Words Matter, Even for a Liar
By NoQuarter on March 21, 2008 at 9:17 PM in Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Race, Race Card, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Square these words — these wholely different versions of the facts — Senator Obama.
You told CNN’s Larry King last night, “They were statements that I wasn’t aware of, were not brought to my attention until fairly recently. I wasn’t in the church when he said those things.”
However, in your supposedly historic speech the day before, you said, “Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. 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.”
As someone just said on television, “If a white politician sat in a church where David Duke spewed his racial hatred, they would be finished.” Why not you, Mr. Obama? Especially since you’ve lied repeatedly, back and forth, whether you ever heard Rev. Wright’s anti-American and highly racist rhetoric? And you’ve lied about whether or not you were in church.
I dare you to follow me below … I dare you …
Yes, it is by Pat Buchanan. But, no matter your opinion of some of his political positions, everyone who I know agrees that he is an astute observer of the political scene and has an intellectual and historic grasp of politics like few others. In his words below, I feel his anger and his frustration. And, quite honestly, I share some of his anger:
A Brief for Whitey
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted: 03/21/2008
How would he pull it off? I wondered.
How would Barack explain to his press groupies why he sat silent in a pew for 20 years as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright delivered racist rants against white America for our maligning of Fidel and Gadhafi, and inventing AIDS to infect and kill black people?
How would he justify not walking out as Wright spewed his venom about “the U.S. of K.K.K. America,” and howled, “God damn America!”
My hunch was right. Barack would turn the tables.
That’s right. It’s on you and me. We’re responsible for Rev. Wright’s anti-Americanism and racism. Buchanan then provides the typically cited reasons.
Buchanan says, “We hear the grievances.” Then, listing the trillions of dollars spent in trying to right the wrongs of our nation’s history of racism, he dares to ask, “Where is the gratitude?”
You must read Buchanan’s piece in full (A Brief for Whitey) — I cannot quote all of the examples that Buchanan cites. Here is how he concludes his essay:
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.
Now go ahead and call me a racist for quoting Pat Buchanan.
My problem is this: I have seen and heard examples of REAL racism. What Geraldine Ferraro said was not racist. It was, at worst, ill-advised. It was not racist. How dare Obama bring her up in comparison to Rev. Wright. And how dare he — especially — bring up his dear grandmother who sacrificed so much to ensure that he would have the best possible education and life?
Whenever people scream “racism” over every slight — including the most ridiculous instances — they infuriate people like me who DO care about the instances of REAL RACISM. Worst of all, they harm the validity of the cases of people who HAVE suffered from real racism.
Someone anonymous wrote, in an e-mail, the following, and it sums up the indignation I am feeling right now. This person had just read Buchanan’s essay. This person is a proud liberal. But this person is angry:
I loved Doris Lessing, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Lit this year and a disavowed Communist, saying:
“I hated the 1960’s feminists. They were dogmatists, you see. In comes ideology, and out goes common sense. This is my experience in life.”
Right now, because of the use of racism by the Obama campaign, I’m not in a very good mood to discuss what one race has failed to do for another. Right now I’m not in the mood for us to start work on the economy, the war, health care. In fact, I’m rather irritated right now with
this diversion to save his campaign.The Knave from Chicago strikes again.
I am a woman of color, I have experienced a lot of first hand racism and I agree with you, I am a long time admirer of Geraldine Ferraro and do not consider her a racist. My husband, who is Jewish, and I have been amused and slightly surprised to be agreeing with Pat Buchanan a lot these days, especially on MSNBC…I don’t agree with a lot of his political views, but he DOES understand politics and has managed to remain one of the only objective voices in the Obama Love Affair going on at MSNBC. Thanks for a great article.
Speaking of racism, is the Reverend James Meeks (one of Barack’s spiritual advisors) the next big problem for Barack?
http://tinyurl.com/32oo4m
Money, they ask for money.
Strikes me as the AA equivalent of Benny Hinn, in terms of showmanship.
oh you gotta love Benny Hinn, he’s the greatest con since…Wait no…make that Robert Tilton…HE’S THE GREATEST CON in terms of showmanship. Did you want an annointed prayer cloth?
(i know, i know, i’m off topic)
Oh, I just saw a YouTube of Meeks. Yikes. Really ugly. The more I see this stuff about Obama, the more I think there is some seriously weird psychology going on with him. Not even so much that he would have these supporters and allies. IF you’re positioning yourself as an African American politician and an advocate for that community, well, it might not be the way I’d go about it, but it’s a path.
But that he thinks he can have these allies, be that type of politician, present himself as something else entirely, and still somehow win the Presidency.
My question here is, how do you adjust those statistics for demographics? Meaning, African Americans are only 11% of the population. It does make sense that there would be proportionally more crimes committed against whites because, well, there are more whites in the population to commit crimes against.
