandy P]

Look at her driving record.

It's not a low blow.

All I've hit were groceries, my garage and a car or 2, no insurance damage. Most damage was in my own driveway.

So what's the problem?

[jo]

The problem is not Halle Berry's or your driving skills. The problem is racial profiling. Or are you suggesting all African Americans are bad drivers?

[Mike H.]

Hey jo, are you for real? Are all black americans named Halle? Are you finding it hard to come up with things to argue about?

[George M]

@Jo

What do you get if you cross an Asian person with a Romanian?.............A car theif that can't drive!

[SleepyInSeattle]

"Yes, because the former is real. You can feel it on a dayly basis. Just ask any African-American how many times he or she has been pulled over by the police. Then ask any Caucasian American and compare the numbers. Racial profiling is real whether you like it or not."

You assume everyone here is "Caucasion" right? I'm not and have never been pulled over, not once despite constantly driving up and down the west coast of the US. Why not? Because I don't drive erratically and I've never hit another car and fled the accident. As for asking "Caucasions" about their tickets I have a Russian friend, got something like 4 traffic tickets in one year. HE WAS PROFILED! Wait no, he's just an aggressive driver. If you drive badly, you will get stopped. Profiling is nonsense, if police are patrolling predominantly black areas, of course blacks are going to get stopped the most and that's where you hear the whining about being profiled.

[D]

there are a lot more blacks in prison than whites. It's because they commit more crimes. I have no doubt that blacks get pulled over more because they are more reckless drivers too.

[lost one]

Of course there is racism in American society. We are, after all, composed of humans, and humans have this tendency to categorize each other and be nasty about it. I think all of humanity is trying to "grow up" and get over our superficial differences, some of us doing a better job than others. And though I have only ever lived here in the states, based on what I read it seems we do overall a better job than most.

Never the less, it should be noted that Mr. Smith is a very wealthy star who could live anywhere he wanted to. Yet he lives here. So it cannot be as bad as he portrays.

I just get really tired of stars mouthing off about things as if they know more about it than "normal" people. Of course they have freedom of speech, but they tend to take themselves too seriously, and I get the idea that their fans take them too seriously too. Oh well. More reasons to take fistfulls of prozac.

[jonag]

et tu Will Smith?

It's hard to feel sorry for the likes of Will Smith, Danny Glover, and Samuel L. Jackson et al. as they cry "Racism!" whilst sitting on all those bags o' money. Boohoo, poor rich black men!

[Joe]

I find it interesting how our little DDR refugee has become such an expert on America. This is amazing. I think he should stop wasting his time on being a computer programer and become a reporter for some Germany media outlet. I am sure they would be grateful to have someone on their staff with his detialed knowledge of America.

[Sandy P]

There's racism everywhere, but if it's in the same color scheme, it's not racism.

Besides, blacks can't be racist. I forgot which misery merchant said it.

[syn]

I am tired of people using their color as a way of keeping themselves down in the gutter.

[ballantrae]

1. He's not in the gutter

2. None of the interview will surface as long as I, Robot is in the theaters

3. The mere fact that he is the opening actor of this successful film basically puts the lie to everything he's said about the 'States

4. I will do my very level best not to view any film he is in after his sick statement.

5. I will also do my level best to assume that his statements regarding how the "black" community felt about 9/11 are false. If I didn't, I would regard them as human trash. I prefer not to that.

-ron

[joel]

Whites feel uneasy because, although the cops may not pull them over, they are in constant danger, when around blacks, of being attacked.

Take a poll of white Americans, and find out how many have been threatened, robbed, or assaulted by blacks, or have a family member who has been. The numbers might surprise you.

I really don't live in a black area, but I have been threatened and robbed, and my son attacked at school, by black people. We just paid an extra $6000 last year so he could live in safe housing in Baltimore, after one of his medical school classmates got mugged as he stepped out the front door of his house a few blocks from school. So, I paid a direct "black tax" last year of $6000. Anybody living in a city with blacks does the same thing. Add the extra cost of police and welfare, and the black tax in this country is very high.

