Ex-Obama pastor tells NAACP he's descriptive, not divisive

[jefferson_dem]

Source: AP

Ex-Obama pastor tells NAACP he's descriptive, not divisive
By JEFF KAROUB – 1 hour ago

DETROIT (AP) — The former pastor of Barack Obama whose words have rallied many but offended others told an audience of 10,000 that his critics get it wrong when they call him divisive and polarizing.

"I describe the conditions in this country," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. said during the NAACP's 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner.

"I'm not here for political reasons. I'm not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office," Wright said. "I am not running for the Oval Office. I've been running for Jesus a long, long time and I'm not tired yet."

Receiving a lengthy and loud standing ovation, Wright followed in the footsteps of Obama, President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in his speech at the event, a $150-a-plate fundraiser billed as the largest sit-down dinner in America.

<SNIP>

"In the past, we were taught to see others who are different as somehow being deficient," Wright said. "I believe that a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see other people who are different."

He also responded to Republican Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who had called Wright "divisive" during an April 18 forum.

"I am not one of the most divisive" black spiritual leaders, he said. "Tell him the word is `descriptive.'"

<SNIP>

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1Qr-L0EeMgyfelWgKLbSVBZlZdwD90AP4N80

[sabra]

1. Obama's ex-pastor slams 'corporate-owned media'

Source: CNN

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- The outspoken former pastor of Barack Obama told an audience of 10,000 at an NAACP dinner on Sunday that despite what his critics say, he is descriptive, not divisive, when he speaks about racial injustices.

"I describe the conditions in this country," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. said during the 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner held by the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I'm not here for political reasons," Wright said. "I'm not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I've been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I'm not tired yet."

By speaking at the event, Wright was following in the footsteps of Obama and the senator's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton. It's a $150-a-plate fundraiser billed as America's largest sit-down dinner.

"I am not one of the most divisive" black spiritual leaders, he said. "I'm one of the most descriptive."


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/27/obama.wright.ap/index.html

[Skittles]

2. corporate-owned media - the downfall of America

K&R

[ShockediSay]

3. & one symptom of creeping fascism

like the Zells, the Murdocs, the Redstones,
and the war contractor owned NBC

[Skittles]

4. CORRECT

more people need to speak out and I am glad Rev Wright sees the REAL problem

[cstanleytech]

11. Yup but what can you do....

the corporations have a tight fist upon the media in general and the government what with all the corporations campaign donations (aka bribes) I dont think anything will change soon if ever in regards to the media being dominated by corporations.

[netgui68]

5. A Magnificant speach

Dr. Wright certainly dispelled any reservations I had about him, and furthermore, dang...I like him and found him to be incredibly intelligent and far from divisive or hating his country...anyone with an open mind will realize the sound bites that have swamped the air waves did not fairly portray the depth and intentions of this man...of course I am sure there are plenty closed minded morans out there who will discount him and try to spin this speach into something negative, even though it was absolutely positive and inspirational.

[nikto]

16. I like him too!

According to biographical information on the
Trinity United Church of Christ's web site,
on Wikipedia and elsewhere, "Rev. Wright
served six years in the U.S. military,
in the Marines and the Navy.

As a cardiopulmonary technician in the Navy he
attended then-President Lyndon Johnson
during a medical procedure -- and was duly thanked by LBJ."

Wright is all the way over on the right(front) in this pic:




I thank him for his service back then.

But more important, right NOW...

Methinks Rev Wright tells it like it is.

(But I'm just an aging middle-class
white guy--What do I know?)

[pattmarty]

6. I saw this speech and the Bill Moyer's piece and this guy.........

.....is a true American. There is NO REASON for Obama to have to take shit from either Hillary or McCain over the "Wright issue".

[mcollier]

7. Political Candidates and the media should be ashamed about

Causing unnecessary harm to a solid church community. The media didn't spend months talking about Ted Haggard's church and his ties with the Bush Administration... There are some cans that are better left closed...

[fbahrami]

10. a true human

It's OK to criticize governments, even ours.

[IndependentDem]

14. couldn't agree more...

if people would actual watch and pay attention there wouldn't be a "Wright issue". Its sad to see what "they" have tried to turn him into.

[Gamey]

8. So That The Corporate Owned Media Will Give A Shit

[Window]

9. K/R.

:kick:

[DeSwiss]

12. K&R

Well, there's one message from Rev. Wright that definitely WON'T get repeated coverage from the MSM....

[kevinbgoode]

13. Which explains why Rev. Moon is never investigated

for his ties to the Republican Party - because he IS corporate media too.

Pretty amazing when the MSM can ignore a Bush family friend who calls himself the "Second Messiah". . .has made racist comments of his own. . .

[IndependentDem]

15. i am right there with you on this one...

hardly anyone has even heard of Rev. Moon before and he is fucking crazy.

