Rev. Jeremiah Wright is taking advantage of his notoriety, speaking at an NAACP event, being on Bill Moyer’s PBS show, and now speaking at the National Press Club, no less. Guarded by Nation of Islam operatives and basking in the limelight, he is unrepentant, repeating his charges that America deserved the 9/11 attacks, that the US government engineered the HIV virus to commit genocide against black people, etc., etc. Now he’s also saying that Muslims are saved. See Liveblogging Wright at the National Press Club. Doesn’t Rev. Wright see how he is hurting the campaign of his parishioner, Barack Obama?
UPDATE: Here is a clue: It seems that Rev. Wright’s address at the National Press Club was arranged by Barbara Reynolds, an “enthusiastic” Clinton supporter!
ANOTHER UPDATE: But maybe not.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m sure Rev. Wright offends all the right people.
I just don’t know how many right-thinking people there are anymore.
He’s had a successful career doing just what he’s doing now–this is no new act he’s taken on the road–and he certainly got lots of applause and laughter–apparent approval–from the press and the rest of the audience yesterday.
So, for all of us who find him reprehensible as a clergyman and as a social commentator, there’s plenty of others who either agree with him or give him a pass, for whatever ‘reason.’
He’s certainly milking his 15 minutes. I predict the clock won’t run out until he has a book deal, a contract as a consultant with CNN or MSNBC, and maybe even his own half hour on TBN.
A little P.S.:
The public treatment of Jeremiah Wright and his theology is not unlike the public treatment of Islam: No one wants to go there. Few want to accuse him of being wrong-headed or dangerous; they prefer to treat him as the symbol of something else–racial division or the fruits of America’s original sin. They don’t want to blame him for speaking, believing, and teaching as he does. Instead, they want to stroke their beards and say, ‘Hmm. Food for thought. What can WE do?’
White guilt is similar to dhimmitude, in that it makes the bearer not only helpless, but complicit in his own helplessness.
Yes Susan,
you are right no one wants to go there. Hence McCain yesterday saying “I can see why some people would be upset about that.” Really? You can see why? But it doesn’t upset you, that your Marine son, has been compared to the Roman legionairs that killed Christ?
I would hate to be a politician. What a cross to bear.
I have this theory that for every word that Wright utters, Hillary Clinton gains ten more votes in the Indiana primary next week. So if I were Hillary or McCain, I’d be encouraging as many and as public of appearances for “Rev.” Wright as possible.
wow!
i find it strange that after the media has beaten rev wright without mercy for months ,he finally come out to defend himself, now hes once agan the trouble maker. whats even more strange is how when african americans speak out about ‘their’ view of the american experience ,they are whipped back into the white american view of the american experience. i see the game being played ,if you view america in the eyes of anyone other then white america ,your considered a racist or a trouble maker. one last point ,im waiting to see if anyone could disprove what rev wright said wrong. ……..robby
The AIDS thing just cracks me up. Maybe Rev. Wright and others in the Religious Left need to research the origins of Planned Parenthood and the RCRC; they were both founded with the purpose of killing black children. Margaret Sanger frequented KKK rallies to promote PP.
The RCRC was founded, I think, by an African-American clergyman to provide abortions in his own community. The African-American population has been devastated by these groups and others like them. Who’s committing the genocide?!
robby,
I have known many different African-americans over the years, and they have all held different views of the American experience. Some of those views are in fact racist, and some are not. Rev Wright’s views are racist. I don’t know exactly which white american view you are talking about either.
I don’t think the onus is on us to disprove. but if you want to support Rev wright, then you should give us some evidence supporting the claims that America engineered aids to destroy the black community.
Is there any possible way to correctly interpret the statement that Jesus was a poor black man? There are such things as facts, even in our modern era, no matter what race you are. Jesus without any doubt was a Jew. Three of the Gospels carefully trace His ancestry. If Rev Wright is the renowned Bible scholar he is supposed to be he should know that.
That does not mean that artistically He could be pictured in other ways, but that is only artistically and not a statement of fact as indicated by the liberation theology pastor.
It is true that Rev. Wright has said some absurd things. This does not mean that everything he has said is absurd, although it is clear that the absurd things have given many Americans the cover they need to dismiss the legitimate, yet unflattering, observations he has made.
Let’s take the observation that the United States ‘deserved’ the 9/11 attacks, for example. To dismiss this contention out of hand as an absurd statement, undeserving of reasonable comment or analysis, is, to me, a failure to critically reflect as citizens (and Christians) upon our nation’s behavior. Do our historic attitudes and actions towards the rest of the world have nothing to do with some people wanting to strike back at us? What did the prophets say about whether (ancient) Israel ‘deserved’ the attacks of its enemies? Is our country somehow exempt from such divine chastisement? Maybe we are, but there is at least a case to be made on either side of the question. To bring up these criticisms of our country is not to legitimize or defend what the terrorists did on 9/11 nor to say that they necessarily were instruments of God. But we must remember that even though the Lord specifically said Assyria and Babylonia were His chosen instruments to punish His people, He also said what they had done to Israel was evil and He would punish them in turn for what they had done. As I recall, when Jesus was confronted with examples of disaster, man-made or natural, he didn’t spend time dwelling on the unjustness of it all, the innocence (or lack thereof) of the victims or the evil of the perpetrators, but stated it was a call to repentance.