When blacks whine about being black in America, they have only themselves to blame. Damn few ever return to the mother country, where Koffi Annan could say pleasant things while they slaughter each other.

[joel]

One more thing. "Blacks" constantly complain of racism, but you cannot keep them away from all things white, whether jobs, schools, housing, health care, etc.

Actually, the most racist people in this country are black men. How often do you see a black man with a woman who is darker black than him?

Ans: Rarely.

Think about that.

I was reading an article by a black "intellectual" a while back. He was bad mouthing the bad racial attitudes of whites with his fellow black intellectuals. He suddenly realized they were all married to white women, just like Kofi Annan.

I don't object to interracial marriage. Marriage is a private affair. But, why DO black men reject black women?

Could they be racist?

[steve]

@jo

OK, let us assume you ARE correct.. Americans are racist..
NOW let us look at YOUR homeland.

1. Remember Kinder statt Inder? Sounds like something the Führer himself could have said.
2. Explain 'Leitkultur' to me, jo..
3. Have you ever talked to anyone in Germany who doesn't have white skin? I am sure THEY could tell you QUITE a bit.
4. I live in the Former West Germany.
I work at an INTERNATIONAL company.
I had a colleague (college educated, professional) who frequently stated:
the ossis were dumb, they ARE dumb, and they will always BE dumb.
Isn't that a form of racism? yet NO ONE.. NONE of my German colleagues said ANYTHING. I, the dumb, uncultured, superficial American defended the 'Ossis'. I said 'Oh so, JS Bach and Luther were dumb Ossis, and Goethe was just in Weimar in order to teach the dumb OSsis'. I, the dumb, superficial, uncultured Ami, came to YOUR defense, Jo, (you are an Ossi, right?) whereas the 'Besserwessis' sat and did nothing.
Americans.. Racist? Maybe, but LOOK IN THE GODDAMN MIRROR ONCE IN A WHILE!!!
read some books by Larry Elder, Walter WIlliams, or Thomas SOwell, all black conservatives (that is UNCLE TOMS to you, jo). Maybe you will view things JUST a BIT differently.
Sorry for the rant, Jo... Greetings from Steve

[Sandy P]

That's not racism, that's just talking about their hillbilly relatives.

It's only racist when there's 2 different colors, except the Asians - and I mean Oriental persuasion, not ME, are talked about.

Because they're the smartest Americans of all and they are continually kept out of the goody bag.

Geez, Jo, want to know where the 'Ricans sit in the Hispanic food chain? Everyone's got their pecking order. We're just a little more open about it.

It's not like Chiraq told the newbie EU countries to shut up and know their place or anything.

[rcane]

I thought Will Smith said he won't get into politics and religion discussions. Thought he was being smart when he said that, apparently not.

@jo

BTW, did you hear all the controversy generated by Bill Cosby's recent comments? He actually had the audacity to place part of the responsibility for their 'plight' on them THEMSELVES!!!!

Jo, the blacks were jerked around for a long time in the US, that is clear. I am ashamed about that aspect of American history.

Having said that, I know make the following provocative statement.. If I had to make a choice between being Turkish in Germany ( I have lived here six years and have turkish friends, so I have an idea of what they deal with) and black in America, I would choose being black in America hands down. Jo, have you ever heard of affirmative action? Did you know that the US govt has to give preference to women and minority vendors when dishing out contracts?

Greetings from steve

[Schulz]

Instead of seeing 9/11 as a traumatic watershed event that contributed to uniting black and white America and healing racial tensions, Smith seems to believe that the terrorist attacks have had little impact on what he sees as the poor state of race relations in the USA.

Why should the murder of 3000 people improve 'race relations'? Maybe Smith is simply quite realistic. An assumption that is reinforced by his following sentences which you unfotunately miss to present to your readership. They put into context what he said about 9/11 before.

