Social Sense
I once had a student tell me in all seriousness, "I didn't do my homework last night because my ancestors were slaves."
What kind of nonsense is that? Surely anyone can see through it. But the student couldn't. He was drowning in the victimhood mindset.
Although the above excuse is farcical, I've known some others who have the same kind of attitude--never mind that their parents had worked to provide what most of us would call a very luxurious home for their two children to grow up in: a state-of-the-art computer in every room, spacious house, jacuzzi in every bathroom, five bathrooms to go with the five bedrooms, etc.
Now, I know for a fact that the two examples I cited above did not get their vicimology mindset from their parents. So, where DID they come up with those ideas? At school? In church?
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In my opionion, Obama's responses about Jeremiah Wright are serving to divide America along racial lines. If he loses the nomination, one group will be outraged and blame whitey; if he wins the nomination, whitey will feel marginalized. Yes, I'm speaking in generalities, but I believe that such will be the reaction as a whole (or in two parts 
).
Will America move forward or wallow in this mess of the past week? I don't know. But I agree with you, Mustang, that the only way to move forward is by throwing away the race card. The trouble is that the media are reveling in telling the story--in some fashion or another.
Speaking only for myself now...I'm sick and tired of being blamed for something I did not do!
AOW..what you (and mustang) said.
I keep hearing "We should open a dialog on race" How does one exactly do that?
"Openi a DIALOG?"
All we've had is a MONOLOGUE of "it's White America's fault. End of story."
reminds me of the Left "We need UNITY!" When anyone with a brain knows UNITY for the libs is defined by "conservatives must agree with US!".
Okay. Let's have a DIALOG. You start.
Oh, and AOW? Assign Clarence Thomas' autobiography for those kids who had slavery in their family..it might help?!
As always, Mustang, you have done a fantastic job of presenting difficult topic, and putting it in the proper perspective.
The point for all to realize here is, the answer is not in the past. It is in the present and the future. And the sooner we (as a unified melting pot of a nation) can put the horrible things we have endured behind us, the sooner we can heal and truly come together as Americans.
Again, let me say how well you have done here. And as a reward for your hard work, I have taken steps to forgive the massive amount of co-pays you have beaten me out of, over the past year or so. 
Z,
Oh, and AOW? Assign Clarence Thomas' autobiography for those kids who had slavery in their family..
I haven't read it--yet. But one of my homeschoolers gave me the book as a gift.
Excellent write up. But you do realize that you are singing to the choir. I have written such articles and published them. It amazes me to date just how liberal people are and how stupid all in one.
I agree with what you have written and have said so in my own pieces similiar remarks, but as I said, change must come from with the person. The rest is just fluff.
I also have the Clarance Thomas book, it's the Right Truth book for the moment, not sure how many folks are actually reading it.
I never thought about race growing up. to me everyone was just a person. Silly me, it seems a portion of the Black community has continued to harbor hateful feelings.
I thought Jesus taught us to forgive people. Besides, it was our ancestors who harmed their ancestors. How about building a bridge and getting over it.
All races have equal opportunities these days. Take advantage and do something positive with your life -- I'm talking to folks like Jeremiah Wright.
Rosemary said:
The 'typical black man', in my experiences, is a hard-working, Church-going, God-fearing, fun-loving, family-centered, gracious man. Those are the men I have known. I could not, nor would I, try to define the behavior and thoughts of a whole race. Neither should anyone else try to define anyone by their race. Here in my side of reality, we call that prejudiced.
http://rosemarysthoughts.blogspo...-black-
man.html
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://www.blogrolling.com/ping.phtml
I think that is correct.
Oops, what was that. sorry for those links. I have no idea.
mustang - excellent vernalysis (verdict + analysis).
anytime - and i mean ANYTIME enabling is involved, a person will remain mired in their victim mentality.
there has been only one "class" of people who've risen to the occasion and gone on to do great things despite all that's been done to them throughout history and that would be the jew.
most people stay down for the simple reason it's easy.
One televised news media informs us that Trinity UCC, until recently led by Jeremiah Wright, embraced “black theology.” Mainstream society doesn’t really know what that means. According to its architect, Rev. James H. Cone, “The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes God's experience, or God is a God of racism...The blackness of God means that God has made the oppressed condition God's own condition. This is the essence of the Biblical revelation. By electing Israelite slaves as the people of God and by becoming the Oppressed One in Jesus Christ, the human race is made to understand that God is known where human beings experience humiliation and suffering...Liberation is not an afterthought, but the very essence of divine activity.”
