Harry Belafonte on Capitalism, Media Moguls and His Disappointment With Jay-Z and Beyonce

[HiPointDem]

(Belafonte sure looks good for 85)




THR: Has the world changed for activists like you?

Belafonte: Definitely. Back then, the enemies were very clear, very precise. It is easy to fight oppression if it comes in [the form of] a swastika and a boot, and as a dictator, and you can see it and feel it and touch it. It is easy when there is a sign that says "No N-----s“ or "No Jews.“ Where it becomes the most insidious is when it buries itself and you can no longer touch it but can taste that yet it is there, fully blown, doing insane mischief. That is why I think the period now is the most challenging I’ve ever lived in. The power in many societies has become almost absolute. Those who have the power in the free-enterprise system start to crush societies and create wars that are unholy. What we did during the Bush period, what we still continue to do, even with Barack Obama, is the continuency of not changing the paradigm, of not changing the view. We still have laws that encourage torture; we did not change Guantanamo; we have laws that allow the police to arrest you at any time, not having to tell you why, and take you wherever they want. This kind of capitalism is taking us to the doorstep of [a] Fourth Reich, I think.

THR: Would you want Mitt Romney to become the next U.S. president?

Belafonte: Only if I would like to see the end of civilization. No, absolutely not. Mitt Romney is not my cup of tea at all.

THR: Can you pin down what the enemy is nowadays?

Belafonte: Unbridled capitalism. The concentration of money in the hands of a very small group is the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to civilization. We are facing an oligarchy of force. Just look at who controls the press. We all witnessed how money and power squeezed out all essense of Rupert Murdoch and [Silvio] Berlusconi. Thank God for social media, which aids transparency. But even that becomes more and more restricted now, with companies like Facebook buying up all the roots of this technology. But I am currently involved with two documentaries, one Leadbelly: Legend, Life, Legacy and the other Another Night in the Free World, which I am shooting now for about five months. It is globally looking at the youth movement during the the Arab Spring, looking at what happened in Cairo and Tunisia and now in Syria.

THR: Back to the occasion of the award for your acting career. Are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?

Belafonte: Not at all. They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinated. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all -- excuse my French -- shit. It is sad. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyonce, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/harry-belafonte-locarno-mitt-romney-359192


Fred Hampton, Jr. interview:

Were you disappointed that Jay-Z didn't include the death of your father in his "December 4" song on The Black album?

I think it was an insult. I wasn't disappointed and to be honest I wasn't surprised. A lot of these cats have made it very clear whose interest they work in. If our people don't want to see these contradictions, again I wasn't surprised, I'm clear.

In the ruling class, when you say September 11, automatically they recognize that date. Again, December 4th was one of the most brutal acts of terrorism ever to occur on U.S. soil.

I know for a number of reasons a lot of these cats address safe subjects, they're clear. Like the old saying, those Negroes (he laughs) got freedom of speech as long as they don't say the wrong thing.

I think that it can be safely said that Richard Pryor provided more economical assistance or support for the Panther Party or the struggle in general than all these artists combined today...

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/siafu-drum-news-portal/2354-fred-hampton-jr-speaks-vibe.html

[JustAnotherGen]

1. I respect the hell out of him

And I agree with him on Springsteen!

[malaise]

2. Belafonte is a class act

He used his money for good

[uponit7771]

3. JayZ and Beyonce haven't gone back to give a hand up at all? hmmmmmm

[lunatica]

4. I saw a documentary on HBO about him not too long ago

He's an amazing man who's led an extraordinary life.

[King_Klonopin]

5. I call it "Malignant Capitalism"

Just like the cells of the body,
when they function in a healthy way, as intended, the cells themselves
aren't intrinsically "bad". They actually serve a useful purpose for the
good of the whole body, collectively.

But when their functioning becomes pathologic, uncontrolled, and
they begin to mutate into something they weren't intended to be,
they become a source of sickness, harm, and death.

And so, that is what has happened here and globally as regards
our well-intended but flawed economic model of capitalism --
It has mutated into MALIGNANT CAPITALISM.

It has taken over the host body (us) which it will, ironically and eventually,
destroy and kill if not treated and eradicated. Our immune system, which
used to keep the malignancy in check (regulation), has been destroyed by
a horrible virus (a greedy and corrupt government).

Obscene amounts of wealth have been distilled down to the purses
of an elite (and corrupt) few, as in the aristocratic days of old when
there were serfs and peasants and Lords and Kings .....
and lots of death, poverty and misery.