Racism & Obama's Speech on March 18th, 2008

[PLFXpert 0]

Transcript.

I posted this link originally in the "LIAR" thread, but believe it is a separate topic altogether.

I'm not sure we've fully discussed this issue here, and would love to open it up.

I prefer transcripts vs. audio & video. Although, I believe a combination gives more of a full spectrum of meaning.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[lawrocket 3]

A pretty damned good speech. What did I like about it?

First - he tackled the "white elephant" head on.

Second - he spared no group from his anger - and understanding. He spread his message over 360 degrees.

Third - he defended the defensible, and did not defend the indefensible.

Fourth - he acknowledged everyone. He won't be popular among some sectors for saying that the concerns of blacks are legitimate. Likewise, he won't be liked for saying that white anger is justified. But he said it. And I applaud it.

Fifth - he acknowledged that the government itself, through its policies, have caused much of this. "contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened."

Sixth - "Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism." Truism.

I really hope that A LOT of people read this. Thank you for posting it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[PLFXpert 0]

I agree; I'd have won my 4H Club with that one. I won anyway, but we always had a time limit on speeches and Obama would have FAR exceeded it.

"First", I LOVE that he utilized the opportunity to address such, as well.

"Second", I would have done the same--this doesn't really say much. It's more of a preventative measure.

I have issues with the "couldn't disown" comments about Wright, and Obama addressing his relationship with Wright in itself (not-so-much). I'm putting those aside for this discussion. Though, it should be noted: I'm of the position we don't keep such close friends for whom we disagree with to such a level; I've posted before about keeping such friends I disagree with (it's a good thing), but certainly those are not so close as this man is to Obama...

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I really hope that A LOT of people read this.

Me, too.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[DZJ 0]

As someone with no particular investment in Obama's campaign one way or the other, that strikes me as a brave and elegant speech.

[PLFXpert 0]

Brave & elegant, absolutely.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[warpedskydiver 0]

Brave and Elegant, or Arrogant?



The Reverend is a Racist and an inspiration for Obama. (Obama's words, not mine)

The Reverend supports Farrakhan. (a known Anti-Semite and Racist)

The Reverend took a trip to Libya to meet with Moamar Khadafi.

The Reverend blames the US for 9-11 and AIDS among other conspiracies which have no basis in fact.
(unless you believe that yourself)

That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table(Introspection?)

I ask these questions and provoke these thoughts in order to make people think, think about whether or not they can believe what they are being told, or whether it is all just window dressing for the politicians who truly intend on doing business as usual.

[DZJ 0]

And a comment on the speech?

[billvon 3,120]

>The Reverend is a Racist and an inspiration for Obama.

Yes. He's also a Marine. Might a Marine inspire someone through his actions, even if he's something of a racist?

One thing I found cool about that speech is that Obama did _not_ take the easy way out. He didn't say "I disown this guy." He stood by the man even as he condemned his words. Christians often call this "hate the sin, love the sinner." It's hard to do sometimes.

>The Reverend supports Farrakhan.

And McCain called Vietnamese "gooks." Shall we condemn him for that? Because, after all, he actually uttered that incredibly racist slur; he didn't just go to a church where a preacher said it.

Or should we instead understand the context in which McCain said it?

[Amazon 7]

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I ask these questions and provoke these thoughts in order to make people think, think about whether or not they can believe what they are being told, or whether it is all just window dressing for the politicians who truly intend on doing business as usual.

Blacks have been an underclass in this country for about 400 years or so. Is it any surprise that not all of them might not say yes massa and revel in their status quo.

Why is it that right wing racists get all in a tizzy when they get a little bit of the shit they toss out all the time gets thrown back at them.

[crotalus01 0]

My opinion (AKA who fuckin cares????): fuck Obama AND Hillary. I'm no McCain fan but fuck it, he's better than the alternative (not by much though)
What ever happened to Ron???

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[love2flyhigh 0]

The honorable John McCain also spent years in a POW camp and while at the POW camp he was treated horribly. I think that the comment even if mean and harsh should be understood that it was from a man who had extreme life experiences. Senator Obama had a choice to belong to the church he is affiliated with and Senator McCain did not choose to be captured. My other big thing about Obama is that he has done drugs. You can’t get in the military without a hard to get waver if you have done the drugs senator Obama has done. Do you think he should be allowed to be the COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the military if he had done those drugs?

[warpedskydiver 0]

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I ask these questions and provoke these thoughts in order to make people think, think about whether or not they can believe what they are being told, or whether it is all just window dressing for the politicians who truly intend on doing business as usual.

Blacks have been an underclass in this country for about 400 years or so. Is it any surprise that not all of them might not say yes massa and revel in their status quo.

Why is it that right wing racists get all in a tizzy when they get a little bit of the shit they toss out all the time gets thrown back at them.

I do not tolerate it from any quarter, so to say it is deserved does not make any kind of sense.

[billvon 3,120]

>while at the POW camp he was treated horribly.

So you have to understand the context in which it was said? And even racist remarks are sometimes excusable if you understand where they come from? I agree.

>Senator Obama had a choice to belong to the church he is affiliated with . .