I think you hit the nail on the head. On the face of it, it makes sense that Obama would join this church from a purely political standpoint, but when you factor in his long standing drive to be president it is actually another example of a boneheaded mistake on his part. He saw what was done to the Clintons, Gore, Kerry, Cleland, etc. by the right. What made him think HE would not be hammered for this, (as well as for his Rezko real estate deal) when he ran at a national level? For that matter why does he not stop Michelle from her ridiculous whining about how hard they have it with their $10,000 bill for their children’s activities? Did he miss the trashing Edwards got for his lavish home?
Obama seems to think he invulnerable, which indicates a serious disconnect from reality.
Hillarysmygal,
Do you have a link, other than You Tube, showing the connection between Obama and Meeks?
Although not of color, I served as the Recreation Director on my Staes NAACP Group, worked with a wonderful man, whose daughter and I remain close, on getting MLK’s birthday passed as a state holiday and like many others who came of age during the 70’s, have had foreign students of all color living in my home until I bace disable.
My biggest fear is that Obama’s arrogance, divisiveness, and association with Hate groups is going to cause serious blowback - undoing a lot of hard work and many gains made over the last 40+ years.
Our awful news media, when blowback starts, will replay the old tapes of the horrible riots, and completely bypass the thousands and thousands of good things that occurred.
To Hillarysmygirl
I am in total agreement with you. My husband and I can barely watch MSNBC anymore because of the complete Obama bias, but we were wondering why Pat Buchanan was defending Hillary - Sure he does a good job, but why doesn’t MSNBC have any Hillary supporters on their shows. It’s always 2 Obama supporters (Rachel Maddow and that no-nose young woman) who are ardently defending Obama against Buchanan. It is a sad day when I have to turn to Fox News to hear something different than CNN & MSNBC have to offer. I must say that I do support HRC and my heart is breaking over the MSM’s lack of coverage of her speeches;but that video of Rev. Manning is despicable. Rev. Manning is preaching hate and bigotry against Obama, and I do not support that against anyone. I do not like Obama. I find him to be quite audacious in his quest for the presidency after only 2 years in the senate. I am tired of hearing about how he did not vote for the Iraq war - Of course his opinion and judgment didn’t have any consequence, he was not in the US Senate at the time. His link to Trinity Church may have prevented him for voting for the war even given the strongest of evidence. Just my humble thoughts. I am sick of Obama 24/7. I would like to hear a little thoughtful comment about my candidate - HRC.
I have been agreeing with Pat Buchanan a great deal the last five years. I knew then that the pendulum had swung so far right (wrong) when Pat Buchanan started sounding like he was in the middle. Times have changed.
First? Tell it like it is. REALLY!
He has no integrity. None.
His arrogance astounds me. He TRULY does believe that he is above it all.
Why is it that I find myself agreeing with Pat Buchanan more every day?
Because you are really a Republican and hate all people but the lilly white Hal Turner. You really enjoy FoxNews and find Hannity’s voice smooth and comforting. (sorry, i’m in a silly mood, forgive my sarcasm for I know not what I do)
Yeah it’s kind of pathetic to find myself tuning out MSNBC and watching FoxNews to see what they are willing to cover on this. I have a ‘mute’ button on most of the time, but still. I’m glad to still have my remote control intact after throwing it at KO and Tweety’s face over and over. I just can’t keep beating up my Television so we deleted MSNBC from the lineup.
Because even Pat Buchanan gets it right … occasionally.
Yes, the Left does not have the absolute domain of telling the truth, in fact it often lies to itself and others.
I first started paying attention to Buchanan in his run for the presidency. I was shocked to find more than a few areas where I agreed with him. I mean SHOCKED! Of course, the areas of differences far out weigh the commonalities, but I began to observe him and found him to be very astute, knowledgeable of political history and surprisingly objective. Although not all the time. He’s very accurate when it comes to predictions on the McGlauglin Group. It made me wonder what if a smart man like this had instead been supported by the Republican Party and won the WH instead of W? Could it really have been any worse? I can’t believe he would have gone into Iraq. Buchanan was at one point preaching serious Isolationism at the beginning of the 21st Century. Maybe we would have been better off in some ways. Maybe less in debt. I mean could he really have been worse than Bush/Cheney? And Buchanan had an AA female running mate.
The only thing I strongly disagree with from this piece is that Jena was not a hoax. Jena spun out of control because the school and the school board didn’t handle the affair properly. The parents overrided the principal’s suspension of the kids that hung the rope and that’s when the anger and animosity got out of control. People don’t like to see their kids disciplined even when they deserve it. All you need do is look at all these young Obamatons to see what the end results of that kind of parenting are. A generation of kids with very little powers of discernment and judgment.
Good point about Jena. I missed that in his piece, and should have noted it.
By the way, we wrote about Jena here at No Quarter… a search using our search engine will bring up the articles.
Movie Night..
Got a bag of Kettle Korn..
Gonna Watch THE INTERPRETER..Hope its Good..
Happy Easter everyone..
In JR High I witnessed the first of several race riots.
It haunts me to this day. Italians and Blacks going at with homemade weapons, with all the colorful “trash” caught in the middle. A boy who had absolutely nothing to do with any of it was beaten with in hair of his life. God knows why 200+ black students in that JR High ran him down. He is a vegetable to this day.
