Quote
Barack Obama on Rev. Wright yesterday,
Second quote,
“I think certainly what the last three days indicate is that we’re not coordinating with him, right?” Mr. Obama said.
Second quote,
I just want to emphasize that this is my former pastor..
posted by mikevotes at
6:58 AM
6 Comments:
Does the corporate media fascination over Rev. Wright have more to do with the fact that he's a black pastor of a "black" church, and thus -- to the media and most American's -- a mysterious and slightly frightening curiosity.
Where is outrage and vilification of the countless white, fundamentalist pastors? There are parts of the country where you can't throw a stone without hitting a "man of the cloth" who calls damnation upon gays, or war protesters, or Bush critics, or scientists, or Muslims (any dark-skinned non-westerner), or Jews, or "Mexicans" (anyone between the Rio Grande and Cape Horn).... I'm curious.
By
-epm, at 7:56 AM
I don't know.
My guess is they press this because it's really the only "black thing" about Obama.
Part of the reason for it's resonance is that it runs counter to his image.
By
mikevotes, at 10:26 AM
I think it's more of a "those people" thing. And Obama is one of "those people."
It still doesn't explain the dearth of news coverage of "controversial" white fundamentalist/evangelicals from "white" churches.
My feeling is that the (dubious) newsworthiness of the Rev. Wright thing is 1-part his comments, 3-parts "scary black people" and 3-parts total lack of awareness by the Wonder Bread media of the black experience -- social, historical and theological (NOT racist, just curious and clueless).
(Juan Williams did another bang up job of distorting the Wrights views. Painting him as a fringe player and out of the mainstream of the "black" church. This despite the universal support Wright has received from the "black" church. God, Williams has become an echo-chamber, hack.)
By
-epm, at 10:38 AM
Definitely "scary black man" is a part of it.
As interesting to me is the way Wright has been conveyed into Obama as if Obama himself said these things or held these beliefs. That "meta" is now an almost assumption in the media coverage.
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mikevotes, at 1:10 PM
Kind of like if you're a Muslim you must agree with Bin Ladin... If you're a black man, you must agree with Rev. Wright.
It not that I don't get the issue regarding Wrights fiery -- and, to my ears, slightly paranoid -- rhetoric. It's just that I find the media's obsession to be over the top... and their hand-wringing hyperbole.
There's a little more to it than that, but you don't see Catholic pols being accused of being soft of pedophiles because their priests covered for child molesters, nor as anti-woman because the Pope thinks women have no place in the clergy (I don't count nuns as clergy).
By
-epm, at 3:40 PM
Agreed.
Maybe it's because "the media" don't actually know any middle or lower class black people?
By
mikevotes, at 4:44 PM
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