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LIKE MOST PEOPLE, I scoffed when John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate.
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Discuss:
Is Obama Wrong About Wright?
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Posted By:
geo at 05/17/2008 3:50:45 AM
Comment:
behind that smile obama is showing to people , there's a two faced obama..reverend wright, finish waht you started with obama who ridiculed you and michelle beyond swallowing...we must know from you, holding the key about obama and michelle, his business transactions, his ideology, his arrogance, etc!!!
we thank you for starting to know a little about obama and we need his entire 20 years plus with you!!! -
Posted By:
geo at 05/17/2008 3:47:53 AM
Comment:
REVEREND WRIGHT, YOU HAVE THE OBLIGATION WITH ALL THE INSULTS OBAMA THREW YOU, WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW MORE THAN EVER FROM YOUR REVENT TV BROADCAST TO REVEAL OBAMA AND HIS WIFE, HIS BUSINESS CONNECTIONS, THE PEOPLE WORKING IN HIS CAMPAIGN AND A LOT MORE...
REVEREND WRIGHT YOU MUST ACT NOW TO REVEAL WHO IS OBAMA??? YOU ARE THE KEY TO OBAMA'S LIFE AND FINISH IT BEFORE OBAMA START RIDICULING YOU!!! -
Posted By:
Realityhurts at 05/01/2008 11:52:11 AM
Comment:
Reverend Wright has gone from a "biblicial man" to a diabolic and divisive beast. Blacks are their own worst enemy. This mental midget Devil Wright should leave his ego at the door and not spew such venom and out and out envy and jealousy for a more polished, human, professional, and quite frankly, a transcendant of race which Devil Wright abhors. Devil Wright only cares about himself. He could give a rats #$@ about the bible. He may appear clever, but sadly he lacks, humility, professionalism, intellect, and common sense. He is as much of a threat as Hitler was. How could he get bought out by the Hillary campaign and attempt to destroy the promised man. He has put his ego before what is right for America and in transit, has set back black people over 200 years. All because he is not as sophisticated and polished as Obama. Again, when blacks complain about discrimination, they should look to their own backyard before accusing whites. Shame on you, Reverend DemonWright. -
Posted By:
a ray of hope at 04/30/2008 1:03:08 PM
Comment:
Brother Obama:
Render unto God that which is God???s. Your have neither capacity for nor call to evaluate the called one of God (pastor, preacher, prophet). In your book you spoke as a Christian a member of a local body. Your reverence and respect for the guidance of an under Shepard of God was right on the mark. Rightfully, you were thankful to have him pointing you to God. Your salvation is the most essential decision of your life. Rejoice in that you have received the blessed promise. Please do not allow the prospect of earthly gain cause you to lose your focus. Keep your eye on the prize and press toward the mark of the higher calling in Christ Jesus.
For years, in a white supremacy society, Black African American Preachers have been relegated to the back seat of the church bus. This mentality has caused this current recoil. Even in the things of God, blacks seem not to get it. How dare a Black African American preacher question the great America ???s claim to moral purity? Yet it took that same boldness form a generation of ???Negro??? preachers, speaking truth to power to bring you the opportunity to stand where you stand today.
As a church member you have no right to challenge the preaching of your pastor. His call from God is not to satisfy the "itchy ears" of the congregants, even if one is running for President of the United States of America . I would love to see you in the oval office, but not at the expense of your Christian integrity. DO NOT SEPARATE FROM THE MAN OF GOD. KING SAUL DID AND PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 King James Version
Rev. Mike Kirkland
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Posted By:
radford_jesus at 04/29/2008 9:24:09 PM
Comment:
I'm glad that Obama finally got it right, and gave Rev. Wright what he was asking for. Senator Obama lowered the boom on his ex-pastor and finally broke ties with him, today--Thank God!! I was praying today that he would do it, sooner than later. When the programming was interupted for Pres. Bush, I thought it was breaking news that Obama had openly denounced his former pastor. But, it came with the evening News while everybody was home watching. He might have had it wrong for a minute, but he finally got it right. -
Posted By:
harlemchic at 04/03/2008 8:21:18 PM
Comment:
I beg to differ on the issue of black anti war protest.
I attended many marches and vigilos in DC and NYC before the war. I was surprised to see a very large majority of whites. I have many photos to prove it. -
Posted By:
zeman at 04/01/2008 5:17:05 PM
Comment:
The main problem is, that too many people believe that the way to improve the situation is by complaining about real (or sometimes imaginary) past injustices. Well, wake up, almost everybody can complain: when you look into history many races and/or nations you will almost always find horrible economical conditions and injustice (from slums in England, famine and persecution in Ireland, ancient slavery and recent feudal ownership of serfs (in most of Europe) which was not too much different from slavery since the feudal rulers exercised their right of life or death, genocide (Jews, Armenians, ???.), slavery of African Americans on our territory just one and half century ago), Chinese railroad workers worth less than a dog, genocide of native Americans, ??? A which groups improved their position best? Not those crying for a handout, but those who worked hard and diligently. Look at Chinese and other Asians now! Look at oppressed Jews! Perhaps it is time to shut up and start to take care of our families, to study and work hard. -
Posted By:
ReyLoo at 03/31/2008 8:21:37 PM
Comment:
Good piece. Made way more sense that that other piece by the Mr. Hicks guy...that dude is clueless or just plain in denial. -
Posted By:
Fred at 03/31/2008 1:02:18 PM
Comment:
Thank you. I agree Michael Dawson, 100 per cent! Obama is wrong about Wright.
Fred Logan
Black voices for Peace/Pittsburgh -
Posted By:
leart at 03/27/2008 3:30:16 PM
Comment:
The problem with the Rev Wright Issue is that one group of people, who control the News Media is able to identify and categorize a person at will because they have control of the tools necessary to deliver that information to the public. They can even label others as having the same beliefs based on their association with the subject. Some seem to think that we had put this behind us, but I guess not.
