Walking away from the rhetoric of “AmeriKKKa”
Jonetta Rose Barras confesses that she once subscribed to Wright-wing ideology. She opens her piece in the WaPo today:
I’ve known preachers like the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., former pastor to Sen. Barack Obama. Like many of them, he no doubt sees his congregation as full of victims, and thinks that his words will inspire them to rise out of their victimhood. I understand that.
Once upon a time, I saw myself as a victim, too, destined to march in place. In the 1970s and ’80s, as a clenched-fist-pumping black nationalist with my head wrapped in an elaborate gele, I reflected that self-concept in my speech. My words were as fiery as the Rev. Wright’s. And more than a few times, I, too, damned America, loudly, for its treatment of blacks.
But I turned away from such rhetoric. Is it time that Wright and other ministers do, too?
Barras says yes:
In my years as a black nationalist, I often spelled America in my poems with a “k” — sometimes three. I believed that organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan couldn’t possibly have operated and prospered without permission, tacit or otherwise, and support from the U.S. government. It seemed logical to conclude that racism and injustice were fundamental, inherent elements of the United States — of its government, its policies and its institutions.
In those days, I believed that I was in a serious battle for my future. My fiery words were part of an effort to persuade myself that I had the power to break out of the narrow confines created by segregation. And I sought to seduce others to join in the fight. We could not permit the discrimination we faced daily to beat us down.
I never met the Rev. Wright during this explosive period of my life. But I met and listened to others whose speeches were equally blistering and damning of the United States, its government and its economic system. I even flirted with the ideology of a black separatist group.
…That other African Americans and I were able to overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles is undeniably due, in part, to Wright-like prophetic speech. Like Negro spirituals, it helped us organize, motivate and empower ourselves.
But just as spirituals eventually lost their relevance and potency as an organizing tool against discrimination — even as they retained their historical importance in the African American cultural narrative — so, I believe, has Wright-speak lost its place. It’s harmful and ultimately can’t provide healing. And it’s outdated in the 21st century.
Tell it to San Francisco.
***
Culture quiz question (no peeking at the links before you’ve taken a guess):
What militant black rapper and anti-Korean bigot cashed in on the “AmeriKKKa” moniker and then went on to become a mainstream warm-and-fuzzy actor?
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http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/keyes/070902
Ms. Barras speaks the words of an obviously intelligent and independent woman, but what about the 90% of self-defined victims who are not so blessed?
You see what you believe in. All this stuff is so, so, negative…failing to see that we are not really our color, we are all individuals each with different ideas and values. Assumptions about race must stop now. It clouds reality.
If you want to better your life, do not focus on being a victim focus on the qualities that make for a successful happy person. That is the key for everyone to be more successful and happy.
#1 – greysheepdog- Thank you for the link. It was nice to read a newer perspective from Alan Keyes. It always disturbs me a little when the media describes Obama as the first black candidate with a legitimate chance to get the nomination. I voted twice for the ambassador and each time thought he would be an outstanding candidate. Might vote for him again if given the opportunity. Alan Keyes’ ability to give a riveting speech far exceeds Obama and almost any other speaker on the scene today. He is a real conservative, a true adherent to the word of God, a man of unquestioned moral, ethical,and patriotic principles.
There ya go, of pigs and wings and sexy conspiracy theories.
“The Simpsons: Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-Annoyed-Grunt-cious (#8.13)” (1997)
TV Announcer: It’s the Krusty Komedy Klassic.
Krusty the Clown: Hey! Hey! It’s great to be back at the Apollo theater and…
[notices a big sign behind him]
Krusty the Clown: “KKK”? That’s not good.
[laughs nervously, then people from the audience start shouting, throwing food and glass bottles]
The cult of victimization is personally destructive. Nothing in life is ever positive to a victim even though so many good things happen to them every day. They can’t see the positive of drinking fresh water, having access to a hospital, owning their own car, having public transportation and on and on. Even when something big happens, they still view themselves as just lucky and not the recipient of the society in which they thrive.
