Mark Brown in today's Sun-Times nails it! " It's gut check time for white Americans"

[wndycty]

It's gut check time for white Americans
Obama's in trouble because Wright brings out our biases

April 30, 2008

BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist

-snip-
In short, I think I know racism when I see it, and the Rev. Wright affair has it in full bloom.

This is a gut check time for white America, and don't give me the "double standard" baloney. If we could ever clean up the white racism, the thing that some of you consider black racism would take care of itself.

If somebody tells me they're against Barack Obama because he's on the wrong side of the issues -- that he doesn't have the right approach to the war in Iraq or that he can't be trusted on taxes and government spending -- I can understand.

But if they tell me they're against Obama because he went to Wright's church, I can see that for what it is.
-end-

http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/922710,CST-NWS-brown30.article

[rateyes]

1. I've checked my white gut,

and while I voted for John Edwards, I'm supporting Obama right now. He's on the right side of most of the issues, IMO, and I trust him. I've lost a lot of trust in Senator Clinton because of who funds her campaign (especially the PAC money, lobbyists, etc.).

And, I get a kick out of pointing out to my Hillary Clinton supporting dad (a closet racist, I'm sorry to say---and, I've got the stories to back that assertion) that Barack Obama is as much "white" as he is "black." (genetically speaking that is.) Drives him nuts. He can't see the racism in the notion that having a black father makes Obama "black," but having a white mother doesn't make him "white."

It's like saying "black blood makes an otherwise white person black, but white blood doesn't make an otherwise black person white."

I have to remind my dad that blood is red, and type O from a black donor can be given to a type O recipient, because we're all members of the same race---the human race.

I'm with Tony Campolo (an Italian minister who belongs to a predominantly black church) who said, "White people scare me!" :rofl:

[aquart]

4. He's beige.

Not a bit darker than a brown paper bag, I understand. The acceptance color. According to Mrs. Chris Rock, I believe.

Congratulate yourself on your enlightenment when you vote for a black man who actually is black or, say, really dark brown, for president.

Let me know when you're putting up an Asian-American candidate for president. How about half-Chinese? Half-Laotian?

Yeah, you're the ones who aren't racist. It's all the rest of us.

Meanwhile you are all actively practicing bigotry against the working class, the aged, women who don't keep their proper place, those who haven't gone to college, and anyone else with the nerve not to vote for Obama.

A wee bit dismissive of a whole lotta Americans. I guess we're just not good enough for smart people like the Obama supporters.

[redqueen]

8. Wha...?

When who's "putting up" a candidate?

Asian-American? WTF are you on about?

Who is "you all" and how are they "actively practicing bigotry against the working class, the aged, women who don't keep their proper place, those who haven't gone to college, and anyone else with the nerve not to vote for Obama"?

Your post is nearly nonsensical.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. She passed "nearly" a few miles back.

Must be the bitterness.

[knixphan]

20. 'She passed "nearly" a few miles back.'

that's funny as hell.

[rateyes]

11. FYI, this white guy was a delegate the convention for

Jesse Jackson in 1984. I must be both sexist and racist because I voted for John Edwards. :sarcasm:

Why don't you take the time to figure out who the hell you are talking to before jumping to your damned conclusions? For you to say that kind of crap about me shows me your own fucking ignorance.

[redqueen]

14. Hah...

In my response, I almost said, "How do you know they didn't vote for Jackson or Mosley-Braun or Sharpton?"

I shoulda. :P

[rateyes]

18. You know what it means to "assume" don't you?

:hi:

[redqueen]

19. Yup! They learned me that in grade school.

:P

:hi:

[The Night Owl]

2. I agree. Jeremiah Wright is both ignorant and arrogant. {EOM}

[harun]

9. Did you happen to watch all of the session he did at the press club?

I did and the last thing I would try and label him with is ignorant.

The guy graduated as the valedictorian at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center has two Masters degrees a regular PhD and seven honorary doctorates from various institutions.

Ignorant??? you got to be kidding me.

[The Night Owl]

21. Jeremiah Wright is not a PhD. He is a Doctor of Ministry...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Ministry

[info being]

3. Modern racism isn't overt...but it is very real

People aren't aware of their racism...but when they here opinions they don't like in a tone they don't like coming from someone who looks different from them...the reaction is racist.

Lots of white people say far more outrageous things than Rev. Wright...but people don't automatically attribute those things to John McCain. Have we considered the belief's of Hillary's Pastors? Are his beliefs mainstream? Do we care? Would we attribute his beliefs to her?

[EFerrari]

5. If we're still asking if a black man is "electable", I'd say that's pretty overt.

Someone on Democracy Now! pointed out that Obama's a MULTIRACIAL coalition running against two predominantly white powered campaigns,

But what most "people" notice and remark upon is only all those black people voting for Obama.

Not to mention, Obama having to prove he's not too black by repudiating Wright for telling the truth.

[Texas Hill Country]

6. it is not about race!!!!

[scheming daemons]

12. For you, maybe.... but for a LARGE chunk of Hillary's supporters, it is.....

..

[uponit7771]

17. That's the shame of it all, but how many though?

[midnight]

7. Ok. But do you see anything else going on here?

This is a horrible character assisnation. Anyone who saw the Bill Moyers interview is clear on that. We are being distracted while the election is being stolen. The best we can hope is that the convention will wrap up all the feelings and harness them into electing the winner of this primary. That is the most important issue right now. After this election we need to be clear that equality is so important to healing this country. It is the fundamental basis of Civil Rights. Without equality we are playing a shell game.

[uponit7771]

13. ESPECIALLY when hateful Hagee and bigot Parsley are much worse

[redqueen]

15. Not to mention Coe, who apparently admires Hitler! (nt)

[Zynx]

16. The interesting thing is, from everything I can tell, most white Americans don't care about

Obama's pastor. What we are all talking about is that about 10% of the normal Democratic electorate that might flip due to racism. Let's be clear on what we are talking about.