The Wright Stuff

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/13486

The Wright Stuff
by Gregg Gordon | March 17, 2008

snip//

But did we not drop nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two cities with no significant military targets (and the latter the home of Japan's largest Christian community)? Indeed, they were chosen as targets precisely because, having no military value, they had not been bombed before, and thus provided pristine petri dishes by which to gauge the effectiveness of these horrific weapons.

And did we not support for decades the apartheid regime in South Africa? Why is the fact that Vice President Dick Cheney, when in Congress, voted against a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela from prison a matter of so much less controversy than this?

And do we not support similar policies by Israel against the Palestinians today -- regardless of whether one applies the inflammatory "apartheid" label -- again, with devastating effect on the region's Christian community? (Our "Christian nation" does seem remarkably hostile to our brethren of the Book, at least the brown ones.)

Has the CIA not been implicated in the drug trade? The Taliban all but wiped out opium production in Afghanistan, but now it's back to being the world's largest supplier, and the poppy is now being cultivated in Iraq for the first time in centuries. Indeed, ever since American GI's began returning from Vietnam with some of the best marijuana in the world, it seems that wherever our empire goes, the drug trade follows.

And do we not have the biggest prison system in the world, overpopulated in obscene disproportion by African-Americans? It was a big item in the news just a couple weeks ago.

And are these the acts of a nation that the God of Jesus Christ would bless, or damn?

These are the matters for debate Rev. Wright's statements should be provoking. I'm not holding my breath.

[MNDemNY]

1. By all means, run on "Wright Is Right" that will win alot of votes.

[Tarc]

2. Team Obama: defenders of race-card playing to the bitter end

[tabatha]

5. So I guess you would not support Mandela, Tutu, Biko, etc.

[Tarc]

14. This race-baiter isn't in the same ballpark as them

Not even the same sport.

[tabatha]

18. Race-baiter?

[Tarc]

19. Did I stutter?

[Waya]

3. Well, no.....

........if this is the debate the Rev. Wright's statements should be provoking - why, that would mean that there is the slightest chance that America might have to accept the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth - that we are not without fault, that we are not morally superior, that our intentions aren't as pure as they seem when wrapped in Red, White and Blue, that our racist past, which goes back all the way to the founding of this Nation, was a way of life and not just the mindset of a few - good grief, woman, what are you suggesting?

[Rageneau]

4. It doesn't matter if what Wright said is justified, you CAN'T say "God Damn America!"

You just can't say that in America and expect most Americans to overlook it. Hell, I'm as big a critic of this nation's actions as I personally know; I curse our deeds all the time, but I would NEVER say 'God damn America.'

It is not only unpatriotic, it is blasphemously presumptive.

There is still MUCH to be proud of in America. And God will damn whomever He chooses, regardless of our opinions.

[Waya]

7. Well, maybe.............

....he should have said 'God Help America' - it would have been better, but even then there would be some who would take offense to that.

[tabatha]

8. Your logic would then apply to "Bless America" -

God will bless whomever he chooses.
Unfortunately it does not seem that he has blessed the victims of whites throughout history.

[babylonsister]

11. You should hear what he said in context; I think he was justified.

Just like it's not, to me, my president right or wrong, it's not my country, right or wrong. We have done and are doing hellish things this very moment to others; does that deserve praise?

[Two Americas]

16. agreed

I can't believe that Obama supporters are agreeing with the right wingers that Wright's remarks are "hateful" and "racist" - thereby buying into the false and malicious right wing notion of "reverse racism" - and then saying that this represents no problem in the general.

Of course Obama had to distance himself from this - a Black person trying achieve a position of power carries the crushing burden of needing to meet unreasonable expectations of whites - reassuring them and not being seen as threatening by them. Blaming the man for doing this is foolish. But trashing out Wright signals that we do not have his back.

This is a liability going into the general IF and only if we refuse to fight and refuse to have the discussion you are inviting us to have. If we do have the courage to discuss this, it could be transformed from a liability into something very powerful.

