Making a preacher cuss

The irony in Pat Oliphant’s cartoon depicting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Barack Obama’s back (5/2) was totally lost on two letter writers (5/6). I have to admit, it was totally lost on me. I, too, was bothered by it. Then, mulling over their letters, I “got it.”

Oliphant is echoing the curse that the Rev. Wright pronounced on America, and censoring the offending word would vitiate the cartoon’s message.

Here’s some more irony to chew on. Does anyone recall the old exclamation, “It’s enough to make a preacher cuss!”? We never took it seriously; it was just a figure of speech to emphasize a point. We knew full well no preacher would ever cuss.

But the Rev. Wright did cuss, and instead of dismissing him out of hand, maybe we should be discussing just what it is about America that is so bad that it could make a preacher cuss.

I personally think the Rev. Wright went a bit far, but clearly his frustrations over the likelihood of ever attaining liberty and justice for all in this country have nearly overwhelmed him.

Ralph D. Hile
Merriam

Comments

[GCYL]

“Digging up 2 1/2 year old quotes?” - Casady |

I wasn’t given the memo that bigotry was defeated in the last 2.5 years. Oh, wait, it hasn’t. You’re just upset that people can be remembered for what they’ve said.

Good luck with your problem.

[Engineer]

so;omon
Once again I can't quite agree with you. "Nowhere else though, with the exception of the police state Sparta, was a race held in perpetual bondage and cruelty as slavery in the United States". Of course in Sparta, it wasn't another race, it was other Greeks. I think that if you will check the way England, France and Spain operated in the "New World" you will find the way they handled things in the Islands far more reprehensible than anything done in the USA.
As to the Ancient Egyptians being Negro I know that theory is held by some but contested by others. But after all the theory is that Homo Sapiens originated in Africa. We "ice people" may just be an unfortunate miss-step in evolution, what with our left lobe thinking brains and all.

[CRD]

I know, actually exercising one's noggin is a risky proposition these days.

[solomon]

Be careful weed, what you just said is tantamount to being anti-American, anti-white and betraying the virtues of Christianity.

By the way, nice to see your back, seems the Feds finally returned your hard drive? :-)

[CRD]

"I thought the purpose of a preacher was to lead people into the love and respect of Jesus. Not to scream hate and blame from the pulpit."

Robertson, Falwell, et al. did their fair share of preaching hatred. However, I've reviewed the Wright sermons in question, and I don't see at all that he preached hate. Like Jesus, he did preach revolution and change, that's for sure, but not hate. I sure can't support his kooky ramblings about AIDS being a government plot, but I find it hard to brand such eccentricity "hate speech" in the same way that Falwell's blaming 9/11 on gays was. (and let's not even get started on the Fred Phelps hate-spewing/picketing at funerals)

I found this article at the below link to be pretty good at slicing through the two-dimensional portrayal of him that's been bandied about in the media (particularly by Fox):

http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i30/30b00101.htm

It serves to put his approach to ministry in a much fuller context than do the 10 second clips that we've all seen.

[Marctnts]

Good post Jack,

You have seemed to state my feelings on the matter very well.

[jack]

devin: It you have to be your great, great, grandparents being kidnapped. And then only if you were my age.

Also never said there has been no harm to blacks. Have said, being born black does not automatically make a person oppressed any more than being born white automatically makes a person an oppressor.

[solomon]

Good afternoon Engineer,

If you ever get a chance to go to some of the museums in Europe or Egypt you'll see that the ancient Egyptians were black. They became the worlds first melting pot. africa was a black continent until the incursions of people from the fertile cresent, the sea people (phoenicians/Carthage), the Greeks then the Romans. Then came the Arabs, the turks, circassians, Ottomans (the great Muhammed Ali was Albanian), and european colonization. The modern day egyptian is what Americans will be once all the color lines blur through procreation.

As far as the slave trade, you are 100% correct when you say slave trade was common in all peoples at certain times in world history. Nowhere else though, with the exception of the police state Sparta, was a race held in perpetual bondage and cruelty as slavery in the United States. I know, I know, your position is that slaves here basically paid for their room and board.

[devin]

OK, Jack, then what if it was your parents I abducted and you were born at my place? I still think there might be some justifiable resentment there.

Another analogy: I steal from you, then die before I get caught and leave the inheritance to my children. Are my children entitled to that inheritance? Even though they did nothing wrong, is it right to take away what they've always considered theirs?

With over a century passed since slavery and decades passed since legal segregation, of course the answers aren't as cut and dry. I have found the following essay to be very helpful in this matter:
http://elroy.net/ehr/grace.html
(It's written in the context of Northern Ireland, but completely relevant to this discussion)

We can't simply fairly calculate how much each individual white person has gained as a result of slavery, and how much each black person was unfairly denied fair wages and go back and compensate. I don't think reparations will ever happen, nor should they. But I think this attitude of slavery/segregation-is-over-just-get-over-it is incredibly arrogant.

I completely agree that there will never be an answer that fits on a bumper sticker.

[Engineer]

devin
Your analogy doesn’t work. Arabs and even ancient Egyptians were involved in the black slave trade long before Europeans became involved. Europeans were involved long before Americans. Typically white slave traders were very unlikely to go into the interior. They purchased the slaves on the coast. Most of those slaves were sold to the trading posts by other Africans. None of this is to say that the slave trade and slavery weren't a bad things just that they were not "American Only" things. As to the idea our present African-American citizens are better off financially, physically, and as far as their personal safety is concerned than they would have been if their ancestors had remained in Africa and they were living there rather than here, I frankly do not see how anyone could question that concept.

