[speechlesstx]

Speaking of Dr. King, a column by Bob Ray Sanders of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram appeared in our paper yesterday in which he defends Wright and invokes Dr. King thusly:

It was that theology, while still teaching non-violence, that taught us to be defiant and demanding.

I find it interesting today that many whites who couldn't stand Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was alive embrace him primarily because of that passage in the I Have a Dream speech in which he longed for the day when his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." That line is most quoted today by those opposed to affirmative action.

But people forget how defiant that speech was, and how it spoke (with all of King's eloquence) to an America that had failed many people, especially this country's people of color.

King had noted that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were a promissory note to all people. But he quickly added:

"It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt."

Sanders failed to note this from the I have a Dream speech just two paragraphs later:

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."

Somewhere down the line Wright missed the "high plane of dignity and discipline" part and held on to the "bitterness and hatred" part of the road "to the solid rock of brotherhood" that Dr. King envisioned.

[excon]

Hello again,

See, here's the part you white folks miss. You didn't treat the slaves with dignity... You didn't take a high plane when it came to the civil rights movement... Yet, you expect it...

Yes. Bitterness and hatred ARE a part of it. Some of those people, like the Rev. Wright, had hoses put upon them by white folks who were definitely NOT taking a high plane. I'm sorry you don't like the fact that people like Wright remember it.

Your righteousness would be easier to take if we really HAD advanced to a color blind society... But, we haven't. Not even close.

excon

[tomder55]

Again you missed the point .it is not what Rev Wright thinks but if Obama believes it. He has no basis for such bitterness so I think him being there is political opportunism because he has zero basis for believing the extreme rants of Rev Wright .

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

I'm not sure who is missing the point. Obama said he didn't believe it. Why didn't he reject it 20 years ago?

My father in law is a bald headed right winged German bigoted old man. Should I have rejected him because I might run for president in 20 years??

I don't know. You don't have anybody around you that doesn't mirror your beliefs?? It must be pretty boring at your family gatherings.

How unreal do you expect him to be?

excon

[tomder55]

He is family ? Nah he is a preacher in a community that Obama chose as his base of political support . That is what this is really about. Obama doesn't believe any of it.

[speechlesstx]

Ex,

You seem to be under the impression that we don't get it, and I assure you I do even if I can't relate to "the black experience." I get that there are still racial obstacles to overcome. From my view however, which is I'm sure the same of millions of Americans, I didn't have anything to do with oppressing blacks, I've never been racist and just plain don't care what color your skin is so I don't get how all this bitterness and asserting your "blackness" helps heal anything.

Sure, be proud of your heritage, don't give up the unique aspects of your culture but stop throwing it in my face, telling me how evil white people are and trying to make us feel guilty. If you wanted to be treated equally and realize this "solid rock of brotherhood" then act like it, stop making excuses and stop injecting racism unnecessarily - especially your Christianity. I mean seriously, how's it working out? Driving a wedge between us and holding a grudge doesn't seem like quite the way to go if you're serious about this.

Steve

[excon]

Hello again, Steve:

I think you do get it - kind of... But, not really.

You see, I'm an angry guy too. I rail about "you people". I tell you how wrong and mean spirited what you're doing is. I tell you how you're oppressing my people. I try to make you feel guilty. I make no excuses for my position. In fact I'm proud of them. I think they're very American and patriotic, and I think yours are not.

Why don't you put ME down like you do Rev. Wright? He and I are the same, if you inserted potheads instead of black people.

I have no problem driving a wedge between you and me and I hold a grudge. Oh, you wouldn't like what I say when I speak publicly about it.

But, you and I can talk about it. Is that cause it's not about race? I think so.

excon

[speechlesstx]

He is family ? Nah he is a preacher in a community that Obama chose as his base of political support . That is what this is really about. Obama doesn't believe any of it.

From the NY Times last September:

Mr. Obama’s Ivy League education and his white liberal-establishment connections also became an issue. Mr. Rush told The Chicago Reader, “He went to Harvard and became an educated fool. We’re not impressed with these folks with these Eastern elite degrees.”

Mr. Rush and his supporters faulted him for having missed experiences that more directly defined the previous generation of black people. “Barack is a person who read about the civil-rights protests and thinks he knows all about it,” Mr. Rush told The Reader.

