Rev. Jeremiah Wright

[trivas7]

President Obama's former pastor gave a sermon (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/08/BAQS182MEQ.DTL&tsp=1) at one of San Francisco's oldest Baptist churches Sunday where he admonished the under-40 generation that Obama's ascent to the White House is not the culmination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of equality for all. He explicitly mentioned that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood "against militarism, racism, and capitalism" according to television reports I saw.

[GPDP]

And people wonder why the media made such a big deal about what Rev. Wright said during the campaign, while people like Pat Robertson spout their bullshit without nary a whimper.

While Robertson spouts some of the vilest fundamentalist wankery, he never made the mistake of actually criticizing ruling structures of power like Wright did, hence why Robertson's sermons get a wag of the finger, while Wright's sermons get months of media condemnation.

What message does this send other than perhaps the fact that in America, you can say the most outlandish and hateful shit, so long as it's not critical of the status quo?

[Bud Struggle]

What message does this send other than perhaps the fact that in America, you can say the most outlandish and hateful shit, so long as it's not critical of the status quo?

Wright said, "God DAMN America!" Agree or disagree it's not the kind of rhetoric Americans like to see in intimates of their President.

[GPDP]

Wright said, "God DAMN America!" Agree or disagree it's not the kind of rhetoric Americans like to see in intimates of their President.

Yes, let's talk about the rhetoric of Presidential intimates, and what is worthy or unworthy of intense media condemnation.

So you mean to tell me there's nothing wrong when this


I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For The American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.

does not raise more than a few eyebrows, but this


God DAMN America!

is so utterly worthy of contempt? People stopped just short of calling for the man's lynching. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few bigots called for it at one point or another.

Now, tell me. Which of these two is clearly the more condemnable statement? And in light of that, why was Obama so pressured to blast and disown Wright, but McCain scarcely so for the likes of Falwell, Robertson and Hagee? Surely most Americans would also find Falwell's statements tasteless and hateful. By your logic, he should've been destroyed as well.

Regardless, the point is less about what most ordinary American citizens find contemptible, and more about what the media chooses to zero into. And the answer could not be clearer in light of the insane double standard at work here.

You might find this article on the undue attention Rev. Wright got during the campaign as opposed to his right-wing counterparts interesting. It also raises the issue of race, which I have not even begun to talk about here:

http://monthlyreview.org/080901herman-peterson.php

[pusher robot]

And in light of that, why was Obama so pressured to blast and disown Wright, but McCain scarcely so for the likes of Falwell, Robertson and Hagee?

It's possible it had something to do with the fact that Obama actually went to Wright's church for years, whereas McCain did not go to Falwell's, Robertson's and Hagee's. Obama was pressured to account for Wright's views not just because they were political allies, but because Obama voluntarily went to Wright's church and listened to what he had to say.

[GPDP]

It's possible it had something to do with the fact that Obama actually went to Wright's church for years, whereas McCain did not go to Falwell's, Robertson's and Hagee's. Obama was pressured to account for Wright's views not just because they were political allies, but because Obama voluntarily went to Wright's church and listened to what he had to say.

Fair enough. Even so, those people did endorse McCain, and it was not until much later, and with faaaaaaaaar less media furor that he distanced themselves from them and rejected their endorsement.

Also, welcome back, I suppose.

[Bud Struggle]

Fair enough. Even so, those people did endorse McCain, and it was not until much later, and with faaaaaaaaar less media furor that he distanced themselves from them and rejected their endorsement.


A lot of people endorse a lot of people--that's just politics. I guess these guys keep endorsements till the pressure gets too much and then they drop them if they have to. It's a dance between what the media finds as "sexy" (i.e. the story that sells the most papers.) Falwell is the same old same old, but Wright was new and interesting.

Further if it wasn't mentioned above McCain reject Hagee's endorsement. Campaign endorsements aren't the place to look for sterling ethics in anyone.

[RGacky3]

Falwell is the same old same old, but Wright was new and interesting.

Don't think class interests have nothing to do with it.

Remember if something goes along with the ruling class rhetoric, no matter how outrageous or wrong it is, it will generally be accepted by the media, if it does'nt, it will be attacked and scrutinized at every turn.

For example it is always simply accepted that Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad are somehow dictatorial guys, however that is never even mentioned about the Saudi royalty. Whereas in an actual free debate it would be very hard to say that Hugo or Mahmoud are more dictatorial than your average world leader, whereas the Saudi royalty are clearly more dictatorial.

