Mr. Obama and Rev. Wright - NYT Editorial

[malaise]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/opinion/30wed1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

<snip>
It is an injustice, a legacy of the racist threads of this nation’s history, but prominent African-Americans are regularly called upon to explain or repudiate what other black Americans have to say, while white public figures are rarely, if ever, handed that burden.

Senator John McCain has continued to embrace a prominent white supporter, Pastor John Hagee, whose bigotry matches that of Mr. Wright. Mr. McCain has not tried hard enough to stop a race-baiting commercial — complete with video of Mr. Wright — that is being run against Mr. Obama in North Carolina.
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[aquart]

1. But Italians are called upon to answer for Italians, and Irish for Irish.

Damned disingenuous editorial, ain't it? Pretending the "whites" are all one thing, instead of a hodge podge of different and competing ethnicities.

[boobooday]

2. Whites are a hodge podge of competing ethnicities?

I had no idea, and I'm white. I never felt that different white ethnicities were competing for anything, nor have my actions ever been taken as representative of all white people.

I think the NYT makes an excellent point about this.

[Bandit]

7. So to you all blacks are the same nationality but whites are all different?

:shrug:

[aquart]

8. To me? No.

Especially now that we have actual voluntary immigration from African countries. These people have national and tribal identities. They know their history. And it isn't American history.

But American blacks, as anyone who ever saw Roots can tell you, had that identity stripped away in the process of slavery. That's why we call them African Americans. That's as close as we can get to where their black DNA is from. But if you've watched PBS recently, you know that some black Americans are taking DNA tests to find out exactly where in Africa they're from, and some have been quite stunned at the results.

I also had the pleasure of working with people from the Caribbean who identify themselves by their islands, no matter how tiny or how terrifyingly volcanic.

But, when we talk about American blacks, our African Americans, we are talking about the people who have been in this country over 400 years and have a uniquely American identity. Most of the rest of us came a lot later and know that we're German, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, French, Italian, Dutch, English, Scottish, Irish, and those are the early ones. Then there are the eastern Europeans like me who showed up much later. Those of us who maintained contact with our families know our histories, more or less, and have an ethnic identity proudly blended with our American one.

But the African Americans who came as slaves only have the identity they forged themselves in the last 400 years HERE. It doesn't apply to the new immigrants who are Kenyan-American (like Obama) or Nigerian-American or Ugandan-American or wherever else. And it doesn't apply to the Haitian-Americans or the Domenican-Americans. But it does apply to our African Americans. We took their original identities and they created a new, unique and remarkable identity of their own.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Denial...It's The American Thing To Do

What is so blatant and disturbing about this "discussion" about Reverend Wright is how he and Obama are being judged by a corporate media that has no clue into the black experience. They don't worry about walking through a mall or driving in too nice of a car and being pulled over just cause of their skin color. They've never been pushed aside or look at as being from another planet and then have to smile and laugh it off. It's far easier to play righteous indignation than to admit the biases and validity that Reverend Wright and others have challenged lilly white society. Instead, Wright is an uppity nigger. No other words describe his current characterization.

Obama is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Denounce Wright and the "question" is how he could attend this church for so long and the nefarious concept that somehow Wright has brainwashed Obama...or that if Obama wasn't paying attention then he's an elitist who isn't sensitive to the plights of others...he lives the charmed life on the backs of others. Class warefare and racism...all wrapped up in a nice corporate media package.

Of course Gramps won't get the scrutiny because the racists and biggots he openly courts have lots of money and have been "accepted" into the corporate media elite as some kinda paragons of "virtue". Denouncing them is like them investigating being used by the Pentagon. Hagee and his holy roller can and do roll dollars at the corporate media and thus the double standard. Racism lives...especially among the corporate media. You can hire all the nice looking black bobble-heads but that doesn't mean they haven't addressed their own biases.

[luckyleftyme2]

4. ya gotta like this

trying to stay neutral and feeling the media was trying to influence the campaign audience I
pretty much felt it was 90% hype and 10% substance. but it did get me to watch part of REV. Wright's interview.
my conclusion was he is a man that will speak his mind. who has strong feelings about his religion. and can tell it like it is when prodded.
HIS COMMENT ON THE VP WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE and well said.
he defended his patriotism, like he said he served, he didn't get 6 deferments. how many of us served while many ducked into the guards, or got deferments ?
I'm not against deferments but when one person has 6 this sends up a red flag. was he shown favoritism?

[malaise]

5. Did you notice that not one person on M$M

discussed this so called business of patriotism and his comments re Cheney. The truth is hidden and the spin replaces the truth.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Speaking Truth To Power

I watched all of Reverend Wright's appearances as well and found him to be both engaging and not afraid to say what he thought. The problem is that he was speaking for Reverend Wright and the corporate media has turned this into what Barack Obama is saying or thinking. It's like Obama is some Manchurian candidate with a nefarious agenda.

When Wright trashed the National Press Club...and that's what he did...he really pissed in some elite cornflakes. He told the village idiots they were idiots and that was not gonna stand. I predicted here that there's be a shitstorm by evening...and sure enough there was. It wasn't what Wright said that mattered as it was all being projected onto Obama.

We're not going to see the corporate media play this one fair...and it seems the more those of us on the "radical left" or whatever call them out on it, the more rigid they get in this double standard. It's a total disconnect.

Cheers...