Here's the entire sermon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw

It is not a call for "black power". He actually preaches against violence and "paybacks".

Please spread these videos to counteract the distorted views of the media.

Some more:

http://uk.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=TRINITYCHGO&p=r

I don't think it's distorted at all... It actually proves something that would have taken another 10-20 years otherwise.

Racism is ugly, no matter what color your skin is.

No one else could have proved that as eloquently.

Now we all truly are 'Equal'

geez. I will probably get flamed. But can we leave this at the door here.

I go to dailykos if I wanna talk about this type of stuff. Must politics invade every part of life, every part of the interweb?

I know it's important. It IS important. But sometimes one just wants to turn the brain off for a minute, and keep it nice and friendly.

Just my 2 cents.

Not clicking that!

You're gonna RickRoll me again

@Bendz - It's not a Rick Roll.

Thanks for posting this.

Pastor Wright is a racist pig. Next!

Now stop that Y'all.

The news people never distort things. That's just part of the vast left wing conspiracy.

twirling a cigar

It prooves we live in a sound byte society. It doesnt matter what you say. Perception is reality.

The only thing distorted about that speech was that they didn't play it enough, am I the only one that saw the part where he says the Government created the Aids virus as a way of "racial genocide against people of color" or the part where he refers to all white people as being "part of the KKK" maybe me and Hillary can get together some time and burn some crosses -_-

Never heard or read the speech...just knowing the church gave Louis Farrakhan their man of the year award spoke volumes.

AIDS created by the government: a lot of people believe that, actually, especially among the black community. I honestly would not be surprised.

When did he say all White people were part of the KKK?

I thought the HIV virus was created and propagated by Jewish bankers?

Dang, I'm gonna have to consult the "Conspiracy Theory Guidebook for Bugf&%k Prozac Deprived and Batsh*% Insane Whacknuts on Crack - 5th Edition" to refresh my memory.

@ Unsuspecting... you just don't get it ... Asking a Mod to close and delete this thread ... the BEST thing we could do right now, is never talk about this again.

I don't think this thread needs to be closed at all. Why should it be closed because not everyone here is in agreement? Notebook doesn't get it (in your opinion), so the thread should be closed? I think this is a good opportunity to talk about something more important than ads and color schemes (for those that are of the mind to come in and be part of it).

Were the preacher's words racially charged? And if they were, why does it matter? Should every candidate disavow every "spiritual" individual based on hate speech? There's a lot of that going around in a lot of churches and just now someone wants to cry about it? Our current president happily stands hand in hand with a man that has declared AIDS is god's punishment for homosexuality- as were the September 11 attacks and the Katrina disaster. As a matter of fact, his own mother said the poverty stricken victims of Katrina were "better off" because of the hurricane displacing them. Where's the uproar about that?

Also, what was the context of Wright's hate speech (if it was indeed hate)? Where's the transcript? Has anyone read it thoroughly? Or, better yet, has anyone got first hand knowledge?

All this talk of Wright and Obama's affiliation with his church is a distraction. I do get that.

First of all, I did not say that Pastor Wright's words were not racist. I said that they were distorted. I can definitely understand how what he said may be offensive to others, but when seen in the context, and not just snippets on the news, he says a whole lot more.

In those two sermons, he actively preaches against violence and retaliation. He is a holy man and therefore is morally-bound by those rules. He isn't shouting "BLACK POWER" or "kill white people" or whatever, despite holding some views which mainstream society may consider controversial.

It's a fact that America is dominated by rich, white males. Is that racist? No, it's common sense.

Senator Obama explained a lot of these issues in his thirty seven minute speech a few days ago. An entire generation of not just poor blacks, but asians, hispanics, and native americans, have grown up poor, struggling, and constantly under the hand of a white majority. It is only natural that they gain some resentment as they grow up. These beliefs are definitely racist, but they are not without reason. Some of this resentment has grown so much that many believe the government created AIDS. There isn't enough evidence for or against this because AIDS can have a very long incubation period and has spread from many places, so I choose not to believe the idea, but to consider it along with the others.

Buddhist doctrine and even some parts of the Bible not only condone skepticism, but encourage it. I choose not to listen to the news as my sole source of information. Why should I let myself be influenced by a third party when I can go straight to the source (Pastor Wright) and hear it for myself, in context? And no, don't tell me the context doesn't matter, because that's bullshit. If you take anything out of context, it can be twisted to whatever means you want. You could even take my words and claim that I hate white people because i said "kill white people" above.