[jack]

Let's be clear about a couple things. Most important is that no one alive has been kidnapped and forced to live here. You are talking about Americans. They are not Africans who happen to live here. Same as you and me.

As for me, at least on my father's side, they were so poor that they came steerage from Scotland. They no more than got to New York and, due to some slum type diseease, both parents died. My grandfather and his brothers rode an "orphan train". Would I like to go back to where they came from? Of course not.

And neither would those who decended from Africa.

On, my mother's side there is lots of Native American blood, so maybe in the name of that part of me I should be telling everyone else to go back where their ancesters came from.

Rev Wright was wrong. Hagee, Robertson and all those other haters are wrong too. The hate spewing forth on this thread today is saddening at best.

I am personally tired of being blamed for the historic bad things that have happened to blacks. That doesn't mean these things didn't happen. There is still some level of predjudice in our nation. That doesn't mean all blacks are victims.

But it also doesn't mean NONE are victims. There will never be an answer that will fit on a bumper sticker.

[devin]

Wow, this whole thing about blacks should be glad to be in America not Africa is just disgusting and yet I keep hearing about it. My standard response: OK, so if I kidnap you from your home, burn it to the ground, and force you to live as my servant in my big house, are you going to be grateful to me for it? If I offer you the chance to go back to your home that I burned to the ground, does that make everything OK now?

Seriously, does the thought that Africa is a mess BECAUSE of the continent-wide genocide and abduction that happened there not occur to these people?

And, yeah, some Africans did get involved in the slave trade game. After centuries of brutality at the hands of white invaders, it would only make sense for some people to say, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." And so as a result the Western (white) world bears no responsibility for the entire slave trade? Yep, more "personal responsibility" BS. The only personal responsibility NMMNG believes in is "other" people taking responsibility.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

What idiocy are you referring to? That slaves were sold to whites? That Africa affords more opportunity than the USA?
The race card is really worn more worn than my ranting about the terrorist loving ex-C.

No pipe here Sol, maybe you better venture on down to da section 8 housing and find whom you are looking for.

[solomon]

NE,

Step away from the pipe, please, for the sake of your children don't teach them the idiocy you so fervently spew.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

It could be worse, "black america" could still be stuck over in Rwanda, The Congo, Somalia, Nigeria, etc. where life is so grandure and full of opportunity. Where they offer million dollar salaries for acting like a thug, where they offer free education so long as you mett racial requirements. The same land where their very own trine leaders sold them off to the white man. So who's to blame? Right Solly, if you are black you have it really bad in America, especially if you can dunk.

[Casady]

“Ah, the irony. Bigotry is ugly business.” Posted by: CRD | Jan 22, 2006 10:35:21 PM

Digging up 2 1/2 year old quotes? GCLY, you really have too much time on your hands. You don't have a collection of TV Guides, do you?

[GCYL]

“Here’s some more irony to chew on.” - Ralph D. Hile

“Ah, the irony. Bigotry is ugly business.” Posted by: CRD | Jan 22, 2006 10:35:21 PM

[solomon]

Rogue,

Is it of any importance to you what the rich "white" guys who live in that gated community do to earn a living? Any chance any of them are ministers of white churches? Of course we have no way of knowing. We do know that there are ministers (white) who live quite well.

If not why the heck do you care where the guy lives as long as its not next to you?

One final question in our pleasant exchange here.....Why should you care one iota where the Rev Nutcase lives, does living in a seven figure home change what has happened to black America (whatever you accept as truth) over the years?

[Marctnts]

Let's be honest about this one. There's not much difference between Wright saying that the government introduced AIDS, Hagee claiming that Katrina was God's judgement on New Orleans, and Robertson claiming that 9/11 was punishment for our lax stand against homosexuality.

It is my opinion that they all said these stupid things for the same reason, political gain. They say these outrageous things to attract the most extreme of their followers and garner the maximum amount of attention for themselves. It's shock value, plain and simple, and a dishonest way to attempt to appeal to the "lowest common denominator".

[Rogue]

To compare those people with Wright is the height of idiocy. I do not recall any of them GDing America, or claiming that they US Government introduced the aids virus jack (leg) and I don't recall the Rep. nominess sitting in any of their congregations for 20 years either. Also I don't believe he gave their congregatons thousands either........but hey, you know I could be mistaken...

[jack]

I thought the purpose of a preacher was to lead people into the love and respect of Jesus. Not to scream hate and blame from the pulpit.

Oh, wait. I just reveiwed the teachings of Robertson, Hagee, Dobson, etc. Guess I was wrong. Preaching hate and division IS the job of a "Christian" minister.

[CRD]

Excellent letter! Not much that I can think of to add to it.

[Rogue]

A rich white nieghborhood is Solly where Winky lives. Apparently in the gated community on a golf course, all the homerowner save Winky are white, and all the houses go for seven figures. However, technically I guess one could say now it is a "mixed rich neighborhood".

[solomon]

Good morning Rogue,

What exactly is a rich white neighborhood?

[Rogue]

Nah, he just lives in a $10 miiiion house paid for by his Congregation in a rich, white neighbor hood. You know, don't do as I do, etc. etc.

I wonder if Osama Obama's real estate buddy got Winky as good a deal as he got for OO?

[solomon]

Good morning NE,

Please point out where Rev Nutcase ever asked for special privileges for blacks.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

I think you mean he wants special privilege for blacks only, not for all.
Swearing is not wrong, using God's name in vain is wrong, there is a difference. the swearing was made up by the Bible Thumpers just like not being able to indulge in an alcoholic beverage was twisted.