WTF is wrong with Rev. Wright?

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by DaShi
Who cares about this anymore? People are talking about the gas tax now.

This is a much bigger deal than the stupid gas tax holiday. This is history. This shows the aspect of race in America that so many people want to deny. Well all this is public record now. And this isn't just the actions of a few people like people like to think. This is almost the entire news media, and most of America showing it's true colors here.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And the utterly bizarre belief that the only reason people are going after Wright is because he's black... and not for the fact that he accused the US government of releasing the AIDS virus as a form of genocide against black people.

You're being very subjective here Imran. There's no real objective reason for you to make your claim here.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker

Reverend Wright actually helps people with HIV. Plenty of people have one or two odd beliefs, but not all of them are loud and black, eh?

We rail on the white ones too, Aggie. Remember what happened to Ted?

The point is that the public as a whole has made a big deal out of this. Anyway, I certainly don't approve of how Ted was treated on this website. I think the stupidity in that is somewhat similar.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Agathon
Hell, the "chickens coming home to roost" thing was said by a white guy, an ambassador no less.

Of course, the person he quoted never actually said that.

So much for your expertise in US politics and media?

[Imran Siddiqui]

They are going after him because he's black, so your point is moot.

Cause no one ever went after Falwell and Robertson for saying 9/11 was done by God... oh wait.. they did!!

Nevermind, you have no point... as usual.

[Darius871]

Could anyone familiar with the "theory" answer my question? I'm genuinely curious.

Originally posted by Darius871
There's one thing I don't get about this AIDS theory - doesn't it suppose that African-Americans are genetically more susceptible to the disease than other races? If not, how could it "target" anyone? Last I heard it was an equal-opportunity killer, but there may be studies out there that I'm not privy to.

[Elok]

Originally posted by Darius871
Could anyone familiar with the "theory" answer my question? I'm genuinely curious.

I'm not familiar with the "theory" and so can't back this up, but IIRC a small percentage of the population is immune to HIV. The ports in their T-cell membranes are slightly deformed and so the virus can't bond with them to infect them. The mutation is somewhat more common in whites than other races (again, IIRC). Now, even if I'm remembering this right, it's not a significant difference between races and The White Devil Man would have to be pretty indifferent towards his own race to try this.

Alternately, perhaps Rev. Wright is suggesting most blacks are ignorant of safe sex methods and most whites are in the know. Beats me.

[DaShi]

A small percent of the population is immune to a certain strain of HIV.

[Jon Miller]

I thought it was that a small percentage of the population was resistant to HIV.

JM

[DaShi]

Resistant/immune, unless you want to argue semantics. The point is that it's only a certain strain. It's a common one, but not the only one.

[asleepathewheel]

The "theory" of the us inventing HIV predates the discovery of any resistance/immunity, doesn't it?

[Kuciwalker]

Probably. IIRC the immunity wasn't discovered until the late 1990s.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Agathon


They are going after him because he's black, so your point is moot. Jon Stewart had an excellent piece of editorial about this the other night. As I said, they are going after him because he told the truth about other things, not because of things he was wrong about.

Hell, the "chickens coming home to roost" thing was said by a white guy, an ambassador no less.

Obama is pathetic. He wants to be the President so bad, he's willing to sell out his own friends. I guess that makes him no worse than the other candidates, but its a sign of how pathetic your country has become.

I am all for honest, productive dialogue in America dealing with race relations issues and I have taught a U.S. history course at a community college this semester covering Civil War and Reconstruction and how that history and some of today's ignorance of that history has led to lack of productive dialogue on race relations today. I also support Obama (NOT because he's half white).

So, your over-generalization and oversimplification on the various reactions toward Wright are misguided and unfair. I think Wright is a nutjob not because he's black, but because of his extremist, distorted views, such as on how AIDS crisis happened the way it did. Extremists who have distorted views are nutjobs -- whether they're conservative or liberal, gay or straight, male or female, white or black.

To shout that someone is a racist because they express a negative reaction toward a black person's views or opinions without first listening is just plain FOOLISH.

[Kidlicious]

When all the candidates and media are liars and most of the people just blindly pretend that they are telling the truth, when the issue is a stupid gas tax holiday when the country is going to ****, america is crazy not Reverend Wright. He's quite sane in comparison.

[Elok]

Originally posted by Kidicious
When all the candidates and media are liars and most of the people just blindly pretend that they are telling the truth, when the issue is a stupid gas tax holiday when the country is going to ****, america is crazy not Reverend Wright. He's quite sane in comparison.

No, mass behavior is rarely as rational as individual behavior, and the gas tax thing makes sense from a political-pandering point of view. Bungled identity politics from the pulpit, now, there's no sane purpose to such behavior. Well, he could build up a private army of faithful loons, but if he were aiming for that he'd do better to keep it on the down-low. Claiming to represent all the black churches with this craziness is going to hurt too.

EDIT: Glaring typo fixed.