Will Smith: "In den sechziger Jahren waren Schwarze ununterbrochen Ziel terroristischer Übergriffe. Es war zwar bürgerlicher Terrorismus, aber Terrorismus ist Terrorismus. Wir sind es gewohnt, angegriffen zu werden. Was eine ständige Alarmbereitschaft betrifft, eine Verteidigungshaltung, mit der man ohnehin lebt - da hat sich nichts geändert. Nein, für mich persönlich, für mein Alltagsleben hat sich durch die Tragödie vom 11. September nichts verändert. Ich lebe sowieso immer schon in hundertprozentiger Alarmbereitschaft, ich mußte nicht noch nervöser, ängstlicher oder vorsichtiger werden nach 9/11."

At least some posters had a good opportunity to write about their '$6000 "black tax"' and similar stuff in this thread. Obviously not everything is allright concerning contemporary 'race relations'.

[steve]

schulz,

read larry elder...
race relations is a two way street.
www.larryelder.com

and as I just said, Bill Cosby just raised alot of uproar with his recent comments. Take a look
at what HE had to say.

Are there problems in 21st century America with race relations? SURE THERE ARE.
BUt how about a little perspective? How
about trying to get the big picture and
get informed about BOTH sides...

I live in Germany.. an Ami.. for many years now.
I have been SHOCKED at what is socially acceptable here in terms of dealing with people who are different.

Want more info? Want to hear MY experiences? Let me know...

[Schulz]

Steve -

I am quite aware of the level of racism in Germany but obviously that was not the topic of this interview. And neither Will Smith nor me denied that there were problems that need to be solved within the Afro-American community.

So what's your point?

[steve]

My points have already been made.. but if you want to hear them again..
1 you don't have the big picture..
2 stop being so self righteous.

[Schulz]

Steve-
1 How do you know?
2 I am not.

[Schulz]

Steve-

Nearly missed the unintended(?) irony of your last post:

1 you don't have the big picture..
2 stop being so self righteous.

That's rich.

[jo]

Steve,

don't lecture me on racism in Germany. I'm very aware of it and I have a major problem with it. However, that was not the topic of Will Smith's interview. The topic was racism in America. And even you wouldn't deny that there still are a lot of problems here. I live in Cincinnati, a city famous for racial profiling. Just watch the news and see for yourself.

Affirmative action is a good thing. But does it really work? Just go to your next best research institution and see who works in the labs. Then go to its caferia and look who serves the food and look who's the janitor.

Have you ever been to the Civil Rights Memorial in Atlanta? You should go. It'll teach you a valuable lesson about racism in America. There are a couple of sites - very nice, very informative, lots of white people there (all of them very p.c.), and the President of the United States shows up every once in a while. Seeing all this you may think: wow, we've come a long way but everything is fine now. Then you may ignore all the warnings in the tourist guides and instead of taking the bus you may walk one or two blocks. All of a sudden, you'll find yourself in the middle of the worst neighborhood - you probably can guess the race of the people living there. I did that once and I have to admit I was scared. Not that these people did me any harm - but I couldn't blame them if they would have.

jo,
you couldn't blame them if they had?
Jo, that is part of the problem, individual responsibility.
Don't people have responsibility for their actions?
Couldn't blame them if they had?
I will have a better response later,
but your last sentence just blows me away..
VICTICRAT...

[jo]

Anonymous,

I couldn't blame them because I would be very, very angry if I had to live in those projects and all these wealthy people flying in (including the President), praising MLK, and not realizing that there still is so much to do.

[jo]

George M,

you telling this racist joke is revealing. It says a lot about what kind of person you are.

sorry that was me, steve, Jo..
So.. when I go into Rostock or some other place in the East and am banged up because I am a foreigner, these people should not be responsible for their actions? Would you 'blame' them? They are angry because they feel left behind.. Does that justify them beating up someone who had nothing to do with it? OF COURSE IT DOESNT.. That is called SCAPEGOATING...
what about when a black man goes into a white suburb and a white man beats him up because his daughter was raped by another black man (black on white crime DOES occasionally happen, you know)? Would you 'blame' the white man for that? Is that right? Of course not...
There is a concept called 'individual responsibility'.

here is an article from www.larryelder.com
a black (uncle tom) libertarian.
Will have plenty more soon.
hope you are doing OK personally over there in
the land of 'unbegrenzte Oberflaechlichkeiten' ;)
sorry if I 'lecture' you jo.. Your countrymen lecture me and I am a very quiet person. I am not
a 'flag waving' american. I have tried to learn the language and be culturally sensitive.
(I have received SOME compliments).
But too often I am treated as a representative of the EMPIRE and I need to let off some steam.. and you are the recipient..
regards
steve
btw larry elder is black

http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- "THE TONIGHT SHOW" recently invited me to discuss my book, The Ten Things You Can't Say in America.