leart -
Posted By:
Jewel Sophia at 03/24/2008 4:56:54 PM
Comment:
Mr. Dawson's article is absolutely excellent, and I am glad to see this discussion continue in this forum. I felt Mr. Obama addressed the issue quite effectively. I agree that Wright's attitude, true or untrue, does characterize the belief, or fear, of most black people, but Obama didn't disagree with that point. He said these are the comments black people make among themselves--from the barber's chair to the pew. Obama didn't really disagree with the bulk of that thinking. He said the roots of it were in oppression. He did say that Reverend Wright was wrong for believing as he does because Wright doesn't allow that people can change. I don't see how society can change for the better if we do not accept that attitude. If the attitude is untrue, we won't make it true without believing it. I can't imagine that Senator Obama's raw, defensive response to someone insulting his pastor would be appropriate in any context. If a choir member stubs her toe processing to the front of the church, she may not yell the same words that she would if she had been at home running to catch the phone. Barack Obama must remain a diplomat. It is part of the promise of his campaign. A key element of diplomacy is tact. A diplomat should be able to tell the truth so that those who need to hear it accept it. -
Posted By:
NYPam at 03/22/2008 11:04:12 PM
Comment:
But he *did* discuss the prevailing racial divide while acknowledging the significant progress that has been made. He is, after all, a presidential front-runner, a fact that seemed all but impossible a mere year ago. It seems many blacks won't be satisfied until he morphs until a Black Panther, and whites until he proves he's not black. Lighten up! He's a phenomenal, inspiring leader who is just what we need at this moment in history. Let's stop getting caught up in the knit-picking and embrace his call for unity and transcendence. He's a once--n-a-lifetime candidate. -
Posted By:
NYPam at 03/22/2008 11:00:51 PM
Comment:
But he *did* discuss the persistent racial divide while he also right acknowledged the progress that has been made. He is, after all, a presidential front-runner which seemed highly improbable just a year ago. It seems that blacks won't be happy until he morphs into a Black Panther and whites until he proves he's not black. Lighten up. He is a phenomenal and decent man who is trying to find the right language to bridge a horribly divided nation. -
Posted By:
mjkoch at 03/22/2008 8:05:20 PM
Comment:
I found Pastor Wright's comment's distasteful and his embrace of Louis Farrakhan abhorent. That being said, trying to belittle the anger of Black Americans is not only misguided, it is wrong. The worst evil the world faced was the Nazi's in World War II. Black soldiers faught and gave their lives but were not allowed to stay in the same barracks with White soldiers and were treated like third class citizens at best. Yet, when they died, their blood was no different than their White counterparts. They returned home to water fountains they were not allowed to drink from, restaurants they were not allowed to eat in, and had to sit in the back of the bus. The Tuskegee episode had the American government using Blacks as experimental guinea pigs. While I too find accusations of the government manufacturing the HIV virus to murder Blacks outrageous any Black American that was taught about the Tuskegee disgrace has reason to doubt their government. Voter suppression of Blacks was rampant and even as recently as the 2000 election for President there were allegations of attempts to turn away Black voters. The entire world saw Black bodies floating down the flooded streets of New Orleans as the federal government stood by and did nothing as the Black neighborhoods of New Orleans were destroyed. Today, in 2008, Black men are still stopped at random by policemen for the sole reason they are Black. A Black man trying to catch a taxi in most major cities in America has a less than 50% chance the taxi will stop for them. Yes, I abhor what Reverend Wright says. I am White and I am Jewish but I still can understand his anger and the anger and doubts of most Black Americans. We can criticize him all we want for hating us but history shows his animosity is most definitely not make believe. There were wrongs that were righted and wrongs and injustice that still must be righted, but we do our country a great disservice by dismissing everything the man said as ranting and raving. We cannot move forward if we cannot understand our past and we must embrace each other as equals and treat each other as we would like others to treat us. -
Posted By:
treb at 03/22/2008 5:10:23 PM
Comment:
Very good article. The challenges that Americans face everyday are not helped by a brilliant mind that must identify his relatives by their race. After Katrina I was ashamed of my country but I am not ashamed of being an American or ashamed of America at all. Being right is not being Wright. We do not need another President who is wrong about issues of race or how to address them much less anything else, the ecomony or foreign policy, we already have one.
Being caught up in a cruel circle of hate is bad enough but not realizing it is worse, Left alone to strive to be better and with engagment based upon character rather than the need for racial identity, all the colors will equal out, black, white and gold under a flag that we wear proudly and not with disdain. -
Posted By:
treb at 03/22/2008 4:56:41 PM
Comment:
Very good article. Day by day and challenge by challenge, Americans who truly believe that we are still in our great revolution try to get it right not Wright. After Katrina any right-thinking American would say Shame on America but that does not meant that we are ashamed of being Americans or that we believe that we must adopt another form of racial supremacy to reach a better place. We already have a President in the White House who has a poor concept of where Americans should be going, we do not need another one who happens to think that African-Americsns expressing hate for their country and joy at the murder of three thousand Americans are headed in the right direction; they are only headed in a circle of hate. -
Posted By:
juliea at 03/21/2008 5:19:23 PM
Comment:
I think it was very admirable that Obama didn't disown his pastor or blacks folks as the media pundits wanted him to do. However, why hasn't anyone from Pastor Wrights church published the entire speech (that the clip was taken from) online. I have looked on youtube but all I can find is the same clip that is being repeated over and over in the media. If the speech is available then people can download it and hear for themselves that Rev. Wright was just quoting someone else, who was by the way a white Ambassodor.-
Posted By:
teeare at 03/24/2008 3:09:32 PM
Comment:
http://www.truthabouttrinity.blogspot.com/
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Posted By:
Datdamwuf at 03/20/2008 2:54:38 PM
Comment:
I am a 40 something Italian American woman, this makes me white. I can attest that there is still discrimination against minorities and women, I've seen it. But I wanted to talk about how far we've come to point out that we ALL need to work toward equality. I'll share something very personal.
So, how about some context for the racism in ALL ethnic communities in our parents time? My father grew up in DC, in his time Italians, Jews, Irish, Blacks, Polish, Germans, etc ALL had their own neighborhoods, they segregated themselves. He was one of 6 brothers who walked to school together and had to traverse some of the other neighborhoods to get there. They often had to fight their way through, this was true of all the different ethnic groups. He grew up on Irving Street, he'd use the N word but then we'd have dinner with black friends, he'd explain that some black people were OK. I thought this was nuts, I would tell him, it's not black or white it's just people, some are OK some are not. The odd thing is that when I was growing up he had a lot of black friends and my even more racist uncle at the age of 72 is living with and loves a black woman. Despite this my uncle still says that there are a lot of n*****s then adds, there are good black people and his woman is one of them. I will never totally understand this but I'm trying to point out how people do change, but it is slow and sometimes generations.
My Dad has passed but from the time I was 14 and brought home a black friend, we discussed his racism at length and over time he really did seem to get it. He once told me that maybe, if he had not had to fight his way through the black neighborhood when growing up he would not have felt that way, then he'd say "don't expect me to get over the Germans though". Sigh...
I confess I never told him I dated black men, but only because I didn't have a serious relationship with a black man until after he passed. I like to think he would have accepted it by then.