[Saturday]

6. Somebody please tell Greg Gordon that BO denounced Wright's words.

No need to convince the world otherwise. I'm amazed that so many BO supporters don't want to follow their leader!?

[MNDemNY]

10. The flavor-aid has some side effects, confusion is among them.

[stellanoir]

9. If only more would pay less attention to the tonality

and more attention to the acute reality. Sheesh.

Furthermore, it is simply fully part and parcel of the human condition to be both, imbued with divine attributes, whilst being riddled with tragic frailties. If we could embrace this wholly in ourselves as well as our nation, our country could be healed and permanently ameliorated of so many inequities.

We can only do better.

This false piety and fallaciousness seemingly disingenuous mock outrage is so terribly unenlightened.

Aside from the tone and unprovable HIV claims, the Rev spoke the truth. BTW people in the Afro American community have been saying that about the HIV virus for decades.

Yikes.

[PinkTiger]

13. Stella, I have to comment.

Mock outrage has occurred in both camps. I think this is all part of the game.
The bitter truth is, Wright was correct in many of his statements, but these statements are also true about women, and about disenfranchised people of all colors. There is no need for us to divide ourselves further along those lines.
The media contributes to all this baiting, as they are prone to do, for ratings.

I think we should all step back, chill out, and take a break, and let the primaries occur in total, and then reconvene. I'm not giving anyone another dime until the air clears.

[stellanoir]

15. couldn't agree with you more dear

Thank goodness that we've a nice respite before the next primary for cooler heads to prevail.

I too am sick of the lack of oxygen, perspective, and the media baiting.

Hopefully things will settle down.

[sce56]

12. You know from the little I heard on Countdown I have to agree

Maybe we should get a full text of the Reverends speeches since he, from the little I heard, was damming American policy that was against the common people and supported the criminals we seemed to always back around the world like the brutal regimes of Marcos in the Philippines Somoza in Nicaragua the Shaw in Iran and guess who put Saddam in charge in Iraq? But of course we don't want to talk about that in a election that is politically suicidal to admit we were following a bad course around the world. Anybody who goes against the system once their eyes have been opened will vouch for that just ask this guy he wanted to change things and was widely popular would most likely have won the election and cleaned up DC back then.



“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

[Igel]

17. "And are these the acts of a nation that the God of Jesus Christ would bless, or damn?"

That doesn't matter in the least. It's not about America. It's not about God. To claim it is is an attempt at misdirection. It's not even mostly about Wright.

God can do what he does. What we do as people doesn't have to be the same, unless, of course, we confuse ourselves with God. (Obviously this only makes sense speaking as a believer, so atheists can basically accept the assumptions necessary for the discourse or tune out. They'd probably say that the very notion of "God damn America" is rooted in fallacy and has little value, except to voice emotion.)

Bless those that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you?

Or ask God to curse those that curse you, and damn those that despitefully use you?

Wright says the latter. It's hate. It's divisive. It's inflammatory. And chosing a divisive hater as your spiritual adviser, whatever he says at other times, is a mistake. With one exception: If the adviser admits that he's erred, that what he said was wrong, and it was wrong for parishioners to agree with what he said.

Instead we hear that between Jesus and Wright, Wright was right and Jesus was wrong.

When Obama first came along as a possible presidential candidate, I checked out the Trinity UCC's website. I was irritated by some of what it said; it struck me as not in keeping with what I consider to be Xianity. It also struck me at odds with what Obama was saying; however, there was no need to decide on who I supported, so I left the issue alone--there are no shortage of church-goers who really don't give much attention to the sermons or the church's PR. I notice, however, that either Moss or Wright took out some of the more divisive, inflammatory portions of its website--I don't know if it's because they now disagree with its content or just consider it bad PR; if the latter, I don't know if they consider it bad PR for their faith, their parishioners, or Obama; if the latter, I don't know if it was the pastor's idea or Obama's campaign. But I'd like to know.