Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1828 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Tue 25 Nov 2008 16:51 Post subject: Rev Wright Speaks
Quote:
Wright looks back
Jeremiah Wright, in a rare media appearance, told Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Mark Thompson that he understands why Obama distanced himself from him, but doesn't forgive the media the way it covered him.
His reaction to Obama's victory, he said, was a "mixed bag of being proud of him and being blessed to have lived" through the moment, and pain at being "put up by the media" as a "weapon of mass destruction to destroy his candidacy."
Wright, who posed what may have been the deepest challenge to Obama's candidacy, and provoked its most racially-charged moments, is now a footnote to a winning campaign. He opened little new ground, and expressed joy that his former friend was now president, and no remorse at his own role.
The negative press, and the final wave of negative ads, had been particularly painful, he said.
"I sort of never realized how that affects my family, what that does to my kids or my grandkids," he said.
Wright also seemed to dispute the notion that the inflammatory moments that aired on cable television and the Internet were out of character, though he said they were out of context.
"I’ve been preaching the same thing for 40 years," he said, saying that white audiences couldn't be expected to understand a form of worship they'd never seen, and was once practiced in secret.
He also said that Obama's chief political advisor had been the one who pressed for rescinding his invitation to perform the invocation at Obama's campaign launch in Springfield, referring to David Axelrod's "not wanting me to give a public invocation."
Wright also repeated his perception -- which helped convince Obama to cut him off after initially refusing to in his speech on race -- that politics was part of his former congregant's calculus.
"He’s running for the presidency of the United States of America, which is a country where blacks are a minority," he said. "To get the votes that he needs in electoral politics, he has to distance himself from me, because his support would dry up when certain parts of the constituency found out who I was."
His greatest disappointment, he said, wasn't in Obama, but in some of his fellows in the black church, who "just rolled over and played dead while we in the black church continue to be hammered for who we are."
I'm sorry, but the first time I saw all these videos I fell out laughing...I mean it is so over the top it almost seems like a dark comedy.
I've actually attended Wright's church, when I was about 11 or 12 years old, when I lived in the Chicago Metro area...I don't recall him saying these type of things...what I remember was he was jumping up and down talking about black men need stop making babies and spreading HIV and be more responsible, etc. Something many black ministers talk about but he was very loud, there was a lot of "testifying", the band was huge, and I remember his pseudo-African clothing. That is about it. I was likely half sleep (as I usually was in any church so... ).
My wife (from Japan) watch these videos on Youtube with me and then she said..."isn't what he said true??"
*I don't think we watched the one where he said the U.S. government gave black people HIV. That I don't agree with at all.
I just said...if it is mostly true or not, there are some things you can't say in America or you will be branded an anti-American black radical nutjob...
I then said imagine if a Korean guy was saying this in Japan...true or not he might be assulted. She then said "oh...yeah that's true"
My late father used to be a minister, but he never got quite as fired up as Wright during some of his sermons. My father would sometimes point out that certain people (usually the entertainment industry) or American institutions were going to be condemend or "damned" by God due to their sinful practices, but he never once shouted "God damn America!!!" as a whole. I believe if somebody makes a broad statement like that, then they should probably make plans to leave the U.S. and become a citizen of another country. I think it's just stupid for Wright or anyone to portray America as such a bad place that regularly committs evil acts; while at the same time he[Wright] is soon to be livin' lavish (if he hasn't already moved in) in a multi-million dollar mansion located in the "American" state of Illinois. It can't be all that bad, at least not for him. I've never been to the man's church, so I don't know what his general message is on an average Sunday, but I hope it was only a few times that he let that nonsense come from his mouth. Although maybe the few times he did get carried away in his sermons was more than enough for Oprah's ears, and that's why she eventually left his church.
The USA isn't perfect by any stretch--we have plenty of problems that need to be fixed and policies that need modification, but if a man like Rev. Wright truly believes the U.S. continues to purposely do horrible things, then he would likely leave this "damned" land to avoid any karma-type punishment we Americans will inevitably be subjected to; he would depart to atleast avoid the shame in being called an American if nothing else. We enjoy freedom of speech in this country, so it's great that we all have the right to ridicule and criticize our government and its leaders. That's why we should try to work within the system in order to change it for the better.....I don't know if screaming bad things about our nation from the pulpit is gonna help to accomplish that.