I think what bothers me now is that it seems as though we are segregating ourselves again, especially black people. I feel much better when I go to clubs that cater to the 20 somethings because then I see a diverse group that gives me hope. Maybe I should go to those places more often instead of reading the web....
So, bottom line, how does anyone expect the Rev. Wright to get over his past more thoroughly than anyone else? Makes no sense. On the other hand, I am concerned that Obama went to that church for 20 years. Why? Because I would not attend a church where the leader preached such things, white or black or tan. I believe in rational dialogue between people, to reach out to one another and find a shared destiny where we are all equal and able to succeed. Where we can all be brothers and sisters, not color blind, color loving, the whole rainbow if we keep trying and keep growing. -
Posted By:
rickielaw at 03/20/2008 2:41:09 PM
Comment:
I totally agree with this article. There are Rev. Wrights in all of our Black churches and we as Black folk applaud them and agree with them. I certainly do. I don't see anyone walking out of church when similar comments are made. I didn't see any on the tapes of Rev. Wright either. There was so call to get rid of him from his church. WHY. Because we agree with him. The only problem with Rev. Wright's statements is that they were taking out of his intended audience (i.e. his people) and broadcast to the nation. How many similar tapes of preachers from Black churches across the country speak the same message! More importantly, how many white priests, preachers, etc. preached topics that could be considered racist, anti-semite, etc. -
Posted By:
barney at 03/20/2008 12:28:42 PM
Comment:
Obama stabbed Wright in the back. He didn't attend this church for 20 years without knowing where Wright stood on the issues. I see no evidence that he challenged Wright's viewpoint until it became politically expedient. It's why I have no respect for the man. In Chicago, Obama needed the black vote and he got as black as black could be. Now in a national election he needs whites votes and so far he's done his best to distance himself from everything Black. When Obama called the photo of himself in African dress being revealed "dirty politics" instead of asserting his pride in his African heritage, he lost my vote.-
Posted By:
NYPam at 03/22/2008 11:06:58 PM
Comment:
You can't be serious. How can a man running for president of the United States support statements that suggest America deserved 9/11? And he didn't, as many urged him to do, repudiate the man, only the remarks. Be fair.
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Posted By:
macrol at 03/20/2008 6:37:02 AM
Comment:
I'm a middle aged, white, southern, repub and agree with most of the racial remarks in the sermons that I've read from rev Wright. The parts I've read that I can't agree with are:
1. The US deserved 911
2. The gov introduced AIDS
Yes, I'm aware that , in the past, some black people were given diseases as experements and I find that HIDEOUS, but I don't think that's the case here and I don't trust our gov (any gov) as far as I can through them either. -
Posted By:
sublime at 03/20/2008 12:44:08 AM
Comment:
I understand Rev. Wright point of view, what I did not agree with is the way he presented it. If roles had been reversed and he was a white man. I would instantly have accused him of being a member of the white sheet society. He could have convey all of his angst, bile, rage and bitterness without all of that hate speech. It distracts from the true and vital message of hurt that could be delivered to all communities. Such speech belongs in the gutter.-
Posted By:
jnewark at 03/21/2008 1:10:22 AM
Comment:
With all due respect, the words coming from Rev. Wright were divisive and inflammatory, as Sen. Obama has already noted.
I am absolutely sure that Rev. Wright???s church has many redeeming factors and many respectable members. However, we as black Americans have become too accustomed to silently accepting, and even applauding, the racism, sexism, and homophobia that spews forth from whoever is behind the pulpit. This must stop.
The media is having a field day with all the videos of Rev. Wright???this is too scintillating for them to stop. Unfortunately, Sen. O will now be forever associated with Rev. W???s vile rantings.
We can take solace in the good that???s come out of this: Obama has now made race relations a centerpiece of his soapbox. His speech this week has been lauded as one of the most powerful ever made by a presidential candidate. Well, you know. That???s wonderful. Everybody???s rushing to read the speech. Churches are talking it up and it will be future required reading for college students.
But here???s the irony.
The fact that Obama had to wrap himself in the fabric of race will be his very downfall. The reason he won the Iowa caucus???a state that is 98% white???was because people could envision him as president of ALL Americans, not just black Americans.
With the latest revelations and his eloquent response, Obama will be honored as a leader of race relations around the world.
But folks, that???s not why people are going to vote for him.
People want to vote for a president who???s going to do something about our tanking economy, show leadership in creating more jobs, get us out of the god-forsaken war, and make our health insurance more affordable. In short, Barack has gotten off message.
If he can???t appeal to the everyday needs of the laid off white worker in Scranton PA, it doesn???t matter that he???s an outstanding orator on race.
All this talk of race makes for great discussion and will undoubtedly move us forward as a nation; but it makes for poor politics. And it will lose him the White House.
Obama, for the sake of God, get back on message!
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Posted By:
Redphilly at 03/19/2008 9:45:59 AM
Comment:
First, if you would indulge me, how did the media find out about the video of Rev. Wright? Who leaked it? Perhaps someone from either Hillary's or McCain's camp found it and exposed it. That is what I hope happened. God forbid it was a jealous African-American, who doesn't want to see another African-American succeed. This is the real problem which Obama should address first, before he can ask another race to accept him. The divisions among we ourselves.
Second, what you say about the 1960's evolving into the present is true. The same problem exists. Caucasian people do not want to face the fact that they are basically racists. Or they know it and don't want or care to change, so they play "dumb". "What are you so upset about, African-American people?", is what I see coming from them. I go to a church , predominately African-American, where, believe it or not, occasionally Caucasian, Asian, and Latino people saunter in, I suspect out of curiousity. I have never heard my pastor, who has his hollering moments also and who looks remarkably like Rev. Wright, ever utter a comment about hatred of other races. But Rev. Wright's comments needed to be heard by Caucasian America so that they will know exactly how we feel about injustice in all forms. I honestly believe that many of them feel that if we get together in a big way we will make their race non-existent. And so we would. When Caucasians and African-Americans have chikdren, they usually look African-American. If it was the other way around, I am certain they would not care quite so much about co-mingling. -
Posted By:
mgm531 at 03/18/2008 10:27:37 PM
Comment:
What I find most disturbing about the so-called mainstream thinking and attitudes of prominent black leaders like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton is it is assumed by them -- and many other black Americans I suppose -- that I as a white male came to be who I am by privilege (I was not), or that I was born with rich and influential parents (again, not me) that gave me a free pass into a ivy league school (once again, not me) and that I just waltzed into a high paying job straight out of school and lived happily ever after (I wish!). Contrary to popular belief, I as a white male, DO NOT run the world and I live a pretty typical middle class worker bee life. So why do Black Americans such as Rev. Wright, Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and all others that follow their line of reasoning aim their hatred and anger at me? Just because of the color of my skin? Ah, my friend, they then suffer from a clear case of prejudice. The best cure for that is to look up the word ???hypocrisy??? in the dictionary and then peer upon themselves in the mirror. -
Posted By:
litmajor at 03/18/2008 4:06:59 PM
Comment:
Judging by what is in your article I have concluded that, ideologically, I am African-American, in spite of the fact that I've have passed as a white male for the past sixty-one years.