Senator Obama did not call anyone a gook, nor did he say anything his pastor is accused of saying. If he is guilty for staying in the same church as a pastor who has said racist things, then anyone who listens to a McCain speech is guilty of the same thing.

>My other big thing about Obama is that he has done drugs.

So did Bush and Clinton. Nothing new there.

[likearock 2]

I still don't think Obama is being straight with us. He did sit through some of those anti-white sermons, it's just not credible that he could have avoided all of them. However, my guess is that it made him uncomfortable to hear, especially since he has a white mother. If he just came clean with that kind of admission, I think he could finally get past this.

[billvon 3,120]

>He did sit through some of those anti-white sermons, it's just not
>credible that he could have avoided all of them.

?? He said he DID hear many of those remarks. From his speech:

"Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely."

[KidWicked 0]

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I still don't think Obama is being straight with us. He did sit through some of those anti-white sermons, it's just not credible that he could have avoided all of them.

Er... did you actually listen to the speech? He says he was there.

I am amazed that you can listen to that speech and think that he's being dishonest. It struck me as incredibly honest.

Coreece: "You sound like some skinheads I know, but your prejudice is with Christians, not niggers..."

[Gawain 0]

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Why is it that right wing racists get all in a tizzy when they get a little bit of the shit they toss out all the time gets thrown back at them.

I don't even know what you're talking about. Racism is a money maker for the likes of Jackson, and Sharpton.

Do black people get mistreated or get their feelings hurt? Yep. You know what? So do white people, and yellow, and brown, and red, and etc...

When a black teenager is raised with the belief that racism is the cause of his troubles, and he's talked to sternly in school or work, he's predisposed to blame the color of his skin.

What he doesn't know is that teenagers across the country do not get their way in all sorts of matters.

I'm not saying racism does not exist. I am saying that refusal to let go of the resentment does not truly free them from the shackles that they would be free of until they do so.

Take a page from Bill Cosby.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[TankBuster 0]

He did hit the issue head on today, but he lacks credibility. If he truly believed in repairing racial divides and denouncing hate speech, he should have started 20 years ago. If you are going to be CINC, you must have the courage to stand up be counted from DAY ONE. He didn't- he was beyond passive, he was complicit. Fact is, he needed the votes from southside Chicago to win his election to the Illinois state senate, and being a part of that congregation probably helped him get elected to the US Senate. Ahhhhh, but now that the entire country is looking at him, his support of rev Wright is a political liability, and he did a poor job of spinning it. I don't buy it.

He is a masterful orator, but he can't mezmerize all of us. The content of his speech - as well as the content of his character - is lacking.

The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

[likearock 2]

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>He did sit through some of those anti-white sermons, it's just not
>credible that he could have avoided all of them.

?? He said he DID hear many of those remarks. From his speech:

"Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely."

My bad. I didn't have occasion to see the speech and clearly went through the transcript too quickly. He did a good job. Was it good enough? Time will tell. I guess that psychanalytic side of me still wants to know how he could compartmentalize the hateful side of his pastor to remain in the church as long as he did.

[rushmc 23]

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>He did sit through some of those anti-white sermons, it's just not
>credible that he could have avoided all of them.

?? He said he DID hear many of those remarks. From his speech:

"Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely."

My bad. I didn't have occasion to see the speech and clearly went through the transcript too quickly. He did a good job. Was it good enough? Time will tell. I guess that psychanalytic side of me still wants to know how he could compartmentalize the hateful side of his pastor to remain in the church as long as he did.

He made a politically required speach today. Nothing more

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Amazon 7]

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You can’t get in the military without a hard to get waver if you have done the drugs senator Obama has done. Do you think he should be allowed to be the COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the military if he had done those drugs?

DUDE.. I bet you voted for the Current Drug User in Chief... he was a rich frat boy... and continued putting cocaine up his nose for YEARS...

[crwtom 0]

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One thing I found cool about that speech is that Obama did _not_ take the easy way out. He didn't say "I disown this guy."

that was hardly a credible option to begin with after he history between the two ....

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Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[skydyvr 0]

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I guess that psychanalytic side of me still wants to know how he could compartmentalize the hateful side of his pastor to remain in the church as long as he did.

Easy to figure that one out - inside his heart, Obabma agrees with the racist views held by Wright.

To think otherwise is a big stretch. People just don't attend a church for 20 years while at the same time rejecting the pastor's views. Obama's oh-so-elegant speech failed to account for this fundamental conflict of interest.

. . =(_8^(1)

[Erroll 80]

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Brave & elegant, absolutely.

I also have no dog in this fight, but I think this speech was the right thing at the right time, brave and elegant indeed.


warpedskydiver:-

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Brave and Elegant, or Arrogant?

Arrogance, like bravery and elegance, is more often than not in the eye of the 'beholder'.

[Royd 0]

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Senator Obama did not call anyone a gook, nor did he say anything his pastor is accused of saying. If he is guilty for staying in the same church as a pastor who has said racist things, then anyone who listens to a McCain speech is guilty of the same thing.

Listening to one McCain speech is different than saying to your wife, "I really like the message that's coming out of that preacher's mouth. Let's take the kids back, so he can fill their heads with that vitriol."
People who are vehemently opposed to the concept of creationism surely aren't willingly sending or taking their children to an institution that teaches it.