Rev. Wright is a racist, pure and simple

The Reverend Wright and Senator Obama have to deal with being black in American in very different ways. The Rev. Wright can very comfortably remain within his black identity and preach black isolation and hatred for whites. Sen. Obama must find a way to reconcile his identification with American blacks and the other 88% of the country who he needs in order to be elected.

I do not envy the Senator his position. He, no doubt, aligned himself with Trinity Church and the Rev. Wright in order to fit in his community and further his political career in Chicago. This served him well when he was a local politician and state senator, but now that he is running for a national office what benefitted him then is now a detriment. He has had to distance himself strongly from the Rev. Wright, but this has alienated some of the black community who supported him.

There is perhaps a positive in this brouhaha in that the discussion of race in America will now not be one sided. The past few decades have seen a racial discussion that basically devolved to “it is all whiteys fault and we have no responsibility for division.” Now the discussion has fallen down to the black community to sort out. Anyone who argues that the Rev. Wright’s views are not racist is promoting an agenda that does not hold up to argument. Making statements that the U.S. government is responsible for AIDS in order to kill blacks, that we are a terrorist nation, and that Louis Farrakhan is one of the great voices of the 20^th and 21^st century is just crazy. Then top that with the whole commentary about black brain physiology being different from Caucasians and Asians and you have certifiable bigotry.

This man is speaking from a place that is just not acceptable, and that he got cheers from the crowd at the National Press Club is disturbing. I am not saying that there is not racism in this country, clearly there is, but we rarely here it so openly displayed as we do when the Rev. Wright speaks. His speech sounded like the black version of a KKK rally. I know racist individuals, but I cannot think of ever encountering a single racial institution or having ever heard racism expressed in an open forum. I guess that makes the redneck Texan less of a bigot than the good Dr. of Divinity from Chicago.

I only hope that this is an opportunity for a real discussion about race in America.

End of rant.