Monday, April 28, 2008

More on Wright

Somehow I feel like this is not going to help anything:

Mr. Wright said: “On November the 5th and on January 21st, I’ll still be a pastor. As I’ve said, this is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. This is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African- American religious tradition.”

This may be true, but it's the kind of thing that will stir up the pot even more than it already has been. All these media types are just primed and ready to jump on anything that sounds remotely racial or accusatory (or both).

I wrote a lot more about this and then went back to reread it and deleted it. I decided that plain speech, and expression of opinion or belief, is more important than toeing the political line, even if it's the kind of speech that gets you (or that senator who used to be in your congregation) into trouble.

Still, I can't help it, whenever I read things that Wright says, I think it must be pretty interesting to know him. Whether you agree with him or not, and even, maybe especially, if you disagree with him, he must give you a lot to think about. And that is something to feel good about, I think.
Posted by at
Labels:

4 comments:

D said...

I hate to say this but he should shut up. If he really wants to see a society that is more the way he wants it to be, he's not helping. arg.
On the lighter side, Gary Shandling said on the Bill Mar show, " How high does the price of gas have to get. According to the bible, before it is the end of the world " I thought it was funny.

12:14 PM
Silvs said...

i'm sort of torn on this issue. one, i've been to african methodist services, black baptist services, etc, and some of the themes that come up during the services are about race and the struggles that blacks still face. sometimes the pastor gets going, gets a little carried away, and says something you totally don't agree with but the theme of the sermon still rings true.
i mean, on one hand, i do agree that the media took the 5-6 most controversial snippets of his sermons and played them over and over and over again, and to "white america", who for some reason is under the assumption that racial relations are totally fine in this country, it came as a huge shock.
but to be honest, i've heard stuff like this before. and to be even more honest, some of the stuff he has to say is true when you hear it in the context of his whole speech.
and when you think about where he's coming from, born in the 40s, living in a time where the concept of "due process" for a minority was laughable to those in power, where minorities were literally and figuratively trampled on by the government, you can't help but give him a little bit of understanding. the dude is angry, and he's just voicing that sentiment.

on the other hand, some stuff is just completely ludicrous (e.g., inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against minorities) and only serves to cause more divisions.

i just think it goes to show that things aren't as hunky dorey as we wish they were when it comes to race and that there's a lot more we all have to do to get to that point.

1:37 PM
Anonymous said...

the HIV virus thing is really not that far-fetched. Just look up "Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment".
-o

1:56 PM
Emily said...

Silvia - I agree with you that what he says is true. In fact, I think he can be pretty damn accurate sometimes. I just think he's misunderstood, perhaps willfully. And it's a shame. That's partly why i deleted what I had started to write, and instead wrote that I'm glad that he says what he thinks. I think it's good to stir the pot sometimes. It is just aggravating that all this becomes such a big deal.

2:08 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)