I feel like Rev. Wright a lot of the time but I don't feel his message is one of hope--quite the contrary. If things don't change where am I to go? Where are most black Americans going to go? I don't want to yield to despair and I don't want to pass it on to my children.
That's why I'm supporting Barack Obama. He seems to hold out some hope for an improvement in American lives and America's role in the world. Am I deceiving myself? Possibly. But what's the alternative -
Posted By:
tberla at 03/18/2008 3:34:34 PM
Comment:
I'd be interested to know whether Mr. Dawson felt Sen. Obama, in his speech in Philadelphia today, was able to "find a language that both addresses our hopes for the future while recognizing the difficulties and divisions of the present." Seems to me that he did exactly that. I watched the speech sitting the waiting room at the doctor's office, with a half-dozen other people, most African-American (I am "white" -- Scottish, English, E. European Jewish, etc). We were all entranced by what he said. One woman, when called in for her appointment, groaned at having to miss the end of the speech. -
Posted By:
mustang sallie at 03/18/2008 3:14:10 PM
Comment:
While I sympathize with Obama and distancing himself from the Wrights, Smileys, Sharptons and yes, Farrakhans of the world, some of these men statements - past and present ??? no matter how militant, how radical, I have quietly agreed with, as many other Blacks.
I don't consider myself a racist. I'm a realist. My uncle was incarcerated for 10 years of his life for a crime he didn't commit. His only crime ??? being the only man on the street that night with dark skin. Ten years gone, forever. This is not just a trouble of "his past"; this is a trouble of his present and future. He was robbed, just like the woman's parents were robbed of their daughter.
Although "we" are very functional and talented, white folks will never understand the hidden rage, anger, resentment many of us carry for years and years of past AND current oppression. The "troubles of the past" will never be too far behind us. Too many things in the present - Katrina victims, Jena 6, Genalow Wilson ??? reminds us of the filthy past. -
Posted By:
mustang sallie at 03/18/2008 3:10:51 PM
Comment:
While I sympathize with Obama and distancing himself from the Wrights, Smileys, Sharptons and yes, Farrakhans of the world, some of these men statements - past and present ??? no matter how militant, how radical, I have quietly agreed with, as many other Blacks.
I don't consider myself a racist. I'm a realist. My uncle was incarcerated for 10 years for a crime he didn't commit. His only crime ??? being the only man on the street that night with dark skin. Ten years gone, forever. This is not just a trouble of "his past"; this is a trouble of his present and future. He was robbed, just like the woman's parents were robbed of their daughter.
Although we are very functional and talented, white folks will never understand the hidden rage many of us carry for years and years of current oppression. In most cases, it is justified. The "troubles of the past" will never be too far behind us. Too many things in the present - Katrina victims, Jena 6, Genalow Wilson ??? reminds us of the filthy past. -
Posted By:
mudnstars at 03/18/2008 3:04:40 PM
Comment:
I agree that Obama's task is to somehow bridge the black and white world views about race and point the way forward. (I use these general terms only for convenience; I in no way believe whole groups of people share monolithic world views about anything.) As a white woman who has been thoroughly "schooled" and understands where Rev. Wright is coming from, I also see how threatening his views could be to many, if not most, whites. Delineating common ground where everyone feels understood and a path forward with which everyone can agree is a monumental task. If anyone is equal to it, Obama might be. His identity as a mixed race man who grew up in Hawai'i (where I also grew up) means he himself has his feet in various different worlds and belongs to more than one tribe at the same time. Besides making him quintessentially 21st Century American, this hopefully has given him the ability to help us create bridges to one another over our chasms. It feels rather audacious, but I have high hopes. -
Posted By:
Daysman at 03/18/2008 2:53:20 PM
Comment:
Obama is not wrong if the criteria for judging right or wrong is that of political effectiveness ... try to remember that Obama is a politician, not a professor of cultural science. But if the question lingers in your mind whether white Americans are somehow suspicious that Obama is secretly black(?) and that somehow white Americans are simultaneously ignorant of the real condition of black Americans yet intuitively aware that it isn't as good as they think it is... and somehow that worries them that Obama might not be honest about his hope for a better America... huh? White Americans aren't that complex, not many of them have lived in all black neighborhoods, they are every bit as ignorant and uncaring as the polls suggest.
Poor blacks get a raw deal in America, but so do poor whites. Obama is speaking up for the forgotten majority that Bush has trampled for eight years. Racial tensions persist, but a common struggle for survival is starting to bridge the gap. There really is racial harmony in our elementary aged children. In another 40 years, the views Obama expressed in this campaign will likely be the mainstream perspective. -
Posted By:
Stephen at 03/18/2008 2:52:16 PM
Comment:
America has gone through a worm hole in the past 80 days and few people, even within the campaigns, have grasped the significance of the change that Barack Obama represents. It is not just the man but the reaction to the man, his credibility as a presidential candidate. Credibility that no other African American has been afforded in the past and reinforced by his superior performance in the primaries. It can be said that we live now in a After Obama (AO) world in contrast to a Before Obama (BO) world. No doubt, President Obama and New York Governor David Paterson have their work cut out for them as do all African Americans, in the promised land we have entered. -
Posted By:
mudnstars at 03/18/2008 2:47:40 PM
Comment:
I agree that Obama's task is to somehow bridge the gap between the white and black world views concerning racism and point the way forward. (I am using these general terms only for convenience's sake -- I don't for a minute think that whole groups of people see everything a certain way). As a white woman who has been "schooled" and gets where Rev. Wright is coming from, I also see how threatening his message can be to many, if not most, white people. But if anyone is equal to this monumental task, I believe Obama might be, and I sure hope he is. -
Posted By:
nboomer at 03/18/2008 2:47:08 PM
Comment:
it would seem that an egalitarian society can exist on parchment for the US, as it arguably does, and its the individuals who must change now. It would seem that it is merely as it is noted in the article, the majority of African Americans "carry baggage" from the civil rights era, and that these ideas about equality are pervasive to the extent of bridging generation gaps--that is, that it is a learned social norm among African Americans that they are continually being oppressed.The reality is that because most African Americans are underprivileged economically the ideology endures. Perhaps suggesting that their economic backwardness, while initially a result of uncivil racial practices of an racially and gender biased government, perpetuates the commonplace notion of blacks being still oppressed in the US among blacks by whites, and the touchy subject of skin color and unsettled emotions over a history of oppression are used as a scapegoat to perpetuate the epidemic of "subtle racism", even now as wright has revealed publicly that hes just the tip of the iceberg. Does financial compensation or land acquisition suffice to quiet these latent hostilities? It is not a matter of materialism, it is about the composition of ones character and their willingness to accept others. We must move forward from any latent hostility between races, as Abraham Lincoln said "a house divided against itself cannot stand", so must we move forward. Accordingly, I think that Obama's denunciation of Wright was right. however, whether that changes the fact that Obama is a talking head spewing puff rhetoric with the quixotic message of change(ok to what end?!) i suppose is for voters to decide... -
Posted By:
Daysman at 03/18/2008 2:37:44 PM
Comment:
Obama is not wrong if the criteria for judging right or wrong is that of political effectiveness ... try to remember that Obama is a politician, not a professor of cultural science. But if the question lingers in your mind whether white Americans are somehow suspicious that Obama is secretly black(?) and that somehow white Americans are simultaneously ignorant of the real condition of black Americans yet intuitively aware that it isn't as good as they think it is... and somehow that worries them that Obama might not be honest about his hope for a better America... huh? White Americans aren't that complex, not many of them have lived in all black neighborhoods, they are every bit as ignorant and uncaring as the polls suggest.
