who ever said racism was dead?!?!? cause they were really really wrong.
 
recently i was asked a question from a reader... Hi Bob, someone i know has this thing for sending me very right wing e-mail which I have often found so offensive that I usually delete it immediately without reading. I made the mistake of opening this one and am really steamed. Before I sent a nasty reply to him about the roots of many religions in Africa and the Middle East, as well as a lambasting of the prejudices of the Roman Catholic Church toward anyone not Catholic and too many other side issues for me tho mention right now, I thought I'd write you and ask to be talked down to a point of greater reason. At the least, I believe I will request that he not send me any more messages as often the titles are insulting to my beliefs. And if you think I forward a lot, you haven't seen the likes of him. I want to just blow it off but after a while, it becomes harder and harder. What a rude nut job. Mom I thought this was important enough to bring to the attention of a wider audience. below is a copy of the initial email. OBAMA'S CHURCH Subject: TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST During this campaign for the Presidency, It's interesting that so much has been made of Mitt Romney's Mormom religion, while we hear so little of Barack Obama's, outside of the denials of his being Muslim. However, if you look more closely at Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's church, it sounds more like a racist cult than anything else, with a committment, not to America, but to Africa. Scary, when you consider this man could be the President of this United States. Obama mentioned his church during his appearance with Oprah. It's the Trinity Church of Christ. I found this interesting. Obama's church: Please read and go to this church's website and read what is written there. It is very alarming. Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their website, you will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. No where is AMERICA even mentioned. Notice too, what color you will need to be if you should want to join Obama's church... B-L-A-C-K!!! Doesn't look like his choice of religion has improved much over his (former?) Muslim upbringing. This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa! I cannot believe this has not been all over the TV and newspapers. This is why it is so important to pass this message along to all of our family & friends. To think that Obama has even the slightest chance in the run for the presidency, is really scary. Click on the link below: This is the web page for the church Barack Obama belongs to: www.tucc.org/about.htm I can see why the person who came to me was angry... i decided to respond and then went through the email line by line in an attempt to ask questions that might help shed some light on why this stuff might be angering... take a read see what you think then write your own opinions about the email. sound off if you want. well.... for starters... you should be offended... i guess my first question though is do you know why you are offended? what is it in particular that bugs you most about it? maybe generate a list? figure out why you feel the way you do for starters... search for your sources and norms that influence your feelings. from there share your sources and norms with wes.. it should be a dialouge. not a shouting match. that requires both listening and responding. that being said there are a number of avenues to go from here as far as i see that would involve something more than non action. for starters you can point out that you belong to a church that belongs to that particular denomination. maybe ask him why he thought i was appropriate to send you something that is derogatory when his nephew and niece in-law (and who are good people) belong to that faith ask him to do his research with his audience before spouting off... there is a good line in the gospels about taking the log out of your own eye before pointing out the speck in someone else's.... p.s. i've been to trinity a few times... and i like it :) even though i wont necessarily be voting for o'bama next to some of the statements below i've made some of my own statements in a different color ink and font. they are the reasons i am taking issue with the statements one last thing before reading all of those statements. i think it would be important to ask him if he sees himself as a racist person. if you don't feel comfortable taking that avenue i have no problem doing it and may end up doing it myself anyways. the reason i bring up racism here is because it seemed pretty clear to me that the originator of this forward and subsequent passers on of this document have the interests of the privileged white folk in mind. This type of email is an attempt to perpetuate that privilege by defaming a person of another race. ask him what race he is? if he says he doesnt have one... well then this is an instance of the great unsaid race.... whites. whiteness was created when blackness was created. see Learning to be White by Thandeka for more details (i can give you that book if you'd like i own it) no question in my mind he is acting in a racist way with racist motivations... he himself may not see this and so it must be brought to his eyes... OBAMA'S CHURCH Subject: TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST During this campaign for the Presidency, It's interesting that so much has been made of Mitt Romney's Mormom religion, while we hear so little of Barack Obama's, outside of the denials of his being Muslim. (for starters he is christian in religion muslim in terms of heritage...) However, if you look more closely at Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's church, it sounds more like a racist cult (in order to be racist you need to have power over something)(do you feel threatend that someone has some interest other than you? are you so egotistical and vain that every thing that anyone black or white does has to be done for you? the list of questions goes on?) than anything else, with a committment, not to America, but to Africa. Scary, when you consider this man could be the President of this United States. (it is also important to note that this is the church's committment and not necessarily his personal one, and if so what is wrong with a personal commitment to help and support impoverished persons of African descent. Are human rights only for Americans or are they for all entities that we call human as the title human rights suggests) Obama mentioned his church during his appearance with Oprah. It's the Trinity Church of Christ (wrong he belongs to Trinity United Church of Christ, this is inconsistent even with in your document). I found this interesting. (what is interesting about a man going to church? or for that matter a man belonging but not going to a church?) Obama's church: Please read and go to this church's website and read what is written there. It is very alarming. Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their website, you will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. No where is AMERICA even mentioned. (why does america have to be mentioned?) Notice too, what color you will need to be if you should want to join Obama's church... B-L-A-C-K!!! (there are thousands of all white churches that only allow whites and i bet that this person has no problem with that... so then why not have an all black church? or is this person really upset that true integration has never happened? does he belong to a church that is fully integrated and that has members in proportions that are representative of his neighborhood? city? state? country? hemisphere? or world?) and then ask why he doesnt? Doesn't look like his choice of religion has improved much over his (former?) Muslim upbringing. (for starters... what is inherently wrong with islam?.... why are you being derogatory about something you probably know very little about? make informed statements) (my guess is this is a prejudicial statement based on limited or no actual knowledge or experience with the faith) This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa! (ruling.... interesting word... are we in a fuedal system? what about checks and balances? election processes... representative democracy? since when has what the president ever said that just happens? and if it has it has been our own fault... we have given the president that power) I cannot believe this has not been all over the TV and newspapers. This is why it is so important to pass this message along to all of our family & friends. To think that Obama has even the slightest chance in the run for the presidency, is really scary.( what is so scary? you no longer will have power and privilege just because of your race? does it scare you that your president will not look like you? what is so scary? Click on the link below: This is the web page for the church Barack Obama belongs to: www.tucc.org/about.htmhttp://www.tucc.org/about.htmshapeimage_1_link_0
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Monday, January 7, 2008