God Damn And Shut Up

The whole recent uproar over Jeremiah Wright smacks of institutionalized racism at its most insidious. One of our largest institutions, the news media, is practicing racism and seems to be getting away with it.

During the time of the Vietnam War a popular phrase that was uttered by supporters of the war was “My country, love it or leave it.” It always used to piss me off. The furor that has been raised recently over what Jeremiah Wright has said in the past reminded me of “My country, love it or leave it.” What a concept, deny citizenship and deny dissent, all in one stupid phrase. Bill O’Reilly has taken this phrase and refined and simplified it into “shut up.”

“My country, love it or leave it.” The implication is that the listener is not an American, that only the speaker is. The implication is that America can do no wrong. The implication is that if you are critical you don’t “love it.” (Most sane and rational people know that you can be critical of something or someone you love.) The implication is that if the listener would just leave, everything would be just fine. Yet all the implications are simply wrong. Now, we seem to have added the above mentioned “shut up” as well as “unpatriotic” and “UnAmerican” to the list of inane mutterings of the moronic. It scares me to think that some of these people may live near me.

What is the point of all of this kind of talk, other than to incite and inflame? Does Bill O’Reilly really believe that telling someone to shut up is going to actually silence that person? If he does, then he is a bigger idiot than I think he is. Does someone who says “My country, love it or leave it” really think someone is going to pack up his belongings and move to another country just because he was challenged in such a meaningless fashion? What does calling someone names accomplish? The most likely result of all of this is a deeper divide and a deeper hate from all involved. Is this something we want? The most likely result of the mass media trying to shame and silence Jeremiah Wright will be an amplification of his voice. They have already made his name known the world over. They have given him a power he did not have even a week ago.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary some Americans cannot tolerate the concept of a flawed America. Like the pope, America is not infallible. Or if you must, only the pope is infallible. Either way makes my point. During the Reagan era some saw nothing wrong with Iran-Contra. Some still don’t see anything wrong with it. Some see nothing wrong with Bush’s wars also. Jeremiah Wright can tolerate the concept of a flawed America. And because of this, he wants a better America. You have to see the problems before you can fix them. And we have a lot of problems.

Dissent is necessary and it is not evil. Dialogue, especially dialogue between people who see things differently is absolutely necessary. How else can we possibly live together and get along with one another?

Barack Obama’s “solution” to what he perceives as the “problem” of Jeremiah Wright reminds me of Bill Clinton’s “solution” to what he perceived as the “problem” of being liberal. Act like a politician and pacify, instead of sticking to your guns. In other words, wimp out in order to be “electable.” I am so weary of gutless Democrats. Courage is just thrown out the window. Play to that terribly bland middle America “center.” Opt for McPolitics rather than substance. Although the political right would never believe it, Bill Clinton actually pissed off many on the left. Just look at any old copy of The Nation that was printed while he was president, if you don’t believe me. I wish Barack Obama would stop allowing the mass media and a bunch of idiotic pundits to push him around.

To be extremely blunt, here is my take on the whole Jeremiah Wright issue. This is the message that the mass media is sending to all of us: “White America will not tolerate no uppity niggers.” That’s the way it’s always been and they want to keep it that way. They are afraid of African-Americans who speak their mind. It’s a shame that Barack Obama is taking the side of white America in this situation. My question is “What the hell are they thinking?” Do they want to rekindle the race riots of the sixties? A race that has been repressed for more than three hundred years has one voice speak it’s mind and what is the reaction? More repression. How stupid is this? Never mind how unethical and immoral it is. Just what is an African-American supposed to make of all of this? Some things you say are OK, but cross a certain line and we’ll put you in your place. You can’t say that about white folks, remember what we did to Jeremiah Wright.

Doesn’t Jeremiah Wright have the same rights as Rush Limbaugh? The right to be an asshole, to be pissed off, to endorse a presidential candidate, and to call Chelsea Clinton a dog? To my knowledge Jeremiah Wright has never called Chelsea Clinton a dog, but good ol’ Rush has. I also don’t think Jeremiah Wright is an asshole, but it seems clear that many Americans think he is. Whether he is or not, the point is that he has a right to be one. By the way, this is a point that seems lost on those who hate the ACLU. Or are the rights of a white man different from those of a black man? Black people once were slaves, were considered property, couldn’t own property, and couldn’t vote. White men were never slaves, once owned slaves as property, could always own property, and could always vote. Who has more of a right to be pissed off, Jeremiah Wright, or Rush Limbaugh? Yet the one everybody wants to shut up is Jeremiah Wright ( I could have thrown a brick at Matt Lauer this morning, but then all I’d have is a broken TV ), and Rush Limbaugh gets to go merrily on his way, bloviating his hate speech with nary a peep from the mass media about his connection to George W. Bush. This all seems extremely racist to me.

All this outrage over Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. Where is the outrage over John McCain and John Hagee? Over John McCain and Rod Parsley? The answer is as simple as black and white. Barack Obama has diligently tried to make his candidacy be race neutral. The right-wing smear machine is having none of that. I guess to them Barack Obama is just one more uppity nigger.