March 13, 2011

"'We call them pigs, and rightly so,' says Don Cox, 'because they have the way of making the victim look like the criminal, and the criminal look like the victim."

Wrote Tom Wolfe in "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's" (1970):
"So every Panther must be ready to defend himself. That was handed down by our Minister of Defense, Huey P. Newton: Everybody who does not have the means to defend himself in his home, or if he does have the means and he does not defend himself—we expel that man... see... As our Minister of Defense, Huey P. Newton, says, ‘Any unarmed people are slaves, or are slaves in the real meaning of the word’ . . . We recognize that this country is the most oppressive country in the world, maybe in the history of the world. The pigs have the weapons and they are ready to use them on the people, and we recognize this as being very bad. They are ready to commit genocide against those who stand up against them, and we recognize this as being very bad...."
Today's NYT has his obituary:
Donald L. Cox, who was at the center of black radical politics as a member of the Black Panther Party high command and who earned a moment of celebrity in 1970 when he spoke at the Leonard Bernstein fund-raising party in Manhattan made notorious by the writer Tom Wolfe, died on Feb. 19 at his home in Camps-sur-l’Agly, France. He was 74.

42 comments:

Rialby said...

If a Lefty spews hatred and someone on the Right doesn't report on it, does that mean we can pretend it didn't happen?

David said...

Not a word in the obit about what this guy did after the 15 minutes of fame. Moved to France. That's about it.

Also this from the article:



Among the conversations [NYT correspondent Curtis] noted was an exchange between Mr. [Leonard] Bernstein and Mr. Cox.

Mr. Bernstein: “Now about your goals. I’m not sure I understand how you’re going to achieve them. I mean, what are your tactics?”

Mr. Cox: “If business won’t give us full employment, then we must take the means of production and put them in the hands of the people.”

Mr. Bernstein: “I dig absolutely.”

somefeller said...

Forgotten old man becomes dead old man. Film at 11.

Wally Kalbacken said...

Jeezus, you scared me. As I scanned the page I thought for a second that Tom Wolfe had died. Whew!

Bob_R said...

Gun rights opponents are racist. NYT opposes gun rights....

Anonymous said...

I like to think that the mental reaction Wolfe imagined Cox having to Lenny's liberals was true-to-life: "These cats-- if I wasn't here to see it--"

Anonymous said...

Radical Chic is such a fabulous piece of irony.

Michael K said...

Tom Wolfe had these guys pretty well pegged.

Carol_Herman said...

I did not know Tom Wolfe had passed away. Wonderful writer. "Lenny," of course, is Leonard Bernstein. Who was a homosexual, living in a world that denied homosexuality.

Anonymous said...

He had been living abroad since the early 1970s, when he fled the country after being implicated in a Baltimore murder.

How in the hell did he escape extradition and trial?

YoungHegelian said...

"We recognize that this country is the most oppressive country in the world, maybe in the history of the world."

I wonder just how work someone has put in to stay that invicibly ignorant of history.

Carol_Herman said...

WHEW! Tom Wolfe is still alive and well! It's this Black Panther fella who has "demised."

Crappy sentence structure at the NY Times.

Tom Wolfe referred to the "verbals" in use as "Mau-Mauing." (This, was the hit of Lenny's party!)

The world of "elites" is a masquerade.

YoungHegelian said...

Ooops

That should read:

"...just how MUCH work.."

rcocean said...

The problem wasn't Mr. Cox - the problem was Lenny Bernstein.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

Radical Chic, indeed.

Anderson, who lived in the 1500 block of North Bond Street, was a Panther sympathizer who handed out party literature in the community and throughout the city and even helped paint the outside of Panther headquarters, per Cox and Mitchell’s instructions. But according to a 1971 Sun article, prosecutors alleged that the Panthers had found out that Anderson was a police informer. So on July 11, 1969, he was kidnapped and taken to a third-floor bedroom in the Panther house on Eden Street, where he was beaten and tortured for two days before meeting his untimely death.

According to news accounts, witnesses alleged that 11 Panthers and one lawyer for the Panthers were in that room the night of July 11. One of those present ordered the death of Anderson because he told the police about his “Panther brothers.” Another hit Anderson in the head with the butt of a pistol. A female member took her burning cigarette and extinguished it against Anderson’s forehead, as did two other Panther women.

After that, Anderson was punched and beaten with bed slats, alcohol was rubbed on his bloody wounds, and one of the torturers used a term that was often aimed at police officers: “All pigs to the slaughterhouse—today’s pig is tomorrow’s barbecue.” Then, the state’s case maintained, Anderson was “allowed” to read Quotations by Chairman Mao Tse Tung while writhing in pain.

The torture went on, according to court testimony: Anderson’s eyes were gouged, he was scratched, he was beaten some more, and someone heated a knife in sugar water and used it to flay parts of his body before he was taken to Leakin Park and killed with one shotgun blast on July 12. Three months later, police found his remains, described in the media as “a bag of bones,” because his body had disintegrated so quickly.

jeff said...

"Mr. Bernstein: “Now about your goals. I’m not sure I understand how you’re going to achieve them. I mean, what are your tactics?”

Mr. Cox: “If business won’t give us full employment, then we must take the means of production and put them in the hands of the people.”

Mr. Bernstein: “I dig absolutely.”"

Preferred response:"and that means what, exactly?"

Revenant said...

Any unarmed people are slaves

Newton wasn't right about much, but he was right about that.

Kevin said...

According to news accounts, witnesses alleged that 11 Panthers and one lawyer for the Panthers were in that room the night of July 11.

