I don't believe it was just a few sermons but regardless of how many sermons it actually was, listening to Wright does not automatically make Obama a racist. However, it appears that Obama made no effort to distance himself from Wright until very recently so it's clear that Obama was willing to tolerate racism, at least the kind of racism that Wright was espousing.

 

So if you don't think Obama himself is a racist, how do you think this would be relevant to an Obama presidency?

No, Senator Obama said he heard his grandmother say that she was afraid to have a black man walk by her and she also said racial things against black people. So does that mean his black heritage is meaningless?

No, but it sounds like he threw his grandma under the bus. :lol:

So if you don't think Obama himself is a racist, how do you think this would be relevant to an Obama presidency?

If Barack Hussein Obama can't stand up to his pastor, what makes you think he could stand up to world leaders?

No, but it sounds like he threw his grandma under the bus. :lol:

:laugh:

 

I would just like to say. If nothing else comes out of this at least the subject has opened up a dialogue that has sorely been needed in this country.

 

By talking out our differences we can destroy the sterotypes and wrong assumptions we have about people different from us. No single race is completely right or wrong.

Since we're posting people's opinions on the speech:

 

A Speech That Fell Short

By Michael Gerson

 

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama has run a campaign based on a simple premise: that words of unity and hope matter to America. Now he has been forced by his charismatic, angry pastor to argue that words of hatred and division don't really matter as much as we thought.

 

Barack Obama is not a man who hates -- but he chose to walk with a man who does.

[email protected]

Copyright 2008, Washington Post Writers Group

 

There are thousands of politicians that have and still do walk with people like Mr. Wright that are serving and have served our country well. We just didn't see the tape, does that make them all questionable as well? They know they have and none has resigned. I don't support affirmative action or busing when it occurred, but race is an issue that we as a country can not continue to put on a back burner.

I haven’t read through all the posts yet, I didn’t expect the thread to take off like this, so if I repeat anything someone else has said, I apologize.

One of my problems here with Barack Hussein Obama is the fact that he has sat still for 20 years and listened to these hate filled sermons from an obviously racist pastor that he actually admires. An abundance of anti-white lectures given over the years while Barack Hussein Obama sat and remained quiet. His mother is white, his grandma and grandpa are white and he is half white. Wouldn’t you think he would have been deeply offended by this? No, instead Barack Hussein Obama embraced Mr. Wright and claims that Mr. Wright helped shape him. So, in Barack Hussein Obama’s eyes, his white heritage is meaningless?

 

In 20 years all we have is a couple of instances in which Rev. Wright said something offensive. Also, you continue to assert that Rev. Wright is racist. While what he said is offensive, it doesn't automatically make him a racist. Giving lectures about the plight of black Americans and the racial relationships in this country doesn't make the speech anti-white. If Rev. Wright was so anti-white I don't think whites would be welcome at his church.

The pastor who baptised me doesn't belive that blacks and whites should marry and said something to that effect in a sunday school class. I love the man though and would not let one bigoted idea make me want to love him any less.

 

Just for a minute look at Rev. Wright's comments and take out the "G-D" and imagine a white minister saying them. Without the loud man in a dashiki with people yelling a cheering behind him it might be seen as a lot less offensive. I remind you that I've heard very controversial things come from the ministers at my SBC church growing up. As someone who once dated a black girl and experienced deep conversations about race with her and her friends and family, I can safely say that Obama's point about black anger coming out at the kitchen table and in church is very valid and in some cases that anger is valid. Rev Wright grew up in a time when his friends and family were openly discriminated against, his world view is shaped by that. My Granny's world view towards blacks was shaped by her growing up in the segregated south during the 30's-40's. She, while a lovely woman who I miss greatly, had some extremely bigotted ideas that she wasn't scared of sharing with her family and in some cases church members.

 

I think Obama's speech yesterday was exactly what needed to be said. He addressed the issue and several others. He could have run from it but didn't and I admire that. Many of the folks screaming about this like Hannity, Limbaugh, and some on this board were never going to vote for Obama anyway. This particular incident gives some folks the skeleton they were looking for and for others it just reinforces the reasons why they aren't going to vote for him. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself.

 

McCain called Rod Parsley a spiritual guide. Should we on the left go crazy on Parsley now? I'd really like to but it's not going to solve anything.

I don't believe it was just a few sermons but regardless of how many sermons it actually was, listening to Wright does not automatically make Obama a racist. However, it appears that Obama made no effort to distance himself from Wright until very recently so it's clear that Obama was willing to tolerate racism, at least the kind of racism that Wright was espousing.

 

Is tolerance a bad thing?

 

Or are we aiming for uniformity and conformity?

Am I a coward for not letting my grandfather have it over his heinous personal beliefs? Or am I respectful to an old man whose life was shaped by his environment? I change the topic when Papaw goes off like that, not even because I find his point of view personally embarrassing (which of course I do)... I'm embarrassed FOR him.

