Today Barack Obama addressed a crowed in Philadelphia regarding the recent outrage over statement his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has made from the pulpit which include accusing the government of selling drugs to young black men and asking people to sing “God damn America” instead of “God bless American.” Naturally, the whole debacle has been quite a mess for the Obama camp, which is trying to recover from the massacre. I can just see the Cheshire cat-like grin on Hillary’s face as she remains strangely quiet on the issue (full speech).
Even though, Obama ‘splained it to the people, I must admit that the whole thing still makes me very uneasy.
Here’s a two excerpts from Obama’s speech:
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.…
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
OK, so if you have a relative that says such things you can disown him or her, but you probably won’t. But if your pastor says wild things, you can choose to attend a different church.
For example, if my pastor started saying that everyone who has freckles should be banned from the church, I would take issue with that. Or if he advocated we all go shoplift from Walmart or he if said we should sing “God damn America” instead of “God bless America” or used racial slurs from the pulpit.
Maybe I don’t understand the oppression of black Americans, but yelling about injustice, accusing my ancestors of slavery, and talking about the “white man” doesn’t help either. I am squarely against injustice (as much as I can be). My relatives weren’t even here during the slave trade, and if they had been, they wouldn’t have been able to afford slaves as it is. In fact, a few relatives arrived as the Civil War was starting and fought for the Union Army.
We were filthy Irish and dirty Germans and gypsy tramps (escaping just before Hitler took power). At the end of the day, we were and still are white I guess. It’s just that my family’s history isn’t any more glorious.
Obama then goes on to say:
I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
According this story, this is what Democrat Geraldine Ferraro said, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman — of any color — he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is.” Yeah, that sounds almost the same as Rev. Wright who said:
The government gives them [African Americans] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme. (Source)
The government’s handing out free drugs? Interesting.
Wright also says that Jesus was a black man who was oppressed by the white Romans (they were Italians, which means they were Europeans, which means they were white according to Wright), in fact, you can listen to the whole thing here. While Obama has said he was NEVER in attendance while Wright made these remarks (even though he’s been a member of Wright’s congregation for 20 years), this report says otherwise. It puts Obama in attendance at Wright’s church on July 22, 2007 when these statements were made. Hmm…
Let’s not forget my favorite racial insult from Rev. Wright–calling the nation “white America, the U.S. of KKK A.” (full article).
Being a white American, I love being lumped in with the Ku Klux Klan. I mean, really, it’s like saying that every Hispanic is an illegal immigrant or every black man is a drug dealer. That certainly is unacceptable, unless of course you’re in the white majority. Then it seems people can say whatever they want about your race and it’s just fine. Guess what? It still hurts.
Having attending a middle school with a high population of Latinos, I can say that I have been the butt of many rude, racial slurs. I was mocked for other things too (being in the gifted class, wearing Christian t-shirts, and being fat), but I also endured horrible abuse for being white–name calling, threats of getting beat up (none of which I took all that seriously), being pushed into walls, having stones thrown at me after school, and the fear that ensued because of that treatment. This type of treatment is intolerable, unacceptable, and hurtful, no matter who perpetrates it. And those who try to pretend they didn’t hear it or excuse it to become President make me sick.
Here’s another view of Obama’s speech by Dr. Phil Monroe.
She is Beloved 
I understand your perspective, unfortunately, you don’t understand mine; and that’s what Barack was talking about. Understanding…
How can Barack understand my perspective if he’s not a white American female?
See, that’s what I hear. You don’t understand because you’re not a black man/woman…but how can it be assumed that others understand my perspective?
And it’s hard to be open to discussion when I’m assumed to be racist right off the bat.
It’s all about reaching out and getting to know your neighbor. Until we begin to take that first step we will always live in a dark world and our children will forever be blind. I AM a white American female and I have lived through much of what you speak of. I am also a mother and grandmother who wants a better world for all the children not just a few.
…and Rev. Wright reached out and got to know his white neighbor how?
It troubles me that Obama says one thing and choose to get spiritual advice from this guy, clearly a proponent of black liberation theology.
I agree with you completely, we all have our issues. I would have preferred if he would have addressed these “nagging” (bad word to use) questions in a session with the press that a manufactured, pretty speech created to manipulate my emotions instead of a spontaneous, candid answer. That little touch of Ashley as well as recalling the Constitution was a bit too much. That speech reminded me of Lincoln’s famous speech.
This guy just contextualizes everything and makes false equivalence between nutty conspiracy theories and America-hating racism versus ordinary and forgivable fears of black criminals and unfair, racist affirmative action programs. His message is simple: vote for me and you’re doing your duty to end racism. Pretty ego-centric, to say the least.
Amy, some of your German (PA Dutch) ancestors came here before the Civil War. Some came over for religious freedom (Anabaptist roots) and some came over as indentured servants. Now these white indentured servants were able to pay off their fare to the colonies by years of hard work and became free men and women. They were not slaves who could not earn their freedom by work. However, none of your ancestors could even afford their own land for quite a while and never owned slaves. We had very peasant beginnings. But, God has been very gracious to us.
However, I am very concerned about these comments that Obama’s pastor had made. I am surprised that the United Church of Christ has not taken his credentials for his racist and anti-American remarks. I, for one, have been very interested in Obama, but his continued support of his pastor and church cause me much concern. I am thankful that the election is farther away so that we can begin to understand him and his views better.
Well, MOM, maybe you should have told me that before I blogged about it…(yes, Myalou is my mom, not just some random blog reader who happens to know my life history!)
