Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright Jr. vs Terrorism in The Main Stream Media

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185300087160474622.post-3194794713717019252008-03-18T00:23:00.007-04:002008-03-18T10:56:19.320-04:00Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright Jr. vs Terrorism in The Main Stream MediaMarch 18, 2008 5:10 a.m. Much ado about nothing! The controversy surrounding Barack Obama's association with his Pastor, Jeremiah Wright, Jr. has opened up a huge dialog in our house. We have both been supporting Hillary Clinton, but even we disagree about the relevance of Pastor Wright's speeches in Obama's run for President. Is it relevant? Only if you appreciate someone who sees racism and injustice and would rail against it. Personally, I'll take Obama's affiliation with Pastor Wright over McCain's affiliation with the Christian gay bashing nut job, any day. It makes no more sense to tie Obama to Wright's remarks than it does to tie Ted Kennedy's to the Pope's, or Romney to the Mormon Wizard. Deep down, I trust that if John McCain, God forbid, were elected, he would not run amok with an anti-gay agenda. Obama is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. A few short weeks ago, people tried to derail his campaign by implying that he was Muslim. Sheesh! Now that we know he's a Christian, we're all gonna be scared of him because of his Minister. Ok. Here I go, talking about things that I may not completely understand, or have any right to say. I'm not black and I'm also not too crazy about churches. My limited qualifications? I'm a middle class, middle aged white woman, living in a racist country. I'm the antithesis to John Howard Griffin's, "Black Like Me", privy to the winks and nods of other white people as they go about the business of discriminating in jobs and housing, feeling free to assume that I agree with what ever disparaging remarks they care to dish up, whether it be about Blacks, Gays, Jews, or Mexicans. Very few white people won't know what I'm talking about. Pastor Wright's remarks, that have been played endlessly in sound bites, ring true. The more I listen, the more I understand and agree with what he said. The United Church of Christ, one of the most liberal of the Protestant Denominations, are known for social activism, diversity, and inclusiveness. I think that this type of sermon, or speech, is perhaps more common within African-American churches. More emotional, and, ah, a little bit louder than, say Episcopalians ("the frozen chosen") are accustomed to. He didn't say anything that I haven't heard discussed before, by friends and co-workers who are African American. Do I believe all of it? No. Do I believe some of it? Yes. We've heard conspiracy theorists within our own gay community, speculate about the role that our Government may have played in the AIDS epidemic. One of Reverend Wright's defenders, when asked to reject Wright's statement about the possibility that the Government orchestrated the HIV virus, replied that it was not that absurd, as our own Government was known to have intentionally infected a black population with syphilis! Someone on FoxNews asked, how Obama could attend a church where even his mother would be uncomfortable? The insinuation, of course, being that the church would not welcome white people, and/or someone who is white could never appreciate Pastor Wright's sermon. Ridiculous! Not only were there white people in the congregation, they appeared to be receiving Wright's message positively. At first, when Wright said, "God damn American", I admit that I had a little twinge. Kind of a knee jerk reaction because of my Christian fundamental background. Of course, it wasn't meant literally. Shocking and attention getting, yes. But the intent was to stir his congregation's emotions and move them to action. I'm not scared of Reverend Wright, and, I'm not scared that Barack Obama might have some type of over riding "black agenda". Repeated attempts at provoking antagonism between races, genders, sexual orientation, disabled persons, and religions are distractions aimed at keeping those groups from achieving liberty, and equality. The notion that if one group gains, another group will lose, must be rejected. As one group gains, we all gain. As a lesbian, if I were running for elected office, I could scare the hell out Rita Mae Brown with my own rhetoric. I'm sick of being discriminated against, of not having full and equal rights in this land of supposed equality. I can put on a pretty good rant. But if you knew me, you'd know that I don't harbor any ill will against the general heterosexual population. Knowing people on an individual level is what allows us to transcend labels and stereotypes. We learn to know each other as human beings. This is how we've hoped that our country has been able to look at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as candidates. It's been said that Obama has been able to transcend the racial issue with voters. However, demanding that he, or Hillary Clinton should relinquish their individual identities is absurd. Clinton and Obama are not the ones who need to transcend. We are. While the controversy surrounding remarks made by his Pastor, Jeremiah Wright Jr., brings us closer to a much needed discussion of racism in our country, this is more than unfortunate timing. This is not intended to initiate valuable discussion, but to invoke fear. The main stream media are skewering Obama, intentionally, and white Americans are left gasping, and grasping their Bibles, without any understanding of the social tradition within the black Christian community. By implying that Obama would hold the United States to an agenda that would be to the detriment of our Nation as a whole, the terrorist media are holding white middle American voters hostage. Here's the link to Obama's church. <a href="http://www.tucc.org/about.htm">Trinity United Church of Christ </a> BTW, I'm still going to vote for Hillary in the PA primary on April 22. But if Obama is the Democratic candidate, he will have my vote.AskALesbianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14966361865767997235noreply@blogger.com