Mr. Obama was seen as an intellectual, “not from us, not from the ’hood,” said Jerry Morrison, a consultant on the Rush campaign. Asked recently about that line of attack, Mr. Rush minimized it as “chest beating, signifying.”

The implication was not exactly that Mr. Obama was “not black enough,” as some blacks have suggested more recently; his credentials were suspect. “It was much more a function of class, not race,” Mr. Adelstein said. “Nobody said he’s ‘not black enough.’ They said he’s a professor, a Harvard elite who lives in Hyde Park.”

It wasn't just about the need for "authenticity" as some have suggested, Obama needed a way to bridge the class disconnect. By joining up with Wright he gets the best of both worlds, authenticity while feeling at home away from the elite academics he studied under.

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, Steve:

I think you do get it - kinda...... But, not really.

You see, I'm an angry guy too. I rail about "you people". I tell you how wrong and mean spirited what you're doing is. I tell you how you're oppressing my people. I try to make you feel guilty. I make no excuses for my position. In fact I'm proud of them. I think they're very American and patriotic, and I think yours are not.

Why don't you put ME down like you do Rev. Wright? He and I are the same, if you inserted potheads instead of black people.

I have no problem driving a wedge between you and me and I hold a grudge. Oh, you wouldn't like what I say when I speak publicly about it.

But, you and I can talk about it. Is that cause it's not about race? I think so.

Don't forget ex, I come from among you, I am more than familiar with the "pothead experience." :)

The difference is partially "cause it's not about race" because racism is not honestly discussed. This episode right here is a perfect example - I am not supposed to be offended by Wright's racist remarks because I haven't lived "the black experience" - you've basically told us so yourself. Because I haven't lived "the black experience" and because there are still obstacles to overcome I, as a white man, have no right to hold Wright accountable.

The rules are different for discussing race than they are for discussing pot. You're not being in denial about your prejudices allows for a more open and honest discussion, and I don't have to concern myself with the backlash of saying something that's against the rules... whatever they are.

Steve

[talaniman]

again you missed the point .it is not what Rev Wright thinks but if Obama believes it. He has no basis for such bitterness so I think him being there is political opportunism because he has zero basis for believing the extreme rants of Rev Wright .

You have obviously failed to do your Google homework, and seen what the Reverend was railing about, and the many programs he has run from his church that in fact help, and impower the MANY, that participate in them.

He has no basis for such bitterness so I think him being there is political opportunism because he has zero basis for believing the extreme rants of Rev Wright

Actually that's what he said about the comments made, that were broadcast by the media. That's what he has said all along, and to denounce someone when you know that's not all they have said over 30 years, is asking way too much of any person. I like the character and integrity Mr. Obama has shown by not cowtowing to right wing pressure, at the expense of votes. Back to your Google home work, except for the Aids comment, the rest has already been proven true and is a matter of public record.

[tomder55]

the rest are opinions . Tell the Marines who died in Okinawa that we did not need to nuke Japan . Tell the porters and the waiters in the WTC cafeteria that the attack was "chickens coming home to roost" (a line Rev Wright borrowed from Malcolm X .) If Obama believes that stuff then he does not deserve the Presidency .

[talaniman]

From my view however, which is I'm sure the same of millions of Americans, I didn't have anything to do with oppressing blacks, I've never been racist and just plain don't care what color your skin is so I don't get how all this bitterness and asserting your "blackness" helps heal anything.

Maybe you don't see it, but just as you, and millions of white people, have no hatred, and don't teach it to your children, there are still millions who do, and they have the will, and power to reek havoc, and do.

Sure, be proud of your heritage, don't give up the unique aspects of your culture but stop throwing it in my face, telling me how evil white people are and trying to make us feel guilty.

I don't think they mean you personally, but all black people must be cautious, as there are those who would band together, exploit, and or, do harm, if they could, so that is the message the Rev Wright is sending to his congregation, as no matter how far you come, you can still be lynched, or tied to a truck, and dragged down a road, just because of skin color. Yes even in 2008, the struggle must continue until there is no need, and obviously there is one. Maybe not in your neighborhood, but in others. If the shoe don't fit, don't put it on.

[talaniman]

Tell the porters and the waiters in the WTC cafeteria that the attack was "chickens coming home to roost"

Again you failed to Google, and read what has really been going on in the middle east since 1920.

