I am very sad about what’s in “the news.” I almost feel guilty writing about Senator Barack Obama’s current dilemma with his former pastor the Reverend Wright—they’ve been tortured enough. Anyway, here it is: The behavior of channels like Fox News has been akin to that of the Ku Klux Klan. Maybe no one is wearing hoods, but I know some will agree that what is going on is a public lynching.
We are holding Senator Obama hostage to a relationship he has with a “radical” preacher. A preacher baptized in the Civil Rights movement, whose “radical” ideology is just what the doctor ordered in a land where people continue to be condemned due to skin containing more melanin. Reverend Wright is a preacher whose memories of being treated as a second-class citizen are unfortunately not just memories—he too is right back where he started, defending himself against Whites for speaking too loudly. We listen to the rants and raves of White Americans repeatedly without a blink, and when a Black man shouts dissention, the media acts like a plantation owner who just discovered his wife has been sneaking around with one of the help.
Barack Obama stands behind a podium daily speaking about hope, knowing full well that some will not listen to him because of his skin color. For twenty years, he went to a church where he could feel comfortable. Outside the church walls, he no doubt experienced thousands of moments where he had to question the looks he received from White people. I imagine the foray into public service, putting his ideas—and quite literally—his skin, on display, was often a nerve-racking experience. I have heard not a few people say, “I really like Barack Obama, but I’m scared that if he gets elected, some idiot will shoot him…” What a fucking tragedy to have to hear that in “the land of the free.” That said, it is simultaneously a thrill that we have come this far, witnessing a woman and an African American gaining the long-deserved endorsement of so many.
Perhaps the media could acknowledge that yes, history is being made, and then get on with “real” business. Yes, you have dark skin. You have a vagina. Great. Now, what will you do about the economy, and what do you think of not just Iraq, but also China? Cuba? Saudi Arabia? California’s collapsing education budget? I have been sickened by the media’s game of appealing to our lowest selves.
Senator Obama has had to defend himself repeatedly, when White politicians have associated with, or have been endorsed by spiritual advisors who are just as controversial. I heard Reverend Wright speak with Bill Moyers, and his message—taken in context—is much different. What media outlets are doing with sound bytes is not just inciting spirited debate and selling more airtime, they are ruining peoples’ lives. They are crushing the hopeful ideas about which Obama and Clinton would rather be speaking. These TV stations that call themselves news outlets, are lying to us. We need to listen to voices in their entire context. Furthermore, we need to hear the anger of people like Reverend Wright. White people have ignored their privilege for too long, thinking all is well just because people like Oprah and Colin Powell exist. “He speaks so well!”…. God help us… You may think I’m off base for comparing Fox News to the KKK, but we need to admit that not just White privilege exists, but White supremacy, anti-Semitic, anti-Gay, anti-Muslim, and anti-Immigrant sentiments are alive and well in the USA.
Imagine waking up, and finding yourself a member of a minority group. You realize that just being “different” makes you some kind of threat. You want a good job, want to feed your family, worship a god of your understanding, and go to the movies occasionally. However, when you go outside your house, you feel a strange tension in the air because you don’t look like most people in the neighborhood. Fox News may not be sending their reporters out to hang people from trees, but they are exploiting this tension that many Americans experience as threatening. They are selling a product that elevates fear.
As far as what Wright says about “America,” at least give him a fair trial and put his whole speech on the air—and not just PBS. We need the opportunity to think for ourselves about what’s true and what’s rhetoric. Preachers are inclined to use drama to fill the pews. In no way do I doubt the Reverend’s faith, but his position does have an element of showmanship. We should be focusing more on how many poor families his congregation helped.
Reverend Wright is a person who dedicated his life to helping others. His name must be cleared. Give the guy a break. After all, I’ve heard plenty of White people talk conspiracy theory about AIDS, 9-11, etc. You name the social ill, and someone claims the government is responsible. At least Wright can claim to have lived during a period when our government made him drink out of different water fountains. Try that on White America, and see if you too don’t grow up with a little paranoia! To me, this is a man who is brave enough to speak his mind, and the Fox News editing room turned him into a clown.
After removing the noose from Reverend Wright, we must do the same for Senator Obama, allowing him a spiritual life outside the realm of his role as a politician. Of course, his relationship with Wright had an impact on his life, but to allow the media to judge him solely via this relationship is ridiculous. In my own experience, there were certain priests that said some stupid things on Sunday, and I returned the following week to see what someone else had to say, or perhaps I discovered that last week’s priest had found improved inspiration. I imagine the association Obama identifies with the most, is the connection he had to the other members of the church, and the work they did together to help their community. I invite news outlets to focus more on what we are doing to heal our communities from the wounds behind Reverend Writght’s anger.
