| Posted: 26 March 2008 at 2:18pm | IP Logged | 8
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Alright - let's tackle some of these thoughts:
1. Obama first stated that he had never heard Rev. Wright say any of that before. That's on tape. Then he changed his story and said that he did know, but didn't agree. That is also on tape. That makes him a liar and a typical politician. He doesn't tell the truth up front and only tells the truth when the lie is exposed publicly.
I don't buy it - what he said originally was that he didn't hear that particular sermon, what he said in his speach was that, over the years, he's heard a lot of things that would cause the people who have reacted to react, but that it should end with a reaction - that should be the jumping off point to the discussion of what's wrong.
2. He's not willing to stand by his family which calls his family values into question. He, metaphorically, threw his grandmother under a bus to try to save his own behind by explaining that she was a racist.
Uh, no, he didn't say she was racist - that's like saying the pastor's sermon was "hate speach". Wondering about your analysis...? His feelings for his grandmother have been made clear over the years - detailed in his book "Dreams From My Father", where he says similar things about her as he said in his speach - that she was a wonderful loving grandmother, but, as much as some will deny it, there are underlying subconscious fears and feelings about blacks lurking in white people - even people like his grandmother, who would seem to be the least likely candidate. The bottom line? We're all human - people have feelings and reactions to things - denying them won't progress us anything - but facing them and dealing with them will. Blowing off the pastor because his words offend are not dealing with the problem, for example.
3. He then exposed his own bigotry and racist tendancies by calling his grandmother a typical white person. So, to Obama, the typical white person is a bigot and a racist. Since Rev. Wright is unquestionably a racist, does that make him a typical black person using Obama's own barometer of typical? If any non-black politician had used the phrase "typical black person" in any context at all there would have been a frenzy calling for that person to drop out of the race/office. It's a complete double standard.
Obama's grandmother is typical in that, as he's said many times, in print and in words, she's a great person filled with love, who raised him and made him into the person he is. The fact that she's got flaws and is imperfect, as we all are, is what makes her "typical" - by definition. Rev Wright is not a racist - a racism is a condition where one race is oppressed or suppressed by another race. Last time I checked, the blacks were not holding any race down. At worst, he's a bigot, but as I've noted upthread, his views are based in reaction to previous and current events, not some goal to oppress the white race. Not sure where you're getting that from. And, yes, it IS a double standard. I'm sorry to break this to you, but last time anyonce checked, this is still a white dominated society, and untill that changes, I have no problem with the underdog voicing their issues, no matter how uncomfortable it makes anyone.
4. Obama, even though he knew what Rev. Wright preached, continued to let his family go to that church rather than switch to a different church that didn't preach a message of hate. When I say church, I don't mean affiliation like switching from Baptist to Catholic. I mean the physical church. He could have gone to a different location of the same denomination that didn't preach hate. That says, to me, he doesn't care about his children being exposed to hateful and negative material and possibly wants them to be exposed to it or is at the very least, indifferent about it. That will influence the way those children see the world before they ever have a chance to form their own opinions and will help foster the continuation a divide between racial lines. If he's willing to do that with his own family, then he's definitely going to be willing to do the same thing to the country.
I certainly think that the nation needs some eye opening on racial issues. But based on everything Obama's done with his political career, do you seriously think this would be anywhere near the top of his priority list? Is it possible that Obama went to chuch for spiritual guidence? Does that even enter into the discussion? Anytime any preacher quotes Leviticus (any part of it!) they're preaching "hate speach" as you call it. So, why the pressure on this one preacher?
I think I can safely say that no black person alive today in the United States was ever a slave in the pre-Civil War days. I can also safely say that no non-black person alive today in the United States ever owned a slave in the pre-Civil War days. I have zero control over something that happened over 100 years ago. If your great, great grandfather committed murder and killed my great, great, great grandmother 100 years ago, I would never, by any stretch of the imagination hold you responsible and feel entitled to anything special from you. What happened can't in any way, shape or form be considered acceptable, but it's also in the past. We can only learn from the past, not change it.
Yet again, missing the point - sure, slavery is over, but much of the black community still feels the effects of it, because people seemed to think that once the slaves were freed they could just shake hands and put it past them. The fact that I to this day stand a better chance of getting a job, a loan, not getting stared at when I walk down the street at night, am not hassled by police, am not followed by security guards when I shop, live in an area that gets quick federal assisstance to disasters, all these things and more? The lasting legacy of slavery. When we get to a point where things are really equal, then I will rest, but until then, I can not turn my back on the problems.
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