Jay Leno's producer showed the greatest interest in the first chapter, "Blacks Are More Racist Than Whites." This chapter, too, provoked the most interest during my interview with the "American Urban Radio Network" (the same group Sen. Lieberman recently addressed when he professed his admiration for Minister Louis Farrakhan).

Are blacks really more racist than whites?

When three white men dragged black James Byrd to death in Jasper, Texas, President Clinton quite properly called the crime "shocking and outrageous." "In the face of this tragedy," Clinton said, "(the people of Jasper) must join together across racial lines to demonstrate that an act of evil like this is not what this country is all about. I think that we've all been touched by it, and I can only imagine that virtually everyone who lives there is in agony at this moment. They must re-affirm, and so must we, that we will not tolerate this."

Thus, the bigots who dragged James Byrd became Exhibit A, a national symbol for white racism and hatred against blacks.

But what about Colin Ferguson? In 1993, Ferguson, a black man, boarded a Long Island Railroad commuter train and proceeded to mow down white passengers, killing six, wounding 19. Before the killings, Ferguson made frequent outbursts declaring his hatred against whites.

But somehow, Ferguson never became Exhibit A for black racism and hatred against whites. In fact, when Nassau County executive Thomas Gulotta called Ferguson an "animal," Jesse Jackson accused Gulotta of "stereotyping"! Most Americans, quite reasonably, considered Ferguson an abhorrent, hateful, deviant murderer, not some symbol for black bigotry. Of course, both cases -- the Byrd killing and the Ferguson rampage -- are aberrant instances of racial hatred. But where we see black/white crime, the bad guy is usually black.

In one recent year, the FBI recorded 1.7 million violent acts -- murder, manslaughter, rape, and aggravated assault -- of interracial crime. Of that figure, nearly 1.2 million involved black-white crime. Ninety percent of these cases involved a black perpetrator and a white victim. Thus, blacks, while comprising 12 percent of the population, committed over one million acts of violent crime against whites. On the other hand, whites, while comprising 70 percent of the population, committed about 100,000 acts of violent crime against blacks.

Look at hate crime. In 1995, the FBI recorded 7,947 incidents of hate crimes. But blacks, again while comprising 12 percent of the population, committed 27 percent of hate crimes. Whites, 70 percent of the population, committed 59 percent of hate crimes. And of the nearly one million black violent acts against whites, how many were driven by racial animus? During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Damien "Football" Williams assaulted white trucker Reginald Denny. Williams clearly targeted Denny because of his race, even allowing a black motorist to proceed unharmed. But despite hate-crime laws on the books, authorities never charged Williams with a hate crime.

Similarly, when a group of black teenagers assaulted then raped the so-called "Central Park Jogger," few called the assault a "hate crime." Instead, many called the attack a case of "wilding," a practice where youths go on a rampage.

Are the majority of blacks racist? Of course not, no more so than are the majority of whites. The point here is perspective. When blacks condemn white bigotry, we must be equally vigilant about black bigotry.

Blacks face bigger issues. Inner-city public schools need competition. Blacks stand to benefit disproportionately from the privatization of Social Security. Calling off the war on drugs will, among other things, diminish the number of interactions between the police and civilians, decreasing the frequency of "DWB" -- Driving While Black. Screaming "white racism," and spending time and energy exaggerating its effect steals attention from deeper problems -- illegitimacy, bad schools, high crime -- which have little to do with white racism.

Black defense attorney Johnnie L. Cochran tells us, "Race plays a part of everything in America." But, recently, America's pre-eminent white racism fighter, Jesse Jackson, busied himself settling a municipal bus strike in Los Angeles (and receiving a $100,000 fee in the process). Jackson recently co-authored a -- get this -- financial advice book, "It's About the Money," with his son. So, just how bad can things be?