When I watch those sermons, I see the hate and resentment that Senator Obama explained, and as an Asian American, I can certainly relate. I also see a black man who has ascended past his trappings and become a great speaker and religious man, one who preaches from the Bible against everything the media has portrayed him to be for. He doesn't damn America, but the bad things which America has done. This is as clear as day once you put things in their proper context. Maybe instead of considering a few seconds of a sermon, you should consider the entirety of it. Or maybe, instead of considering those few seconds, you should look at thirty seven minutes.

Things are not black and white. They are often shades of grey.

edit: fixed some annoying typos

I'm not sure why guild by association should matter. We all have friends with crazy ideas. I don't agree, but I don't distance myself from them.

Moreover, I'm sure everyone in politics has donors and people they know with crazy ideas. Hell, I'm sure we all have crazy ideas, just that most mainstream politicians don't make them public.

Am I wrong in thinking that he's saying that we brought 9/11 on ourselves? I watched the whole thing even though it was really difficult to listen to this guy. I just really hate people who have to scream to get a point across. And I swear I heard something almost to that effect. If I'm wrong then show me but the entire first video seemed to say that. Interesting how different people can watch the same thing and get a different idea of what the context of a speech was.

Damn America because they had slaves? No, damn the old America not the current America. I'm sorry that people hate me because white people owned slaves. But that's not my problem. I don't own any slaves and my ancestors didn't even come over until AFTER the civil war was over. And my people were hated and despised when they came over at that. I am absolutely certain that he dislikes white people and is probably a huge ass racist. But I don't think he's actually talking about that at all. But honestly, hating a group of people in general is just totally moronic. Case in point, I was actually robbed at gunpoint by a black guy. Do I hate all black people, the entire race, because one of them hurt me? Obviously not. That would be stupid. There is no reason to be a racist.

This guy is totally ranting about America not about white people, this time anyway.

Did you not also hear his points that America has put down other minorities for centuries, and it was bound to one day come back to haunt us? We've supported terrorists abroad, subverted governments we didn't agree with, and yes, we have committed genocide. 9/11 was a terrible thing but he had a good point in saying that the genocide of Native Americans was many, many times worse. We've also taken sides in the Palestine/Israel conflict, which is bound to create some resentment. These aren't anti-American thoughts, they're just accepting a real fact, that is, that we have done terrible things and haven't fixed them.

Direct quote from http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw, at 6:20: "God damn America, that's in the bible for killing innocent people. God damn America, for treating its citizens as less than humans. Goddamn America, as long as she tries to act like she is god and she is supreme. The united states government has failed the vast majority of its citizens of African descent."

He is talking about current events. He's not condemning our past actions, but the way we continue to act. Even though slavery ended centuries ago, it still affects us today.

So he was saying that we brought 9/11 on ourselves then. Innocent people are dead but since the government of America killed people in the past then it's just a sort of payback? This whole video is actually worse then any clip then anybody could show. I just thought he was a racist but wow. Jerry Falwell said the same thing but it was for a different reason. Maybe it's just a crazy preacher thing. To be punished for the sins of your father. What a terrible world that be.

It sucks to not to be in charge. I should know, women have been the downtrodden for most of existence. We've always been property. Obama is going to win but there will never be a woman president of America. So there you go. I'm going to find a guy and kick him in the groin and tell him be brought it on himself for being a man for every woman that was ever beaten, or raped, or sold into slavery to a man. But I guess I have an excuse living in a male controlled world to feel this way, right? Sure it may be gender bias but it's common sense, right? So damn males for all they've done to females? I mean it sure as hell effects us that in some countries we're killed because we're born girls.

Did he say 9/11 was okay? No.

Is it honestly that hard of an idea that cause makes effect? We have hurt other people, and so other people have hurt us. It's not the right thing, but it does happen, and innocent people get caught in the crossfire all the time. It is a payback. That doesn't mean it's right. Pastor Wright is relaying a basic form of logic. Do you think that if someone came onto your land, killed your family, raped you, and killed your kids that you would just stand there and take it? Of course not. A lot of people feel that we have done them wrong- and we have- and their reaction is to defend themselves.

Everything we do is because of history. Why do we have a Democracy instead of a Monarchy? Why do we have integrated schools and not segregated ones? Because we realized these systems didn't work, and hurt others. We learn the lessons of the past and apply them to now. However, not everyone has had a progressive society. Many are caught in the third world and we have contributed to a lot of it.

