Denzel Washington Re:Moore 9-11,"I'm an Ex-slave"

Katie Couric interview Friday night tv | 7/23/04 | sunnsydie

[SunnySide]

Katie Couric asked Denzel Washington if he likes to keep his politics private, He said he's not one of those people. He does speak his mind.

Couric asked Denzel, Did you see Moores movie 9-11?

Denzel, "I didn't see it, I live in America, I grew up here, I'm an ex-slave"

Whaaaaa?! Really?! Denzel, do you even know what a slave is? Have you ever worked on a plantation, prepared meals for an entire household? Driven Miss Daisy? Ugh another dillentante entertainer posturing as a martyr to the masses who puts his silver foot in his obnoxioulsy opinionated mouth. He wouldn't even allow Meryl Streep to get her opinion in edge wise.

Mr.Denzel, YOU are nothing but an obnoxiously opinionated MALE CHAUVINISTIC PIG. How many women have you punked on the sly behind your wifes back? About the closet you probably ever came to being a slave was being asked to take out the kitchen trash by your own mother and I'm certain you did that with bitter contempt too. Lose the huge chip on your shoulder Denzel. Nobody likes a wealthy pouter. And YOU are a Hollywood person wether YOU like it or not. Yes YOU too are subject to labels. Slave my hiney. Indeed, your remark is a disgrace to every slave in the history of the world. Slaves still exist today in Africa held captive by other Africans. Get over yourself Denzel.

[Walkingfeather]

Atigun=anal-retentive

Ifs yoos kant reed watt iz meenz .....

[TheDon]

All our ancestors were slaves at one point or another. And I don't mean in the figurative sense as Mr. Washington does.

[TheDon]

To the Sudanese, Mr. Washington would be considered an American, not an African.

[jpsb]

He hasn't, he is a class act.

[wardaddy]

An ex-slave paid handsomely to play "pretend".

[HairOfTheDog]

Sounds on this thread like you are the one slanting and twisting what you hear.

[jpsb]

Bump.

[CrossWalker]

"God helps those who help themselves"
_________________


Where is this in the Bible?

[jackbill]

Check out:

http://www.yale.edu/opa/v31.n17/story3.html

In the late 1980s, Streep formed the environmental and consumer advocacy group Mothers and Others for Pesticide Limits, which brought national attention to the health risks to children of the pesticide Alar, then commonly used on U.S.-grown apples and other fruit. Streep spoke out about the dangers of the controversial pesticide on a "60 Minutes" program and before the U.S. Congress.

[angcat]

When did slavery come to Mt. Vernon NY.

[TN4Liberty]

In the context of the few sentences that are written, it is difficult for me to put too much stock in the "slave" reference when he prefaces it by saying that he DID NOT see F9/11. I'm not sure what has everyone so upset. If he said he was the descendant of slaves (rather than an "ex-slave"), would that make everyone feel better? If he said it that way, I would interpret it to mean he has risen above slavery and is beyond having to be told what to think a la F9/11.

Am I a hillbilly or simply descended from them? Is someone going to get on me because I say one and not the other?

Nothing DW said in this short excerpt gives this conservative any problems at all. To tell the truth, it sounds like piling on the black guy for no particular reason.

[Bluntpoint]

There is a conditioned response by some here that when a black mentions "slave" he is trying to get whitey's goat.

I read Mr. Washington's response that he has risen above slave status.

He has never, to my recollection, played the race card.

He is, in fact, a self-made man.

[savedbygrace]

Denzel, "I didn't see it, I live in America, I grew up here, I'm an ex-slave"

Another example of the wonder that is the United States of America. Look at the success that can be acheived by an ex-slave. (Of course I know he wasn't REALLY a slave, but the race pimps have created a slave class out of whole cloth, and it is amazing whenever someone breaks out of it to achieve success.)

Rather than focusing on whether he really is an ex-slave or not, we should be pointing others to his success. The more people who rise above the race hustlers, the better for all of us, because many of them will become conservatives. Really.

[mollynme]

But I've seen Denzel in many other interviews over the course of his career and his smug condescending 'tude especially towards women is dismal. It's as if he can't be bothered with (in his view) silly women who belong back in the kitchen(that other slavery acceptable to men of all races).

Sounds like SunnySide is coming at this with a feminist prejudice. I would agree with your interpretation and take hers with a grain of salt.

[Skywarner]

"I read his comment as meaning that he not only hasn't seen the movie, but he didn't plan to see it, because he's an American. The part about being an ex-slave was possibly to underscore the many generations of his ancestors who have lived in America. In other words, he was saying his roots are in America, and they are deep. The fact that he later disagreed with Strep and also distanced himself from Hollywood, makes me think this interpretation is correct."

Ping!!

That's how I viewed his comments as well. They were a definite (yet somewhat subtle) dig at Moore and all of his crapola about victimization.

While Denzel may not be a FReeper (or is he????), I did not get the impression from the interview or even from past interviews that he is a typical Hollywood lib/socialist/dem. He's always seemed to try to distance himself from that whenever possible within the limits of keeping his job.

[ampat]

If we could all trace our roots back far enough, I bet we'd all be able to call ourselves ex-slaves.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

"Are you a real slave?"

"No, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn."

No, Dwezzle, you're not an ex-slave, you're a full-time fatuous ass.

[R. Scott]

I knew a man who researched his ancestry, hoping to find out who owned his great great grand parents. He was disappointed to discover they came over as free immigrants.
For some blacks that is the ultimate insult.

[Rebelbase]

Saw an Ohio(think, maybe Indiana) license plate last week that read: EX-SLAVE.

[dennisw]

I am not a huge fan but Denzel was great in "Training Day". But his slave ancestors deserve the credit. They came here in chains from Africa and worked the cotton and other crops 7 days a week. Would Denzel be happier if his ancestors were left behind in Africa? How dare he says he's an ex-slave! This is garbage.

We merely stand on the shoulders of giants. Same for Denzel. Same for me, I thank my grandparents for coming here from Europe and enduring terrible living conditions for my parents and me.