This is a prime example of finding people mixed when it is convenient. During this Rev. Wright controversy half the media was questioned whether Obama was a Black racist. All I kept thinking was how racist could he be with a White mother? I remember my dad saying the same thing and believed the media was blowing the issue out of proportion as a scare tactic!
Now that Obama has been elected president no one no longer questions if he's a Black racist, they're asking now if he's really Black at all! And since Rev. Wright hasn't been elected to any well admired public offices we continue to bash him as being a militant Black man who hates America (and whitey) which gave him all his opportunities. Rev. Wright looks 'whiter' than our biracial black president, I wonder how many of his critics see that?
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1828 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Tue 25 Nov 2008 23:45 Post subject:
amatrex wrote:
My late father used to be a minister, but he never got quite as fired up as Wright during some of his sermons. My father would sometimes point out that certain people (usually the entertainment industry) or American institutions were going to be condemend or "damned" by God due to their sinful practices, but he never once shouted "God damn America!!!" as a whole. I believe if somebody makes a broad statement like that, then they should probably make plans to leave the U.S. and become a citizen of another country. I think it's just stupid for Wright or anyone to portray America as such a bad place that regularly committs evil acts; while at the same time he[Wright] is soon to be livin' lavish (if he hasn't already moved in) in a multi-million dollar mansion located in the "American" state of Illinois. It can't be all that bad, at least not for him. I've never been to the man's church, so I don't know what his general message is on an average Sunday, but I hope it was only a few times that he let that nonsense come from his mouth. Although maybe the few times he did get carried away in his sermons was more than enough for Oprah's ears, and that's why she eventually left his church.
The USA isn't perfect by any stretch--we have plenty of problems that need to be fixed and policies that need modification, but if a man like Rev. Wright truly believes the U.S. continues to purposely do horrible things, then he would likely leave this "damned" land to avoid any karma-type punishment we Americans will inevitably be subjected to; he would depart to atleast avoid the shame in being called an American if nothing else. We enjoy freedom of speech in this country, so it's great that we all have the right to ridicule and criticize our government and its leaders. That's why we should try to work within the system in order to change it for the better.....I don't know if screaming bad things about our nation from the pulpit is gonna help to accomplish that.
I agree, but I think it was hyperbole. To me, what he said was wrong (well some of it) but he has helped many HIV/AIDs patience, he has helped those in prison and coming out of jail. I don't see Pat Roberson doing this or any other of those "Christians Conservatives"...
He also served his country when he did not have to, he was not drafted, he volunteered:
Quote:
From 1959 to 1961, Wright attended Virginia Union University,[2] in Richmond. In 1961 Wright left college and joined the United States Marine Corps and became part of the 2nd Marine Division attaining the rank of private first class. In 1963, after two years of service, Wright joined the United States Navy and entered the Corpsman School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.[12][7] Wright was then trained as a cardiopulmonary technician at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Wright was assigned as part of the medical team charged with care of President Lyndon B. Johnson (see photo of Wright caring for Johnson after his 1966 surgery). Before leaving the position in 1967, the White House Physician, Vice Admiral Burkley, personally wrote Wright a letter of thanks on behalf of the United States President.[13][14][15]
Being agnostic and no longer a Christian, I am not interested in this man's church, but he is not evil, at least in my definition...just "wrong".
Martin Luther King also said the following (many folks in the media, usually white like to remember Martin early on...not after the Chicago march....) It is easy for anyone to get disillusioned. I think we have to look at a person in totality.
Quote:
Speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City
SNIP
Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.
For those who ask the question, "Aren't you a civil rights leader?" and thereby mean to exclude me from the movement for peace, I have this further answer. In 1957 when a group of us formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, we chose as our motto: "To save the soul of America."
Remember King got disinvited from the White House due to this speech and others around this time.
