Michael Parenti -- Spanish American War 3/3

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR AND THE RISE OF US IMPERIALISM!

Michael Parenti uses the history of the Spanish American War to answer several very intriguing questions. Who first expressed the desire to annex the island of Cuba - and when? Why was the US government concerned about Spanish repression of the rights of Cubans while the repression of African Americans within the US was ignored? Why did the US attack the Philippines when it was Cuba they supposedly wanted to rescue? Why did the US give verbal support to the Cuban liberation movements against Spain while selling weapons to Spain to fight the popular movement? The Spanish American War was an important turning point in the transition of the US to an imperial power and many of the forces at work are eerily contemporary.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• War
• Iraq
• Vietnam
• 9/11
• Empire
• Terrorism
• imperialisms
• Bush
• Crimes

[nicholasbaldion]

ahh death to the empire

!!!

[slaballinmytrunk]

That's all you got is an ad hominen? That's not an argument it's a fallacy which indicates you have nothing to say...

[Timasion]

@gamerunknown I concur with your assessment. However, youtube does not provide the space to refute all the problems with Parenti's lecture. My point is that he plays fast and lose with the facts to support his position.

The Blacks, like many people, were both for and against the war and Parenti's claim that Blacks were against it is incorrect.

[gamerunknown]

@Timasion

While the author of the article must have reviewed a considerable portion of the literature, he doesn't specify where the position that blacks were "clearly ambivalent" came from. I'd assume that Parenti would claim that the business press (even with a black readership) would attempt to promote the cause of war, just as Chomsky holds that memos showing Middle Eastern establishment fear of Iran didn't translate to public fear. I agree that blanket statements = revisionism.

[gamerunknown]

@Timasion

Well, it's an interesting resource but it doesn't refute the class basis of his thesis. According to the article on black participation which cited numerous sources (though I wish it would use inline citations too), the anti-imperialist black press was hostile to the war (unsurprisingly). The imperial group held the bizarre racial theory that black soldiers would be better in tropical conditions and the few black regiments were shipped off first.

[Timasion]

@gamerunknown I read it in his biography. You can read it on Wikipedia about the Spanish-American War. It cites to Black Americans and the White Man's Burden, 1898–1903. Many Black Americans, including Washington, looked on the war as an opportunity to prove themselves. A website called spanamwar com also has some information.

No doubt some opposed the war. But to whitewash the entire group is inaccurate. Parenti has a habit of doing this.

[gamerunknown]

@Timasion

Well, it's pretty clear he's doing a Marxist analysis of history so that colours his view. I'd be more interested in reading an article from both of you where sources are cited: he'd probably cite worker's newspapers, you'd cite the few black businessmen and their journals. Fifty years down the line will we hold that the black community was divided on the civil rights issue because of Thomas Sowell and Herman Cain?

[Timasion]

@gamerunknown His implication is clear. He is attempting to assert that Blacks were against the war. He stated that the "opinion in the Black community was instructive" and then went on to describe only those who were against the war. However, many Blacks were for the war just as many were not. Since Black supporters does not help his political agenda, he skips them.

Parenti is a political hack who fakes historical analysis to support his agenda. I would welcome a debate with him.

[gamerunknown]

@Timasion

That doesn't contradict what he said at all: he referred to black publications that he'd obviously read. One thing that he referred to was that the black business press said that those that couldn't vote should be exempt from fighting in the war. Those that would benefit financially from it would support it though.

[Timasion]

Honestly, Michael Parenti needs to study history more. His lectures fail to acknowledge many historical facts. For example, his assertion that African-Americans did not support the Spanish-American War are contradicted by the fact that many African-American leaders supported the Spanish-American War, such as Booker T. Washington.

[98bigbutt]

The people that Parenti just mentioned are the 1% of the wealthy people that really rule the USA and caused the deaths of millions of people worldwide for their corporations around the world.

[FaaarLeft]

The big picture is both accurate and obfuscated.