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton tells us, "It Takes a Village." Now, Reverend Jesse Jackson says, "It's About the Money." Maybe Mrs. Clinton and Rev. Jackson can team up on a new book, "It's About Hard Work, Good Values, Schools at Work, Responsible Parenting, and Avoiding Counter-Productive Behavior."

Or is that title a tad too long?

[James]

@jo

You're right, perhaps the issue of this thread is about what Will Smith said about racism. But I cannot avoid a sense of irony regarding your implications of racism in the USA while I observe Germany's even worse status on this issue.

* Really no other country in the world has such an integrated society as the US.
* Recent immigrants from South Korea, for example, already have a higher average standard of living than whites. Why cannot blacks?
* What immigrants/minorities (if even one accepts Germany as an immigration destination) in Germany have achieved equal-pay with their German counterparts? None. Well, maybe myself, but I earn more than your average German, but I digress...

I have been to Berlin several times in the past, but last year I travelled to see the various sites. One of our stops was the location of the former SS building. Behind it were posters of all of the foreigners, foreign-looking peoples of Germany that had been attacked and murdered by neo-Nazis in recent years. I think that your former DDR countrymen from Brandenburg were the most aggressive in hate crimes. Few of these immigrants will ever get the opportunity to achieve "equal pay," for them, the issue is to avoid arbeitslosen neo-Nazi skin heads and stay alive.

Now looking at the states. When was the last time there was a hate crime against blacks, by any other ethnic group? I definitely know that this has happened in the past, and many people paid with their lives. But when was the last? In fact, studies and statistics have shown that blacks conduct the most violent crimes against other groups than any other group, to this day. On the other hand, blacks are gaining in the private sector with every year. Programs are in place in ALL aspects of society: from affirmative action, grants for minorities for college. In fact, at my old university, the admissions dean with whom I was friends, told me that black automatically got 200 SAT points added to their application just because they were black. Does this sound racist to you? California has been known to have problems with rejecting Asians who scored very well whilst acceptation poorer performing blacks because they needed to even out the numbers... So, be aware, racism also works in reverse...

What I also find ironic about your situation Jo, is that although you live in America, I don't think that you understand it. People come to America to succeed, knowing that hard-work is the most important ingredient to success. I've made several attempts in postings to you on this issue, do you remember? What would your suggestion be to improve the rather under-performance of black in American society? I think many smart people from all races of American society are working peacefully to achieve this right now.

I fear that you still believe the DDR Stasi state-sponsored propaganda that the USA is a land-of-racism. Didn't they show them to you in school? Cross burning, the blacks being hit with the baton, also being attacked by a dog. Maybe this is racism working in reverse in your head? I find it more disturbing considering NAZI propaganda about Germans natural intellect, biological superiority and the holocaust. It's like saying, well American had slavery, so they are racist. Well, what about the assertion made by Germany 60 years ago about the Aryan race? Have all of those NAZI ghosts been exorcised and the not those from the cotton plantation?

Trends show things are getting better for the blacks in the USA.
Trends also show things are not changing, perhaps getting worse for the neo-Nazi skin head in Brandenburg.

I know which situation I would rather have.

[jo]

steve, james,

thanks for your postings. this discussion is getting really interesting. unfortunately, i have to get some work done right now... i'll respond later.

[D]

There is a point in pointing out that Germany has more problems with racism than America. The point is that there is no society on earth that isn't racist. The race relations of the Western world in general is infinitly better then the rest of the world. And American society today is the least racist society that I have experienced so far. The people who find America's problems so unbearable are the people who believe that a perfect society can exist if only the right people were in power.

[DeRo]

There is racism in America and as a black man I expeirnce it everyday.

My racist white wife keeps nagging me about cutting the grass

My racist white mother keeps trying to get me to finish my masters

My racist green car has something wrong with the transmission

And my Korean, jewish, white and black ex girlfriends all think I'm an ass.

And the buttons on this form are in some foriegn language!