The UCC did issue a statement about Wright today…read statement.
But it supports him!!!
here is what makes America great,the freedom of speach,you can condemn something in our country,you can sing praises of idiots,such as the john burch society,you are even allowed to protest wars and all sorts of things and not have to worry about being locked up perminately,or being shot in the head with rubber bullets like somecountries.You donoy have to worry about just disapearing as what happens in other countries.this is the greatness of the United States of America.You can even make a complete fool of your self on T.V. and get away with it.
Amy,I did not mean to sound critical f you,I just wanted to point out a different view point and that is all. I posted a video on my site that says a lot in a short minuite or two.It is the reason we have free speach in our great country of ours!
I love that folks like the Rev. Wright exist. What a piece of work, and representative of many of the black preachers in America. Every time he opens his mouth he will set his ‘people’ back hundreds of years, counteracting everything that has been done to bring the black race up to speed. Way to go Wright. You’re brilliant.
I have been a white Christian since I was 13 years old….I’m 41 now. Having played guitar in Christian bands over the years, I’ve had the chance to play in churches of every denomination, many of which were black evangelical/NON-denominational. On many occasions the pastor was quick to ‘point us out’, without having the guts to actually say how he really felt. I can imagine what the dialog would have included had us ‘white folk’ NOT been present. And the congregation just sits there and takes it in. Go figure.
Thanks to people (black OR white…or other) like Wright, the division between us grows further and further apart.
Mike
Mike, I totally wasn’t offended 🙂
Mike you seem to forget that there are a lot of these nuts out there that ARE WHITE AND SPOUT THE SAME NONCENSE.
The secont point is that I at least identify myselt totaly not just hid behind my first name.
If you can be bothered to see the more of the video, the bits that Fox news ainñt showing, you will see that a lot of what the good Reverend had to say about 911 was in fact from a speech that a White man, a US ambassador said.
It´s all here
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/election08/80481
Go on Mike, blame Rev. Wright for setting back race relations, how pathetic. Just deal with the issues, which is something that the good Rev. mentions in his speech. Many domestic and foreign policies of the US suck the big one, and until your government and you deal with them, things ain´t gonna get any better. Why don´t you blame the man instead of the messenger?
How did Black Churches come about in the first place? Because the so-called Christians in the US didn´t want Black people in their churches….now how Christian was that?
Riht off the bat, I’ll tell you that I most definitely follow he conservative agenda. Given that, Obama freaks me out more than anyone running for president (even Hillary Clinton) ever has and probably ever will. His false equivalences (a nutty, black-racist pastor spouting off condemning conspiracy theories against whites and the American government from the pulpit vs. his grandmother who told him in private a few encounters she had with black men on buses), egomania (he’s essentially saying “Vote for me and help end racism.” Honestly.), and manipulative, sly ways automatically make my spidey senses tingle. Is a man who defends people like Rev. Wright and talks about unborn babies as punishments really a man we want in office? At least with the other liberal candidate, Hillary Clinton, we all know where she stands; she has made that perfectly clear — hence her rise as such a startlingly polaroid candidate.
And yet, I can see why people would be attracted to Obama. His visionary views of a brighter future for America seem wonderful, and to finally elect a black man as president would put all this racist nonsense behind us forever. It would be a welcomed relief.
But he’s a sly one, as I hope is mad eobvious to anyone who watches five minutes of one of his speeches, and so I can never bring myself to believe in all the promises he gives us for a brighter future. I would much rather him promise Americans that he’ll enforce the Constitution, rather than ignoring all our current problems and saying how much better he can make this country. Care to vague it up for us, Obama?
Howver, I probably could even find a way to ignore that if it weren’t for him defending the good Reverend. Wright is absolutely nuts, and to anyone who can’t see that I suggest and immediate psychological evaluation. He’s a racist, condemning, wacko who has no business representing the Trinity in any way, shape, or form. The fact that Obama has stayed at that church all these years, bringing his family into it, and putting up with all this guy’s sh** knocked the iwnd out of me. Furthermore, he then goes on to compare him to a family emeber that embarasses you but you love ’em anyway. If he (Obama) was truly a ehalthy Christian, he would’ve high-tailed outta there long agao. The fact that he puts up with and defends this pastor puts me on edge.
I suppose I’m ranting now, and I probably sound like a racist too. But, as much as that sucks, I can’t just ignore (or accept, God forbid) what this candidate is putting out there. He a bad representation of the Christian name and is in serious need of sorting his priorities out. I can only pray that our country’s future will never be entrusted to his care.
Oh, Maddie, how I enjoy your comments!
Obama freaks me out, but I wanted to like him because he was young, idealistic, and black. Yes, I do think it would be cool to have a black or female President, but given our options…I suppose I like McCain the most–if he picks a good running mate, I’ll be able to make a better decision.
The other thing about Obama is that he always says he’s about change…but what does that mean? Is he going to throw pocket change at us? I mean, who doesn’t need a few quarters to do laundry from time to time? I haven’t heard any of his ideas, just that the war sucks, Hillary sucks, and John McCain sucks. There haven’t been great ideas brought forth. At least Hillary, like you said, is saying something.
Fine, be pals with Wright and disagree, but don’t call the guy your “spiritual mentor”. I mean, really, what’s that all about? I’ve learned about God in many ways from working with skitzophrenics and such, but I wouldn’t call them my spiritual mentors.
The more I see, hear, read about Obama the less interested I become.