Michelle Obama is a prime example of the cult of victimization. She is unbelievably blessed to live in America, a country that supported her dreams and ambitions. What she fails to realize is that no other country would have even given her much of a chance if she were any type of minority — even in her hallowed Africa.
The Americans who damn America are at best ignorant of what there future would be like elsewhere in the world, or so stupid and emotionally blind as to be unreasonable.
I know not who Jonetta Rose Barras is and care less about what one of the many brothers and sisters who know not who their fathers is has to say. As a white ethnic I have been discriminated against by the courts these past thirty years by social engineering judges to the benefit of the Jonettas of the world. As a TWP I say go back to your church, close the door, rant all you want, hate all you want but thank what ever God you believe in and give thanks because you live in America. You can put you extra America Ks where the sun does not shin and I don’t mean your face. The more I know about the Subculture the less I care for it’s members.
What kind of name is Jonetta anyway. Does it mean a mini Joan or does it mean queen in African.
While the September 17, 2001, editior of the Chicago Sun-Times makes no direct reference to the Trinity UCC or Obama, it reported that Chicago’s churches were heavily attended the day before. So, I want to know, one way or the other, whether Barack Obama was in attendance at the Trinity UCC on September 16, 2001, when Rev. Jeremiah Wright said this:
“We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye … We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”
Does anyone know if he has been asked if he was there and, if so, what his answer was?
answer: Ice Cube. Who has lost quite a bit of street cred, but his new song “Gangsta Rap Made me Do It” is pretty interesting.
Other Ice Cube song lyrics:
“Cave Bitch”
Give me a black goddess sister I can’t resist her
No stringy haired, blond hair, blue eyed, pale skinned buttermilk complexion
Grafted, recessive, depressive, ironing board backside straight up and straight down
No frills, no thrills, Miss six o’clock, subject to have the itch, mutanoid, Caucasoid, white cave bitch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No Vaseline”
You can’t be the Nigga 4 Life crew with a white Jew tellin’ you what to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“True To The Game”
They hate to see a young nigga rich
But I refuse to switch even though
Cause I can’t move to the snow
Cause soon as y’all get some dough
Ya wanna put a white bitch on your elbow
But you, you wanna be white and corny
Living way out
“Nigger go home” spray-painted on your house
Trying to be White or a Jew
Get the hell out
Stop being an Uncle Tom, you little sell-out
House nigga scum
You know that’s right
You ain’t white
So stop holding your ass tight
Cause you can’t pass
So why you keep trying to pass?
With your black ass
I find interesting that what it took for Ms. Barras to finally get what America is all about was not associating with those who followed *Wright-speak*:[emphasis mine]
I also find this phrase
an interesting, if not Freudian, choice of words which speaks more to the heart of the anger and bitterness of the “Typical White American” than many feel free to vocalize for fear of being accused of racism.
The media and our trolls on Michelle’s site will insist that we must move beyond.
I disagree 1000%. We need to find the Jeremiah Wright cancers and expose them. If the black communities have no shame in their enthusiasm to this hate, then somehow, someway we must illustrate and educate America and the world, the sheer ignorance of this hateful preaching of these black supremacists churches.
This approach worked well in diminishing and frustrating the morons in the KKK. It must work with the Jeremiah Wrights also.
One of the straws that broke the back of the KKK was a huge lawsuit. Why aren’t the trial lawyers or the ACLU fighting for the rights of the children being indoctrinated with the J Wrights of the black communities?
rooster @12 Excellent points and I don’t think I could add much to what you’ve said.
They still call it the white house, but that’s a temporary condition.
Now you know what the left has been using and propagating for their base.
I disagree with the second part of this comment. Rev. Wright did see his congregation as full of victims but he clearly had no desire for them to rise out of their victimhood. Instead, he stoked their anger and used it to gain fame and money for himself. He offered them nothing to help them rise above their perceived victimhood but created an attitude of perpetual victimhood designed to never go away.
