Wright Right and Wrong
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, despite what Fox News wishes the public to believe, is no idiot. Inspired by JFK's "Ask not" speech, the man joined the Marines, transferred to the Navy, and graduated valedictorian from the naval training center. He became a cardiopulmonary technician who treated president Lyndon Johnson before getting all of his college degrees including a doctorate, since then receiving seven honorary doctorates and a Carver Medal from Simpson College as "an outstanding individual whose life exemplifies the commitment and vision of the service of George Washington Carver."The press has gone nuts over the guy. With full awareness the media would open their veins and inject the entire syringe, Wright gave a speech to the NAACP on Sunday, cameras and microphones running full steam. From Wikipedia:
Wright argued that Americans were beginning to change their attitudes and perceptions about differences among societal groups. Citing linguistic, pedagogical, hermeneutic, and other differences, and contrasting varied musicologies, he sought to show how Black culture is "different" but not "deficient", while pointing out how European-American culture has historically held it to be deficient, and punctuating his speech at numerous times with the dinners' annual theme "A Change is going to come".
As CNN continued to play the speech, I became increasingly uncomfortable, even though I in principle agreed with just about all he was saying. Thinking of CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC and the current reality of the country, I had a sinking sensation and my gut said, "We're not ready for this."
I doubt anyone working at Fox News has heard the word "pedagogy" let alone Fox viewers. When was the last time you heard Bill O'Reilly discuss the hermeneutics of African American sermons? This post has more questions than assertions. How significant was the Sunday, April 28, 2008 speech by Jeremiah Wright? What was the objective of the speech, clearly the result of extraordinary time and effort? Was it about the country, religion, the election, or simply about Wright himself? Was it delivered in the spirit of a profound contribution to the country (succeeding or not), in the spirit of helping a presidential candidate (succeeding or not), or delivered with the objective of telling a bunch of white folks to F themselves? On Sunday, I wondered if Wright was acting with Obama's prior knowledge and approval. Subsequent events answered that question.
NAACP Speech Full Transcript. One excerpt:
It's going to take people of all faiths including the nation of Islam, but we can do it. It's going to take people of all races, but we can do it. It's going to take Republicans and Democrats, but we can do it. It's going to take the wisdom of the old and the energy of the young, but we can do it. It's going to take politicians and preachers, the government and NGOs, but we can do it. It's going to take educators and legislatures, but we can do it. If I were in a Christian Church, I would say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. If I were in a Jewish synagogue, I would say is anything too hard for Elohim. If I were in a Muslim mosque, I would say Sha Allah we can do it. If I were pushing one particular candidate, I would say yes, we can.
On Monday, Wright addressed The National Press Club in the morning (full transcript) and the conversation got testy as Wright's frustration with the limitations of the awareness and intellect of others got the best of him, allowing toxic sound bites to erupt forth. I am angry with what angers Jeremiah Wright. I am outraged at what outrages him. Anyone that becomes knowledgeable of his history and accomplishments knows that he has made a huge contribution to this country. Still, his tactics of the last few days overstep what the country can handle and represent the wrong strategy in an insane campaign with its obscene politics by association.
Don't people know that Hillary's parents' gardener exposed himself to third grade girls at a Catholic school? Why doesn't the press tell us how McCain's uncle's football coach was caught with child pornography?
Now would be a good time for Reverend Wright to take that long deserved vacation in the wilderness of New Zealand.
posted by x4mr at 2:09 PM
46 Comments:
My sympathy has always been with Reverand Wright because mainstream media led by Fox reduced his whole life to a sentence taken out of context. Certainly he has the right to defend himself which is why the Moyers interview seemed appropriate. And, of course, Moyers is a real journalist.
I was hoping it would end there, but I should have known better. Reverand Wright should have removed himself from the national spotlight, but instead seems to bask in it. The whole thing has gotten really strange, and that is sad.
Your blog post is probably the most intelligent thing published on the subject. I don't remember when or what words you used, but you said 2008 would be crazy.
I'm starting to think it may become even crazier than you foresaw.
I would have never predicted the nonsense we are witnessing. I agree with Liza about both strange and sad. The election has become like a cruel dream from which there is no waking or release. A quick death is not available. It just drags and drags without mercy, resolution, or sense of progress.
