An Irish American explains Wright's appeal

[TheDoorbellRang]

Last Friday Peggy Noonan had an oped in the WSJ in which she mused that, contrary to what others have said, she was not upset by Rev. Wright. Further on in her column I was struck by the point of view expressed by a young Irish American of her acquaintance, and I think it's a point of view that needs to be highlighted for a better understanding between white and black America:

DECLARATIONS By PEGGY NOONAN

Loyal to the Bitterness
May 2, 2008

...This week I talked to a young man, an Irish-American to whom I said, "Am I wrong not to feel anger about Wright?" He more or less saw it as I do, but for a different reason, or from different experience.

He said he figures Mr. Wright's followers delight in him the same way he delights in the Wolfe Tones, the Irish folk group named for the 18th-century leader condemned to death by the British occupying forces, as they say on their Web site. They sing songs about the Brits and how they subjugated the Irish and we'll rise up and trounce the bastards.

My 20-year-old friend has lived a good life in America and is well aware that he is not an abused farmer in the fields holding secret Mass in defiance of the prohibitions of the English ruling class. His life has not been like that. Yet he enjoys the bitterness. He likes going to Wolfe Tones concerts raising his fist, thinking "Up the Rebels." It is good to feel that old ethnic religious solidarity, and that in part is what he is in search of, solidarity. And it's not so bad to take a little free-floating anger, apply it to politics, and express it in applause.

He knows the dark days are over. He just enjoys remembering them even if he didn't experience them. His people did.

I know exactly what he feels, for I felt the same when I was his age. And so what? It's just a way of saying, "I'm still loyal to our bitterness." Which is another way of saying, "I'm still loyal." I have a nice life, I'm American, I live far away, an Englishman has never hurt me, and yet I am still Irish. I can prove it. I can summon the old anger.

Is this terrible? I don't think so. It's human and messy and warm-blooded, as a human would be.

The thing is to not let your affiliation with bitterness govern you, so that you leave the Wolfe Tones concert and punch an Englishman in the nose. In this connection it can be noted there is no apparent record of people leaving a Wright sermon and punching anyone in the nose. Maybe they're in search of solidarity too. Maybe they're showing loyalty too...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120966911007860195.html?mod=todays_columnists

Here is another aspect of the conversation about race that Obama has tried to start here in America. I find that if I can personally see a parallel between my own experiences and those of others, it's much easier to build a bridge of understanding. As an Irish American myself with a love of Irish music, this point of view was an "aha" moment for me. Maybe it will be for some of you.

[mdmc]

1. thank you for the post

I understand

[TheDoorbellRang]

8. Who knows. Maybe we CAN have a national conversation on this

I've lived in three midwestern states in my life. Only one area that I've lived has had a substantial AA population. In the predominantly white area I live now, there has been sort of an assumption that racism exists in those "other" parts of the country. In the small rural Missouri town, racism was most evident in the generation older than myself, with my generation (I'm mid fifties) working on being more tolerant, and the younger generations being the most racially integrated, as in seeing racism issues as something from America's past. I realize racism is still a huge problem in America, but I do think that it has been overcome a lot more than the talking heads on TV realize. I think they originally cut Obama slack and piled on Hillary in the beginning because they had convinced themselves that America would never consider a black man for president. I don't think they realized their miscalculation until after Wisconsin, and thus the two-month long media frenzy to depict him as "scary black dude."

Interesting times we are in.

[mdmc]

10. interesting times indeed my friend

:kick:

[CJCRANE]

2. Makes sense nt

[KittyWampus]

3. yes, a part of it is tribal loyalty. Wright is a product of his times. Obama invokes a different

standard. One that's more expansive, inclusive and generally more positive.

Less about Judgement and Retribution. Both rather passive approaches to reality as they focus on the power of a distant god.

More about Self-Actualization. A more active approach to life as it relies on the power of the individual to change their circumstances.

[TheDoorbellRang]

11. That is his greatest appeal

He appeals to the potential for self actualization in all Americans with "Yes We Can."

We've spent the past seven years like an ineffectual Greek chorus, commenting on our nation's actions but unable to effect change. Obama's philosophy emphasizes that we as Americans, by dint of our united strength, can all participate in changing the direction of America. His ability to inspire will help actualize what Mr. Gore said we must do: "In Africa there's a proverb that says 'if you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,' We have to go far, quickly."

[DAGDA56]

4. Yes, it clarifies what has been in my mind all along...it also relates to who I am...

thanks for the insight from a source I would never have expected (Peggy Noonan)

[Pirate Smile]

5. I read this on Friday and thought it was really good. I had the same feeling - Wow, an original and

helpful thought from Peggy Noonan. Who would of thought it?

I could completely relate to it - being half Irish certainly helped.

[TheDoorbellRang]

7. Yup. The source surprised me, too

[phrigndumass]

6. Thanks for posting this, TDR!

K/R :hi:

[TheDoorbellRang]

12. You're welcome

Always helps to find threads of connection between us, I think.

[NashVegas]

9. Peggy Noonan Is a Freaking Idiot

Who engages in literary felatio.

If Barack Obama really wanted this conversation open, he wouldn't have cut the cord last week.

[TheDoorbellRang]

13. What part do you disagree with?

I didn't see Obama as ending the conversation, but as merely deleting a flamebait subthread.

[Captain Hilts]

14. She's a right-wing idiot. nt