And how does black theology address relations with non-black citizens? He says, “All white men are responsible for white oppression. It is much too easy to say, "Racism is not my fault," or "I am not responsible for the country's inhumanity to the black man...But insofar as white do-gooders tolerate and sponsor racism in their educational institutions, their political, economic and social structures, their churches, and in every other aspect of American life, they are directly responsible for racism...Racism is possible because whites are indifferent to suffering and patient with cruelty. Karl Jaspers' description of metaphysical guilt is pertinent here. 'There exists among men, because they are men, a solidarity through which each shares responsibility for every injustice and every wrong committed in the world, and especially for crimes that are committed in his presence or of which he cannot be ignorant.'”
Ordinarily, I would suppose that God would also favor oppressed individuals, no matter what their color of skin—but according to Cone, I would be wrong. Amazingly simplistic, but there you have it.
So then, if Obama has identified himself with black theology, he supports Cone’s mindset whether actively or passively; either way, that would make Obama at least a black separatist, or at worst a racist.
Debbie reminds us of an important truth; while racism continues to exist within too many forums, it is no longer a norm within our society. She reminds us that most people are good, descent individuals, true in most cases in spite of their personal biases.
Racism isn’t confined to race, nor should we assume that non-traditional churches are bastions of hatred. Like “good art,” we know racism when we see it. Unlike good art, we must reject racism as a poison in the well of democratic ideology. In rejecting the race card, we must not reject people of other races.
Semper Fi
Thanks, LA:
The point for all to realize here is, the answer is not in the past. It is in the present and the future.
I agree that we cannot continue living in the past. Sadly, however, Rev. Cone’s ideology (above) confronts us in the present. I have no doubt that he actually believes this, as do those who associate with black theology churches.
Cone bases his reality on perceptions that relate to the sum of his personal experiences. We all realize that if you speak a lie often enough, it becomes one’s own truth. We cannot expect that men like Cone and Wright will ever dispose of the race card; it is who they have become. And they will do everything they can to perpetuate this mindless diatribe simply because they have convinced themselves that black racism is acceptable, and white racism is not.
The question is not whether elements of society pursue radical ideologies; it is rather whether a public official who pursues black separatist theology belongs in the White House. Only the voters can tell us the answer to this.
Nanc — you are correct. When people actually become what they think they are (victims), they become easy prey to those who would continue to enslave them; not in chains, but in black separatist ideology or in government dependency. Those who perpetuate the victim mentality are the beneficiaries; they gain the political power (Obama) and vast wealth (Jackson/Sharpton).
This is almost an ideal situation for racists of every variety, because once you convince someone that they are victims, they embrace the idea as they would a precious metal. Our social challenges are many, my friend. I suspect that none of what we are seeing today will change in a meaningful way until all of us reject separatism, and embrace our base culture as one to be valued over every other. Having said that, don’t you think it is telling to note that none of these black separatists is much interested in returning to Africa, where they can fully embrace Afro-centrism?
Semper Fi
You all know what I'm going to say, BUT IT IS STILL TRUE!!!!
We need to stop talking about race and start talking about culture. Many black people have thrived in America. Racism is not what is holding back unsuccessful black Americans, it is cultural pre-supositions such as the victimization ones Mr. Wright preaches.
By focusing on culture, "the black community" could copy patterns from the North Eastern Asian culture. When we see who gets ahead and who doesn't we realize that America is not racist, it is culturist; all meritocracies are.
For a culture to improve it has to be willing to critically look at itself. Mr. Wright and Obama, framing all such discussions as racist and shutting them down does not help. Racism is stupid, but culturism is necessary.
mustang - i worked in the welfare system for a number of years and can tell you in the area i worked, the "white" trash far outnumbered any other "class" of people. some people just play on it a little better than others. of course, at the time there was a great influx of hmongs and laotians coming in and the stats began to change.
teach a man to fish...
John, I think most people here are arguing against racism as a significant bar to cultural incorporation. Having said that, I suspect that you know better than most that James Cone and others are not going to abandon aspects of what (they say) they believe in order to form a more perfect union. Until you can convince such individuals of the error of their ways (good luck), the race baiting continues. All Americans must reject racial hatred; unless I’m missing something here, that message must become clear and prevalent before we can anticipate a general rejection of multiculturalist ideology, which includes black (victim) theology.
http://thumbsnap.com/v/7X0C1OkH.jpg
Mustang, I actually don't know who James Cone is. But I take it he's a leftist race baitor.
Do you think that the victimization rap will be taken less seriously if Obama gets elected? Will the lack of respect and opportunity claim lose any salience with the masses?
For me, this election has already proven the claim that America is racist false.
This message needs to be shouted from the rooftops..but whitey is too scared and instead allows rap to infiltrate and words like n*gger and ho..which only blacks are allowed to utter..........the cowardice is a disgrace!..great read my friend and blessed holiday to u!