X4mr said the "2008 election will show the country its ass."
He is right. The politics of personal destruction will persist so long as it works. It works so long as the country is a bunch of uneducated idiots with rings in their noses like lobotomized sheep.
But how do you reconcile the vitriol of Rev Wright? His voice and bigoted message grates like the super-sub-woofer cars that pull up next to me at traffic lights. What entitles a person to be so crass and disrespectful?
Being educated doesn't equate to being radical, either left or right. x4mr amazes me with his breath and reach, and I certainly admire his independence and prolific output(!!), but I have to wonder with posts like this one.
Will a vigorous defense of the domestic terrorists William Ayers and his sweetheart follow next? They worry the hell out of main stream independents like me. I've got enough to worry about with al qaeda flying jets into towers full of innocent Americans, Iran racing to nuke Israel, and a million trespassers walking across our southern border every year.
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x4mr,
Wright set out to cripple Obama's campaign. Whether he was successful or not remains to be seen, but today was a dark day for Obama.
For Middle America, this played out much like the "You can't handle the truth!" speech from "A Few Good Men." Some might have cheered on the sentiment, but most everybody else, especially the Obama campaign was horrified. He came out stepped into that persona that Obama has assured us was just a caricature. He coyly made a non-denial statement about the government being responsible for AIDS, and then wandered into "the Bell Curve" territory. This was as premeditated and absolute as kissing Obama on the cheek to identify him to the Romans.
Now I agree with you that Wright is not a dummy, he did this on purpose. The question you should ask yourself is, "Why?" That is the true work to be done here.
And as far as this being fair or not, it certainly is. The religious test shiv had already been thrown into the ring, much to the delight of many of an Obama supporter. I have always maintained that if you want to beat another with the club of "religious fanatic" or "cult member" don't be surprised when that club is still laying around to be used against you later.
something about "chickens coming home to roost." I believe. . .
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Liza,
Whoa, slow down. What Wright has done here is on Wright. Playing the "right wing racist" card is simply not accurate. Had Wright just went away, Obama probably overcomes this quite easily. Indeed, McCain was giving him a pass. The people "keeping this thing going" were Wright, and to some extent Obama by splitting hairs in defense of Wright. Obama sidelines Wright weeks ago, this is already over.
Obama has done the same thing with Rezko, with Ayers. He is a Chicago politician. There are all kinds of skeletons there. You don't get elected in Chicago on hope, you make deals, many probably that Obama didn't like. I guarantee you that there will be more "revelations." Welcome to running for President. You get vetted, viciously. Edwards got it, Hillary gets it, why should Obama be spared? Many criticisms are fair, others less so, but this is a tough job. Sometimes you need to step away from Comedy Central and face tough questions and give hard answers.
The next week is crucial for Obama. If he allows Hillary any more momentum she will crush him. You can see the scales teetering towards her now, and it has nothing to do with a vast right wing conspiracy, it has to do with Obama bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Again I ask, "Why has Wright did this to Obama?" Do you really think it is because Wright is self important and trying to steal the spotlight? You want someone to be angry with, start there.
This is all terribly disheartening. I think Obama is the most inspiring, important leader of our time. I don't care that he went to that church really. But this plays into the fears of every person that grew up fearing black America and black Americans and as Framer says, Wright laps it up and doesn't appear to care what it does to Obama.
I dont know how to reconcile this except to say that I fear the worst now for his candidacy. This is the scream all over again. It is what could be the end all over again for a great politician's campaign in favor of what America can "handle".
Everything the Clinton campaign has done to prepare America for their version of Obama, comes home to roost with these events.
Liza- you owe me an apology. Just because I don't share all your left leaning views doesn't give you the right to freak out and use language like a drunken sailor.
I'm an independent. I have some liberal and some conservative views. We independents will probably be deciding the election this year. Because we haven't trapped ourselves in a specific ideology, we get to consider every issue and every candidate on the merits of what we see.
Reverand Wright insults my sensibilities and makes it as difficult to listen for his valuable messages as it does to listen to you calling me names and shouting the f word. In these costume balls we call blogs, it's helpful to get to know someone before twisting off on them. Especially if they're going to make the decisions you seem to care so much about.
