Someone Had to Say It: Obama's Recent Speech Sucked Big Time
I don’t usually blog about American politics, because it’s boring and I have no power whatsoever to influence it. I’m not American; American domestic politics have very limited effect on me and I have no way to change its foreign policies anyway. But I see the internet is crazy about Barack Obama’s speech. Someone has to say it: the speech pretty much sucks.
Aside from the mixing of religion and politics, which is always a bad idea, and the same empty words about “America is so good, it’s so jolly good, I believe in hope, we can do this, tralala”, which may be needed to drag the US out of the hole it and the world have collaborated to dug for them, but which is really a bunch of empty words, there’s the main point: the criticism of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who has close ties to Obama.
Now, Wright is a crank in at least one way: he believes in an HIV conspiracy that designed the virus for genocidal purposes. That’s obviously bullshit. But that’s not what Obama concentrates on in his speech. He chooses to attack everything else that is “offensive” in Wright’s sermons. The things that make sense. Stuff like this:
The government gives them [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.
If you don’t live under a rock, that much is obvious. Those recent statistics that revealed that one in nine American black men aged 20 to 34 are in prison weren’t made up. That should be a sign that things are fucked up, people! Further:
We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.
In fact, all of this is true. It’s not only true, it’s a common view in Europe—I guess Obama pretends only cranks believe it because it’s strategic, campaign-wise. While it can be debated to how big a degree American foreign policy has been a contributing factor in terrorism, and how bad the US has treated its citizens, and especially black citizens, there’s no debate that it has had some effect. Seriously. Get out from under that rock, Obama & supporters. It’s nice and sunny out here, and you might catch a glimpse of the truth.
For these comments, Wright has been attacked as “Anti-American” (whatever that means), as well as a racist, and a terrorist sympathizer. But this is not racism. It’s not a defense of terrorism, but an attempt to understand the reasons that underlie it. Contrary to popualr belief, everyone, even terrorists, have their reasons for what they do. Excusing and explaining are two totally different concepts. And if this is Anti-American, the world would be a much better place if it had some more Anti-Americanism in it.
So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Summary: Obama’s speech sucked. Wright is on to something, except the ridiculous conspiracy theory about HIV/AIDS. Rant over.