Do I still carry the anger of the memory to this day? You bet. My 8th grade class was studying “Lord of Flies” at the time.
Do I understand why that poor red haired Irish kid was brutally beaten as he ran? Nope and I never will.
I am I able separate that angry memory of my past from the life I live today and treat people with individual dignity and respect? You bet. Why? Because I took Martin Luther Kings words to heart.
It does not matter what the color of my skin is, just the content of my character.
Beautifully, wonderfully stated.
Which is why those with any discernment can see the danger Obama is bringing on us.
“Typical White Woman” - what a pile of racist crap. Obama only sees the color of a persons skin, and not the attribute and content of character of the individual.
I truly fear there is going to be a backlash, that will be horrific.
what a great post…and eloquently stated…
Man, do I ever agree with you about Jena! I am still shocked and appalled that white teenagers could hang a noose on a tree like that without BOTH parents and school officials severely disciplining such an inflammatory act! It does not justify the beatings that ensued, but it certainly is a mitigating factor.
Actually, I did disagree with another point that Buchanan makes–the disproportionate number of blacks in prison today. It is difficult to completely justify the disparity in rates of incarceration on the grounds that “blacks commit more crime”–particularly when crack cocaine, which tends to be abused more in the black community, carries substantially longer prison terms and higher rates of incarceration for first offenders than for the SAME amount of powder cocaine, which tends to be abused more in the white community. In addition, there are still too many instances of blacks being stopped for “driving while black” as occurred to a star football player in Austin, TX just a few years ago (he was purportedly stopped for failing to use his turn signal when changing lanes). I still recall the black porter at our community health club in Addison, TX telling me about getting stopped in Highland Park, TX 3-4 times just to check his registration and verification of insurance. (And believe it or not, he wasn’t even upset about if since he had all of his papers in order!) If this sort of thing happens routinely in other areas of the country, is it any wonder that there are so many people of color behind bars?
Let me start by saying that I disagree with the concept of unequal justice and that like you I am from Northeast Texas though my town is considerably smaller. What is the major difference between those who use crack and those who use cocaine? Income.
People who become addicted to crack don’t have the prerequisite income to supply their addiction so they must resort to other less savory means. In the early 90’s I was delivering pizza for a living and wound up getting robbed twice. Unfortunately, I also got stabbed during one of those robberies. Both times the people committing the crimes were high on drugs. All went to prison as they should. Since I lived in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood, women (crackheads) would often knock on my door wanting to barter for 10 bucks. Of course, I ran them off but the point is that crack was simply devestating. It destroyed entire neighborhoods, entire lives.
Having seen people negatively affected by BOTH crack cocaine and powder cocaine, I honestly cannot see ANY justification for the disparity in our judicial system. If what you say is true about crack cocaine spawning more crime (and I do not agree with this–check out George Jung’s true story with trafficking in powder cocaine in the movie Blow–plenty of violence there), then those committing those crimes (and NOT simple possession of crack cocaine) would be in prison for those crimes! For the SAME quantity of crack cocaine, a person will serve 5 ADDITIONAL YEARS in prison than someone with powder cocaine–and this is the sentence for possession alone!
Let me add something about bo’s recent “denunciations”. For it to have any value, a denunciation has to stand on it’s own. It simply does. To say “I denounce…” while insinuating a third person (Ferraro, Clinton, one’s grandmother) into the equation completely annihilates the original intent. To denounce Wright, and in the same breath imply “but Ferraro did the same thing”, “but Clinton’s also quite the racist”, “but even my grandmother….”, “but…”, “but…”, “but….”
It doesn’t cut it.
And further more, to “denounce”, in blanket fashion, “what Wright said” (I’m sorry, I can’t use the title “Reverend” when referring to that person), is also worth-less. I’d rather know specifically what b.o. rejects and what he doesn’t. I’d rather hear “I denounce Wright for calling on god to denounce the U.S.”, “I reject referring to this country as the U.S. of KKK A.”, “I reject the notion that our government has created HIV, etc, for the purpose of destroying the AA community”…….
To simply say in broad terms “I reject what Wright said”, even if repeated three times with slight variations in wording, is ineffective, insincere and weak.
Agreed - I think the “H” in his initials “BHO” stands for HYPOCRITE.
Thanks, Susan.
I read the Buchanan piece and as always where Pat and I part paths is on religion. But that’s another conversation.
And this is where me and Obama part paths, that to have a REAL conversation about race, we can’t just do what Obama did in his speech, lay everything at the feet of the white community.
This is a very unpopular position in the black community. But as an AA I’m tired of our leaders always pointing the finger away from personal responsibility and accountability. We’ve been there, done that and the problems still exist. It’s time for a fresh approach.
All Obama did with that speech is confirm for me why he isn’t the one. If all he’s going to do is more of the same, why is he THE CHOSEN? And certainly there’s no CHANGE in that..
I’m angry. I’m really angry, too!! I am so tired of AA community blaming white America for any and all of their problems. I’m not a racist. I marched for civil rights in the 60’s. and have always been a person who has worked for human rights. I have a gay son.