Poor blacks get a raw deal in America, but so do poor whites. Obama is speaking up for the forgotten majority that Bush has trampled for eight years. Racial tensions persist, but a common struggle for survival is starting to bridge the gap. There really is racial harmony in our elementary aged children. In another 40 years, the views Obama expressed in this campaign will likely be the mainstream perspective. -
Posted By:
Daysman at 03/18/2008 2:33:46 PM
Comment:
Obama is not wrong if the criteria for right or wrong is that of political effectiveness ... try to remember that Obama is a politician, not a professor of cultural science. But if the question lingers in your mind whether white Americans are somehow suspicious that Obama is secretly black(?) and that somehow white Americans are simultaneously ignorant of the real condition of black Americans yet intuitively aware that it isn't as good as they think it is... and somehow that worries them that Obama might not be honest about his hope for a better America... huh? White Americans aren't that complex, not many of them have lived in all black neighborhoods, they are every bit as ignorant and uncaring as the polls suggest.
Poor blacks get a raw deal in America, but so do poor whites. Obama is speaking up for the forgotten majority that Bush has trampled for eight years. Racial tensions persist, but a common struggle for survival is starting to bridge the gap. There really is racial harmony in our elementary aged children. In another 40 years, the views Obama expressed in this campaign will likely be the mainstream perspective. -
Posted By:
Daysman at 03/18/2008 2:30:56 PM
Comment:
Obama is not wrong if the criteria for right or wrong is that of political effectiveness ... try to remember that Obama is a politician, not a professor of cultural science. But if the question lingers in your mind whether white Americans are somehow suspicious that Obama is secretly black(?) and that somehow white Americans are simultaneously ignorant of the real condition of black Americans yet intuitively aware that it isn't as good as they think it is... and somehow that means Obama might not be honest about his hope for a better America... huh? White Americans aren't that complex, not many of them have lived in all black neighborhoods, they are every bit as ignorant and uncaring as the polls suggest.
Poor blacks get a raw deal in America, but so do poor whites. Obama is speaking up for the forgotten majority that Bush has trampled for eight years. Racial tensions persist, but a common struggle for survival is starting to bridge the gap. There really is racial harmony in our elementary aged children. In another 40 years, the views Obama expressed in this campaign will really be the mainstream. -
Posted By:
mrbill at 03/18/2008 2:28:10 PM
Comment:
As long as African Americans can believe they are still victims of prejudice, they will feel morally justified in ripping off their landlords, their employers, their neighbors, and the government. So, of course they are heavily invested in the idea. The irony is that the idea generates its own reality. Those people that willingly immigrate here from Africa, with skin darker than most "African Americans", come here without this crippling mindset, and consequently they prosper at the same rate as European and Asian immigrants. The greatest limitations are the ones we impose on ourselves.-
Posted By:
LoveTruth at 03/19/2008 4:23:25 PM
Comment:
My family cam here from the Caribbean. When they came here they could not understand the race relations or why the black community was in the state that it was in in the 70s and 80s when they arrived here. When my mother became a social worker working out of the South Bronx, it became apparent to her the deeply embedded poverty, crime, social injustice, the broken families, the drug epedemic that was at its height in the 80s and early 90s, it was a shock and she did evrything in her power to help these people. However she still didnt understand them. She later became a probation officer and it was there when it hit her. The criminal justice system needed fixing, the schools were no good, the places were these young people grew up in were dangerous and the infrastructure was falling apart, they had no support system, very few people loved and cared for them, many were looking for acceptance and self-worth and lost themselves to the street. My mother began to sympathize with them and understood that it was much more than what could be seen on the surface. She grew up in a beautiful home in St. Andrew, Jamaica which was a far cry from the gritty streets of the South Bronx. She had a support system unlike any other. She went to an amazing private school that stressed values and discipline. She tells me all the time that I am lucky and that if some of these people had what we had, they would not be in such a bad and hopeless predicament. Please dont equate many of the experiences of blacks in this country to those who come in overseas. I agree, the mindset has a lot to do with it but think....why do they have that mindset? What has caused them to think the way that they do? What the issue is the complex interplay between institutionalized racism and social injustice(my father works on wall street and gets paid less than everyone on his trading floor, ever wonder why?), the mindset and habits of too many (which are a result of our society) amongst other things. Please dont pass judgement. In addition, many of those same prosperous blacks have their own stories about social injustice. Come sit at my family table, we have doctors, lawyers, engineers, college professors, public relations professionals, small business owners and they each have their own stories about the barriers that they had to overcome or are unable to overcome in our society.