I think someone should give Jeremiah Wright what he is clearly angling for: a spot on The 700 Club.
S Bauer,
Its not that I don’t want to be critical of the United States and its actions around the world. But to be honest, though I don’t agree with everything we have done, I have to believe the world is better off by far for our presence. Quite frankly I am sick of this pseudo intellectual criticism coming out of the left. Rev. Wrights comments are not critical in any intellectual manner, nor were they calls for repentance, they were shouts of Schadenfreude, that deserve to be condemned out of hand. I strongly feel the same way about what you wrote, it is nothing but silliness, accept that it is sadder than that. Sure we have our sins to repent for, but that wasn’t what 911 was about.
I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing more of God’s world than most people. That has allowed me to appreciate America, maybe more so than others. I remember traveling to Berlin when I was five, and having Guns trained on me and my family as we passed through the checkpoints. And wondering at that point how awful the world must be that a government had to keep its whole population behind a wall as if it were in prison. I went back to Berlin in my twenties, nothing made me prouder to be an American than a long futile walk looking for the remains of the wall. That is only one of many reasons we might be proud. There is a time to be critical in our thinking. But this anti-American, we’re the bad guys thinking, if we had just left them alone they would have left us alone thinking is total B.S.
S Bauer, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright does not merely say absurd things. He is a racist and a blasphemer and we are under no obligation to sort through all of the chaff which he spews to look for a grain of wheat. He has chosen to forfeit the opportunity to be taken seriously and to waste the obvious gift of communication with which God has blessed him, in favor of taking advantage of the black community for self-promotional purposes.
To suggest that the terrorists who committed that dastardly act of pure evil on 9/11, killing in cold blood over 3,000 innocent civilians, could have been in any way justified in taking this action because of perceived grievances, or, worse yet, a tool of God, is unspeakable. The ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah where populated with God’s chosen people, who had been given very specific instructions regarding their worship and obedience of the one and only living God. They deliberately rebelled against God and those instructions and lived in an open state of rebellion for hundreds of years. God used the armies of pagan nations to defeat and carry into bondage his chosen people as a harsh disciplinary measure against this open rebellion only after many years of rebellion and specific warnings that this discipline would occur.
When we are being disciplined by God we will know it, as the Israelites knew it. When, on the other hand, utterly evil men kill our fellow American civilians without warning or quarter, and in cold blood, and other evil men have the audacity to blame the victims rather than the perpetrators, and to concoct outrageous and cynical theories that our own government actually sponsored the terrorist actions, we will know that too.
And we do know it.
Won’t it be great for Rev. Wright’s prestige if Obama doesn’t win.. he can really launch into some racial invectives about how right he is on racism in America.
Ryan: this is most certainly true.
It’s been the greatest attribute of the professional racialists in our country, their ability to open profitable lemonade stands using the lemons they’re given, and their swiftness at doing so. It’s as if they’d been hoping for lemons all along.
Without those lemons, they’d be out of business. Think about it: how would any hope of racial harmony profit Al Sharpton or Jeremiah Wright?
#14 Susan
You are on to something dear organshoes aka susan….
An Obama presidency would obviate the need for “black leaders/representatives” claiming to speak for “all blacks” and represent them wouldn´t it?
It should be no surprise that the jesse jacksons and sharptons et al are not all that enthusiatic about an obama presidency. including obama´s former pastor, who I am guessing is miffed that Obama chose to distance himself…… Wright is sorta seeming full of himself now…. you would think he would care about how what he says and does affects one of his parishoners. obviously he does not care. i find that sort of amazing. Obama for his part has been respectful in speaking about Wright it seems. He did not merely dismiss wright. his first response to the wright flap was very nuanced , respectful and charitable in the right christian way towards his pastor.
hey richard
i appreiate your reponse, you ask me to prove the u.s government experiment with aids in the black community.honestly i personally have not done the research however,others have ,there are several credible books out there detailing this very issue, you decide. but lets get real! ,do you really ,honestly think its a stretch to accuse the u.s government of infecting the black community with aids ?,after the c.i.a have been busted flooding the black communitys with drugs , also did you forget the tuskegee airmen experiment that the u.s government just recently came out to confirm they in fact gave negros back then siflis and years later offered an national apology to these now elderly men. do your reseach rich, look at the prison population of blackmales ,whites get liter sentences for powdered cocaine then blacks for crack cocaine i mean come on rich ,is your eyes open? im not at all saying that african americans should not be held responsible for their actions. however racism viewed between african americans and white americans is very different. heres why…if blacks raise i red black & green flag and march down the street of america ,they are called militants ,if the irish does it ,its call irish pride ,when people of color speak out against isreal treatment of hamas and other arabs their call supporters of terroist. the 9-11 victims are rightfully call victims ,the iraqis civilians are called insurgants or terroist etc. black liberation theology is the opposite of white conservative-ism……people like dick cheney who flys the confederate flag ,but the media wont dear attack him , the media remember what happen to poor dan rather….wake up rich!! …love ya….rob
sorry rich ,my last statement was for erickson