...be real interesting to know who the lawyer was...

Palladian said...

"...be real interesting to know who the lawyer was... "

Probably writing in hell with the rest of the lawyers.

Anonymous said...

No mention of the cause of death, but presumably Donny did not share the fate of fellow Panther Huey Newton, who contracted a fatal case of lead poisoning.

Peter

Seerak said...

That sort of thing might be worth sending to police officers who might have been lulled by recent events into thinking that Leftists were their friends.

Conversely, a reminder to the rest of us about something that police unions might be good for, that doesn't apply to other public sector unions -- giving the rank and file some protection against politically-motivated attack by Leftists, often via elected officials, when they are in their pro-criminal mode.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

Looks like it was Arthur Turco, Jr. - a white guy, New York lawyer for the Black Panthers, who was allegedly present/participated in the kidnapping/murder, indicted by a grand jury, fled to Canada, was extradited, etc.

Apparently, he was one of Hillary Clinton's buddies when she was at Yale, but I don't know if that is rumor, or confirmed.

The Crack Emcee said...

"The pigs have the weapons and they are ready to use them on the people, and we recognize this as being very bad. They are ready to commit genocide against those who stand up against them, and we recognize this as being very bad...."

Damn, that guy was a genius-level speaker. Did I ever mention DEMOCRACY SUCKS!?

If I didn't, I apologize.

'We call them pigs, and rightly so,' says Don Cox, 'because they have the way of making the victim look like the criminal, and the criminal look like the victim."

Sheer brilliance, I tell ya, brilliance.

William said...

If the description of the murder posted at 9:52 is accurate, this man did something extremely despicable. It was something far more evil than just murder. Some details about that murder should have been posted in the NYT obit. That murder should be classified as the defining event of his life. Radical chic--not the Tom Wolfe piece but the mindset--has outlived Newton and now Cox. This was a radical chic obit. I don't remember if it was the Times but I read an obit of Newton that didn't mention his pistol whipping of a 17yr. old girl.

The Crack Emcee said...

David,

Not a word in the obit about what this guy did after the 15 minutes of fame. Moved to France. That's about it.

That's all he had to do. Keep that kind of nonsense chatter up over there and, if he learned to speak French, he was set for life.

They recognized him as one of their own.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

Come on, William. This is just like "Dr." Ron Karenga of the U.S. group that helped torture women, including an amateur 'waterboarding' as part of his "political activism" and did ten years in prison for it.

Then went on to be a professor, and department chair, at California State and invented Kwanzaa.

When he finally shits the bed, I bet it will be all about his writings and his creation of Kwanzaa, and will mention his violent black power past in passing as a minor thing.

if he were a right-winger, it would be different of course.

The Crack Emcee said...

Shoutingthomas,

He had been living abroad since the early 1970s, when he fled the country after being implicated in a Baltimore murder.

How in the hell did he escape extradition and trial?


What part of he was living in France didn't you understand? My ex killed three people - now living in France. Roman Polanski raped a 13 year old girl - now living in France.

It's the place to be. Sophisticated, you know,...

David said...

Yeah, that's true, Crack. But purely out of curiosity . . . .

The Crack Emcee said...

I'm a shaaaaark,

The inventor of Kwanzaa. Not as bad as being the inventor of Scientology, but,...gawd.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

The inventor of Kwanzaa. Not as bad as being the inventor of Scientology, but,...gawd.

Yeah.

The Crack Emcee said...

David,


Purely out of curiosity . . . .

Go here and here. Got the outfit shut down, but never heard about charges.

Anonymous said...

Hey Crack,

I just listened to a couple of tracks over at your site.

I take it all back.

You are a genius.

Unknown said...

I remember articles about that party.

Radical chic.

Meaning it's chic to be radical because the Lefties are so corrupt, they don't apply their sacred principles to those on their side, especially if they're rich and powerful.

Skay said...

Now we have the NEW Black Panthers who seem to be under the protection of Eric Holder and his boss.

Fen said...

Leader of racist group dies. Good riddance. Leave the corpse out for the scavengers.

Fen said...

Now we have the NEW Black Panthers who seem to be under the protection of Eric Holder and his boss.

pssst! We are not allowed to speak of that at Althouse. The topic of DOJ choosing not to prosecute if the perps are black is forbidden here.

Johanna Lapp said...

Why is it that Tom Wolfe can call the Panthers' tactics "mau-mauing" and he's a celebrated social interpreter, but Chris Matthews is in apoplexy from the "dog-whistle" racism of Newt Gingrich and Haley Barbour when they note the same circumstance today?

Chris said...

That's a shame. Anyway...

The Crack Emcee said...

shoutingthomas,

You are a genius.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, yada, yada, yada - you made my blurb list - now have you ever figured out what "Screamo" is?

BTW, I'll be posting some Jazz, maybe, later today. It depends on how the day goes and how much time I have indoors.

retire05 said...

Isn't it comical how these people could create so much destruction in the '60's and they walk away "guilty as hell, free as a bird."?

From William Ayers, whose reputation was rehabilitated as a "professor and educator" to Bobby Seale of the BPs, who now earns five figures for giving speeches to university students.

All of them, everyone of them, should have spent their lives in a 10 x 10 cell, not being involved with young, impressionable students of American universities.

Anonymous said...

I was just thinking the other day who, still living, would I want to meet. My answer: Tom Wolfe.

madAsHell said...

Well....I agree that everyone should be able to defend their property, and keep arms.

After that, Mr. Cox loses me with his reasoning. Is he talking about the NYT, or the police?