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Posted By:
nore at 03/18/2008 2:22:31 PM
Comment:
thank you michael dawson for highlighting what i think a lot of people are in denial about in this presidential race. while i agree that there are many things that unite americans, especially in terms of class coalitions, i think people are ignoring that to a certain extent black and white americans fundamentally differ in their view of this country.
this became clearly apparent in light of the media response to the comments made by michelle obama and now with the discussion about reverend wright. although not all black people agree with the comments made by these individuals, these views certainly do not represent the margins of the black community and i think that is the key that people are missing. while white people remain oblivious to the sensibilities of black americans, these are ideas are not radical or different from what many black people think across class barriers. i have conversations with my black friends regularly about issues like these and while we are college students and are expected to be more liberal, i find my professors and the adults in my life expressing similar views.
especially with the situation regarding the comments made by michelle obama, i felt that there was a gap between what i heard her saying and what white americans heard her saying. the media (mostly liberal blogs) kept harping on her supposed arrogance or barack's self-centeredness and i kept thinking that white people do not know how to interpret what a highly educated black woman with michelle's working class background is and where many of her views come from.
in her case, i kept thinking of a joke made by chris rock where he compared the united states to your uncle that paid your way through college while simultaneously molesting you which i think is a valid interpretation of black americans relationship with this country but for some reason people could not see michelle's statement in that same line of thinking which i think was a case of turning a blind eye to an issue that was at the center of that discussion. -
Posted By:
Northern Virginia Female at 03/18/2008 2:03:39 PM
Comment:
Honestly, I can not understand why black Americans are so angry? What is still "holding them back". What more can possibly be done? There have been decades of affirmative action. I work in the government and a huge majority of black Americans work in my office, with excellent jobs and positions of authority. A black man is at the pinnacle of becoming the President of the United States. There are African Americans in every facet of American life, politics, business, industry. I just don't get it. I am sure there are still biases, there are among every ethnic and socio-economic group. That is part of human nature, but in terms of equality under the law, in the workplace and in areas of achievement- colleges, universities, government- there is really nothing holdiing black Americans back. Why the rage? Why the resentment? We have made strides. It isn't Utopia, but is it Utopia for anyone but maybe 1% of the population who have it all? I have had to work hard for everything I have. VERY HARD! I haven't had any advantages I didn't earn. I don't see where this horrible racism is holding back Oprah or Condoleeza or David Paterson or... the list goes on and on and on.
At some point, where does it end? What does it take to stop all of this hatred, anger, resentment and blame? It almost makes a person want to throw up their hands and give up. -
Posted By:
mftill at 03/18/2008 1:36:18 PM
Comment:
An interesting point of view. But can you really believe Pastor Wright's assertion that Barack Obama is citicized because he's not white and ...'not
priviledged."? When and how is a Harvard law school grad who's also a U.S. senator who lives in a million-dollar-plus house "not prividleged"? So Obama--who, BTW, I fervently hope and believe will get the Democratic Presidential nomination--is NOT priviledged?
By whose standard? By what measure?
Wright sings the old "You're all victims" song, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. Jacksnon and Sharpton wrote the lyics; he's playing the tune. -
Posted By:
kooyong at 03/18/2008 1:35:57 PM
Comment:
Thanks for a rare bit of honesty about race in the US. Of course, the kind of honesty your asking of Obama is probably completely incompatible with him winning the Presidency. The country's denial about the situation of black Americans runs far too deep. Pieces like this one can only help, however. -
Posted By:
NIGGER HATER at 03/18/2008 1:07:21 PM
Comment:
THE SO CALLED REVERNED WRIGHT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A STINKING RACIST .BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA THREW HIM UNDER THE TRAIN THE MINUTE IT GOT HOT IN THE KITCHEN FOR HIM.IF HE WAS HIS SPIRTUAL GUIDER WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD HE HAVE THREW HIM UNDER THE BUS THE MINUTE HIS RACIST PIE HOLE GOT HIM IN HOT WATER.?????ONLY THING BARACK HUSSEIN OBAM WANTS IS TO BE PRESIDENT WHICH HE WILL NOT DO HES TOO MUCH OF A PIECE OF TRASH TO GET ELECTED AND IF THE NIGGERS THINK THEY CAN VOTE HIM IN GET REAL TOO MANY NIGGERS IN PRISON TO TO MAKE A DIFFRENCE IN THE VOTING ANYWAYS. -
Posted By:
NIGGER HATER at 03/18/2008 1:04:56 PM
Comment:
HE IS NOTHING MORE THAN A STINKING RACIST THAT THAT CLOWN OBAMA THREW UNDER THE BUS.IF HE WAS HIS MENTOR AND SPIRTUAL GUIDER HE WOULD NOT HAVE THROWN HIM UNDER THE BUS FOR OPENING HIS RACIST PIE HOLE.JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU WHAT ENDS BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA WILL GO TO GET ELECTED.BUT WAIT A MINUTE NO BLACK MAN EVER WILL BE ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTRY AS LONG AS THEY ASSOCIATE WITH RACISTS LIKE THAT ASS CLOWN RIGHT.OBAMA MAY BE A DECENT MAN BUT AS LONG AS YOU ASSOCIATE WITH TRASH SOONER OR LATER YOUR GONNA REEK OF THE SMELL OF TRASH -
Posted By:
alphasun at 03/18/2008 12:58:36 PM
Comment:
I'm writing from Dublin, Ireland. I believe you are correct, after tuning in to the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show recently. Many of his callers, who were black unless there was some deception going on, were advocating a return to segregation. 'We used to have our own businesses' etc. I felt like saying 'and your own toilets, restaurants and bus seats'!
As a white European boomer who spent a good deal of time in anti-racist activism on the streets of London, I was pretty disappointed. I hope Obama can move things on, either as president or VP. -
Posted By:
Consterned at 03/18/2008 12:49:34 PM
Comment:
Does the author care to give his opinion/view of what the black community's would be should Obama lose the nomination?..election?? Are we sitting on a time bomb?? -
Posted By:
jwerlein at 03/18/2008 12:28:01 PM
Comment:
Your vested interest in continuing the racial divide is evident. -
Posted By:
jwerlein at 03/18/2008 12:26:45 PM
Comment:
Your vested interest in continuing the racial divide is apparent. -
Posted By:
chuck at 03/18/2008 12:12:43 PM
Comment:
Of course t, the major point of your article is the unstated one - Obama , if he were a worthy vessel for black people, wouldn't have such a high comfort level with whites. He'd better answer these concerns with language that makes black people happy and affirms THEIR cultural truisms.