I criticized x4mr because I don't believe Rev Wright and Bill Ayers (and his wife) are anything like the equivallent of Hillary's gardener's father. They are symbolic of the whole rigged system that requires Barrack to kiss George Soros' ring before he can make a move. McCain, for all his faults, has broken for the center. Yesterday, Obama took a little step in that direction. Let's see if it was the beginning of a sprint. The center isn't hell, Liza.
Rev Wright knows his attacks favor Bill and Hillary. Wright apparently decided his fortunes are better off with the Clintons in power, and he also saw the chance to grab his own personal brass ring. He's raised his image to the national level, where he will stay, perhaps in infamy. Having already turned on Obama, perhaps fatally, let's see how much he pulls down Hillary in the general.
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At the cigar shop, one of the guys several months ago insisted that Clinton would do whatever it took, no matter what, and had "nuclear options" to take out Obama if necessary. Your criticism is welcome, Policon. I am always willing to be shown something I'm not seeing.
I asked the question, and Framer asked it even more succinctly. What does Wright think he is doing? When I wrote the original post, I did not consider the possibility that Wright is intentionally harming Obama. I still don't know if I can go there. If that turns out to be the case, and it becomes public knowledge, what people conclude about Wright cannot be good.
I don't know why Liza deleted her comments. Those who recall the threads of the last election know that this is TAME. Liza, Sirocco (and certainly Roger!) can remember those 150+ streams of screaming back and forth.
I stand by my assertion that this development is bad, whatever it is.
Now we have Karl Rove criticizing McCain.
I'm so confused.
Gentle X4mr Readers,
I will really try to be brief because this subject gives me a major headache. However, the declared and the undeclared right wing showed up on this thread and I very stupidly replied to them and now I am compelled to drive a stake into the heart of the issue for my own edification, of course.
Let us not lose sight of what is occurring while the right wing blathers on about how offended they are by Reverand Wright.
Allow me to take this back down to it’s lowest common denominator. No, it is not a “right wing conspiracy,” which is just the standard right wing reply to confrontation. It is a right wing election strategy and that is all. I wrote about this awhile ago on this blog and X4mr posted it as “Race and the Swiftboating of Obama.”
Policon, if you are reading this I suggest you bail out now because the language will be harsh.
Without reviewing what the right wing did to John Kerry, we know unequivocally that an election strategy of character assassination and personal destruction of the opponent is their desired approach to winning elections. The stakes are high in a presidential election, and the incumbent Republican president is the worst president in American history (although some people are looking as far back as the 18th century to find one they can say is worse.) Bush leaves a legacy of war, recession, record deficits, unprecedented attack on the Constitution, fueling hatred of America, dismantling thirty years of environmental laws, and so on. The GOP, the party of militarism, corruption, and greed is well on it’s way to destroying America.
That makes it really hard to run for president on a record of accomplishment.
Personal attacks are about diminishing the strengths of a candidate and exaggerating his weaknesses. They are also about identifiying the weakness of your own candidate and showing that the opponent is actually the weaker of the two. This was the essence of the attack on John Kerry. Bush was not a war hero and had a weak military record. John Kerry had served his nation with honor. By the time the Swiftboat “veterans” had disseminated their message, many low information voters believed that John Kerry’s war record was fraudulent.
Also, a “weakness” is not necessarily a personal weakness of the candidate himself. It is, more often than not, a situation or a circumstance that can be exploited. Obama’s “weakness” is that he is black, but being black not a weakness. However, it is available for exploitation because the right wing attack machine can use it to capitalize on the fear of African Americans in the white majority. This seems to be most effective with older, uneducated whites in the eastern part of the US, at least so far.
All of the right wing attacks on Democratic frontrunner Obama converge on this message:
DO NOT VOTE FOR THE SCARY, BLACK NIGGER BOY. HE DOES NOT LOVE AMERICA, HE IS A MUSLIM TERRORIST SYMPATHIZER, AND HE IS NOT ONE OF US. DON’T FORGET THAT HE IS A NIGGER AND A NIGGER CANNOT BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The problem, of course, is that Obama isn’t scary at all. He is a very handsome, athletic mixed race individual with impressive intelligence and world class oratory skills.
