pro-Christ or anti-American? pt. 1

Here is a clip of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whom Sen. Barack Obama recently had to distance himself from politically.

 

I have two reactions to the video: 1) Why is there are hierarchy of suffering in the United States? 2) How has Rev. Wright said something here which is untrue?

Of course, Hillary Clinton does not know what it is like to be a black man in the United States. She graduated from Wellesley College and Yale Law. But as a woman, there are oppressions, prejudices and assumptions about her leadership and her intelligence that Barack will never face. Barack Obama has not been the victim of an extended smear campaign which included accusations that her husband has overseen the murders of his enemies and that she is a closeted lesbian whose personal relationships are nothing more than a means to fulfill her political ambitions.  Obama was never investigated by Kenneth Starr. Obama is not demonized by millions of people (not yet). There is no way that Rev. Wright can compare the suffering of an African American and a woman – in many key ways, it is apples and oranges. Women did not get the right to vote in the US that much earlier (in historical terms that is) than African Americans. Assumptions about intelligence and the ability to operate mechanical equipment are stereotypes that women have always faced. Suffering is different to different people. Women potentially suffer through rape and domestic violence in a way that most men will not. LGBT people suffer violence and prejudice in a unique way. It is not useful to say that one kind is worse than the other.

There are other videos, compiled by Fox news of course, (you can look for them yourself, i will NOT link to Fox News on my blog) including a statement from Rev. Wright that HIV is a biological weapon to eliminate Black Americans. The extraordinary ignorance of this statement notwithstanding, it is sad how threatened mainstream Americans (Fox News viewers presumably, or more likely its producers?) feel about being challenged.  It causes one to wonder what it means to have “radical” thoughts. That being said…

What did he say about black Americans that was not true? Jesus very well may have been Black - he was certainly Jewish. Viewing Jesus in this way should not be threatening to anyone who does not need to be threatened by it. The inherent racism in the US is still present and still a major problem. Any Christian who thinks that a challenge to the US is a challenge to Christianity does not understand the nature of Biblical prophecy as a political device. And they do not understand that not all churches are led by pasty-haired white men. Racial injustice is still alive and well and if this is Anti-American to state, then there is no room for prophecy in the “Judeo-Christian West.”