The trouble is, some of the stuff that Wrights is alrminag and untrue...Take the 9/11 comments, saying that America "asked for it", is like saying that a woman "asked for" assault. Foreign policy or no, no country "asks for" an involutary incineration of 3,000 innocent citizens. To the extent that the black mainstream believes this that are far out of the mainstream of the rest of the country not to mention some of the world. Obama could address so of the qualms that whites have by saying what I just said, but that would get him ostracized by most people in the black community. So the moral is - speak truth to power (white), but lie to me and help me rationalize my most ridiculous fears because I need the psychological support. Pitiful. The conclusion to me seems, I am as a African-American, am ready to see a black president in 2008, but only if I'm the only group in the country that gets to cling to my outmoded insecurities and resertments. I get to keep my bizarre old wives tales and urban legends too! -
Posted By:
siempre at 03/18/2008 11:59:40 AM
Comment:
This article is representative of those "professional' racists who are paid to see racism and negate racial improvement. The greatest negation of the arguments in this article is that it fails to define who these horrible whites are. Does the author include in white all the Asians ,all the Hispanics, all the interracial children? Oh, could the Whites be all the Irish and Europeans that came to the US in the early 1900's? But didn't slavery end while those people were essentially white slaves themselves in Europe since they didn't get to America till after 1900? Does the author call Native Americans white? Tell us-who are these horrible Whites so we can shun them! Or, is it just possible that most of America is a racial hogepoge of people who arrived here AFTER the Civil War and who want to move forward and not live inwhat was a bad past for all immigrants? -
Posted By:
jon1156 at 03/18/2008 11:56:15 AM
Comment:
Unbelievable the way this writer elides the meat of the problem with Wright's speeches by implying that it's an issue of differing opinions between blacks and whites on Iraq or the current President. Wright is a garden-variety conspiracy fruitcake who believes that the government is behind crack and AIDS - that's the problem. Let's at least be honest about what we're talking about here. -
Posted By:
iseen76 at 03/18/2008 11:40:10 AM
Comment:
You know, I grow ever so tired of all these Blackologists trying to put Black Americans in a single box, neatly packaged. Naive and ignorant is the point of view that somehow based on the shades of one's skin, we will walk, talk, think and vote alike. We are no more a collective in our behavior or our thinking than White American is. I have been Black for all of 50 years and I have never been a part of one of these "surveys". How many people do you question before you assume to know how Blacks think? Note to the media: Don't speak for me. I'll speak for myself in November, thank you very much. -
Posted By:
rfusty 3 at 03/18/2008 11:39:33 AM
Comment:
Perhaps, we need the word "realism." Perhaps, we need to note that the opinions of folks such as Wright are often "true," compared to what passes for truth among mainstream Americans. -
Posted By:
rfusty 3 at 03/18/2008 11:37:27 AM
Comment:
Perhaps, we need the word "realism." Perhaps, we need to note that African-Americans are more in line with what most of the world thinks is true. -
Posted By:
JMB at 03/18/2008 11:35:41 AM
Comment:
What? Come again? For which black mainstream population is Mr. Dawson speaking? Mr. Wright's comments were stupid, stupid, stupid. He exploited a connection to the national stage for his own personal gain and agenda. It backfired. At a minimum, what does a political speech have to do with a Sunday sermon? Hardly a separation of church and state. Mr. Wright single-handedly turned turn back the clock on positive racial progress. I'll give you the notion that racial progress is argumentative. But Mr. Wright's fervent argument was not constructive -- at all. He did all harm to Sen. Obama, who is correct in claiming Mr. Wright is stuck in a time warp. This is not about acknowledging more can be done to improve racial divides. There will always be room and areas for improvement. That is a statement of the obvious. However, any sort of progress on racial tolerance, equality, or whatever measure you choose to pursue will not be accomplished in the manner of Mr. Wright's approach. Anyone who believes otherwise, is stupid, stupid, stupid. It is my wish, and among the blacks that I know, that Sen. Obama totally severs his relationship the relic. -
Posted By:
Woody at 03/18/2008 11:27:45 AM
Comment:
While I realize that there will always be people who hate other people for the simple fact that they are different than themselves, I wonder if the belief among the black community that they are treated unfairly is actual truth, or if it is drummed into their heads by the mainstream media and the federal government going out of their way to give them more advantages than everyone else. I know that if I had been a black man, my college would have been paid for by a college fund for African Americans. I know that due to affirmative action, I would have been more likely to get a job if competing against an equally skilled white man. Poorness does not only affect African Americans and other minorities, I know I have to work my rear off to support my family, as do many other Americans. I don't drive a new car, I don't have a big screen TV, so am I being treated unfairly because I don't have some of the things other people think are so important?
I feel everyone is equal, regardless to skin color, heritage, gender, or religion. I feel that people like to perpetuate the "you're being treated unfairly" myth simply because it makes them feel as though they are owed something that they are not.
I don't understand why it's so important that Mr. Obama can be the first black president, or why Mrs. Clinton can be the first female president. I feel that their skin color and their gender have absolutely nothing to do with their capability to do the job. I feel they're both incapable of the job, so I won't vote for either of them... and using their racial heritage or their gender in an effort to get votes is in my opinion silly. If people would stop putting their labels on people based on outward appearances, then there wouldn't be any unfairness on either side of the racial divide. -
Posted By:
jcambro at 03/18/2008 11:18:02 AM
Comment:
Wright's views are indeed outdated (as well as offensive, outrageous and racist.)
If indeed a plurality of black Americans agree with these views, then they too are out of step with reality.
This distorted picture of white America - as a shadowy power structure scheming to keep blacks down - is unfamiliar, and even seems paranoid, to most white people precisely because it hasn't existed for a long time.
Racism is a pernicious social problem and very present evil in the world, to be sure. But institutional racism does not exist as American blacks perceive it - as a system, presided over by sinister forces.
When white people (and more sensible black people) hear the stupid and offensive rhetoric of Reverend Wright, they hear him for what he is - a race-baiting, jive-talking hustler. And when they see the crowd in the church jumping up and down in adulation, they feel pity - for people who just don't get it -
Posted By:
jcambro at 03/18/2008 11:17:47 AM
Comment:
Wright's views are indeed outdated (as well as offensive, outrageous and racist.)
If indeed a plurality of black Americans agree with these views, then they too are out of step with reality.
This distorted picture of white America - as a shadowy power structure scheming to keep blacks down - is unfamiliar, and even seems paranoid, to most white people precisely because it hasn't existed for a long time.
Racism is a pernicious social problem and very present evil in the world, to be sure. But institutional racism does not exist as American blacks perceive it - as a system, presided over by sinister forces.
When white people (and more sensible black people) hear the stupid and offensive rhetoric of Reverend Wright, they hear him for what he is - a race-baiting, jive-talking hustler. And when they see the crowd in the church jumping up and down in adulation, they feel pity - for people who just don't get it. -
Posted By:
fsilber at 03/18/2008 11:12:12 AM
Comment:
In other words, Barak Obama is just as much an Oreo cookie as any black Republican (and I mean this in a good way).