However, he is associated with a scary nigger and that nigger is the Reverand Wright. So, Fox News gets hold of videos of the Reverand’s sermons which his church put up for sale when he retired. Fox finds their sound bite, the famous “Goddamn America” and they play it endlessly and this is repeated in other mainstream media. Reverand Wright decides to use his national spotlight to defend himself, and then goes on a tear that forces Obama to speak out against him. That’s where we are right now, isn’t it?
Gentle X4mr readers, let’s now turn to the headlines for April 30, 2008, on “Democracy Now:”
Dozens of Civilians Feared Dead in US Attack on Sadr City
UN to Form Task Force on Food Crisis
Rev. Jackson Urges Haiti Food Aid
Bush Rejects Biofuel Link to Food Crisis
Latin American, European Leaders Meet on Poverty, Inequality
Zimbabwe Opposition Accuses Mugabe Supporters of Crackdown
Chevron Accused of Complicity in Burma Abuses
Obama Condemns Former Pastor
McCain Healthcare Proposal Mirrors Bush Admin
Study: Nearly 1/3 of Americans Struggle to Pay for Medical Care, Insurance
Home Foreclosures Rise in 1st Quarter of 2008
Here are the headlines for today on www.antiwar.com:
'Hostile' Iran Sparks US Attack Plan
Gates Says Second Carrier in Gulf Is 'Reminder' to Iran
US Accuses Iran and Syria of Trying to Destabilize Iraq
US Troop Deaths Hit 7-Month High in Iraq
At Least 925 Killed in Iraq's Sadr City Clashes
Sadr City Ambush Drives Back US Patrol
Iraq Civilians Reportedly Among Sadr City Dead
Tuesday: 2 US Soldiers, 90 Iraqis Killed; 135 Iraqis Wounded
Republicans Fear Pelosi Power Grab on Iraq
Army Recruits Who Get in Despite Bad Conduct Promoted Faster
US Brings Iraq-Like Surge to Afghan Conflict
US General: Afghan Stability Will Take a Generation
Suicide Bomb on Anti-Poppy Team Kills 18 Afghans
Pakistan's Planned Accord With Militants Alarms US
It should be obvious why we are talking about lapel pins and scary nigger preachers now isn’t it? If we talk about what the GOP has done to this nation, they could not get anyone elected to dogcatcher positions much less a geriatric, arch conservative warhorse who speaks out of fourteen sides of his mouth and has enough baggage to sink a cruise ship.
I tried to be brief, I really did.
X4mr,
I deleted the comments because I was angry when I wrote them and your new friend, Policon, was offended. However, having grown up in a Navy town in the south, I question his experience with drunken sailors.
Also, I deleted the comment where I inserted the blog post written by the young African American man because I felt it would not be read or appreciated by your right wing commentors.
The "Don't Vote for the Scary Nigger" attack would not have originated with Hillary. She cannot get elected without the AA vote. As it turns out, the Democratic base is splitting right down that line largely because of Hillary's gutter campaign and the right wing sees this as an opportunity. If Hillary is the candidate, it is becoming very doubtful she can win the general.
I did read somewhere that it was a Hillary supporter who arranged the press conference with Rev. Wright on Monday. The motivation is pretty clear. Obama could wrap this in NC and Indiana unless Hillary does well.
So, it might be possible that Hillary is feeding the "scary nigger" attack as well. I think she's already lost the AA vote.
Liza,
Respectfully, I reject your assertion entirely. Most of the damage being done to Obama is, and has been done by the Clintons. Not Republicans, not some right wing cabal. Now as much as you don't want to agree that she is a Democrat, she did win the Democratic primary in Arizona.
And quite frankly John Kerry lost because he was an incompetent lout and an ass. If you don't want to have your biography examined, don't run on it. Of all the Democrats that you could of put up, you found a less-likable Dukakis who lied about and overplayed his Vietnam service.
Here is the wicked truth. Wright is exactly who everybody thought he was and who Obama tried to tell us he wasn't. My personal belief is that Obama never had much of a natural affinity for the guy in the first place but used his standing to advance his political career. If there was genuinely any affection, I would guess that it came from Michelle and not Obama.
That being said, I don't believe that Wright thought that his relationship with Obama was anything other than business as well. There was an expectation of payback that seems to never have materialized. That being said, Wright had the choice of being labeled as "a crazy old uncle" to someone who would perhaps be president, or being the lightning rod for a full racial conflagration wherein the first black president of the United States was "assassinated" by "right wing racists." He could either be a forgotten footnote or relevant as a historical item for the coming decades.