Have you considered that maybe the reason Clinton isn't winning is because Obama simply appeals to more people? Do you not think that I'd like to see an Asian American as the president? Of course I would! But the very fact that both have already made it this far is proof that we are ready (or almost ready) for a Black or Woman president.

Yes, we're the only country on earth that's ever committed atrocities and suppressed minorities and kicked puppies and all that. Every other nation are pure oceans of paradise in comparison.

I should go move to Burma to get away from all this oppression here.

(I personally enjoy a good debate. I'm watching this thread with interest. I won't close it unless personal attacks come into play. So far, unless my skimming has missed something, it's being handled very maturely.)

@Habitation of Justice: I did not say other countries weren't guilty of committing atrocities. Of course they are.

The problem I have is the moral equivalence, and the refusal or unwillingness to concede the immense amount of good this country has done. We're not perfect, but to suggest we had it coming with 9/11 because we bombed Hiroshima belies an astounding ignorance of world history, and to spew such invective only a mere few days after the attacks happened with callous indifference to the people who died? Good grief.

In the end this unhinged lunacy always seems to be driven by the same old suspects: the mentality that racism only happens to black people, and that the Jews are to blame for every evil that exists in the world.

@Saphrym: Thanks.

@Notebook: I see your point and agree with both you and Kristen. There's a whole lot of good happening and to blame one segment of society continuously for the ills of all society is short-sighted.

@Linc:

but to suggest we had it coming with 9/11 because we bombed Hiroshima belies an astounding ignorance of world history, and to spew such invective only a mere few days after the attacks happened with callous indifference to the people who died? Good grief.

This has been going on from all kinds of religious leaders since the day it happened. The lunatics on the right blame God's vengeance on America for supporting gay rights and legalizing abortion. Others blame our involvement in matters that don't concern us- such as trying to dictate domestic policy for other sovereign nations. Are any of them right? No. But if you're going to point out these kind of irresponsible declarations on one side, you should do it every time.

Also, it doesn't matter to me as an American how other governments behave toward their citizenry (in the vein to which you're referring). What matters to me as an American is the quality of life my countrymen and I have and what our government is doing to maintain that. That includes economic health and ALL of my freedoms (not some Orwellian-Rovian version). There's a saying that goes: Don't try to save the drowning when your own boat is full of holes. That's how I feel. I want our country to really be the best, not just spout off meaninglessly. And after my country is perfect I'll give a monkey's butt what happens over there.

P.S. I mean no disrespect toward any non-American readers. However, this thread directly relates to American politics and things that are directly affecting my life here.

Edited to ask:

that the Jews are to blame for every evil that exists in the world.

Where did you read that with regard to the subject of this thread? I'd be interested in a link. Thanks.

I find it interesting that it is now acceptable to say "A Country" is responsible for this or that - " America is such and such," or "China is doing this or that."

Human Beings administrate governments, vote, pay taxes, write laws.

Human Beings have been "civilized" for, at most, 7 or 8 thousand years - the printing press was invented a mere 500 years ago. We're still working out our kinks.

For what it is worth, I have been around the world a couple of times on Uncle Sam's dime and lived in some interesting places. The American people and the American system of legal equality are held in high regard in 90% of world.

America is not the dream of so many because we are right - so many strive to get here because our system of government allows human beings to keep trying to get better, to get it right.

I think it is widely unknown to many Americans the above, that we take for granted, is the exception rather than the rule in 70% of the world.

I encourage everyone to study world & US history and become more familiar with our system of government and how it works - passion is admirable, but useless without knowledge.

If your only knowledge of the world or the US is gleaned from the media you are doing yourself a great disservice. The media has advertising to sell.

Try the library - free books with no strings attached.

@Jinx: Who says they haven't been pointed out? When Falwell made his statements he was decried by the media and conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh. Yet we never heard about Wright's statements until now even though they were made around the same time, yet instead of equally rejecting his invective, liberals are making excuses for him.

As for antisemitism, that sentiment is implicit in Wright and his church's actions and words. Given the history of the black community's animosity towards the Jews, given the fact that Jew basher Farrakhan was given the man of the year award there, as well as the concern over the Palestinians, which I suspect is not borne out of humanitarian reasons, but because of their hatred of Israel. You don't have to dig far to see that there is an undercurrent of antisemitism that colors their thinking and politics, and depending of the level of extremism, many of them would not hesitate to blame the Jews for most of the evils in the world.