I suppose the sharp political differences between blacks and whites will continue so long as blacks continue to see politics as the solution to problems that have little to do with politics. -
Posted By:
rladso at 03/18/2008 10:35:54 AM
Comment:
Excellent Analysis. Rev Wright's comments, while inflammatory, nevertheless resonate with a large segment of the population. When Rev Wright suggests America's foreign policy was at least partially responsible for 9/11, and that it was "America's chickens coming home to roost???. This is not much different from Congressman Ron Paul, Republican Presidential candidate from Texas, who argued that 9/11 was an example of "blowback" to our foreign policy. Same idea.
Neither is Rev. Wright the first pastor to make controversial statements. John Hagge, an evangelical minister who supports John McCain, is under fire from Catholics for controversial comments he's made in the pulpit.
The real question is who decided it's a minister???s job to be politically correct? They are not elected officials, they are servants of God. Their job is to speak truth to power. Not to coddle it.
I also don't understand why Sen. Obama feels he has to make these constant denouncements of his religion in the public square. The First amendment of the constitution establishes the separation between church and state. Obama should be arguing that religion-or the lack thereof-while important in preserving the traditions and values of the nation, should not be subjected to attacks and intrusions of government and politics. Rev. Wright and Pastor Hagge are, or at least should be, off limits.
Rich -
Posted By:
cstanton at 03/18/2008 10:18:15 AM
Comment:
This article certainly highlights one aspect that is important to American politics, namely, the difference in perception between blacks and whites with regards to race.
The challenge for Obama is a daunting one. He has to, if he is to be a successful candidate that represents both subcultures, effectively recognize and validate both paradigms. Given the highly charged nature of this subject, it may prove to be his downfall. -
Posted By:
Dan Miori at 03/18/2008 10:10:54 AM
Comment:
First, let me identify myself as a middle class Italian American with leftist leanings, a good job, and a house in the suburbs. In other words WHITE.
I disagree with Mr. Dawson???s idea that the Obama campaign is running from the discussion of race. I think Mr. Obama is working hard to run a real presidential campaign which focuses on many issues central to our existing in a world safer than the mess left us by the criminal George Bush. Mr. Obama???s very presence as a viable candidate pushes the confrontation of race and the American history of racial barriers to the foreground. While I would love to live in a world tranquil enough to allow race to be the central issue of this presidential season, it is not the case. There are many important problems to be addressed which transcend race, most notably health care equity and the war of occupation in Iraq. Racial barriers in America, are on the list, they just aren???t the entire list.
I also disagree with the comments of irbwinner comparing the history of Irish and African Americans. Many Italian immigrants were lynched as papists or radicals or whatever the hatred of the day dictated, but hose me down and put a suit on me and I could pass as a republican without a second glance.
Although I share the ill ease of most white Americans when I listen to Pastor Wright, I accept hearing his thoughts to be important. They bring this conversation back to the dinner table (most importantly the white suburban dinner table) and away from the platitudes and lurking passive racism of the 70s and 80s (and 90???s, and of our current decade). How we approach the barrier of race will be a product of time and circumstance. I believe this presidential election is another stage in coming to grips with our shared history and it should be allowed to play out as it plays out. In comparison to the sacrifices that have brought us to this point it seems little enough to ask, as long as it allows us to try and walk into the future as a society of Americans. Most assuredly a society with the problems of class and poverty that haunt all societies but I hope one where the mark of those social divides will not be color. -
Posted By:
steffieg at 03/18/2008 10:03:21 AM
Comment:
This article is absolutely horrifying. To say that the comments made by Mr. Wright reflect the stance of most African Americans is a horrible insult. I am doubtful that most black Americans believe that white America "manufactured" the AIDS virus just for them, and likewise I am doubtful that most parishioners of a church would want to hear a minister speak profanities while attempting to excite the congregation.
Mr. Wright's association with morons and racist leaders such as Louis Farrakhan combined with his own hateful and negative comments about race relations in the U.S. only further attempt to divide America. Of course there continues to be racism, and loss of equality among many Americans, but instead lobbying for equality, Mr. Wright continues to stir the pot of hate, all the while raking in tithing donations, and never truly sharing a Christian message of love and positive change in the world. The issue of Obama (whom everyone deep down, knows he knew about all of this) is to me, not even the most important one; it is his congregation that suffers, and the lack of true Christian morals and lessons that are taken from this man who should not be called a minister of anything but racially charged rhetoric. -
Posted By:
annes at 03/18/2008 9:54:04 AM
Comment:
This is the best analysis of the issue I have seen so far. Thank you, Professor Dawson. I am a middle-aged, white woman, who graduated from Princeton the year before Michelle Obama. I am proud of and salute her accomplishments, and Barack Obama's (and his mother's). He was brought up, as was I, in the bohemian academic community. My politics resemble in many ways those of Rev. Wright, but his complicity in the terrible blood slander against Jews so wrongly pushed by Farrakhan and others is reprehensible and unworthy. As someone of his intellect surely knows, the question of Israel is extraordinarily complex, and the history of persecution, anguish, and mass murder at the hands of Christians, suffered by the Jewish people should lead anyone not in that community to discuss the political situation in Israel with extreme thoughtfulness and care.
I think that you are correct that Wright's politics are much closer to the black mainstream (to the extent one can be discerned) than has been understood so far in the white community. Of course, tens of millions of people cannot be neatly encapsulated, nor did you try to do so. Rather, your essay summarizes certain political thought, compressed by necessity into a few paragraphs, and omitting, for the sake of concision, a discussion of pro-life, anti-gay streams in the river -- streams which make it a difficult to broadly characterize American 'black" politics, to the extent it can be said to exist, as liberal or conservative in the conventional shorthand. But opposition to authority, questioning of received "majority" thought, and objection to hegemony, all within a fiercely patriotic tradition -- form the great current of that mighty river, one I wish all would join.
That said, I support Hillary Clinton, because, while she is far to the right of me politically, I do not believe that a genuine radical leftist (radical by USA standards, that is, i.e., pretty mild) could ever be elected President. (Plus,Clinton's candidacy resonates for me personally the way Obama's apparently does for many African-Americans.)
What concerns me about Obama's candidacy is that he appears to be trying to persuade us that he is also in that stream and will be able to carry out public policy consistent with that stream, but without being perceived as "left-wing." I do not believe he will be able to do that. His appeal to his electoral base is to implicitly promise that he is exactly what the Republicans will depict him as in the fall: a crypto-radical.
Anne S., Princeton, NJ