The Liberal Press Hearts the Reverend Wright
By dcmediagirl on April 28, 2008 at 4:29 PM in Current Affairs
Where to begin? Perhaps with this ludicrously timid “analysis” of the “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright’s interview with Bill Moyers. Since you’re perfectly capable of reading through this absurd “article” (if by “article” you mean a namby-pamby attempt at being “fair and balanced” to a certifiable loon who until about five minutes ago was not only an Obama surrogate but The Man Called Uncle), I won’t excerpt, but there are certain crucial points that are worthy of note.
First off, I don’t believe in beating around the bush like some people at Salon or other august publications, so let’s just come out and say it: “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright is insane, a member of an extreme paranoid fringe of the religious community that is noxious, divisive and dangerous regardless of race or affiliation. We’ve seen these sorts of views voiced before by a myriad of “religious” leaders like “Rabbi” Meir Kahane, countless mad mullahs, and of course the perennial favorites Jerry Falwell (how’s hell working out for you buddy? Bet you’re surprised THAT was your final destination, eh?) and Pat Robertson.
On the matter of Falwell and Robertson, remember THEIR reaction to 9/11 and who was to blame? Terrorists sure, but according to these two the terrorists were forced to do what they did because the usual suspects – abortionists, the ACLU, gays and so forth – proved to be so provocative that Osama bin Laden couldn’t take it anymore and unleashed the hounds. And you know, it’s funny – back then most sane people in the press rejected those lunatic views out of hand with no parsing of any kind. So what happened, Joan? Why do the “Reverend” Wright’s loony views get the benefit of the doubt while Pat and Jerry’s observations about the root causes of 9/11 remain consigned to a rubber room?
Likewise on the subject of the “Reverend” Wright’s views of Farrakhan. Walsh concedes that perhaps Wright’s assertion that Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism is 20 years in the past is a bit rich (thanks for that, Joan), that maybe he has a point on the good that the unhinged Nation of Islam has done with its work in jails..but why don’t we let Walsh speak for herself on this point:
I felt like he was trying to make the point that organizations that preach black separatism and focus on the real (as well as imagined) evils of white America are uniquely successful in strengthening the black community — and further, that he’s created another one at Trinity, one that is less deadly and delusional than the Nation of Islam, but still seems to think it’s therapeutic to school its members in an extreme critique of American society and its thoroughgoing, ongoing racism. I think he’s wrong; there are many black pastors who’ve had great impact in their neighborhoods without preaching what Wright preaches. But this is a divide in many urban communities.
This has got to be a joke, right? Have we really gotten to a point where the left wing press is so far in the tank for Obama that it’s impossible to critique this view and point out its obvious flaws?
I don’t really give a fuck about what’s “dividing” urban communities. There is right and there is wrong. We are either intergrated and equal in society or we all separate ourselves off into armed compounds. I don’t much like that view of America, which ironically overlaps perfectly with the worldview of the KKK. But let’s not be impolite enough to point THAT out.
And with regards to this cultural relativism, which is the ultimate squishy liberal manifestation of the soft bigotry of low expectations, don’t buy this hype about how the NOI’s outreach work in the prison counteracts the harm they do in terms of the spread of racism and anti-Semitism. Let’s look at the Saudis for example. They use their vast oil wealth to build chains of poisonous madrassahs around the globe, where the views of “Reverend” Wright and Louis Farrakhan would fit right in. In countries like Pakistan, for example, these madrassahs account for the bulk of schools in that country, since the dictators who have run that young country almost continually since its birth 60 years ago have, in their wisdom, spent the lion’s share of the budget on military expenditures (and lining their greedy little pockets as well). So on the one hand, if the students who enroll at these “schools” waited on their own government to allocate money for a secular, public education they’d be condemned to lifelong illiteracy. On the other hand, the “teachers” at these “schools” propogate hate, bigotry and fundamentalism.
Taking the larger view, is this really what we’re left with? A choice between illiteracy and a life dedicated to implementing an interpretation of the Koran as dictated by some Wahhabi fanatic? A post-prison life spent wallowing in alcohol, drugs and recidivism or a lifelong membership in the Nation of Islam’s club of paranoia, hatred and racism? Really? There’s no choice C? I don’t buy it.
I wonder why this is so hard for people like Joan Walsh and the Wright enablers/apologists to understand.
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
by 
* (Included in the 
* 
.by David Fredosso who wrote 2008's 
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