He chose the latter of course, and some, it appears are falling for it. Make no mistake however, that the entire issue was Wright's creation. Don't be putting the blame elsewhere. He got what he was looking for, and threw Obama into traffic to get it.
I see this a little differently. I see that this latest "attack" from Rev. Wright gave Obama exactly what he needed to cut him loose, publicly and harshly.
This eliminates any ties that Obama may still be perceived to have with Reverend Wright and allows Obama to vilify the reverend without "flip-flop" accusations.
I see this as a brilliant PR move, but I don't know if it was orchestrated by Obama's campaign folks or by the Reverend himself.
Just my 2 cents.
Liza- If you're listening exclusively to Amy Goodman, you'll be having a nervous breakdown soon. I listen frequently, to understand the perspective of people who are really angry with the current administration. But come on, you'd have to agree that nobody delivers her special type of bad news with more venom. It rubs off. You'll add 20 points to your blood pressure by listening every day and thinking you have responsibility to deal with a fraction of what she's railing against.
Hightower has the same acidic message, but at least he engages in some great humor. As does Bill O'Reilly. Being an independent means you get to listen to both and then guess at where the truth is. Yeah, "guess," because we're being fed a huge amount of propaganda by ALL sides, every hour. Everyone has an agenda, and they bend the truth to get their way. The sad truth is that nearly every leader, just like our parents, says "Do as I say, not as I do."
I'm sorry, I don't personally get your Scary Nigger thing. I don't feel it, so it's hard to comprehend how it would be effective en masse. I'm not afraid of any race, and I don't think I'm any more ethnocentric than the baseline that's built into all of our core psyches (re Malcom Gladwell's "Blink"). Unless you were born from immaculate conception, you have at least the same baseline biases.
Truth is a little harder to find than you make it out.
I don't want to bait you in any way. Seriously. I would just enjoy challenging your arguments once in a while when time allows, and I can see that you'll have no trouble responding. I'm no Pollyanna and have engaged in my share of foul language, so if you're not aiming it at me personally I won't get weird about it.
If you and your friends here just want a choir to sing to, I'll probably move on soon. If an independent like me looks like an extreme right-winger to you, I would argue that your vision has become obscured. I'm hoping some real republicans show up on this blog soon so we can actually have a full out discussion of the controversial topics of our day, without losing our minds in the process. Passion's great, and I actually love the way you are so loyal to x4mr, coming to his defense so quickly.
Maybe my interest in a more balanced argument is because I'm older than you and I'm sick and tired of the one-sided attacks dominating the dialogue in this country. I hope the two party system cracks on both sides this year. I've spent time in both parties and contributed heavily to both, before becoming an independent over a decade ago. I still contribute heavily to candidates from both parties, which has only seemed to make me an enemy of both sides.
Framer,
I am going to agree with you straight down the line that Hillary and Bill Clinton have run a gutter campaign that was very forthright in it's intentions to destroy Obama (scorched earth, kitchen sink, etc...)
Hillary's attack on Obama intended to take down what her campaign perceived to be his two strengths: his oratory skills and his opposition to the Iraq war in 2002. We needn't review the attacks but you recall "empty rhetoric" and "speeches do not put food on the table" and so on. She also intended to amplify her strength which supposedly is her "experience." The Rev. Wright attack was available as we all know but she could not go there because she cannot win the election with the AA vote.
The Rev. Wright "guilt by association with a crazy nigger" attack comes from the right wing and what you fail to address, Framer, is why this election is supposed to be about "crazy niggers."
Framer, I do not want this election to be about Rev. Hagee, or the Keating scandal, or Cindy McCain's drug problems, or any of those things. I would like the election to be about the future of this country and how we are going to start the process of repairing the damage done by Bush/Cheney and what we are going to be in the 21st century.
Reverand Wright has some problems, to be sure. However, he isn't running for anything. Why not let it all fade away and let this election be about what the candidates stand for in terms of domestic and foreign policy?
You don't have to answer. The GOP can't run on issues or they lose every election. They can only win by thoroughly destroying the opponent by whatever means possible and those means are brutal and vicious. But that's what it takes.
make that "she cannot win the election WITHOUT the AA vote."