Rev. Wright victimized his congregation for his own benefit. I believe there is a special hell reserved for such despicable people who use God as a pretense to victimize others. But in this life they will receive awards and recognitions from people like Obama who should know better.
This comment I do agree with:
From my perspective the American Dream is very powerful and very real. The path is honest work, trust in our neighbors, a common language and above all Faith in God. It is not necessarily a smooth path, there are bumps, but perseverance will yield the Dream.
I regret to say this piece really didn’t work for me, but as a typical white person what would she expect? I found it as empty as Obama’s blather, leaving me wondering once again — what does any of this mean?
Seriously, what she seemed to be saying was that Wright was fine for a time (From when to when? Right to up Obama’s first primary win?) but now it is time to move on to something less divisive, etc.. Okay, sounds nice but so what? Where does it leave me and other white people? Is she prepared to denounce black-on-white crime, orders of magnitude worse than white-on-black crime?? It sure doesn’t appear so. White people are just ghosts to her.
Wright may or may not be Obama’s spiritual “uncle” but he certainly is the father of the Jena 6. Is she prepared to deal with that at any point? Is it still okay to get whitey or not? The Right Rev. Wright is a hater of the first order, but at least you know where you stand with him.
There was never a place for his rhetoric of unbridled, unqualified hatred — e.g. what the hell does Israel have to do with anything? So why did the change, if she in fact did? We don’t know and she isn’t telling.
I notice she never once had any criticism for the democrat party or for any policy implemented by the democrat party. Like most liberal racialists, she believes the democratic party to be the party of national salvation. History strongly suggests otherwise, but knowledge of history doesn’t seem to be one of her strong points. Maybe she doesn’t like Rev. Wright’s words now, but she sure liked his tune. I would like to know who is on her reading list these days. Thomas Sowell? Shelby Steele? Walter Williams? Probably not. Somehow, I don’t believe much has changed.
Sorry, but no sale.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Just wanted to point attention to comment #8. That’s some pretty racist rhetoric that has no place in respectful discourse.
Also, this:
is clearly ridiculous and those comments should be repudiated in no uncertain terms. But it’s no worse than the filth that spewed out ot Falwell’s mouth after 9/11. Very few on the right side of the aisle have asked Senator McCain and/or President Bush to apologize for cozying up to him.
It’s an interesting double-standard. And I think it proves that race still makes people very uncomfortable.
of course rusty has to blame Whitey, blame America, and blame Conservatives.
The only double standard comes from rusty and those on his side. This is why people are uncomfortable.
If Rusty cared to check, Falwell apologized the next day too.. but that means fact checking.. and not doing a ‘drive by posting’
Papa Louie said:
following the same game plan.. like Al Gore with
global warming, cooling, climate changecarbon offset..Rusty #21: You are wrong.
My source, the New York Times, ‘A NATION CHALLENGED: PLACING BLAME; Falwell Apologizes for Saying An Angry God Allowed Attacks’ By GUSTAV NIEBUHR, September 18, 2001
Falwell was roundly and rightfully criticized, at the time, by “The White House” and others. Neither GWB or McCain sat in a pew listening to his sermons every Sunday since the early ’90s. Obama is lying (or he agrees with Wright) for he heard Wright’s racist and anti-Semitic often over those years and only repudiated it when he got caught.
I’ll add that I highly doubt that Barack Obama was the only Illinois or Chicago politician sitting in the Trinity UCC on September 16, 2001, and hearing what Jeremiah Wright had to say. Where was their public indignation publicized about Wright’s remarks then?
BTW: If or when Senator Obama specifically denies that he was there that Sunday, I want to know where he was instead and why he was not there.
