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14 comments:
Yes, Wright hurt him bad.
I think Obama is handling the race issue in an honest, mature, and nuanced way. Obama's race speech was an illustration of what I love about him as a candidate and why he excites me despite the fact that I generally detest politics. Unfortunately, such an approach is not how politics is played. Conventional politics is all about demonization, us vs. them, etc. I think Obama's campaign is not living up to the example set by Obama himself to not use race as a wedge issue.
I think Wright is much worse than Jackson and Sharpton.
Really worse than Jackson or Sharpton. Those two carry quite a bit of weight.
Almost everybody can finally see what a warped, evil man "Reverend" Wright is. I am surprised more people have not long ago gone to the website for the church Obama attends and seen the hateful rhetoric espoused there. Remember, this in not just a friend of Obama. He has been an inspiration and mentor for a long time. One of Wright's sermons provided the title for "Audacity of Hope" and the framework for the speech at the democratic convention that launched Obama's national acceptance.
@roxy wishum:
The website of the church didn't contain hateful rhetoric, in my opinion. Yes, it contained (contains) "black liberation theology" and an "Afrocentric focus" which may seem strange and questionable to many of us, but I think that's primarily due to a lack of understanding. It's not actually something scandalous, in my opinion. Groups with simultaneous strong ethnic and religious focus aren't exactly rare (e.g., Irish Catholic), regardless of whether such is ideal. Wright's hate-filled vitriol and conspiracy theories certainly are scandalous, but they represent a hand full of lines from a hand full of sermons out of "20 years" of sermons.
I have no personal knowledge of TUCC (Obama's church) and neither do most of folks currently piling on (except for a few video clips that may or may not be a representative summary). The testimony of people who do know TUCC has indicated that Wright's more controversial views are not an adequate summary. For example:
From the head of the UCC (link):
“Contrary to the claims made in these hateful e-mails, UCC members know Trinity to be one of the most welcoming, hospitable and generous congregations in our denomination,” Thomas said.
From Martin E. Marty (what a name!) of the Chicago Divinity School (link):
More important, for Trinity, being "unashamedly black" does not mean being "anti-white." My wife and I on occasion attend, and, like all other non-blacks, are enthusiastically welcomed.
Obama has summarized (linkTUCC as being focused on "...our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn." and "It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS."
In my opinion, ultimately, those of us without first-hand knowledge of TUCC will have a hard time knowing for sure what it's really all about as we see this contradictory evidence. Personally, I believe that the descriptions of people who have first-hand knowledge and are sympathetic are more likely to representative than a few quotes of an extremist preacher extracted from a huge body of sermons. I know I've heard plenty of things from the pulpit that I've disagreed strongly in the churches I've been a part of.
If there was a top ten list for the longest comments on a blog in the history of the internet, you would be #1!
@jsm: Your comment was meant to ridicule me, right?
Let's be nice now both of you. We all know I am the king of the top 10.
Yes, Wright hurt him. I also think that Obama hurt himself.
While Obama did try and distance himself from Wright's comments somewhat, he did conceed that "the anger is still there"...meaning the black community is still angry.
In my view, this comment has done just as much damage do his campaign as the comments from Rev. Wright and I'll tell you why.
There is one key demographic that outshines all others in voter turnout and that is the white male.
This article carefully and dutifly points out http://www.aspentimes.com/article/2008198091324 that this demographic is not racist but "annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race".
Let me point out that I do not think Obama typifies the worst stereotype of a black American. However, what you will find is the "Angry White Man" will be immediately turned off when he hears a rich, educated, accomplished black man say that "the anger is still there".
The "Angry White Man" will sit steaming red-faced as these words roll off the tongue of an affluent, Chicago-area lawyer who threw his maternal Grandmother under the bus last week when he said that in essence "white women are bred to be scared of young black men".
I wished that race would not have been an issue in this campaign season (because it's not an issue) but the Democrats have let it be such.
I openly welcome the rebuttal of anyone who disagrees with me. I hope that, by listening to each other's point of view, American's will learn to respect one another more which will, in turn, bring us closer to true unity.
I will leave you with one final thought.
I hope you, dear reader, will check out www.tucc.org and look at the "About Us" section. Please read their 10-point vision for the black value system, read about their unconditional committment to a black worship service, and read the words that say "black religious experience".
Then ask yourself...
Would this website be viewed in the same light if it was for a "white" church?
@j. canterbury: I appreciate the tone of your comment. I agree that race is less of an issue than it has ever been before, but it seems plain to me for a variety of reasons that it is still a significant factor in our society.
Did Rush or Hannity or someone use the "throw x under the bus" metaphor in relation to Obama's grandmother because it seems a bit coincidental that I keep hearing it used?
I'm a little confused about why the "anger is still there" phrase is so troubling to you coming from Obama's lips. He wasn't saying that he (Obama) is angry, but that many people, particularly of Wright's generation, are. Seems like a reasonable observation to me, not too controversial.
A couple other things...
Here is a link to a YouTube clip that gives more of the context to Wright's "chickens come home to roost" clip. Not that it will make the comment much more palatable to most folks, but I think it does illustrate the importance of context. When I hear the fuller context, it doesn't sound to me like Wright's message intended to be "America-hating" but rather more of a message of Christian pacifism/non-violence (breaking the cycle of violence) and the necessity for a self-introspective examination of my own personal relationship on the occasion of the unthinkable like the Sept 11 attacks (link)
Also, you might find Huckabee's comments about the Wright/Obama controversy interesting. They seem pretty reasonable to me. You can read them here (hold your nose again, it's from Daily Kos): link
What I felt was ironic was that I was not that upset about his "chickens come to roost" comment. I felt he actually had somewhat of a point (although I disagreed with it).
James: Very well said.
You're right, Jon, context is important. Thank you for the link to the clip.
Thanks Kenny! I only wish these comment boxes came with spell check. Everytime I find an error of mine, I die a little inside.
@j. canterbury: The Firefox browser has spell-check in text boxes like this one. Right now "canterbury" is highlighted by red dots underneath in the comment text box box I'm typing in.
Ahhh. Blasted IE! No spell check box for me. Oh well.
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