It seems to me that many in the AA community live their lives as victims, never taking responsibility for their actions, always blaming others for their problems. Obama keeps fanning the flames with his rhetoric and I find myself agreeing with Pat Buchanan and fox News. What’s wrong with this picture?
I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!
Colleen,
The vast majority of people who I work with, including my boss, are African American.
None of them blame “the man” - please don’t take those that that may expound that view
as a majority of the AA community. Most of us, the vast majority of all of us - all races and gender are too busy dealing with what’s in front of us to even think of assigning blame. It’s used as a tool to separate us.
Sincerely,
Robert Murray
Now I’m angry as hell about some of the tactics of this campaign, too. Keep the passion!
Taters,
As always - great perception and viewpoint.
As MLK pointed out - you, the individual, have the character, and the attributes, I love in a person, regardless of what color the exterior happens to be.
YOU defintely the MAN - I hope I have the gender right.
Yes as you can see, Obama is really bringing us all together isn’t he? He’s just bringing such peace between AAs and Whites!
I am so angry every time I see Rev Wrong. My blood boils! I can’t even write what I’m feeling and thinking.
How many days after 9/11 did this miscreant spout such hate? This guy is a pig.
Oh yes and one more thing: African Americans ALSO died in those 9/11 attacks! What about them? Dont’ they count Rev Wright? Making such vicious accusations and statements while your own people died in those attacks too! FOOL! If this man was truly a spiritual leader he would have NEVER spouted such hatred about people’s lives being cut short through such violence.
Those who live by the sword, die by the sword Rev Wright!
Hey, Hill’s my girl - 100%!
Hope, while I agree with your sentiments about the inflammatory nature of much of Jeremiah Wright’s rhetoric, I did happen to have the opportunity to read Wright’s ENTIRE sermon following 9/11. I disagree with Wright about Hiroshima and Nagasaki because it is difficult to condemn Harry S. Truman’s authorization of the use of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” after the atrocities committed by the Japanese–not only against our own soldiers but also against the Chinese in Manchuria. In addition, to this day, I am convinced that the use of nuclear weapons in WWII, while regrettable, was necessary to save lives on BOTH sides.
Having said that, Wright does make a valid assertion about 9/11 being the result of “blow back” as a result of U.S. foreign policy through the years–such things as our role in the toppling of Mosagegh back in the 50’s (Mosadegh was the only democratically elected prime minister in the history of Iran), our role in propping up totalitarian dictators in the Western Hemisphere through the training of people like Pinochet, Noriega, and others at the School for the Americas in Fort Benning, GA, and of course, Vietnam. Not all of these policies by our government contributed to the hatred that spawned 9/11, but we all need to be able to look at these policies by our government in the light of day and recognize that questionable U.S. policies can have very negative consequences in the future.
The problem that I have with Jeremiah Wright is the singularly racist tone of his sermons. I agree that powerful, wealthy people have certainly gotten ahead in the U.S. while many of the rest of us have seen our share of the “American pie” dwindle over time. But it is inaccurate and fairly racist to assert that blacks are the ONLY ones getting the short end of the stick–we are ALL getting screwed–at least, all of us who do not fit into the powerful, wealthy category.
The thing that will continue to stick in my crawl is Wright’s assertion that the AIDS virus was created by white people to destroy the black race. I had a friend back in the 80’s claim that Ronald Reagan had ordered the CIA to create the AIDS virus (is this true, Larry?) in order to destroy homosexuals because they were getting too much power. I rolled my eyes when he tried to convince me of this. (I also told him that he was full of it!) I have the SAME reaction to Wright’s assertion about white people. I find myself looking for my tin-foil hat.
)
With this new information about the Illinois Combine, and Rezko, I’m more apt to look at who is making money off of terrorism, and 9.11.
No doubt the legitimate anger is still there, but I still can’t justify Bush ignoring the PDB. Why do we not question that level of incompetency in a Presidential administration?
Reading about Rezko from the trial tapes, and information provided by Stuart Levine, it’s apparent the Illinois Combine is cynically filthy, it’s really hard to wrap a head around behavior that juvenile, in old men.
I have only a passing knowledge about the relationship between Obama and Rezko. Although I find this disturbing, it is hard for me to get my britches in a bunch over it since the Clintons certainly have some questionable dealings (e.g., the Mark Rich pardon and money obtained from his ex-wife over the years, and all that ‘buddy-buddy’ business with George H. W. Bush–how much money is Bill Clinton getting out of Carlyle? And what about Robert Baer’s assertion about then-President Bill Clinton doing favors for “big oil”–see Baer’s book See No Evil–Larry may have a more informed take on it, but it struck me as a little shady).