So to say that class/nationalistic interests are not involved is being naive.

[Il Medico]

The fact is what Wright said (for the most part) was in some way true. The establishment does not like truth. They enjoy lies, especially those they make up (they're very proud). Old Hagee and Robertson can stir racial and religious hatred as well as homophobia all they want, as long as they don't question the boss. That is a fact, a sad, sad, fact.

[Jimmie Higgins]

It's possible it had something to do with the fact that Obama actually went to Wright's church for years, whereas McCain did not go to Falwell's, Robertson's and Hagee's. Obama was pressured to account for Wright's views not just because they were political allies, but because Obama voluntarily went to Wright's church and listened to what he had to say.

But wait, isn't Obama a secret-Muslim?

Wright said, "God Damn America?" who cares? And what he supposedly said about MLK and Obama seems right on the money too.

The funny thing is that the religious right calls on God to damn all kinds of Americans such as gays, non-Christians, abortion providers, and so on which probably accounts for 80% of all the people who live in America. Wright says "God Damn America" meaning the political institutions that have created racism here... wait so what are conservatives mad at? It's Ok to damn Americans, but not buildings, and lawbooks, and police forces? You guys and your American exceptionalism: America the nation is perfect except... for exceptions such as slavery, racism, the largest prison system ever, more inequality than any other industrial nations, ongoing racism, homelessness because of a housing boom(?), genocide, and so on.

[Communist Theory]

Heh.
So what if somebody said "God damn America."
1st Amendment don't the Stormfronting Right Wing nutjobs preach that?

[thundertail19921]

Reverend Wright is a ridiculous person, but should not reflect upon Obama.

[ckaihatsu]

Reverend Wright is a ridiculous person, but should not reflect upon Obama.


This is a harsh, and even politically backward, statement. I'd *rather* see Rev. Wright get ink than Obama, especially with Wright's Dr. King-backed anti-capitalist (anti-imperialism) statement:





He explicitly mentioned that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood "against militarism, racism, and capitalism" according to television reports I saw.


I consider Rev. Wright to mostly be a populist, but anything he says that is explicitly against empire and militarism is *more than welcome* in my book...! (!!!) Also, *anything* he says is going to be more progressive and on-the-mark than anything Obama says. I think that's why Rev. Wright is continuing to be a thorn in the side of the mainstream media, because there's a gaping void on the liberal side of the political spectrum right now -- Obama went off and joined the conservatives right after being elected (as we Marxists predicted), leaving a political vacuum....


Chris





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-- Of all the Marxists in a roomful of people, I'm the Wilde-ist. --

[GPDP]

Wright did say some ridiculous things, though, such as implying that the US government created the HIV virus and implanted it in black neighborhoods. Or something like that.

[ckaihatsu]

Wright did say some ridiculous things, though, such as implying that the US government created the HIV virus and implanted it in black neighborhoods. Or something like that.


Regardless of the veracity of this report or, if it's true, regardless of the validity of the claim, the *political* content of it is essentially *populist* -- it appeals to the downtrodden public as a whole (albeit a select segment of the population -- poor blacks) -- in an anti-Big-Brother way....

[Bud Struggle]

He's in the news again:

HAMPTON, Virginia - President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is blaming "them Jews" for keeping him from speaking to the president.
Wright, the former pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, said he hasn't spoken to Obama since he became president.
"Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office," Wright told the Daily Press of Newport News following a Tuesday night sermon at the 95th annual Hampton University Ministers' Conference.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31246353

[GPDP]

Wow.

[ckaihatsu]

Here's a quick-and-handy guide to the various major political orientations that we tend to come across in the realm of politics -- they can be seen relativistically, from right to left, which also happens to correspond to the historical development of the productive forces (and thus also to the progression of political configurations of power).


Ideologies & Operations -- Fundamentals

http://tinyurl.com/d2564h

[Rosa Provokateur]

And people wonder why the media made such a big deal about what Rev. Wright said during the campaign, while people like Pat Robertson spout their bullshit without nary a whimper.

While Robertson spouts some of the vilest fundamentalist wankery, he never made the mistake of actually criticizing ruling structures of power like Wright did, hence why Robertson's sermons get a wag of the finger, while Wright's sermons get months of media condemnation.

What message does this send other than perhaps the fact that in America, you can say the most outlandish and hateful shit, so long as it's not critical of the status quo?

It's because Robertson's stuff is old-hat. Everybody's heard gays, Muslims, etc. get bad-mouthed but White America... thats freash.