[lyonspotter]

17. Descriptive!

And here is a visual description of Wright's views: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xQkHBJS19F8

[FrenchieCat]

18. ooh....CNN reporting on itself!

This won't last.

[annabanana]

19. "Barak's controversial Pastor REFUSES to back down"

And THAT is NBC's response. THAT is the "tease" line that is repeated before and after every commercial break, in that incessant rhythm of commercials that we have been hypnotised with since we were born....

[lisa58]

20. That was great...

...I enjoyed every word of it.

[Vronsky777]

21. Stereotyping

Rev Wrights comments last night were essentially self-serving
and littered with misinformation, falsehoods and a profoundly
egocentric take on history that verged on narcissism. He
stated he was not divisive and then went on to stereotype huge
swaths of the population. While this really has nothing to do
with Obama, whose message remains one of inclusiveness, I am
surprised to hear people say Wright "tells it like it
is." Isn't stereotyping at the very root of racial
divisiveness? Rev Wrights statements screamed of a nostalgia
for relevance: His objective to place himself in the context
of great Civil Rights leaders like MLK and Malcolm X. Please.
He sounded nothing like either. And a note about corporate
owned media. Sure it is, but we the viewers are really the
one's who in the end decide the content of our own media. A
news program, like any other show, must first and foremost be
attuned to ratings, for the continued procurement of expensive
advertising. To get all conspiracy-minded about it is just a
paranoid delusion. After all, it's our own job, in life, to
keep ourselves informed, to research our opinions, to strive
to keep an open mind in all our affairs. 

[FlaGranny]

23. Amazingly

skewed view of the reverends speech. Did you actually "listen?" Stereotyping? Nonsense. EVERYONE is different and those differences come from gender, race, lifetime experiences, genetics, everything. For god's sake, who would want to live in a world where there were no differences. Not me.

[JTFrog]

25. Welcome back.

:hi:

[Bucky]

22. Oddly, all I saw from the speech on TV was a few out of context comments he made about accents

Hey, I watched a report on this speech on "Morning Joe", but all they reported was how he said JFK & LBJ didn't get ridiculed for their nonstandard pronunciations of English. It's almost like they were reporting on an entirely different speech. Or (Heaven forbid) simply taking a few inflamatory quotes out of context to show the man in the worst possible light.

[Jester Messiah]

24. Wait, what?

"I've been running for Jesus a long, long time and I'm not tired yet." Crap, it's a presidential AND a messianic election year?? :rofl:

[Bluenorthwest]

26. I started out with great interest in Obama

Based on his membership at Trinity and his relationship with Rev Wright. Obama's subsequent use of actually divisive Fundies like McClurkin sent me packing. But Wright and Trinity are very strong endorsements of Obama, and of anyone who picks that chuch to attend. They are good people, with a long history of inclusion and great community service. Trinity has been where Christians ought to be, many many times while other chuchs were, shall I say, just not. They've don the right thing when do do nothing would have been easier by far.
I'd vote for Jeremiah in a flash.

[fed_up_mother]

27. "Farrakan didn't put me in chains"

therefore he's not his enemy.

And just HOW is that going to be replayed in sound bites?

Some really great points, and some really bad sound bites will come from this - again.

[melonkali]

28. Open Letter to Senator Obama

Dear Senator Obama,

For the love of God, get a backbone! Do NOT publicly abandon and betray your pastor, a good and loyal friend, for the sake of political expediency. When Karl Rove appears on CNN urging you to sever all ties to Rev. Wright, do you think that slimy little toad is offering you fatherly advice? or can you see that such a spineless act is a bad idea? It is a very bad idea! If you abandon your church and your pastor for the sake of political correctness, it only suggests that you are too stupid or too cowardly to be President. All good and decent people know that there are certain things you just don't do. This is one of those things.

I want to vote for you, Senator Obama. I'm an old woman, and this may well be my last and most important Presidential vote--this one's for my children and grandchildren. I left the Clinton camp when I heard Sen. Clinton state, with sugar-coated venom, that this affair was your personal business BUT, of course, SHE would never have sat through Rev. Wright's sermons. Oh, puleez! Any candidate worthy of my vote, in fact any honorable person, would have vehemently defended her opponent or anyone else against such unconscionable muckraking. Then I looked to you, and what did you do?

Now it seems that our choices in this year's Presidential campaign are reduced to (1) a backstabbing shrew, (2) a half-crazed warmonger, or (3) a spineless wimp. Senator Obama, let me repeat my message. Please, get a backbone and do the right thing. We, the people, aren't as hopeless a lot, nor as easily deceived by political gamesmanship, as you might think. If you (or anyone else) will display the mettle of true leadership and lead us along a good and right path, we will trust and follow.

Most Sincerely,
The Concerned Citizens of Flat Rock