Obamapalooza
By Erik Rush (04/11/07)
Remember "Lollapalooza", the festival that featured alternative rock, hip hop, and punk rock bands that was all the rage during the 'Nineties?
Monroe Anderson, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote what some might describe as a “hit piece” on me in their Sunday March 25, 2007 edition. I don’t mind him doing this, and trust me, it does tie together with the event described above – but first, some background:
In the February 20, 2007 edition of The New Media Journal, I wrote a column entitled “Obamination”, which brought into question certain separatist views held by Trinity United Church of Christ (http://www.tucc.org), which Barack Obama, Democratic senator from Illinois and contender for his party’s nomination for President of the United States attends. The piece drew wide attention, lots of hate mail, and resulted in my appearance on Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes on February 28, 2007.
On March 1, the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright (Trinity United’s pastor) appeared on Hannity & Colmes and essentially asserted that I and anyone else who wasn’t an expert on theology – specifically “Black Liberation Theology” – were ignoramuses, unfit to untie his sandals. This of course included both hosts, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, and Wright let them know it in no uncertain terms. The fact that the man is militant and hateful became undeniable to all but a few folks I’ll be bring up shortly. Needless to say (then why say it, right?) the Reverend made no effort whatsoever to address my contentions.
Shortly thereafter, Obama, probably on the advice of his staff, began distancing himself from Wright, whom he had called his “spiritual advisor” and with whom he’d been beyond chummy in public. A New York Times piece followed (which quoted Yours Truly) examined this phenomenon, declaring it was the result of attacks from the Right.
In all honesty, I thought the Obama/Trinity United Church (O/TUC) issue had begun to fade, but it seems as though – like “Lollapalooza” – everyone now wants to have their say – and their time in the spotlight. Hence the piece by Anderson, which was a rather nebulous spin of Trinity United’s “real” mission, why I had no right to attack it, and, of course, my abysmal ignorance on the subject.
As fate would have it, CNN’s Paula Zahn Now television program just happened to be doing an ongoing series on race relations. Central to its theme was the question: “Do minorities self-segregate (employing motives and methods which remain generally unknown to your average Joe)?”. Once Anderson’s column came out, it became apparent to Zahn and her producers that O/TUC was definitely germane to their series, so ultimately my phone rings.
On Tuesday, April 10, I appeared on Paula Zahn Now. To Zahn’s credit, she did ask some challenging questions of O/TUC’s supporters, reiterated my “Obamination” thesis, and even did an eerie on-screen comparison of the churches credo (similar to that in my column), fading the occurrences of the word “Black” to “White”, thus illustrating how questionable the verbiage appeared. Rather atypical CNN, but I was obviously happy to participate.
Monroe Anderson appeared opposite me in a remote shot (presumably from Chicago; I was in another city). What can I say? Lately I can’t seem to lose when I go toe-to-toe with far Left so-called Progressives and their black foremen. Leaving aside the obsequious “I’m so much more enlightened than you’ll ever be” Jack Nicholson as The Joker smirk that suggests nerve damage and which many dedicated progressives wear (Tim Robbins has a particularly characteristic one), Anderson was unable to articulate the degree of my inaccuracy or the depth of my ignorance any better verbally than he had in his column. I remained calm and collected despite his tentative squeaks and grunts attempting interruption, and spoke my piece.
After this, Paula Zahn moved on to the panel discussion portion of the report. The panel consisted of Zahn and:
Roland Martin, “a nationally award-winning and multifaceted journalist (from his website), and “the former executive editor/general manager of the Chicago Defender, the nation's largest Black daily newspaper”. One might say, a darling of the liberal black journalist set.
Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists. I don’t know what else to add to that…
BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny) Founder and President Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, a socially conservative and prominent pastor, writer and a fellow WorldNetDaily contributor.
“Erik Rush is wholly ignorant of what the church is really doing”, Martin began glibly, then launched into a spinfest of how TUC is simply helping the black community. It reminded me of a conversation I once had with a white supremacist skinhead: “We’re just looking out for our people, man,” he’d said, “just like the other races are doing.” Later, during the two-on-one verbal assault against Reverend Peterson (come now, you knew that was coming), Martin reverted to jive jerking and dismissive “brotha, you mus’ be crazy” gestures as he puked his boilerplate black activist blather.
One would presume there was a reason that Trinity United removed their cherished 12 point Black Value System from their website (which Zahn did mention) and replaced it with a renewed declaration of the church’s dedication to all things African along with a rambling screed by Wright personally attacking me “and those like” me, whatever that means. Still, Roland Martin made no motion toward actually refuting what I’d said.
Ellen Johnson came across as a neurotic, vitriolic harridan reminiscent of the prominent ‘Sixties and ‘Seventies feminists who all but destroyed American families via their gospel of dysfunction. “You know what’s ironic here,” she said, “… is that the members of this uber-black church are prostrating themselves in abject submission to a white man: Jesus.”
I know, I know: Everyone with a mind knows that Jesus was not white (at least not by the standards applied in the West). But then, what do you expect from the President of American Atheists?
“You like black people right where they are – on their knees,” she literally snarled at Peterson, her body language more than suggesting she’d have been on him like a cougar were Zahn not standing between them.
There’s a clear difference between an atheist and a hater of all things religious (read Christian), and this vile wench was the absolute archetype of the latter. I could almost see her standing wide-eyed and trembling with glee as Christians were marched into crematoria at gunpoint.
Reverend Peterson remained calm and collected throughout the CNN segment, articulating his views on Reverend Wright, his church, and the heretical false doctrine of Black Liberation Theology succinctly and without rancor.
The final analysis: No one has been able to actually expound upon this ignorance of mine – only accuse me of being so. No one has even attempted to refute anything I asserted vis a vis O/TUC. All I have heard is invective, spin, and specious, non sequitur confrontation.
One day, I pray sooner than later, people will begin to evaluate those they see performing in these media venues on the content of their character, as it were. It may be a slim hope given the extent to which critical thinking has been stifled in America – intentionally, of course, by the far Left. Keeping people stupid is has always been one of their imperatives, as has division, evidenced by the cultural Balkanization they’re establishing right now.
Paula Zahn’s CNN series asked “Do minorities self-segregate?” Please. They’ve been encouraged to for more than thirty years by the Jacksons, Sharptons, Wrights, Martins and Andersons who profit from it.
I occasionally wonder when people will finally catch on that civil rights activism isn’t a social cause anymore; it’s an industry.
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