Here’s What’s Been Bothering Me: a Conflict of Faiths

For weeks I’ve been bothered by this question: in what way is the black Church and the white Church united to form something of a multiracial, multicultural American Church?

Oh My Lord!

Some people are apparently pissy because in his inaugural speech, Pres. Barack Obama mentioned "non believers." People, get over it. We live in a nation the protects religious freedom, including the freedom to not be religious, and has protected this freedom since it's founding. The idea of religious freedom wasn't that people are free to choose whatever form of Christianity they wish; it's that people are free to choose or not choose whatever belief-system they wish. This whole idea that the USA has been and must always be "Christian" is nonsense. Many of the founders weren't believers themselves. Get over it.

Now that that's clear, there's another issue I have with the news. Melinda Hennenberger points out, ". . . some of the stiff criticism about Obama’s religious inclusiveness is coming from African-American Christians who maintain that no, all faiths were actually not created equal." It leaves me wondering what her point was. Is she surprised that some blacks aren't "hopeful" about Obama? Why? Not every single black voter actually voted for Obama. Granted, well over 90% did, but 90% ain't everybody.

Or is it this false notion among whites that black people should be the most tolerant of all, considering our past. Well guess what! There are those among us who don't "tolerate" any and everything. And here's the racism in this myth among white people that black people are the most tolerant of any people: it denies black people the same humanity as everybody else to the extent that black people can never be wrong. Listen, that's an old trick played against African Americans since someone realized that dark-skinned servants couldn't just mix in with the crowd and run away. The idea has been that in order for whites to give blacks social equality, all blacks have to be absolutely perfect. The few blacks who aren't ruin everything for everyone else. Right? Can't let any black person move in the neighborhood because some don't keep up their property value. Can't let any black person vote because some don't know how to read.

I mean for the past few centuries, any excuse to deny black people equality has been used. The recent excuse is that since some black people deny equality to others, the entire black community most be held at fault and denied equality. Which, of course, is odd because white folks in general just pick and choose who is worthy of equal rights and who isn't all the time. But, we already know that some white people are bigots, so it's no big deal. Except that it is. To err is human, and to deny some people other human rights because they err is, well, inhumane.

Kinda like the big to do over black people being the force behind the passage of California's proposition 8. The whole interest is that black people would deny other's equality. But the whole point is that, "See? Darkies just can't get it together. That's why we don't have to treat them equal." Right? Because in the end, the fact is that black people weren't the driving force behind the passage of prop 8. But pointing out some perceive wrong by the black community is just all too profitable. And sadly, easy.

Keep in an out for my diatribe about the LGBTQ community racism. It should be coming very soon.

Oh, Shut Up!

If you've read a good number of my posts, you know I support gay rights, including same-sex marriage or at least some legal approximation. (There is a credible argument to be made that throughout history, even Greek history when philosophers were sleeping with their male protegees, marriage has always and only applied to the covenant between a man and a woman.)

If you've read a good number of my posts, you know I have little respect for the so-called Christians Evangelicals and Fundamentalists. I have referred to them as "gellies" and "fundies." I think they're wrong to focus so much attention on things they have no right to control, like women's bodies and other people's sexuality, while they dismiss and even aggravate the need for racial and economic justice. They ignore the growing prison industrial complex that is ravaging communities and making use of legalized slavery. They ignore our over reliance on the military. They ignore the growing military industrial complex. They ignore the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Afghans who have died in our ill-conceived "war on terror." They can make no credible claim to concern for "life." Not while the vote against S-CHIP and other attempts to make healthcare affordable and accessible. Not while they sit complacently as our schools return to a pre-integration state in the disparity of money spent per child and children in integrated schools end up racially segregated.

Don't get me wrong. I've read Purpose Driven Life. But I'm a much bigger fan of Rachel Maddow than I am of Rick Warren.

Having said that, I wish the gay community would stop with their whining and crying over Rick Warren giving the invocation at the inauguration. They claim that his presence is a slap in the face and a signal that the LGBT community won't have a seat at the table during Barack Obama's administration. But the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who supports gay rights, including gay marriage, is giving the benediction. What does that mean? Does Rick Warren's presence make anything Joseph Lowery represents as far as gay rights null and void? And if so, why? Cause I know you wouldn't be acting as if Lowery's presence means nothing just because Warren is white and Lowery is black. (Of course, I'm being facetious.)

And quit crying about your social status! You're not at the back of the bus; and if you are, you're certainly not their alone. When you move into a community, people don't rush to move out! The property doesn't go down, it goes up! So shut up with you're whining.

You make the same mistake the gellies and fundies make: you act like your issue is the only one that exists. It's not, and you're both wrong. You act like racism and sexism and economic justice no longer exist. You're both wrong. You act like that only people who matter are white people. You act like only the concerns of white people should be addressed. Again, you're both wrong.

