2 posts tagged “religion”
Ever since I jumped aboard the Obama bandwagon in February, I've been itching to write about this concept of "post-racial." Reverend Jeremiah Wright's weekend has given me the context I've needed. I've spent the last 2 days vomiting up every thought about race and the Presidential race that has popped into my head on twitter. 140 character bursts, obvs, were not enough...
First, some common trains of thought the last two days...
misterjt "Wright's 'I'm Grown and I Say What the Hell I Want To Say' victory lap". I heart the black snob - http://twurl.nl/lorfq0
misterjt @arsepoetica For extra credit - Crab, meet barrel - http://twurl.nl/6lnbkv
misterjt I'm also supremely bothered by the idea that people would equate Wright's media tour as a HRC dirty trick. He is not Willie Horton.
I'm going to dig into this more but, here's the whole thing about this entire situation in two wonderful bites by some very smart folks I like. On the one hand, it is so cool to see Rev. Wright on a National stage. For Black communities, he's familiar. He's fiery and passionate about the state of the African-American community. He's intelligent and witty. Like most pastors, he's a showman. He's direct and contradictory and complicated and fascinating.
He's no Willie Horton. He's no dirty trick. He's an American voice. Regardless of whether or not I agree with his statements, to suggest that he's anything other than a incredibly smart guy who does not want 24 hour news channels and a presidential candidate to define him belittles him and you.
That said, he's also a person most Black folks would be strained to explain to mixed company. As The Black Snob notes, "He was practically basking in the glow of making the white folk uncomfortable."
After that moment of glee in recognizing this, there's the immediate recognition, "Oh shit. Who effed up and let this Negro speak?"
Why would this be the immediate next thought? Well...
misterjt @arsepoetica I don't think Obama was calculating in choosing a pastor. I do think, however, that mainstream America is not quite ready...
misterjt to really see what goes on behind closed racial doors. Rev. Wright makes Barack more George Jefferson than Heathcliff Huxtable.
misterjt @RPM I'm right, though, ain't i? Everybody loves George Jefferson but middle america would be scared to death of him as a president.
I really mean this. For Barack Obama to win, he's gotta be Cliff Huxtable. Maybe Sydney Poitier. That's it. If he's Cliff, he's your kids pediatrician, he taught you about jazz, he invites you over for the bbq. Good ol' Cliff would never make you feel uncomfortable. But if he's George Jefferson -- if you think he occasionally says "honkey" when you're not around, if he wants to talk about slavery or reparations, if he wants to remind you of all he's overcome, if he reminds you that he, a black man, is doing better than you are, or that he doesn't think the same things about controversial issues that you do -- well, you ain't voting for that guy.
No matter how great his smile is or how hopeful his message is.
Rev. Wright makes Barack Obama very black. Uncomfortably black...
misterjt Times on Wright - wriggled. cocky. defiant. declamatory. inflammatory. mischevious. monomania. wacky. highfalutin. http://twurl.nl/2366yr
...you can tell just by how he's described. This NY Times article uses as much language as possible to turn Rev. Wright into both a Bogey Man and a Clown. Not only is he scary, he's crazy. Wait, Barack, you're black, too. Are you scary and crazy?
misterjt I don't quite know what to make of people who think "Wright is out to destroy Obama." How, exactly? By being a charismatic speaker?
Which brings me to right now. I'm thumbs down on Barack Obama today. He had the opportunity to further his speech from a month ago and continue to push the race conversation forward. This is his litmus test and, for my money, he failed. If he's going to use words like "change" and "hope" then he better have the where with all to back it up.misterjt By being not post-racial? It bugs me that rather than have the nuanced race talk, people are more comfortable with just disavowing a voice.
Instead, he did what every politician does in these situations. He caved. He disavowed. He denounced.
misterjt @blogdiva why? If Obama is presidential material, it is his responsibility to be able to do grand things in the face of adversity.
misterjt @blogdiva it is not Wright's responsibility, or any of us as voters, to protect Obama. He has to prove himself.
misterjt After the last few months of shiny, happy moments, this is his real test, my gung-ho support, if not my vote, lies in how he handles it.
misterjt @RPM I think so. I don't think Obama has had to prove himself at all. Now he has to prove himself to me.
Here's how he could of proved it - expanded the conversation. Talked about the difference between religious speech and political rhetoric. Talked about the many spectacular themes in Wright's talks. Talked to Wright directly. Discussed why beliefs like "The US Government had something to do with AIDS" maintain legitimacy in the Black community. I'll even give you this one for free, Obama. At my barber shop this weekend, it was said, "If a nigga can get shot 50 times, be unarmed, and the niggas who did it not get thrown under the jail, you don't think the government cain't do some shit to the black man? They already done did it, man."
If you're going to be the President of the United States of America, you better be for real. Don't go running from the race conversation, Barack. Jump right in. Just because Bush has set the bar so low doesn't mean you still shouldn't go for the highest standard possible. This goes beyond American Political Strategy and tactics and all of that. I'm saying as a voter, I want to respect you. I want to believe you're that dude.
Show me something.
misterjt we're only post-racial when we believe all of our assumptions are the same. The moment that world view is shaken, it all comes tumbling down
misterjt @drublood I honestly don't think that's it. It's not about racism. It's about our--all of us--prickly problem with race. The 2 are different
misterjt @drublood well, it's obviously in the grand scheme about racism but "race in america" on an individual level is about comfort.
misterjt @drublood it is amazing that for the first time, a majority of americans perhaps, can envision a black president. But now is the hard part.
misterjt what does that mean for our national psyche, our national conversation about race and culture? Legitimization of voices like Wright's is 1
If you've read me online for any period of time, you know I just want to have honest conversations about race (and gender and class and sexuality). I don't want things to be simple. I don't want to be a part of any concept of post-racialism if that means we're ignoring the realities of our lives. If that means we don't get to acknowledge, discuss and celebrate our differences. If that doesn't mean we can look back on history honestly or look toward the future realistically.
I want to talk about my prejudices. I want to talk about yours. I want to value your voice as much as you value mine. I don't want to have to make a choice between a Rev. Wright or a Barack Obama. They are both me whether you like it or not.
If only Mr. Obama hadn't spent the day attempting to forget that.
Despite journalists suggesting that you are somehow beyond Blackness, as we can now see, it don't wash off.
Current music: Wire – "The king stay the king."
In a very religious nation, blacks are the most religious of all. Nationally, 83 percent describe themselves as Christian. Accordingly, 67 percent believe in an afterlife in either heaven or hell. Surveys show that only 3 percent of blacks report having no religion but instead are the Americans most likely to participate in religious activities like prayer, Bible reading and worship attendance. They are most likely to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate and to strongly disagree that Jesus sinned while on earth.
Their church services are even 70 percent longer than whites', and blacks are among the most generous givers to religious organizations; while nationally three out of every four dollars donated go to religious institutions, the figure is nine out of 10 for African-Americans. The black tradition of tithing (a biblical requirement to give a set percentage -- usually 10 -- to the church) is strong enough to have propelled affluent, majority black Prince George's County in Maryland into the top five counties in the nation for charitable donations.
Without a doubt then, blacks are America's most religious group. On any given Sunday, blacks all over America fill church pews to have their hearts and minds filled with ... what? If you guessed turning the other cheek and offering paeans to tolerance, you'd be in for a shock.
- Souls on Ice, Debra J. Dickerson, Salon.com, 11.27.06
Just go head and read the whole thing.
Wow. Ms. Dickerson pulls no punches on this one.
