Old and Mad

I got to thinking about this yesterday as TV One constantly ran commercials for Cathy Hughes' conversation with the legendary mad Black man Dick Gregory. He dropped such priceless jewels as:

". . . every person born in the US within the past 25 years has a microchip up their butts. . ."

and

". . .Cheney will be president in 2008 with 98% of the vote because Condoleeza will be his running mate. . ."

and

". . .the levees didn't break, they were blown up . . ."

Maaaaaaaan, there is nothing like a mad black man. Even Nelson Mandela gets mean. He has called out Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and other world leaders on their bullshit. At Coretta Scott King's funeral, co-founder of the SCLC Joseph Lowery called out Bush on the lack of WMDs and his other shoddy work. Bush was sitting right behind him, with that plastic ass smile on his face. That was classic. Most cats don't even have the balls to confront someone these days. Diss records don't mean crap, you ever seen 50 Cent step to someone, for real?
When they're in the public eye, they are sometimes are asked to apologize for comments that are deemed inappropriate. Suuuure they do, but you know they really don't care. Harry Belafonte calls out the president whenever he gets good and ready. He called Colin Powell and Condoleeza Beans and Rice "house slaves" for their compliance and allegiance to the White House, which does sort resemble a Southern plantation, in my opinion anyways. . .
They've been through the marches, the hoses and the dogs. They have been treated as less than men, and denied basic civil rights. They have plenty of good reason to be mad. They have lived hard lives, paving the way for generations who may not understand or appreciate the sacrifices they made. There's nothing better than hearing Sharpton's sharp talk, or Farrakhan's quiet anger, or even Cosby's mumblings. Behind all that gray hair, permed or not, there is much knowledge. Not just book smarts, but life smarts. Let 'em talk, there's no reason to shut them up. I wanna marry a man that's gonna be just as mad as these men when we get old and gray.

In no particular order, here are my Top 5 Old Mad Black Men
Harry Belafonte
Dick Gregory
Bill Cosby
Al Sharpton
Joseph Lowery

Younger Men with Mad Old Black Man Potential
Nas
Chuck D
Spike Lee

Kanye West

Damon Dash