And what's more, shut up complaining like Obama owes you something! All he owes you is living up to his campaign promises. He's been doing that. What I find most especially disturbing is this sense that a group of people beyond Obama's choosing is going to control what he does. I mean, really. Do you think that you're supposed to order him around or something? That he's your White House negro? Come on! I've seen this show before. A black person reaches some position of influence and power, and the white people below and around him/her act as though they're still going to tell him/her what to do. I'm sorry. Try as I might, I can't separate the way the LGBT community is carrying on from race.

Not that Rick Warren is great on issues of race. From what I can see, he'd vote against affirmative action. And still, you don't see people of color carrying on like the sky is falling.

For goodness sake people, it's just an invocation! Some of you don't even believe in God. What do you care who gives the invocation?

It's just an invocation! He's not righting a bill for Obama to sign. Obama's not "pandering" to the evangelical community. How can he be when he has someone who supports gay rights doing the benediction? Or am I missing something.

Yeah, I don't think I'm missing anything. Now, I know the entire LGBT community includes people of color. So, I'll admit, it's really the white LGBT community I find aggravating. Just like their pout-fest over Donnie McClurkin, someone they probably had never heard of, singing at a gospel concert aimed at the black community reeked of white privilege, this whole outcry against Rick Warren stinks, too.

Now again. Don't get me wrong. I disagree with Warren's position on proposition 8. Personally, I'm wrestling with whether to understand homosexuality as a sin or not. I certainly understand it is beyond the person's control. If a person is sexually attracted to people of the opposite, I don't know if there's much to gain from "choosing" to be gay. Or, at least, I don't think many if any heterosexuals "chose" to be straight; it just so happens that they are. So, I reject the exclusionary language a lot of professed Christians use.

But, I also reject the apparent exclusionary track the gay community is taking in regards to Rick Warren. I mean really. He's apparently removed the most offensive language from his website. That's as far as you're going to get. I doubt you'll succeed at changing his mind in regards to the question of whether or not homosexuality is a sin. So, stop the pouting about Rick Warren and move on to something more substantive like "don't ask, don't tell."

Sorry if this post seems even less lucid than usual. My head is foggy, and I'm just really fed up.

I'm Flabbergasted!

Why? I can't really say. You'd think with my level of cynicism and skepticism, this wouldn't surprise me, much less leave my flabbergasted. UPDATE: Especially since Blackwater was in New Orleans soon after Katrina.

It's not secret I haven't really done the reading and engaging in politics that I started off doing earlier. I needed a break from just this sort of thing. But the lead article for this video was posted on a social networking site I frequent, and I couldn't ignore it.

The most ironic thing is that I'm currently trying to convince myself that the LGBT uproar with President-elect Obama's choice of having Pastor Rick Warren do the invocation to his inauguration has some legitimacy and has nothing to do with the fact that Obama's black. I'm trying not to see a white hood behind every angry white face. But . . . it's not easy. I mean. I don't agree with Rick Warren on a number of issues, same-sex marriage maybe being one. But they are certainly taking his words out of context, if they understand really what he's saying at all. And even if they're upset with Rick Warren for his opposition to proposition 8, his giving the invocation says absolutely nothing about Obama's views and policy towards the LGBT community. (As promised in the previous post, more about my views on the issue later. I was going to address it today, but the doctor's appointment cause some aggravation of my chronic fatigue. And immune dysfunction syndrome. :P )

Here's a video, produced by The Nation and shown below, detailing the anti-black violence that occurred in the days immediately following Katrina. The white shooters defend and even celebrate their actions with the excuse that blacks were engaged in crime and looting - a myth that was spread and believed all too easily. No one has even been charged. There has not even been an investigation, though since he's read the article, Congressman John Conyers is calling for one.

You're probably wondering with Katrina has to do with Obama and the LGBT community. It's that it just seems like white Americans feel they have some right by birth to control black people. It's criminal. It's unjust. It's racism.

Oh, Dear Lord

I had a post in mind about black racism, and indeed, I will get to that.

But first, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr and Zionists. Rev. Jackson is quoted as having said "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House. There's even more about it in an Israeli newspaper.

Now, while I promised more international flavor, I certainly didn't intend this to be it. But, you know what? It is, and it's important to discuss. So here's my opinion.

I strongly disagree with the Zionists. I can understand why any religious Jew longs to see the reconstruction of the Temple. I understand that, and I think it's important that it be rebuilt if possible. Not necessarily on the same site, but I have no idea how Jews observe what I read of the Torah without a Temple. And I think it's important that people of other beliefs, even if I disagree, are allowed to follow their faith.

That said, I do not agree that Israel has some inherent right to exist. If we accord territory by who fought to obtain and maintain it, then certainly Israel has proven that land belongs to them. But I disagree with the underlying idea. If I had my druthers, Amerindians would still be in control of both North and South America. Are, at least, there'd be equality of power. Palestinians would still be in charge of what's now Israel.