 

True story:

 

My father is out to a business lunch with some people he worked with while he was still doing circuit board design. My grandfather is in the area, so he invites him, too.

 

The place is a jazz-themed bar and grill. My father and his friends are seated, and my grandfather joins them. While looking over the menu, my grandfather calls a waiter over, and asks if they serve American style food, which the waiter assures him they do. My grandfather says "Then what's with all the foreigners on the walls?"

 

There are prints of jazz musicians everywhere, most of whom are black. So was one of the men they were dining with. My grandfather listens exclusively to country, but he is not entirely ignorant of jazz, nor its musicians. He's just a racist jerk. What do you think my father should have done, told his father off on the spot? And to what end, because my grandfather is well past any 'come to Jesus moment' on this and countless other topics.

If Barack Hussein Obama can't stand up to his pastor, what makes you think he could stand up to world leaders?

 

I don't see the parallel here. What should he have done? What hypothetical actions could he have taken that would suggest to you that he could "stand up to world leaders" in a presidential capacity?

If Barack Hussein Obama can't stand up to his pastor, what makes you think he could stand up to world leaders?

 

Why is it that we have to "stand up" to everyone we disagree with? This is not directed to RTS, but do we always have to aim to look for a fight? You don't always have to go looking for a fight in order to bring necessary change.

 

Here's a question that I don't know the answer to, one very important in my voting decision - can Obama be the strong leader, both nationally and globally, that can bring/cause positive changes without needing to always assert/make demands?

And if this turns out to be 100% correct, will you recant?

Newsmax isn't and never has been a truly credible source of news and information. It's openly and unapologetically as biased as some of you claim the "mainstream media" is.

 

Don't hold your breath on the veracity of this report.

Close your eyes to it if you want. You certainly have that right.

I'm not closing my eyes to anything. Nobody has presented any evidence that Barack Obama is a racist, no matter how you guys try to connect him to statements made by others.

In 20 years all we have is a couple of instances in which Rev. Wright said something offensive. Also, you continue to assert that Rev. Wright is racist. While what he said is offensive, it doesn't automatically make him a racist. Giving lectures about the plight of black Americans and the racial relationships in this country doesn't make the speech anti-white. If Rev. Wright was so anti-white I don't think whites would be welcome at his church.

The pastor who baptised me doesn't belive that blacks and whites should marry and said something to that effect in a sunday school class. I love the man though and would not let one bigoted idea make me want to love him any less.

 

Just for a minute look at Rev. Wright's comments and take out the "G-D" and imagine a white minister saying them. Without the loud man in a dashiki with people yelling a cheering behind him it might be seen as a lot less offensive. I remind you that I've heard very controversial things come from the ministers at my SBC church growing up. As someone who once dated a black girl and experienced deep conversations about race with her and her friends and family, I can safely say that Obama's point about black anger coming out at the kitchen table and in church is very valid and in some cases that anger is valid. Rev Wright grew up in a time when his friends and family were openly discriminated against, his world view is shaped by that. My Granny's world view towards blacks was shaped by her growing up in the segregated south during the 30's-40's. She, while a lovely woman who I miss greatly, had some extremely bigotted ideas that she wasn't scared of sharing with her family and in some cases church members.

 

I think Obama's speech yesterday was exactly what needed to be said. He addressed the issue and several others. He could have run from it but didn't and I admire that. Many of the folks screaming about this like Hannity, Limbaugh, and some on this board were never going to vote for Obama anyway. This particular incident gives some folks the skeleton they were looking for and for others it just reinforces the reasons why they aren't going to vote for him. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself.

 

McCain called Rod Parsley a spiritual guide. Should we on the left go crazy on Parsley now? I'd really like to but it's not going to solve anything.

I assert it because I believe he is. It's people like him that help breed generation after generation of bigots. I can tell you that I certainly wouldn't feel welcome at his church. He basically blames whites for black's problems, I find that very offensive.

I'm sorry, but I'm tired of hearing the "black anger" thing being valid. No, it's not. That's nothing but an excuse IMO.

I sure don't need a "skeleton" to keep me from voting for him, his pathetic stance on guns and taxes are already plenty for me.

As for McCain, I'm no fan of him either.

Why is it that we have to "stand up" to everyone we disagree with? This is not directed to RTS, but do we always have to aim to look for a fight? You don't always have to go looking for a fight in order to bring necessary change.

 

Here's a question that I don't know the answer to, one very important in my voting decision - can Obama be the strong leader, both nationally and globally, that can bring/cause positive changes without needing to always assert/make demands?

He wants to be president, he'd better be able to stand up to people because he will be tested. And no, he won't bring any change, he's a politician, it'll be status quo with higher taxes.

I don't see the parallel here. What should he have done? What hypothetical actions could he have taken that would suggest to you that he could "stand up to world leaders" in a presidential capacity?

You're thinking a little too hard about this. :creepy: If he can't take an honest stance on race in his church (standing up for his country, his heritage), what makes you think he can stand up to a threat from another country? What qualities is he showing as a leader?