Texpatriate, there are many people who agree with you.
I think that Reverand Wright got his feelings hurt in a big way and that he is not used to a national spotlight. He has been preaching to the choir, so to speak. I have to wonder if his rhetoric has ever been tested on a large, diverse audience, some of which is just looking for sound bites to attack Obama with.
I just don't know what to think.
Fascinating.
I find myself agreeing with everyone but from different angles.
Readers should remember that Liza wrote in detail about this over a month ago and x4mr posted it as a story.
I agree that the "crazy nigger" argument will be forwarded by Obama's opponents as long as it can be. The GOP would much rather face Hillary and has said so, but I think it's a stretch to say Wright is motivated or intentionally harming Obama. Like x4mr, I am puzzled and disturbed by Wright's behavior and don't understand it, which is basically what his original story says.
X4mr has used the frame of the "established" against the "new" and we clearly have both McCain and Clinton as well established insiders and status quo beneficiaries. In principle, Liza points to something that will happen.
Policon, at least as long as I have been reading (since July), this blog has been anything but preaching to a choir. Perhaps Diana will visit again and enlighten us with her perspective.
Framer makes sense when he says this is about Wright and not sourced by right wing motives, but they can certainly answer when opportunity knocks. Texpatriot may have the deepest insight of all. Perhaps this is an inoculation.
Yeah, on reflection, I'll bet Textpatriot is probably correct that this was an engineered parting of the ways. A win-win for Wright, who gets the notoriety and dramatically increased esteem, and Obama is free to move about the cabin having jettisoned some baggage that was dragging him down. Wow! Et tu Brute doesn't mean what it used to. In this scenario, wouldn't Bill & Hillary be really pissed right now?
Can't wait to see Hillary on Bill O'Reilly tonight. Maybe he'll rough her up like Moyers did to Rev Wright last Friday.
framer- are u a republican? Are you active in politics?
framer- sorry, i had meant to add that i just haven't had enough time to read your prior comments to figure it out for myself. its hard being the new guy.
It's funny reading you guys and all the guessing when it's so simple and obvious.
Wright is just defending himself trying to look all smart and impressive because he has the same inferiority complex that all blacks have. Others (probably bleeding heart liberal whites) wrote the speech for him with the fancy words so he could look smart.
Look at all the excuses and explanations people make up to ignore what is right in front of us. Races are not equal and never have been. Why do the high technology companies hire so many people from Asia? They are the smartest. Then come the whites. Then the blacks. Then the hispanics, and last are the American indians. How can you look at Mexico and fail to see that it's a lazy, stupid country?
Why do we need "affirmative action" and all this left wing political correct crap if the races are equal? They aren't.
While I am at it, women and men are different too, despite what the feminist morons think. x4mr knows this because he studies education. Admit it, x4mr, how many women get Phd's in math or computer science?
They don't have what it takes, but we have to put up with special programs and all this nonsense to encourage girls to learn what they hate and can't do when they are forced to try. What a waste.
That guy who wanted to run TUSD was only making a very correct observation when he said TUSD faced cultural issues. He was right. The kids are mostly lazy hispanic idiots that will never do homework, but no one wants to admit it, so they keep blaming the school.
What drives people crazy about Hitler is that he was right when he talked about certain races being superior. I don't support rounding up the inferior races and killing them, but the best human world would have reproduction favor the superior. We would keep getting better, and the rif-raf would die off. We all know its true. We allow the lowest to breed like flies. In 200 years there will be no smart people.
If we had real border security all along, TUSD would be fine because it would have decent students.
Regarding Amy Goodman, Policon says, "...you'd have to agree that nobody delivers her special type of bad news with more venom."
No, I do not agree. Amy Goodman has dedicated her entire life to being a real journalist and she works non-stop to report the news that is overlooked by mainstream media. There is no one out there who covers human rights issues better than she does, and her on camera interviewing skills are the best that I am aware of. She also delivers the news in a calm, clear voice and you will never see theatrics on her show. I have immense respect for her.
I have many news sources and they are constantly changing as I discover sources that I either like better or find to be more interesting. I would not listen to Bill O'Reilly unless my other choice was to be water boarded. Fox News has no legitimacy as a real news source, in my opinion. In fact, all of the mainstream news networks seem to be getting worse and their mostly tabloid level coverage of this primary season has been shameful. The recent ABC Democratic "debate" was as shameful as it gets.