I am far more concerned about the current incompetency in the White House and not repeating that. I keep reading and hearing different people say how “bright” Obama is, and this may be quite true. But I remember the first two years of Bill Clinton’s administration–so many miscues early on that led to the Democrats losing BOTH houses of Congress in 1994. Bill Clinton is a truly brilliant guy (something that I know from my own personal knowledge of the man when I lived in Arkansas) and was arguably a “quick study” since Clinton managed to eventually grow into the job. Even if Obama is every bit as smart as Bill Clinton (which is questionable, given the miscues with Wright and Rezko), his dearth of experience is troubling. Clinton had been a governor for 10 years (and actually was governor before that having lost a term to Frank White) so that he had a great deal of administrative experience, and yet, I would not want the Bill Clinton that moved into the White House in 1993 taking over NOW–we have too many problems confronting this country for “on-the-job” training. If the ONLY credential that Hillary Clinton possessed was the fact that she was a witness to Bill Clinton’s presidency, that is still a wealth of experience compared to Obama.
Incidentally, I was a bit offended by Zbig Brzezinski’s comparison of Hillary Clinton to Mamie Eisenhower. Hillary Clinton is a Yale-trained attorney who was an active participant in her husband’s administration as governor of Arkansas whereas Mamie Eisenhower was a traditional First Lady who stayed in the background. A far better comparison would be Eleanor Roosevelt, who, if she were alive today, might be a contender for the presidency. In addition, I suspect that Hillary Clinton would have been a far more active participant in Bill Clinton’s presidential administration if the “good ol’ boys” in Congress had not actively worked to sabotage her efforts with health care–”good ol’ boys” on BOTH sides of the aisle, I might add!
” I disagree with Wright about Hiroshima and Nagasaki because it is difficult to condemn Harry S. Truman’s authorization of the use of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” after the atrocities committed by the Japanese–not only against our own soldiers but also against the Chinese in Manchuria.”
I have no difficulty condeming Harry Truman for unleashing hell of that magnitude for the remaining decades of the “cold war”. The Japanese were already defeated. The sweep of Russians in to Manchuria, the collapse of the inner circle was already happening in Japan. The Doves were winning over the hawks and Truman and crew knew it.
HIroshima and Nagasaki were disproportionate responses to Pearl Harbor. The whole world witnessed how ruthless the U.S. can be.
Kathleen, Hiroshima and Nagasaki IS A COMPLEX issue. It is not as simple as you put it. And you are forgetting the Holocaust : 6 million Jewish people in addition to gypsies and many many others.
But maybe this is irrelevant for you?
All genocides are relevant to me.
1900-2000: A century of genocides
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html
What did the Japanese have to do with the Holocaust?
We are not talking about “all genocides”;
don’t hide in a broader subject here.
I asked you specifically about the Holocaut. We are talking WWII here.
Are you kidding ? Japan was a Germany ally and hardly a neutral observer.
When you start talking about Japan’s support for Germany and then apply those standards to the U.S.’s involvement “hardly a neutral observer” in wars around the world we (both of us) have opened up a much broader subject.
The U.S.’s response to Pearl Harbor (direct attack on the U.S. by Japan) was disproportionate and brutal.
While I support Hillary all the way, I think that Pat Buchanan’s opinion piece is way out of line. Starting 400 years ago, Africans did not decide to come to America, they we’re brought here under the most heinous of conditions and forced to build much of this country with their sweat, blood, lives, and no pay. We certainly need more balanced discussions and solutions for today’s problems, but to say that America GAVE African Americans the oportunity to reproduce, the good life and Christianity, etc, is insane! I enjoy No Quarter as a place to hear alternatives to the Obama madness in the MSM, but I could do without Pat Buchanan’s facist blather!
A concerned white, older female pastor.
I concur. I had meant to mention that as well but got caught up in the more recent Jena affair and wanted to comment on it instead.
There’s no question about him being way out of line there and what Buchanan doesn’t realize is how this statement is as insidious as Obama laying everything at white America’s feet. Surely there’s a middle ground we can find to get beyond the question.
But I think the LARGER point Pat’s making is what most seem to making here on this blog: Obama can’t take people hostage on the basis of race and white guilt. This is a democracy and people have a right to choose the candidate they prefer and not be called names about it.
There are a lot of profound objections that many have on Obama’s qualifications, experience, preparedness to govern and his character. He has not been forthright and has tried to be propelled into office riding the crest of a wave portraying him as some kind of ’sainted political deliverer’ and I ain’t buyin it!
I think it is deceptive, dishonest and manipulative to the point of cunning. And now that this Wright thing has called race into question in a way that has everyone up in arms, I feel all the more disquieted by this man’s candidacy.
Pat Buchanan is an extremely intelligent man who is blinded by his religious zealotry. At the bottom of those statements about how blacks should be greatful about having endured the barbarity of the Middle Passage and the inhumanity of slavery and the ensuing violence after the Emancipation is his staunch belief that being delivered to Christ for Salvation is a glorious end that justifies the means. The problem is that if you are not Christian, where does that leave you? And certainly one of the first freedoms the founding fathers gave us was freedom of religion. Where does Buchanan get off forgetting that?
Inspite of Mr Buchanan’s abrupt methods and quirks, he is trying to be a shock jock.
Obama can’t take people hostage
unless you are willing “stockom’ed”.
Thanks for the insights.
Pretty much what Mimi said!