Wrong perspective
This church is a cult. A cult needs the other to survive. The cartoonish version of America feeds the need for the other
Angel, you are right. But we need to make it clear that disapproving and not giving rap public airwaves time has nothing to do with race. It has to do with culture. Until that is clear, people like Obama will smear us as racists and all the politicians will cower.
www.culturism.us
a short commentary on this subject.
liberation theology is becoming more prevalent as people tire of awaiting the coming of Messiah - then you have the dominion now people thinking they can clean up this planet in preparation - hence, the greenies - first the pope and then the sobaps. watch for more of this.
i will not be surprised when the rapture comes and the only people missing will be those who are not yet accountable.
Nanc, liberation theology has the same destructive roots that the "social justice" movement does. It all calls for abstractions being embodied without any notice of comparison or conditions. For example, slavery was a blot on America. Yes. But nearly all nations have had slavery in their past. We have inequality, yes, but that is a price of freedom.
The real damage of these abstractions come in the form of demanded rights. When rights are absolute and take no heed of the situation, they become anti-social. The right to have strip club billboards all over, for example.
Anyhow, the Detroit Mayor was just busted on a sex scandal. We should make a video called, "Public Officials Gone WIld!"
www.culturism.us
Nanc
My confusion comes from this question, “Liberation from what?” As I attempted to point out in the base article, there is a sufficient argument that many people, of all races and ethnicities, have been “oppressed,” but in the past 60 years, it has not been institutional or social oppression as much as self-imposed through awful (personal) decision. Choosing not to work for change from within mainstream society is one of these, but so too is the decision not to pursue learning as a foundation for economic success. If people voluntarily choose to segregate themselves racially, and subscribe to the underlying philosophy of GDA, then they are in fact pursuing the flawed separate but equal ideology; they have returned themselves to the post-reconstruction era; the logic of this escapes me.
Thank you for that link, Nanc. I am not surprised Rev. Jackson is not invited to any televised media to make his case, however. Meanwhile, as Rev. Wright drives his Porsche around Chicago and goes to sleep every night in a $700,000 home in a predominantly white subdivision, Barack Obama is vacationing in the Caribbean. How oppressed is that?
John, I think the depressing part of this is that given our values of independent thought, speech, and association, we accomplish very little in our attempt to dialogue with people who are convinced that black separatism is their only acceptable reality. People such as are affiliated with such organizations as the New Black Panther Party (only one among many associations) have memorized the propaganda du jour and are incapable of having any discussion that strays from their little red book; they embrace it as only under-educated acolytes can.
The only "really amazing" part of separatist or black liberation ideology is that these sorely oppressed people have not removed themselves from the society they detest, and returned to their roots. I honestly do not think they would stay there much beyond the first 14 days.
here is a VERY good explanation of liberation theology and if you google that term will come up with many others.
it's more victim mentality.
p.s. - mustang - i doubt they'd last that long - it'd be the same as if you put a leftist into a communist country - they believe they are immune to the same standards they set for the rest of us.
Out of America is my favorite book on this topic. It is about a black American bureau chief for the Washington Post. He gets reassigned from Asia to Africa and thinks he's going home.
Well the results are much like Mustang and Nanc predicted. Only he can't leave after 14 days. His last lines of the book are something to the affect of "My family has been in America for 400 years. I have nothing to do with Africa. Africa is whacked. I am 100% American and glad for it!"
Culturist John...that sounds like a fantastic book and ought to be required reading in High School, don't you think?
But, instead, Liberation Theology calls for the overthrow of our government. Funny, if that happened, I wonder if Black Americans would still want to live HERE?
These are mostly good, sensible people being sold a rotten bill of goods by the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of their world. 80% of Black babies born in Indiana are born out of wedlock...where is the OUTRAGE from their 'leaders'? What kind of healthy society does THIS breed (literally!?)
They should be listening to Rev Jesse Lee Peterson, instead.
One more thought. Nanc, I like your question, "liberated from what?" I sat through a Foucault course in which people discussed how stereotyped discourse was oppressing transgenders by marginalizing them as non-normative.
For that reason, they wanted to smash the patriarchy.
I tried to remind them that there is no civilization in which gay people have more rights. If Islamic civ takes over, they will have way more worries. The same for radical feminists. They do not know that their best interest lays in supporting the Western world.
The West only looks oppressive in comparison to very sensitive ideals parsed out by literary scholars in the "discourse." Gay liberation and feminism have helped us. But such movements cease to be helpful when they are just about anti-Americanism.
where else on the planet would a person have it so good?
if there's something you want to cast off from yourself, you're free to do so here.
there is no place in the world like the united states.
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