But, now, it is what it is. And what we face is an Israel that kills and murders as many Palestinians as they claim Hamas kills Israelis. What we face is an Israel that is breaking the Accords by extending it's reach and settlements more and more into Palestinians lands. They do this and get away with it because the US backs them. And it is wrong. Absolutely wrong.

It's wrong for a few reasons. I'll go through a few.

• Israel's presence and our support for Israel is behind much of the terror and killings in the Middle East, our war in Afghanistan and illegal invasion of Iraq notwithstanding.
• The Holocaust, as terrible and horrible as it was, and it happened - 12 million dead - does not entitled Israel to land that's not theirs and wasn't given to them by the previous occupants. And it certainly doesn't excuse their oppression, suppression and repression of the Palestinian people. I'm a Christian. Our Holy Book includes much of the Jewish Holy Book. I know of God's promises to Israel. But, Israel broke their end of the promise. Israel broke their end of the Covenant. That's how they ended up under the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Persians, and the Romans. And until they make right with God . . .
• And one thing I also know about the Covenant between God and Israel is that they aren't allowed to have any alliances with other nations. So, even though Zionist Christians think they're helping Israel but pressuring the US government to support Israel through groups like AIPAC, they're actually helping Israel continue to break their Covenant with Jehovah.
• And even if such alliances were allowed, God certainly doesn't approve of what Israel is doing to the Palestinian people.

I think what Rev. Jackson is pointing out is that up till now, the US has always been an broker with a conflict of interest. Hopefully, under an Obama administration, the Palestinians will have a more influential voice. Maybe they can get justice. I agree that Rev. Jackson is coming at this from an African-American standpoint. Just because Israel has the power and might to do something, doesn't mean it's right.

Which, interestingly enough helps bring me to the topic of "black racism." Ha! Just the idea of "black racism" makes me laugh. Like we've been calling the shots for the past 100 years or so. It's as ridiculous as the idea that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Democrats fighting Republican attempts to regulate the sub prime loans is what has gotten us in the trouble. Anyone who believes that hasn't taken the time to find out the truth, or is just an outright idiot to believe that Republicans fought for regulation of industry. Republicans fighting for regulation? Are you kidding me?

It's just like the misleading news and advertisements that somehow, ACORN is engaged in voter fraud. I guess, Americans don't take time to think. So, let me help you work this out logically. Let's say a false registration reaches the County Board of Election. The B of E is gonna reject it and the person won't get to vote. Problem solved. What CNN and Lou Dobbs should really be investigating and screaming bloody murder over is the widespread, national, Republican attempts to have people illegally removed from the voter rolls. I mean, in some states, they're actually trying to argue that people who've houses have been foreclosed on shouldn't be allowed to vote because they have no address. But, you can read more of that in some of my previous posts.

So, "black anti-white racism." According to lots of people, including Pat "When will they finally fire him?" Buchanan, it is a real phenomenon. And I think this myth is also something we'll need to work through logically and slowly. Follow me now, and don't be afraid to interrupt and ask questions.

First of all, somehow, the popular connotation of "racism" has morphed from the idea that people of color are inferior to white people, the idea that one group of people are inferior or superior to another group, to the idea that someone hates another person simply because of the color of the skin.

Well. Let's see. Here's one definition from American Psychological Association (APA):

1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races
determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that
one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine;
discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

The problem is that white Americans ignore the destructive power of the first two and amplify the last one. That way they can deny being racist because they don't hate blacks. Even though our system of government and white Americans' beliefs is underlied by the idea that they are superior.

On the flip side, when blacks express anger and frustration at the racism inherent in our society, when white hear the Dr. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, white Americans here that anger and frustration, equate it to hate, then accuse African Americans of hating whites and therefore being racist.

Which goes to prove what angers blacks so much - that anytime you criticize the country, white Americans take it as a racist attack - that shows that they do, in fact, equate themselves with the system and that the system is indeed biased in their favor.

URG!!!!!!!!

So is their hatred in the black community? "You betcha." Do we teach it to our children? Do we preach it in our churches? Yeah. But it's not hatred of white people. You silly, silly white people. It's the hate of a system built against us. It's the frustration that even when we're twice as good as any white job applicant for example, sometimes we're still not considered equal to a whites. Yes, we hate injustice.

Then there's the fact that whites hate the fact that blacks don't trust them. Oh! their indignation at our questioning their motives behind the attacks and smears and reasons for not voting for Obama. They get so self-righteous when we point out that clearly they're not considering a black person equal to a white person even though said black person is far superior.

You wanna know why all that indignation and red-faced umbraged fall of nonlistening ears? It's because you first of all don't know, or do a good job or pretending not to know, what racism is. You excuse yourself of racism, point of fact, Pat Buchanan and Bill Bennett still have jobs. But when we speak out about it, you accuse us of racism when we're just fighting for justice.

And here's the other reason we don't trust you. Well, most of us don't trust most of you, especially white Christians. Why are you ignoring our outcry against the injustice of racism as defined in the first 2 sections? Why do you so easily accept the injustice of white supremacy?