Eilene,
Yes early Americans, especially in the South did bring blacks against their will to this country.
Realistically how many White Americans today, are the direct descendents of slave owners, or can trace their roots back to the Daughters of the American Revolution?
I am third generation American. My Irish roots came from those escaping the serfdom of the Potatoe Famine in 1856. My Polish Roots came in the early 1900’s to escape the raids by Kossacks on their farm. Other’s from my Polish ancestory came to escape the Germans in the late 1930’s. Some of my female Polish ancestors were raped by Germans, and I have some German in me. Then my maternal grandmother married a guy with Irish and French Canadia Roots.
Please tell me how the majority of Americans today, mostly from Immigrant families, had anything at all to do with the slavery of the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries? How can you assign blanket guilt by skin color, when most of us have Ancestors who were in no way involved?
Sorry - meant to spell Cossacks - not Kossacks!
Nellie,
I was amazed to find out I was descended from Henry Zorn a Revolutionary War blacksmith who was respected. Then I found he owned slaves in NY. I had done family histories back in many threads, but the farther you dig, especially on maternal sides, the more names you come up with. The fraction of my ancestors would become about .01 percent, but all this wouldn’t matter.
While the remaining portion of my family were farmers and or eventually wager workers, the country was being built on slave labor which offset the labor that would have fallen on the backs of other workers.
I can no longer assume “the majority of Americans today”…had nothing “to do with slavery”. Yes, there were few owners of slaves comparitively, but it isn’t simply about ownership.
And while you might hold few ties, it would take many years of geneological study to conclude the “majority” of Americans did not descend from slave holders or from the benefits of slave labor.
It is still besides to point to me. My brothers and sisters were slaves in America, and that is enough for me to take ‘the ability to respond’ aka Responsibility for making it right.
I don’t have to have a guilt trip about it to act upon it.
Chris,
I do hear you. Actually on my fathers side I went back to Ireland and met an “aunt”. My fathers people were from Selego County to the far West. The priest at the church where I was searching called her, as Geneology was a big deal in Ireland during the mid - 80’s.
My Aunt took me all the way back to the old chieftans. She even drove me to Cork County to check out some maternal ancestory - she had some trepedation as she was worried that they might not be “good Catholics”. And a few times we went into Dublin. She had me stay with her and my “uncle” for five weeks. She was very good at doing geneology.
I also got to see the small family farm and old manse the family had before the Brits “Stole” it and forced them to be serfs. No hannky panky - I checked with my aunt - all good Catholic Girls - although the men had a few side trips. So I KNOW that stubborn old Celtic Warriors is all there is for me there.
The Polish side is murky. The farm they had was only a few kilometers from the Russian border. So there is possibly some Cossack blood, my great grandmother chose to ignore. As to birthdates and records - The then communist Government kept sending letters essentially asking how old did I want the relatives to be or which middle name would I like to give them. Those types of records were kept in churches, which were desroyed during two wars. Of course, being cash strapped the Polish Govt charged for these services. By the time I got back to the early 1800’s I realized it was fiction and stopped.
As for the German rapes my grandmother told me about, they did not keep records of such things.
From all facts the Irish were warriors, then farmers, then serfs. The Polish side had many more characters, but is a dead end. Given the very rural location of the Polish property, other than some “unfortuante” meetings with Cossacks, it appears they were farmers back to the middle ages.
All my life, since I was 18, I HAVE worked for equality and change. What infuriates me, is that Barack is playing the “guilt” card. I refuse to buy into that. I have done everything I could, and more than most. I know slaves were treated badly.
But I think Mimi and Hillarysmygal is right. At some point people have to take responsibility for their own lives. They cannot mourn their ancestors anymore than I can mourn mine. It was what it was. My 5 weeks in Ireland were very enlightening and I am amazed at how reslient people can be under some extremely harsh conditions.
My biggest fear is that the backlash is going to slam some doors that my 70’s generation and onward, worked so hard to get opened.
T
I appreciate you sharing this, quite amazing the quilt of our humanity.
My point is that by constantly avoiding meaningful responsibility in our racial divide it leaves an impression of disconnect that is out of step with some of our finest abilities.
FOR INSTANCE:
The other night when a TV show was on and we watched a doctor show some amazing insensitivity to a woman who was trying to get healthy, my girl went OFF. It really hit a nerve. And as I tried to explain that I didn’t see him do anything, but that it was a random button he didn’t mean to hit, I got..
“NO NO NO..HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. A woman’s body is precious and she’s crying for help! He should know…Men don’t get this, men don’t care”
And as I sought to comfort her, she wouldn’t have it. She basically treated me like a proxy. So…I stepped back. I gave space. I listened, and after a much shorter time than I expected…she calmed down and saw that she had a strong ally here.
“Do I do that? or Did I Do That?”
“no…but…it hurts”
I might as well had been the guy who did it, and the Doc might as well had been every man who ever insulted her. The reaction on my part was my most important RESPONSIBILITY or (The ABILITY TO RESPOND).
