Many seem to want to continue to make Rev. Jeremiah Wright into a demon that will drag Sen. Barack Obama down into the muck. I, as I did this morning, still wonder why.
I am usually a fan of Dana Milbank, but I wonder if we saw the same appearance from the way he describes it in the Washington Post:
Speaking before an audience that included Marion Barry, Cornel West, Malik Zulu Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam official Jamil Muhammad, Wright praised Louis Farrakhan, defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, repeated his view that the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, stood by other past remarks ("God damn America") and held himself out as a spokesman for the black church in America.
That is one heck of a picture. If you weren't paying attention you might think that Rev. Jeremiah Wright is an rabidly anti-semitic Nation of Islam sympathizer that has generated more conspiracy theories than Ross Perot and Oliver Stone combined from that one paragraph.
Now, I do not mean to pick on Dana Milbank. I selected his interpretation precisely because he is not a right wing nut job like so many who are fond of continuing to promote this hypocrisy. This is how the mainstream media is portraying Rev. Wright.
Let's take the 'Zionism is racism' and 'praised Louis Farrakhan' statements in particular. The following excerpt from the transcript contains all of the reference to both Zionism and Louis Farrakhan in their non-soundbited, full context glory.
MODERATOR: What is your relationship with Louis Farrakhan? Do you agree with and respect his views, including his most racially divisive views?
REVEREND WRIGHT: As I said on the Bill Moyers' show, one of our news channels keeps playing a news clip from 20 years ago when Louis said 20 years ago that Zionism, not Judaism, was a gutter religion.
And he was talking about the same thing United Nations resolutions say, the same thing now that President Carter is being vilified for, and Bishop Tutu is being vilified for. And everybody wants to paint me as if I'm anti-Semitic because of what Louis Farrakhan said 20 years ago.
I believe that people of all faiths have to work together in this country if we're going to build a future for our children, whether those people are -- just as Michelle and Barack don't agree on everything, Raymond (ph) and I don't agree on everything, Louis and I don't agree on everything, most of you all don't agree -- you get two people in the same room, you've got three opinions.
So what I think about him, as I've said on Bill Moyers and it got edited out, how many other African-Americans or European-Americans do you know that can get one million people together on the mall? He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century. That's what I think about him.
I've said, as I said on Bill Moyers, when Louis Farrakhan speaks, it's like E.F. Hutton speaks, all black America listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen.
Now, I am not going to put down Louis Farrakhan anymore than Mandela would put down Fidel Castro. Do you remember that Ted Koppel show, where Ted wanted Mandela to put down Castro because Castro was our enemy? And he said, "You don't tell me who my enemies are. You don't tell me who my friends are."
Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains. He did not put me in slavery. And he didn't make me this color.
Where, exactly, in all of that, is he defending the idea that Zionism is racism? Is it because he will not renounce, reject or repudiate Louis Farrakhan? Is that also why he is characterized as 'praising' Louis Farrakhan? Simply because, on principle, he refuses to repudiate him? Because he is acknowledging the effect that Farrakhan has on the black community, whether they respect what he is saying or not?
This is almost becoming a McCarthy-like witch hunt except the Dems are in with the bad guys too.
Let's go to the AIDS question:
MODERATOR: In your sermon, you said the government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. So I ask you: Do you honestly believe your statement and those words?
REVEREND WRIGHT: Have you read Horowitz's book, "Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola," whoever wrote that question? Have you read "Medical Apartheid"? You've read it?
(UNKNOWN): Do you honestly believe that (OFF-MIKE)
REVEREND WRIGHT: Oh, are you -- is that one of the reporters?
MODERATOR: No questions...
(CROSSTALK)
REVEREND WRIGHT: No questions from the floor. I read different things. As I said to my members, if you haven't read things, then you can't -- based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything.
In fact, in fact, in fact, one of the -- one of the responses to what Saddam Hussein had in terms of biological warfare was a non- question, because all we had to do was check the sales records. We sold him those biological weapons that he was using against his own people.
So any time a government can put together biological warfare to kill people, and then get angry when those people use what we sold them, yes, I believe we are capable.
I will at this time point out an absolutely fabulous post by Peterr at Firedoglake.com. The reason it is so relevant to this part is the Rev. Wright's response of "Have you read...?" Read Peterr's post and you will understand that one of the fundamental reasons all of this continues unabated is because the media is being lazy and simply reading and listening to soundbites. Here is part of Peterr's post:
Some critics have said that your sermons are unpatriotic. How do you feel about America and about being an American?
Again, "diplomatic" is not the word I would use to describe Wright's answer:
I feel that those citizens who say that have never heard my sermons, nor do they know me. They are unfair accusations taken from sound bites and that which is looped over and over again on certain channels. I served six years in the military -- does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?
When Wright finished that answer, he stepped away from the microphone, shrugged to the audience, and saluted. Once more, not diplomatic, but a direct slam at those members of the media who can't be bothered to do their own research and would rather simply pass along rightwing talking points.
I apologize for the length of the post but I was taken aback, yet again, by the unbridled vehemence with which a minister who served a congregation for over three decades is being attacked. Has he gone a little far in his comments at times? Probably. Is it really as serious as it is being made out to be? I don't think so. Take the advice of Peterr, read and/or listen to Rev. Wright's full sermons, not just the sound bites. I am not saying you will agree with what the man says but I am virtually certain you will have a different impression of his remarks when they are put into context.
Full transcript of today's press conference is available here.
The full video is available at C-Span.
Finally, here is some video of today for your edification. To me it shows an angry but reasonable man who feels his entire religious way of life is being attacked. I'd be pissed too.
Comments are very welcome,
Pat McGovern Sphere: Related Content