Yes, that's a great point about MLK that wasn't mentioned much during the height of the Rev. Wright controversy. I do remember that Tavis Smiley was one of the few who did point out MLK's words about America being the "biggest purveyor of violence in the world" during the Vietnam War. I think MLK gets a well deserved pass for what he said mainly because his primary goal was to gain equality by bringing people together of all colors, religions, and ethnicities through peace and tolerance. And his invaluable accomplishments for the Civil Rights movement far out weigh any controversial statements (to some) he made concerning the wrongdoings of the U.S. government. MLK was right about the American government tolerating and often carrying out violence against its own people, particularly African-Americans, so the social and racial climate of his time gave him more than enough reason to be highly critical of U.S. government and its policies.
Where I believe people like Wright go wrong is when they speak only negative of the country but fail to point out anything positive. Now when some of his fiery sermon clips went national, he should've come out publicly and said something like:
I do NOT hate America, but I do care about it enough to point out its social ills and policy problems. Sometimes I get emotional when preaching about its past and present blemishes in my church, but that doesn't mean I don't love the United States--it just means I strongly believe we can and should attempt to change for the better.
If Wright would've said something along those lines in a calm, rational demeanor, I believe he could've taken a lot of heat off Obama. But he didn't exactly do that in his interview with Bill Moyers or any other public appearance he made thereafter. So many people just figured he was another Farrakhan-type, who hates whites and his country.
Wright is a very intelligent, proud man, so I'm sure it was hard for him to keep his mouth shut until after election, but he did. I think the man doesn't hate white people or America, and he sometimes goes over the top for entertainment value. Many of his peers (other ministers) publicly showed support for him while pointing out that he has done wonderful work to help many people in his community, which is a great thing. I just believe he shouldn't counter that work by injecting a "victimhood mentality" into his predominantley black congregation by portraying America as racist as it was 40 years ago. He should teach his young black parishoners about the past and the struggle, but don't dwell or emphasize it so much to the point that it might give them the idea that they won't be able to accomplish something because they are black. He should be telling that we have the opportunities to do whatever we want now in 2008 because of the sacrifices the older generations have made. I believe Rev Wright is retired now, so hopefully the preacher who replaced him takes a different approach with his sermons.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1828 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Wed 26 Nov 2008 17:51 Post subject:
amatrex wrote:
Yes, that's a great point about MLK that wasn't mentioned much during the height of the Rev. Wright controversy. I do remember that Tavis Smiley was one of the few who did point out MLK's words about America being the "biggest purveyor of violence in the world" during the Vietnam War. I think MLK gets a well deserved pass for what he said mainly because his primary goal was to gain equality by bringing people together of all colors, religions, and ethnicities through peace and tolerance. And his invaluable accomplishments for the Civil Rights movement far out weigh any controversial statements (to some) he made concerning the wrongdoings of the U.S. government. MLK was right about the American government tolerating and often carrying out violence against its own people, particularly African-Americans, so the social and racial climate of his time gave him more than enough reason to be highly critical of U.S. government and its policies.
Where I believe people like Wright go wrong is when they speak only negative of the country but fail to point out anything positive. Now when some of his fiery sermon clips went national, he should've come out publicly and said something like:
I do NOT hate America, but I do care about it enough to point out its social ills and policy problems. Sometimes I get emotional when preaching about its past and present blemishes in my church, but that doesn't mean I don't love the United States--it just means I strongly believe we can and should attempt to change for the better.
If Wright would've said something along those lines in a calm, rational demeanor, I believe he could've taken a lot of heat off Obama. But he didn't exactly do that in his interview with Bill Moyers or any other public appearance he made thereafter. So many people just figured he was another Farrakhan-type, who hates whites and his country.
Wright is a very intelligent, proud man, so I'm sure it was hard for him to keep his mouth shut until after election, but he did. I think the man doesn't hate white people or America, and he sometimes goes over the top for entertainment value. Many of his peers (other ministers) publicly showed support for him while pointing out that he has done wonderful work to help many people in his community, which is a great thing. I just believe he shouldn't counter that work by injecting a "victimhood mentality" into his predominantley black congregation by portraying America as racist as it was 40 years ago. He should teach his young black parishoners about the past and the struggle, but don't dwell or emphasize it so much to the point that it might give them the idea that they won't be able to accomplish something because they are black. He should be telling that we have the opportunities to do whatever we want now in 2008 because of the sacrifices the older generations have made. I believe Rev Wright is retired now, so hopefully the preacher who replaced him takes a different approach with his sermons.
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