SO same thing in my relations in the Black Community or other. I don’t have to have been the one who enslaved, the child of the slave master, or the one who benefited. But if I just say, “well I didn’t Do It!”, then I haven’t demonstrated much in the way of compassion for real suffering.
CODEPENDENCY
I don’t want to enable victimization. But I do want to develop good listening for those who feel as if they are victims. Only then can I be of use. If I start from the premise that I have no “responsibility” in the matter, then thats the message my audience (one or many) will receive. NOT MY PROBLEM
And this is the way Hannity and others act when on this message, NOT MY PROBLEM. NOT MY ISSUE.
whatcha think?
I agree with this. I hold no guilt at all. Not one of my ancestors were ever involved in any of this terrible history. And even if they were I still wouldn’t/couldn’t be blamed for the actions of people who are long dead. The only thing anyone can judge me by are my own actions.
Our collective history as Americans makes us responsible for the legacy of slavery.
Are you an American, did you choose to adopt this country as your home, your identity being that of an American?
Then you’re part of the American collective.
We are responsible, we owe the black community an apology.
I know that is not a popular position.
That is just about the first thing that I disagree with you on. Most of my folks came from Ireland and were poor sharecroppers while the rest were Choctaw. Some were criminals through the years. No one in my family has ever been even moderately wealthy and they never owned slaves. In many respects they were just as bad off as slaves and their social status was just as tad higher. They had it difficult and in that respect nothing has changed. Personally, I don’t feel that I owe any AA an apology for slavery. My “white” folks didn’t come over until the mid 1800’s and were relegated to white trash status. Also, what about all those indentured servants that came over. Do we owe them an apology as well or do they owe AA’s an apology?
I don’t disagree with the notion that you have no guilt. I have no guilt. But I follow the teachings of my mentors to help when and where I can.
I’m primarily a Buddhist by training and trend, but believe very much in the passage of Matthew regarding what I should do for the least of these.
I don’t need to simply be judged by my actions, but by my inactions. There are times when I can do, and should do, NOTHING. But that is more rare than my ability to, and moral requirement to do, SOMETHING, if not EVERYTHING, I can do to heal my community, great and small.
Mayflower girls?
I had problems with the same comments made by Pat Buchanan. However, there has GOT to be a point where BOTH whites and blacks look beyond race and the historical evil that brought blacks to this country and judge each other without regard to race.
I am the first to applaud forced desegregation in the 60’s and 70’s as well as affirmative action during this same time period. But like many conservatives (and I do not consider myself to be a conservative–just a sensible moderate), I tend to believe that we have reached a point in this country where blacks and whites should be judged by the same criteria, all other things being equal, in most circumstance. I have a good bit of empathy for educational programs that seek to enroll a diverse class of students, which has certainly led to some flexibility in the objective criteria for admission, such as GPA, standardized test scores, etc. But at some point we all need to recognize that it is in NO ONE’S best interest to significantly lower objective, academic standards in order to admit blacks, Hispanics, women, or any other demographic group. The problem with lowering these objective standards for admission to academic programs is that it cheapens the value of the degrees obtained by other women and minorities who would have gained admission WITHOUT relaxation of academic standards.
I just read a story on Comcast News, “Obama Aide: Bill Clinton Like McCarthy” by Matt Apuzzo…It talks about a retired Air Force General who is old enough to recall the McCarthy era & compares Joe McCarthy’s tactics to the Clinton campaign.
Hmmm, McCarthy saw a commie under every rock.
Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s spiritual mentor sees a racist under every rock.
Well at least somebody got half the analogy right.
No one figure out yet why the Clinton’s have been so quiet the past week about all this?
Somethings brewing, something very big is brewing, can’t you just smell it?
Something even doesn’t sit right with the Richardson endorsement today! Why would a prize endorsement be in Oregon when the key states now are PA and NC? Would you not want to parade such an endorsement in a key State? Everything has been about timing, something is brewing big time!
Could the tarnish of the DNP been too much with the revelation of the Rev Wright fiasco? In politics, it is all about saving face, and the DNC knows that saving Obama isn’t going to fair well at all come November!
Everything with Obama is self induced poison right now, every time he opens his mouth, he riles anger from people and his being nominee will cost more than just the Whitehouse, it will destroy standings in the Congress and Senate as well!
Thank you Susan.
For seeing through the facade and speaking up.
What a post!
Thank you for your eloquent voice through your videos. We are all grateful to you here.
Both Obama & Hillary have recently said they might hold off on increasing taxes until the economy recovers. This was not well circulated in the MSM, it’s like their tax hike proposals are getting a free pass. Obama also wants to double foreign aid, not much debate on the issues here, it’s like they don’t exist.
I think it’s fair to say that the black/white racial issues we have in his country can be laid at the feet of the white race. We started it, we created it, here. I think for the most part it’s been laid at the feet of the white race. It’s like an old woman I know once put it, it’s ok to tell the truth but you don’t have to always be telling it.
We don’t need to dwell on the sins of white people who have been dead for hundreds of years. We need to find constructive ways to heal the damage. We don’t need racial inflammation preached from the pulpits in America. We don’t need people leading this country who immerse themselves in hateful rhetoric. In my opinion, of course. I could be wrong.