I watched Lou Dobbs (not because I like him or CNN) to research the coverage of this racial bar being raised by Obama. Chris Wallace says Fox & Friends went too far Friday. CNN on Friday covered the same issue for two hours. Tonight Lou covered it extensively and added that the media should not back away from these issues, our presidency is at stake. Chris Wallace perhaps you should stop being a liberal guilt ridden weinie and do your job for the American people. The question of why BHO didn’t get away from this hate culture is not answered and sticking our righteous heads in the sand won’t help us come election day.
I find it satisfying that Barack Obama has chosen to distance himself from Rev. Wright.
But I find it very interesting that Rev. Wright himself has not offered so much as a single word of apology for his remarks.
I also find it interesting that none of the “black leadership” or Congressional minority representatives for life — Julian Bond, Kwesi Mfume, John Lewis, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, Cynthia McKinney, etc. — have publicly condemned Rev. Wright; if they have, it has stayed off the main newswires.
Such a glaring omission by “black leadership” tells me that a lot of black leaders are afraid to “let whitey off the hook,” so to speak.
#21 Rusty said:
#24 Sergeant Tim said:
Thanks for that information, Tim. I knew that Falwell had been called onto the carpet for his remarks by a unanimous media, but I wasn’t sure if President Bush had declared an official rebuke as well (I assume that his “rebuke” wasn’t an Obamaesque “I can no more disown Jerry Falwell than I can disown my grandma” CYA-type statement.)
To summarize:
1. President Bush “rebuked” Falwell for his inappropriate comments regarding 9/11. Obama merely “disagreed” with Wright’s comments, but never “rebuked” Jeremiah Wright for his 30+ years of hateful commentary.
2. Falwell officially apologized for his 9/11 remarks a maximum 7 days after he made them, but Jeremiah Wright still hasn’t apologized for 30+ years of incendiary remarks form his pulpit concerning a host of subjects, from race to nationalism.
More information that further diminishes the Obama defenders’ protestations as “apples and oranges” arguments.
A couple of days ago I was watching one of the Comedy Channel’s compilation shows where they show a comedian doing a bit from a standup routine and then they switch to another comedian and so on. I was dumbfounded when they showed a pair of black comedians, and I use the term loosely, who’s bit consisted of calling Reginald Denny a stupid idiot for getting out of his truck. I remember what happened to Denny and he didn’t get out of his truck. Not voluntarily. He was forcibly dragged from his truck by a mob that savagely beat him, fracturing his skull in 91 places and nearly killing him, for the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong skin color. If a white comedian told the exact same joke substituting Rodney King or James Byrd for Denny, he’d be crucified as a racist and deservedly so. But a black comedian tells that sort of joke and its not only okay but it qualifies for some sort of “best of” show? Talk about a double standard.
CNN gets a bad rap for most all of their news reporting and rightly deserves sever criticism.
Lou Dobbs is an anomaly.
I think once the FOX news junkies realize how their shows are spinning left; and whether by accident or curiosity switch to Lou Dobbs and listen to what Lou has to say, they will understand how weak FOX has become.
Lou is a real voice of reason and doesn’t allow fillibustering like FOX hosts allow.
Lou Dobbs is branded a racists because of his continuing coverage of our broken borders.
Lou is married to a Mexican-American, of which he doesn’t flaunt.
Lou Dobbs is a great American who cares deeply about our nation and is a bi-partisan basher.
Are we going to throw down?
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/im-calling-out-senator-obama/
Trinity’s new pastor is complaing about a media lynching…uh huh who was involved in this media lynching last April? Obama’s pastor still has not apologized for GD America, he offened a whole country. Imus apologized for NHH to a womens basket ball team and they accepted…so what is the hold up NO ONE has apologized for GD AMERICA. What gives? Oh yeah unfair media coverage Spin Spin Spin Spin….I don’t know you crucify a man in the public square people are going to notice. Then you complain when people call you a hypocrite?
http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=5&id=30&Itemid=127
I read that Obama’s new pastor is comparing the Wracist Wright’s treatment to something similar to Jesus being crucified.
But of course he had to use the code word for us “Typical white persons”, lynching.
Disgusting typical black pastors.