This, on the other hand, is a rather more serious thought

[fpb]

Whatever happens to the Democrat campaign, it is fundamentally a good thing that the issue of "black theology" and black separatism should have become a major issue. This thing has been growing in the black community, pretty much unconsidered and unnoticed by the majority. The fact that such a way to speak and think seems understandable if not natural to a large amount of African-Americans, so that a significant and native minority (what ethnic group has more of a claim to being local and ancient than those whose enslaved ancestors had been brought in before the Civil War?) is largely out of sympathy with the majority, speaks morally and politically a different language? This issue had to be faced, and if possible dealt with, whatever one thinks of Rev.Wright. (And, to be fair, I think very little of him.)And this concerns us all. US blacks are not an insignifcant community, and their importance does not stop at the border of their country. Their cultural influence is vast and enduring: black innovations from jazz to hip hop and rap have crossed all the oceans and made themselves at home from France to China. Above all, the ways of looking at the world that these innovations imply have reached out, from the improvisational edge of jazz to the anger that seems implicit in rap. There is a kind of cultural prestige, a "coolness", about being black in the American way, which percolates to many levels of society. English and Italian kids can be found imitating black fashions, black music, and above all black attitudes. And if these attitudes are underlain in whtever part by the separatist, self-righteous, and ultimately racist mental world of Wright and his likes, then that is something that will, in whatever way, affect the rest of us. So the issue has to be faced.

Comments

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

You're quite right. Especially, if Obama is defeated in part because of Wright's "black theology," it will serve notice on American blacks that they can choose to either adhere to this essentially racist and childish belief system, or to succeed in the real world. Since most American blacks don't subscribe to "black theology" anyway, it will marginalize this viewpoint even within the black community, gradually making it a thing of the past.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Defeat, by itself, does not discredit a cause. And it is discredit that is needed - not to mention the conversion of the mental energies that go into this sort of thing to better ends.

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. What would really help would be if Obama lost and, perhaps in 2012 or 2016, some other black guy, who specifically did not give credence to Black Liberation Theology, won.

This might have already happened on a smaller scale if the American press wasn't so obsessed with the notion that Republicans are racist. Among the most successful black people in American politics have been Republicans, but they are always dismissed by the Main Stream Media as being "sell outs."

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Fact. There is no great difference between Barrack Obama and Condoleeza Rice - they both are typical academics - but the treatment they get is different (even though Ms.Rice is probably the least ill-treated of the whole Bush cabinet).

[stigandnasty919.livejournal.com]

If Obama does lose it will be through the Super Delegate system. I can think of nothing more sure to feed Black Separitism. It will be seen as the white establishment ensuring that a black man cannot run for president. Indeed I think a few Black leaders are already pushing that message quite strongly - Al Sharpton being an example.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

He would. I think however that Jordan meant beaten by McCain at the national election.

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

I think however that Jordan meant beaten by McCain at the national election.

Yes, actually. Provided that McCain runs to win rather than to please the mainstream media, Obama doesn't stand a chance against him. Obama has too much dirt in his history.

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

Indeed I think a few Black leaders are already pushing that message quite strongly - Al Sharpton being an example.

The Democratic Party will deeply rue the day that they allowed that man prominence within their establishment. Simple logic, coupled with the examples of the Tawana Brawley case and Freddy's Fashion Mart, should have told them this.