Khallid Muhammad, RIP

February 24, 2001 1:48 PM

Khallid Muhammad, RIP Did this man do anything for African Americans? There is the argument that you need extremists so the moderates can get something done, but this guy was just a kook!
posted by Dr. Boom (12 comments total)

I have no tears to shed for that bigot's death. What bothers me most about him is that he drew large crowds of support when he spouted his venom on college campuses. But now the president has to worry about the Nation of Islam, the Moonies, and the Scientologists for his faith-based charitable causes.
posted by Postroad at 3:04 PM on February 24, 2001

And I'm sure we can count on the National Review for a balanced, fair-minded assessment of his life.
posted by rodii at 3:58 PM on February 24, 2001

Maybe, rodii, instead of hiding behind irony, you could point out errors in NR's coverage?
posted by Dr. Boom at 5:41 PM on February 24, 2001

Yes, the National Review obit points out that he regarded Jews as "bloodsuckers," but utterly ignores the fact that he was nice to his dog. Typical.
posted by lileks at 6:28 PM on February 24, 2001

Just calling a troll a troll. But I don't want to tax your powers of interpretation, so I'll spell it out:

1. This story is not news, except in the sense that any obituary is news--here, for example is a link to the obituary of John Fahey;
2. The only real reason to post it, therefore, is to mourn the death or to celebrate it;
3. Linking to a noisome snotrag of a website like the NRO implies that your goal was not to mourn;
4. Celebrating the death of someone else, even if you feel your dislike is justified, is…nasty;
5. Linking to said snotrag implies that your goal is not reportage but the generation of
   • controversy, or
   • smug consensus;
6. Smug consensus is not something that the MetaFilter community is noted for;
7. Consequently, this post is to be categorized as a "troll."

I hope that clarifies things for you. Have a nice day.
posted by rodii at 6:40 PM on February 24, 2001

Thanks for the effort, rodii, but you still failed to point out what was wrong with NRO's coverage, aside from the fact that you don't approve of NRO. If you would like to defend Mr. Muhammad, please do it. I'd like to hear your ideas, if you have any.
posted by Dr. Boom at 7:14 PM on February 24, 2001

(Sorry for the bad link in 5!)

No, I have no particular love for Mr. Muhammad, just a dislike of the sleazy NRO.
posted by rodii at 7:17 PM on February 24, 2001

So basically, rodii, you have no ideas, and just wanted to cast vague aspersions on NRO.

I myself think that NRO is, for the most part, partisan claptrap, but no more or less than, say, "The Nation". Conservatives are just more honest about their hatchet jobs (Not that I feel the essay on Mr. Muhammad was such a piece, actually it was quite restrained.)

Back to my point, and I do have one: does Mr. Muhammad have any defenders? I am genuinely curious to hear from them.


posted by Dr. Boom at 7:48 PM on February 24, 2001

By treating Khallid Abdul Muhammad's story with a modicum of respect, The Village Voice allows you to weigh for yourself the value of his impact on the world.
posted by sudama at 11:02 PM on February 24, 2001

Khalid Abdul Muhammad and story deserve about as much respect as the tissue I just blew my nose on. The man was a hatemongering, race-baiting, anti-Semitic, black supremacist bigot whose sole purpose in life was agitation at the expense of progress. RIP? More like good riddance.
posted by Dreama at 6:16 AM on February 25, 2001

If you would like to defend Mr. Muhammad, please do it. I'd like to hear your ideas, if you have any.

That right there is trolling at its finest. Obviously, no one wants to defend the guy, so why do you insist on trying to pick a fight?
posted by jpoulos at 3:50 PM on February 25, 2001

Only the National Review wishes to perpetuate the notion that Khalid Muhammad had widespread support in the black community. There was something to his separatist militarism, but almost everyone else knew that time had passed and that the civil rights movement had achieved much more through civil disobedience and other techniques of non-violence.
posted by dhartung at 10:33 PM on February 25, 2001