As for Buchanan’s trillions of dollars, it was all done on the cheap, throwing as little cash as possible to the crowds. We never worked hard enough to heal the wounds of our country. But we do like picking those old scabs.
Roasaleen, you know why people like Wright and David Duke exist? Because their is a market for what they sell. They make a tremendous amount of money off of keeping us divided. People buy into the hate rhetoric because it allows them to forgo personal responsibility for their own situation. It is much easier to hate another who is prospering than to look at ourselves with a critical eye and understand that we are a product of our choices both good and bad.
Obama also wants to double foreign aid? Then he better be raising some taxes and I guess he knows where to go for it, too.
First I thought I needed to get my hearing checked. Then realized the Buchanan makes sense from time to time. He was also the first to call the MSNBC crew on their sexism. Which floored me. Just like hearing an intelligient drug policy from Ron Paul.
Mel, my thought is that this is just the beginning of a long train of information that will be coming out. Have seen mysterious comments about Obama’s years at Columbia being missing. And being looked into. Who knows how many radicals are in Obama’s orbit. Rezko is an unexploded bomb still. Then there is Michelle who has a vast ability to say truly dumb offensive things. Chicago politics is always waiting to give wonderous things. When are Obama’s political opponents in Chicago going to start dishing dirt?
They’re going for broke. The blacks. They always have. They’re a race apart. They’re not like the Hispanics or the Chinese or the whatever. Or the jews. All these people - so many minorities and of course womankind, the greatest minority of them all - have suffered and struggled in comparative silence and never been caught out with a centrist agenda. But the blacks in the US have always had someone proselytising this agenda. Theirs is a strategy to play on historical racism to turn the tables and come out on top. They’re not interested in equality. Or justice. Not these people. Given there are so many of them it’s not surprising Obama caters to them. There’s always the fear that if the pollsters find out he’s losing support amongst the blacks it will all unravel. But this is crass and calculating and bespeaks this person’s total lack of integrity and honesty. In addition to his blatant lack of genuineness which is apparent from the get-go. And it’s worse than that actually: for it doesn’t work. This whole Obama campaign - the quarter of a billion that will be wasted on it with otherwise seasoned (but well paid) PR strategists - smacks so much amateurism and in my estimation is a blight on good black people. Who are beginning to realise Barack Hussein Obama not only through his lack of character but through his amateurish campaign is making all blacks everywhere look bad and look like hopeless losers. Obama’s done more damage to race relations than slavery itself.
I’m sorry, gotta call you out on this post.
You are really painting a wide brush. THE BLACKS, THE BLACKS. what the fuck…
First off, I don’t believe in Race and suspect anyone who reinforces “race” in such solid division. Travel Africa and as you head north and south, east and west, you’ll see more distinctions than you can see in the American ancestors from the west of Africa. But on the continent itself the blend becomes clear.
Second, black americans have a very different legacy than other non-white Europeans. The journey here and the treatment here was very different than any of the categories you mentioned. The Chinese were used to build railroads and were mistreated in California and along the west coast. Mexicans were driven south and have been treated as second class citizens. Jews, Italians, Irish, Polish, Czech, Germans, and others were also treated poorly in America. But none were treated as hatefully as black americans. So don’t blur the lines as if there was just one level of disenfranchisement. That’s bullshit.
Now, as for the overall sentiments about race on this thread, I understand the desire to move on with a sense of equality and the call for people to end the “victim mindset” that has been criticized here. But one major hold back of this is that the racist attacks on black americans have not stopped. They’ve certainly eased, and thats the good news. The bad news is hate crimes are still quite prevalent and the reports of nooses, racist pranks involving hoods, nooses, black face, and more have not ended.
You are also correct that the majority, women, are treated like minorities. And the same excuses for denying opportunities to women are used about denying opportunities to others.
The shift hasn’t completed from our racist past. You may not consider yourself racist, but your words are very absolute “they”, “the blacks”, “those people”. You don’t sound like you’ve blended with anyone, but see solid divisions. I don’t fault you there, but it doesn’t sound like you’ve begun to see people simply as people but by their physical or cultural divisions.
I don’t want to harbor on your views, i’ll simply state my own.
I understand those who observe that in America, white males have the power over all. Then next would be ‘white women’. Then when left only in the construct of ‘black and white’, it has been observed by some of my peers, “better to give it to a black woman than a black man” has become a big part of emasculating black men. There is a legacy of emasculating and neutering black men because of sexually based insecurities in white men who wielded power through racism. You might disagree with this, but how often did white men hang white men and cut off their genitals? It happened to black men too many times to count.
The fear of black men is no accident either. I study propaganda in many forms and one area I studied was about racist propaganda in America. The portrayal of “animal” images for black men was the most common form. “they’re going to steal our white women!” was the biggest worry in many minds.
(note: I don’t swath broadly, all comments should be reflected towards those who either believe or engage in these trends or mindsets. I’m very aware that th