However, Policon, getting back to your comments you said something that I find very interesting, “…I don't personally get your Scary Nigger thing. I don't feel it…” You are spot on and I never understood that until I moved to California in my mid-twenties. Where I came from, everybody felt it. You were either part of the oppressed minority, you were a white cracker racist, or you were a white person who supported racial equality. Everyone was affected and absolutely no one was without a very deep emotional connection to the issue of race. Such was the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and how it affected the people of the south. There is much to exploit there, Policon, and it most certainly can be exploited in numbers large enough to affect an election.
Racism is an extremely complex issue, but if I were trying to describe it in simple terms, I would say it is mostly about fear and ignorance. That is certainly my life experience, and I grew up during the civil rights era. Attitudes do not change overnight and they certainly do not change just because legislation has been passed. It takes multiple generations for attitudes to change, and they change mostly because the older people die and the younger ones are subjected to more racially tolerant ideas and experiences and the beliefs and values they adopt eventually permeate the culture. That process is far from finished.
What you feel, Policon, can be very different from what others feel because of your life experience. A couple of days ago I was reading some stories written by campaign workers in Kentucky who are absolutely horrified by what people are saying to them, “There ain’t no way I’m voting for that nigger…” Like you, they have judged others by what they themselves feel, and reality has hit them like a tidal wave.
What you have had a glimpse of in my deleted comments, is an emotionally charged response to a brutal attack on an African American man who has done absolutely nothing to deserve it except to offer himself as a presidential candidate. I will not pretend that my suffering is even the smallest fraction of that of African Americans, but I will tell you this. Racism has tormented me my entire life, and it will go with me to my grave (or my urn.) As for Obama, I want the historical moment, to be sure, but I am also certain that he is the best qualified of the remaining candidates.
Diana- You are seriously demented. World War II proved that, on average, anyone can be trained to do anything. Nancy Pelosi doesn't suffer from her gender.
Two Asians, two Indians, and two Anglo students at Catalina Foothills High School just won their third national chess championship in four years not because of their race but because their parents encouraged them to think seven steps ahead since the day they were born.
Mexicans are not only hard workers, they're extremely industrious. Their government sucks, but hey, half the nations on earth have marginal governments.
Tiger Woods may be the greatest golfer of all times for the same reason.
It's not race, it's environment. All races have the same mix of inherant geniuses, dunces, and all the rest of us in between. Peter Drucker wrote extensively about these findings in Post Capitalist Society and his other later books.
Navigator wrote, "Perhaps Diana will visit again and enlighten us with her perspective."
Navigator, be careful what you wish for today....
Dammit Navigator!! I hold you responsible for summoning the creature.
I don't know if Liza saw the comment before she wrote the above.
Ahhh, yes, I am once again reminded of the body sensations produced when one is exposed to Diana's views. I thought perhaps she had left for good. Policon's response works for me.
Thanks, Liza. But I have to disagree about Amy. She can't even say the words "Bush," "administration," "Chaney," or "Republican" without LITERALLY seething and rattling her tail. You can see the toxin dripping off her fangs (even when you're listening on the radio).
That's not normal, or healthy. It's not good for you or me to feel that way about anything over a long period of time.
You may be right about my upbringing on the mean streats of Tucson, and a total lack of racism. I was an adult before I even knew about prejudices against the Mexicans I went to school with since first grade. We read "Black Like Me" in junior high and were all horrified, but it never occurred to us that the Mexicans sitting next to us suffered their own version.
It really breaks my heart to think about the damage the prejudice you describe does to our dreams for America. Are you black, or have you just observed the prejudice first hand?
Policon,
I forgot to add about Framer. His name is Trent Humphries and he is running for the state legislature, District 26. Yes, he is a Republican.
He has his own blog "Arizona Eighth" which is included on my blog roll. I suggest you take a look.
Framer- my apologies for the "waiting for some republicans to show up" thing. I get excited and forget that I've only recently arrived here and don't really know the players yet. I've enjoyed your scrums with Liza for the past month, though, and should have remembered your perspective. Good luck with the race; I'll follow x4mr's advice and look at your web site.