Life is hard

[HotBrwonSandwich]

I think we are in the midst of a backlash against race pimps like Jesse Jackson because otherwise intelligent and ordinary people are tired of being called racists. More egregious is the one sidedness of the debate. Will Smith's comments don't take into account well-to-do black folks who have worked their way into a suitable life and don't obsess about their color. I wish that this fading superstar would have more respect for black people in America than to think he can speak for all of them. Alas, that's what Hollywood does to these folks, gives them grand ideas about their own self-importance.

Will Smith's comments stereotype black Americans and white Americans too. They are racist, immature comments coming from someone who could use his stardom to bridge the gaps between us, like Cosby or Michael Jordan.

Oh well.

[lost one]

First of all, as a member of a minority group myself, I find it disgusting that some people want to justify agressive or criminal behavior by a member of a minority group against white people because the minority person might have suffered racism at the hands of white people. You are basically saying that we are a bunch of stupid animals who cannot differentiate between individuals of a given "race" and think that all members of the race are guilty of the crimes of any one member of that race. That's a crock of crap, quite frankly.

Members of my family have suffered a great deal of racism. I have an uncle who who was not permitted to skate at a skating rink because of his race. He did not become a gang member or a drug dealer, nor is he on welfare. He went on to become an electrical engineer, and has even done work for the government. Was it harder for him than if he had been white? Certainly. Was it impossible? Obviously not. He just was willing to work much harder than his white counterparts, and thus was able to prove the racists wrong.

Do any of you know who the Tuskgeegee Airman are? During WWII, it was believed that black people could not be fighter pilots because they had narrow blood vessels and would faint when pulling excessive g forces. But a group of black pilots were trained and allowed to escort bombers in misions over Germany. Most people didn't think they could do the job, but not only did they fly as well as their white counterparts, they out performed them. Not a single one of the bombers they were protecting failed to deliver its payload. No white squadron has EVER matched that record. Ever.

Maybe they just should have stayed home and cried that no one believed in them, and become thugs and drug dealers and pimps and whatever other thing they are allowed to do because "white people are mean".

Or instead, perhaps all aggrieved minorities of today should take a page out of the Tuskegee Airmen's book. Just work your ass off and prove that the racists are wrong. Whether those racists are neo-nazi skin heads who want to lynch you, or are sweet and kind "liberals" who think you can't do any better because people have been mean to you, and you just need another government program to make it all better. Quite frankly, both kinds of racist disgust me. But I'm just a dumb hispanic, so what do I know.

[Franz Hoffmann]

Will Smith:
Hat nix kapiert. Die Nazi-Ideologie der radikalen Islamisten, deren Ziele usw.. Würde er mit seiner Hautfarbe in Darfur leben, wäre er vermutlich tot. In Saudi-Arabien wäre er Haus-Sklave. In Deutschland Nebendarsteller in einer Billig-Serie...
Grüße von Franz Hoffmann

[David Blue]

Hey cool, that saves me the price of the Will Smith CD I was probably going to buy tomorrow. Too late on _I, Robot_ though. (Man that was a dumb movie - not recommenced on entirely non-political grounds.). Blogging makes smarter consumers: check your blogs today!

Geeze I despise these people (media stars, petty intellectuals etc.) running off to foreign countries and running their own countries down there. You can knock your own country in fun, everyone understands that, but this wasn't like that at all, it was making points with foreigners prejudiced against his country by affirming some of the most destructive anti-American images. I find that selfish, unpatriotic and extremely cheap behaviour.

Will Smith is not the guy I thought he was.

[Sandy P]

--Affirmative action is a good thing. But does it really work? Just go to your next best research institution and see who works in the labs. Then go to its caferia and look who serves the food and look who's the janitor.--

Jo, that's not really about racism, that has to do w/lack of education and culture. And AA and the Misery Merchants/Poverty Pimps.

Why don't you google what Cosby said that caused the uproar and post it here?

It explains that comment.

You also might want to google American Black GDP v GDP in African nations. If American blacks had their own country, where would they be?

--- I did that once and I have to admit I was scared. Not that these people did me any harm - but I couldn't blame them if they would have.--

Another Robert Fisk.

