Obama's Pastor Jeremiah Wright is an angry black man in America. Though I doubt Obama has actually attended many services there in the last several years. Pretty sure the election thang has seen to that. But the righties, and thin-skinned, weak-knee whites are having a field day with some of his fiery and controversial sermons. Never mind all the racist and ignorant blatherings from white so-called religious figures championed and embraced by the right, like Jerry Falwell, John Haggee and Pat Robertson. But a relatively obscure pastor is about to bring down the nation. Once again, it is a hit job on Obama's beliefs, because, as closeted, latent and not so closeted racist, they don't want to appear blatently racist. In the espionage business, as well as the organized crime biz it is called plausible deniability. I've had dealings with both.
This is the real issue. Whities and righties just can't grasp that black folks are still a little pissed off. White folks answer to grievances by the black community is to tell them to get over it, and then to explain to them(re:condescend)that they really have no right to complain, that their situation isn't at all like they percieve, or know. Either that or they say things like, well if you put it like this I might accept the premise. Well, how frickin' big of you!
The fact is black folks are pissed about a whole host of things, and the white community bears substantial responsibility for many of those things, or at the very least are part of the processes contributing to issues in the black community. They don't live in a vacuum, they live in AMERICA, they live at the end of a history all of us are connected to in some way or other. It has only been a few generations since their last relatives were slaves, a generation since relatives were lynched, a generation since segregation and the civil rights movement. Racists in this country haven't disappeared, but only become more stealth, more politically astute and sly. They will call Obama the "N" word, without saying the word, but by creating enough of an image to make their point.
And the truth is the white and right community doesn't understand the black experience in this country, and it certainly doesn't understand its anger. As a white man I can commiserate and strive to understand, but my race seperates my experience from theirs, and I must always remember that. I must also acknowledge the idea that whites and America did not GIVE rights to black men. They always existed, we just had power over them and gave and retracted rights as we saw fit. It is the understanding that men like Malcolm X were imperative to the civil rights movement because he was going to fight for his rights, and take them back by force if need be. A man who is my equal will take back what is taken from him, and if a body refuses to act honorably then he must be compelled to act honorably.
Is Jeremiah Wright angry? He should be. He must be, and if you can't understand why in modern America than you just haven't been paying attention. You've been watching Fox news and masturbating to the flag without really thinking what it is all about. It was suppose to be about ideals, ideals many in this country have manipulated, trampled, perverted and squandered. In that case, maybe the good Pastor Wright isn't angry enough. Apparently there is still a lot of work to be done.
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The Native Americans had an adage: Don't judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Oh and that old book has someone saying: Judge not lest you be judged.
Seems like a whole lot of folks have never done the walk but have honed judgement to a fine point.
You have done an excellent job of putting the issue into perspective and context. Of course reason and compassion and understanding don't play well in the media so they will beat this horse until it's bled to death and then move on to the next "issue".