[speechlesstx]

Maybe you don't see it, but just as you, and millions of white people, have no hatred, and don't teach it to your children, there are still millions who do, and they have the will, and power to reek havoc, and do.

Yeah, so why punish the rest of us?

I don't think they mean you personally, but all black people must be cautious, as there are those who would band together, exploit, and or, do harm, if they could, so that is the message the Rev Wright is sending to his congregation, as no matter how far you come, you can still be lynched, or tied to a truck, and dragged down a road, just because of skin color. Yes even in 2008, the struggle must continue until there is no need, and obviously there is one. Maybe not in your neighborhood, but in others. If the shoe don't fit, don't put it on.

"All black people must be cautious?" Seriously? Why? I can't recall the last racial struggle in my city of 200,000 people other than Hispanics wanting to force our city to change our voting system even though they've been well represented in our city and county. I can't recall the last lynching in our city - actually I can't recall ANY blacks or anyone else being lynched or tied to a truck and dragged down a road in our city. The closest I can come up with was a "punk" being ran over by a "prep/jock" in 1997, neither were black. Maybe Wright and the folks at Trinity UCC need to come down here and learn how to get along.

[Wondergirl]

"All black people must be cautious?" Seriously? Why?

You don't lock your car doors when driving through an nearly-all-black neighborhood? Your women don't hold their purses a little tighter when passing a young black guy on the sidewalk? At family dinners when racist comments are made by relatives, you are quick to chide them and defend blacks?

[talaniman]

You live in a great town. Good for you. There are many more places, that are bigger, badder, and meaner, trust me.

[speechlesstx]

You don't lock your car doors when driving through an nearly-all-black neighborhood?

My wife's car automatically locks the doors when put in gear. I don't lock my old pickup doors anywhere I drive in Amarillo, TX and never have. I live in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and don't lock my doors, why should I do it anywhere else? The only places I ever really felt nervous was after taking wrong turns in D.C. and Omaha, and in downtown Dallas when some presumed Muslim guy wearing a veil kept walking back and forth in front of us at a stoplight while staring us down. It's the threatening looks and gestures, not the skin color, that causes concern.

Your women don't hold their purses a little tighter when passing a young black guy on the sidewalk?

Or in the mall where everyone hangs out, or the football stadium, or a hockey game, a baseball game? You're more in danger here of getting your car broken into while you're in church on the 'rich' side of town than a young black man snatching your purse. Our community is made up of a wonderful mix of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Vietnamese, Indians, Pakistanis, Laotians and others and from what I can tell we seem to get along rather well for the most part. But for what it's worth, I tell my wife to be aware of her surroundings EVERYWHERE she goes.

At family dinners when racist comments are made by relatives, you are quick to chide them and defend blacks?

You are assuming racist comments are made at family dinners. Both mine and my brother's best friends growing up were Hispanic and we were all welcome in each other's homes. Presently, I am aware of only one white neighbor within two blocks of the house I grew up in and in which I have resided for the past 24 plus years. Why would we be making racist comments about our friends and neighbors?

[speechlesstx]

You live in a great town. Good for you. There are many more places, that are bigger, badder, and meaner, trust me.

No doubt, but it helps that we don't sit around and let old wounds fester.

[Wondergirl]

You don't lock your car doors when driving through an nearly-all-black neighborhood? Your women don't hold their purses a little tighter when passing a young black guy on the sidewalk? At family dinners when racist comments are made by relatives, you are quick to chide them and defend blacks?

Because, speechless, this (what I said above) is how it goes in a number of places in the U.S. Visit Chicago or Detroit or Washington DC or Buffalo. The Muslim guy in the turban is not what people are afraid of. I'm so glad Amarillo is free of racism.

[speechlesstx]

Because, speechless, this (what I said above) is how it goes in a number of places in the U.S. Visit Chicago or Detroit or Washington DC or Buffalo. The Muslim guy in the turban is not what people are afraid of. I'm so glad Amarillo is free of racism.

Wondergirl, believe it or not I understand there are places like this, I have been to D.C. I have been to LA. I understand there are still racial obstacles to overcome - I think this is the third or fourth time I've said that today - but why? Honestly, why is that way in many areas still? Is it because of government conspiracies against the black man? Is it because we white folk are oppressing them, won't give them a fair shake or don't want to see blacks succeed? What?

Steve
P.S. I never said Amarillo was free of racism.