[Sandy P]

And perhaps you can tell us why current immigrant blacks from Africa do better than blacks in America?

[Sandy P]

-- couldn't blame them because I would be very, very angry if I had to live in those projects--

And why do they have to live in the projects?

Are there armed guards around keeping them in?

[George M]

@Jo

"you telling this racist joke is revealing. It says a lot about what kind of person you are."

I feel like Ed Muskie's wife. But on the other hand, the level of PC chest thumping was getting annoying.

When I was stationed in Germany with the Army, a black colleague of mine dated a German woman. Her brothers kept on referencing to "Dein Bimbo." He had no idea that they weren't talking about her but that they were talking about him.

Racism is alive and well in Europe and it is in a larger scale than Will Smith would never understand.

[joel]

About that $6000 black tax I paid last year.

My daughter is going to school next year in Seattle, has gotten a place several blocks from the school. Very safe and secure for $500 per month.

Why aren't we paying $1000 per month for her rent? Simple, there are few blacks in Seattle, so, low crime, so we don't need a highly secure high rise with extensive security arrangements. The Baltimore police must continously patrol the area around the Medical School to suppress crime, but, they don't venture across Martin Luther King Blvd to the low rent district, because that is where all the criminals live. Neither do the campus police. It's just too dangerous. Baltimore has about 5 killing per week, plus many more assaults and rapes. We had three murdered on Fri. nite recently.

This tension that whites have when around black people is just something that blacks don't seem to understand. I'm no racist. Jesse Jackson has the same reaction.

[Cølønel Ku®tz]

Jo says:
"Affirmative action is a good thing."
"Have you ever been to the Civil Rights Memorial in Atlanta?"
"I couldn't blame them because I would be very, very angry if I had to live in those projects and all these wealthy people flying in (including the President), praising MLK, and not realizing that there still is so much to do."

These things that you type go against what Dr. King (what??? A black Dr.??? In racist KKK Amerikkka? Who knew?) was pushing for and DREAMING of.

MLK Speech: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"

So, tell me, Jo, what more needs to be done that goes against what MLK said? You want us to judge and place people in society based on their skin color more then others race groups? You obviously support affirmative action. If MLK was here today, would he? Especially when viewing his dream for blacks in America?

And people (leftie blacks) had the nerve to be pissed at Bush attending the recent MLK memorial because of Bush's stance on affirmative action. Yet Republicans are racist-fascists for pointing out affirmative action goes against MLK's wishes, hopes and dreams to the ignorant masses all looking for a free handout.

What more needs to be done? How much more favorism needs to be handed-down/sanctioned/written-into-law by the US Government to favor blacks and go against the wishes of one of the great civil rights leaders in American history?

Links for the lazy about Bill Cosby's take on black Americans:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/ct20040524.shtml
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20040525.shtml
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38565
http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2004/06/01/this_cosby_show_is_undeserved/
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Parker20040608.shtml

lost one:
"Do any of you know who the Tuskgeegee Airman are? During WWII, it was believed that black people could not be fighter pilots because they had narrow blood vessels and would faint when pulling excessive g forces. But a group of black pilots were trained and allowed to escort bombers in missions over Germany. Most people didn't think they could do the job, but not only did they fly as well as their white counterparts, they out performed them. Not a single one of the bombers they were protecting failed to deliver its payload. No white squadron has EVER matched that record. Ever."

Not to nit-pick, but you are repeating out of perspective PC propaganda. It may look good at face value, but you require more details to this story. Blacks were allowed to escort bombers later in the last year of WWII in the European theater. By that time, much of the Third Reich's air defense capabilities were destroyed. The black pilots were given the faster/higher-altitude P-47 Thunderbolts and later given P-51 Mustangs to fly with extra external fuel drop tanks, so that a P-51 squadron could complete an entire escort mission to protect bombers without worry of running out of fuel (bugging out early). The earlier missions flown by white-only pilots could never complete an entire escort mission with their P-40 Warhawks and P-38 Lightnings. The white pilots were constantly accused of ditching the bomber escort missions for "personal glory" of getting fighter kills, while totally ignoring the fact that those planes can't hang around for long due to their fuel capabilities. The planes were slow and could never complete a 2-way back-and-forth mission, thus causing those pilots to leave the bomber group unescorted due to fear of running out of fuel. It's unfair to place the Tuskgeegee Airman/black-pilots as superior to white pilots. When put into perspective as a whole, they did just as good as white pilots, not better nor out-performed. If ignorantly not put into perspective, it's a form of racisim against whites ("those white boys suck that they couldn't protect the bombers... blah blah blah" sorta crap).