Policon, I'm white. I grew up with segregation. My family and extended family on my father's side were very southern and very racist. They had no interest in racial equality or social justice. Some of them are still around and they vote.
X4mr,
I didn't see Diana's comment before posting.
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"Two Asians, two Indians, and two Anglo students at Catalina Foothills High School just won their third national chess championship in four years not because of their race but because their parents encouraged them to think seven steps ahead since the day they were born."
All good kids too. I've coached some of them at chess in the somewhat distant past.
Diana is so over the top she can at times appear satirical ... until you realize she really does believe what she says. Then it descends into grotesque.
I didn't get a chance to hear the actual speech, but I think Obama decisively cutting his ties with Wright was a necessary move.
Policon,
I am a total "noir head." Since I wrote that profile, my film noir collection has expanded significantly. And last summer I discovered Raymond Chandler and I read straight through his seven novels non-stop. No Franz Kafka, however.
The other Russian writer I used to like is Mikhail Sholokhov but that was a long, long time ago.
For the time being, I seem to be rooted in film noir for my escapism. I see these recurring themes and I really think that those films come closer than any other genre to the reality of American life back then. Also, they make me wonder if a simpler life is possible, now that life in America seems to have become more about excessive consumption than anything else.
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I'm not sure how we cross the racial divide, Policon, but I have thought about it a lot. What I do know is that it makes a difference when we speak up, one or two at a time, when it is our turn to do so. And everyone gets a turn sooner or later.
I wish people would do that now, and say we've had enough of the Reverand Wright sound bites, and we want this election to be about the critical issues that cannot be delayed.
Anyhow, here's something I read awhile back on CD liner notes, of all places. The CD is the soundtrack for "Big Bad Love" and the song is a live recording of "Boxcar Blues" by Kenny Brown.
"R.L. Burnside introduces Kenny Brown as his adopted son, explaining, I imagine, the startling discrepancy in their skin color. If the racial question is devastatingly pending in North Mississippi, the music made there will have none of it. You should see the Phi Delta Hoo-hahs jump and shout when R.L. and Cedric Burnside tear it up with Kenny Brown down in the Grove at Ole Miss on a fall evening. Everybody's skin color goes up in smoke."
It's not much, of course, but I like the imagery and it is something I can relate to. It reminds me that somewhere out there, people are enjoying those things that bind us to each other. And this is in direct opposition to those who continue to tear us apart, those who prefer that we remain divided so that they might win elections or benefit in some other selfish way.
I think that this is what Obama is trying to get us to understand.
I have read all Dostoiewsky many, many years ago, I visited some places where he lived in St Petersburg and his grave; I have read all Kafka many, many years ago and I'm going to Prague in three weeks and plan to check his whereabouts. Is this so out of ordinary?
Diana, I'm no feminist by any means and I "get" math. Policon is right, it's the environment. This "girls don't get math and science" thing is 100% american, I never heared it before moving to US and I was 38 by then.
I talked to a very nice Clinton supporter lady a few weeks ago (before the circus)and she told me that even she likes Obama as a person, she is scared of the "black connections". I asked her if she is from the south, she said "no". She also said she is not racist or prejudiced, only afraid. Hmmm...
I agree with all your points, Liza.
We need to speak up, each of us individually. And, we need to let go of the Wright thing.
I looked in my music collection and I've got lots of Rural L Burnside (Please Don't Stay is one of my favorites; he's got some great song titles too: Ass Pocket of Whiskey, Monkey in the Poolroom, etc.)but the only Kenny Brown I have is a Rockabilly tune, Throw A Little Wood on the Fire. Is that the same Kenny Brown?
I love Burnside's hobo songs. I'm old enough that I played with the hobos in the park along the railroad tracks as a first grader. Back then Tucson (the world?) was safe enough that our moms let us go a mile in any direction as long as we were home for dinner. Naturally, we went to ride the trains and mess around with hobos and haunted houses. Hey, who wouldn't?
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Policon, I've never heard "Throw a Little Wood on the Fire" so I don't know. It's interesting that you like Delta blues music. Not what I would normally expect from a Tucson native.
No, I am not from Russia. I don't have much to say on this blog because you guys say it all. However, I read it religiously and it makes my day everyday.
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