Letters to the Editor
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"The emcee of amateur night at the Apollo in Harlem"?
A true liberal, a man of the world, highly intelligent to the point of professorial, but neither a peacenik nor oddball. A regular guy with brains.
Why reduce him to a racially-tinged caricature? Is this really where this debate has brought us?
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Don't Be Sidetracked From The Issues
People have been making controversial statements since time began. Statements as harsh as Rev. Wright's are nothing new in American life. Because Barack Obama is running for President is why this issue is STILL drama in the media. I can pretty much guarantee that many non minority people have heard and/or know another non minority person who has espoused racially charged rhetoric that was harmful to African Americans, or Spanish Americans, or Asian Americans. While you can't always compare apples and oranges, ANY TIME a Black person speaks of racial and/or governmental injustices and speaks passionately about these injustices, non minority people become afraid. Today's generation does not want the responsibility for the past. That's more than understandable. However, if we don't speak of the unspoken, situations like this will continue to cause a panic.
What Rev. Wright did was speak the unspoken. I don't say that in defense of his statements, rather, I say this because Rev. Wright touched on a subject that non minorities do not want to address because with all of the advancements that African Americans have made, it is assumed and believed that African Americans should be grateful for those advancements and "get over" any racially charged issues that are rooted in the history of racism.
I can more than understand why non minorities would feel threatened and uncomfortable with Rev. Wright's statements. But the same way African Americans are "expected" to "accept" that injustices happened and deal with the emotional fall out from it, it's time that non minority people begin to accept that injustices did happen and that there is some truth to the very statements that Rev. Wright mentioned. But that doesn't mean that every Black person secretly wants to hurt White people to get even with them for slavery. Many African Americans DO feel that way. However, there are probably many non minorities who harbor racist beliefs and who run public offices. We've seen this before. EVERYBODY has racial opinions.
These fears of "the unspoken results of racism" MUST be addressed, ... just NOT in this forum. This is a Presidential election and there is no time to digress from the immediate issues at hand (i.e. health care, jobs, the economy, etc.)
Rev. Wright's statements do not belong in this forum. You can do a Google search and probably find groups that are willing to address these issues. And you'll find that people have been criticizing America since it's inception. While Rev. Wright has a right to his opinions, it would probably be best for Obama if he distanced himself from his friend because in this political forum right now and because the issues of race transcend the political arena and because the Democrats are divided enough, voters will not be able to hear where Rev. Wright gets his validation for justifying his statements. All voters have is a sound bite, which probably doesn't show the context in which Rev. Wright was speaking.
Again, please don't allow the fear of the unknown and racial fears cause us to throw out the baby with the bathwater, so to speak. Obama has all of the qualities that would make a good president. And just like past leaders, he too has controversial friends. Let's keep the focus on the issues that are relevant to this arena.
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@ Ricardo Malocchio
"Amateur Night At The Apollo Theatre In Harlem" is neither a subtle racist dig nor a pejorative; it is simply a humorous descriptor meaning "lacking in professional ability". To me, Barack Obama has handled several campaign crises ineptly, i.e., with a "lack of professional ability". (Would you have preferred that I say "amateur night at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood"?)
Ascribing prejudicial motive or meaning to me about that phrase says more about how you view Harlem than do I; as a resident of New York City, I regularly attend amateur nights at The Apollo and enjoy them thoroughly. Peripherally, I'm white.
Deal with it.
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What Asher said
"I thought Obama was supposed to be some new kind of politician. Instead, he comes up with the most Clintonian statement since "it depends on what the meaning of is is" - namely that "the statements that are the source of this controversy were not ones that I heard while seated in the pews". In other words, his staffers checked to make sure that he was elsewhere on the dates that Wright delivered the sermons we've seen on TV. But who cares?"
Yup. I thought he was honest, courageous and nuanced. I hope he shows some spine in his speech today.
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Obama's Anti-American Cronies
Obama's pastor asks God to damn America. Obama's privileged wife says that she is proud of America for the first time ever even though America has made her a successful, wealthy woman. Is this what we want in the White House?
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It's nothing
Remember the Bell curve? Sure you do. It said, that given all the data, blacks were dumber than whites. Do you remember the reaction? Has anyone heard from Dr. Bell lately? I don't recall many defenders, in the press. And Trent Lott. I remember him swearing on a stack of bibles that he wasn't racist when he toasted Stromm Thurman on his 100th birthday. Again, no defenders. Now we've got Obamas' MENTOR revealed to be an anti-white, anti-semetic, America HATER. He loves Farakahn, loves Kaddafi, believes the U.S. invented AIDS to kill blacks. And he's been preaching this to Mr. Wonderful for 20 years. And Mr. wonderful just sat there. Like the Lions Club. That's what Salon calls this "church" of hate. Instead of trying to cover his mulatto ass, maybe you should ask Oprah why SHE QUIT Rev. Hitlers' church.
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Wright, racisim, America, etc.
I for one am shocked that Reverend Wright could accuse America of being a racist country. It's the height of ingratitude. I mean, America has always treated black people with the utmost dignity and respect. They wouldn't even be here if we hadn't brought them over a couple centuries ago. It's just an outrage for Wright to rail agaist rich people, too, who have always put the interests of black people, and poor people of all colors, before their own.
Seriously, the MSM is aflutter with all this stuff because it's so deeply unaccustomed to hearing anyone speak the truth that when the truth is spoken the media practically chokes on its own shock and shocking idiocy.