I wonder what would have happened if the roles were reversed. With the white pilots starting b-17/b-24 bomber escort during the summer of 1944 with P-47's and P-51's... while the black pilots flying since 1942 were given P-38's and P-40's...
Amazing when put into perspective, yes?

[lost one]

Cølønel Ku®tz, you'll forgive me if I take the word of a conservative white military historian of my aquaintance over yours as to the attributes of the Tuskegee airman. So let's pick at some nits, shall we?

It is true that at the beginning of America's involvement in the war, bomber losses were incredibly high due to German air superiority and air defences. However I must take issue with your other points.

First, Neither the p-47 nor the p-51 mustang, even with external tanks could escort the bomber from their base to target and back. Second, the p-38 lightning is one of the finest aircraft developed during WWII, as the Japanese could attest. If I am to follow your logic, you say that only the black pilots were given the best equipment during an era where racism WAS clearly rampant. To further follow your logic, why were the black squadrons the only ones to never lose a bomber? This feat has never been accomplished either prior or since the 99th escort squadron flew. Of course the white pilots were also given these superier birds as soon as they were available. So by the time the Tuskegee airmen were allowed in theater, American aircraft had improved, and german defences had degrade. But it is not accurate to state the the 99th recieved any preferential treatment where equipment was concerned. So, when compared to the pilots they actually frew at the same time as, and in the same birds, they still outflew them, if outflying means keeping your bomber alive until it could complete its mission. They were the only squadron that bomber crews would demand, to the point of faking illness if the 99th wasn't escorting them.

And naturally, you missed my point. I was not saying that white boys suck. I was saying that sometimes having something to prove can give you that extra edge, that is if you allow it to. Or you can decide to wallow.

Perhaps you should pick your nits more carefully.

[Ray D.]

@ Schulz and other commentors:

9/11 clearly had a unifying effect on Americans of all races. I don't think that can be denied. Most Americans have in fact noticed a reduction in racial tensions as a result of the attacks.

I just wanted to say that when I was looking for an apartment in Nuernberg, I often noticed "for Germans only" in the classifieds. Am I the only one who noticed this? I also know that it is much more difficult for non-Germans to find apartments there, so I am always a little taken aback when Germans choose to criticize race relations in the USA as if their country was some sort of model to look up to. One time I had a lady tell me in a loud voice on a train from Munich to Nuernberg: "In Germany, you are either German or non-German. And if you are non-German, the darker your skin, the lower down you are on the ladder." No one sitting next to us objected or even reacted. I was shocked and didn't know how to react.

Coincidentally, I also lived in Baltimore by Camden yards, not far from MLK. Yeah, it is damn dangerous there and I'm glad I'm outta there. Our apartment got broken into once and another time several students got attacked and beaten up, mugged, etc. I also had some 16 year old kid come up to my car one time and flash his 9mm handgun. But look, I think the lack of effective leadership is the main problem there. Just look at what effective leadership in NYC under Giuliani did to the crime problem. NY is also highly diverse with a large black population. In Baltimore and DC for example, there is simply no political will to go into the high crime areas and attack the problems at their root in an aggressive manner. The police are afraid to even set foot in some neighborhoods...so how are they going to prevent crime? No wonder most folks who are able to, whether white or black, get out of the cities. Just look at the huge numbers of affluent blacks who have moved away from DC into Prince George's County in Maryland.

I just don't think we can say that one race is the source of problems. Certainly, Will Smith's comments seek to divide Americans in a very cynical way after the tragedy of 9/11 brought them together as never before.