What’s up preacher man? You need to apologize to all people for your slanderous prayer at the inauguration benediction, it was racist, it was rude and it was uncalled for and in just plain poor taste. As a white guy you offended me (that’s hard to do, congrads) and I as a white guy am sick and tired of being asked to apologize for every little statement some minority finds offensive or just for being white … well Rev Lowery you offend me and millions of good people and white people accross this great nation.
Rev Joseph Lowery said …
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when the yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen"
Excuse me? “Whites will embrace what is right”? Excuse me? What the hell does that mean, preacher? Since when did the whites not do whats right as a people? For that matter since when was the yellow not mellow? And the Asians I know don’t much like being called “yellow”. What kind of racist comments are these? What kind of bigoted prayer is this? When was the last time the blacks had to get to the back? What kind of man of the cloth says this? And what kind of man chooses this kind of bigoted preacher to close his grand gala? What kind of angelic message of unity is this?
I’ve spent my entire life listening to how white need to apologize to everyone for everything, I’m not sorry I’m white, I’m not privileged because I’m white and I damn sure have never had anything handed to me simply because I’m white, I’ve worked my butt off for everything I have and I started with nothing, gawd this crap makes me sick!! Well Rev. Joseph Lowery D.D. you’d better apologize to white America right now, any pray they forgive you!
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Dave my friend, I’m gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. Not that I agree with what Rev. Lowery said – but you have to understand the man himself. He is 83 years old, a walking relic of a byegone era. He helped Dr. King found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He braved the firehoses, the police dogs, the vicious racial slurs, and the jail cells. He stood at King’s side during the March on Washington, and spoke at King’s funeral. In short, this is someone who LIVED the bad old days, and remembers them. Was his statement something more appropriately uttered in 1969 than 2009? Yes. But just as I make allowances for some of my older white friends when they indulge in some of the prejudices of times past, I am willing to cut this grand old man a little slack for his rhetorical excess. I don’t think it was meant in a mean-spirited or vindictive way . . . it was just a little 1960′s rhetoric from a 1960′s leader.
Indy, I understand exactly what you are saying, BUT we now live in a new age and nobody gets a pass not even at a presidential inauguration just because he’s an 83 years old black man. Age is not a excuse, upbringing in not a excuse, ignorances is not a excuse, inabilities to stick with the times is not an excuse, no excuses no more! Excuses are like buttholes, everyones got one and they all stink. Why I’d be charged with a hate crime if I discriminated against him because of any of that!
If this was a prayer at a private church or a family dinner I would give him a pass, I know he’s old, I know history, I know he had to set in the back of the bus. So in this new more equal America. somebody somewhere should have been checking and double checking everything that was to be said and said ‘Whoa … might want to rethink a line or two here.” We don’t want to put forth the wrong image. So, no he doesn’t get a pass.
Think if George W Bush had an old white preacher say something that “offended” the minorities why they’d be organizing marches on Washington right now! We’d have Senate hearings, investigations, PBS specials, Al (not so) Sharpton and Jesses Jackson would be 24/7 talking heads on TV demanding heads roll, apologies made, people fired and more, there might even be looting and riots in the street … and you know it. It all sounds silly and it all sounds true.
I have to walk on egg shells and cater to the political sensitivities of everyone, I now think that the favor can be FINALLY be returned … maybe now, maybe right now we no longer have to walk on eggshell, maybe we can now say what we think without the fear of prosecution, maybe we can get the cards on the table and we’ll have real dialog.
Nah … never gonna happen.
I agree with all three of you. Does that make me contradictory, confused, stupid – no – as you each have valid points? But, and there’s always a *butt*, respectfully, I believe the Reverend was letting people know that: We have come a long way in our history and this is a historic moment for everyone. To pretend that this country hasn’t treated people with disrespect is hoping for too much. I don’t think you would have been so offended if you yourself didn’t hold beliefs that people are different and not always in a good way.
Wow…. so you are offended that an 83 year old man said what has been needed to be said for YEARS?! He said something in response to what you, your mom and dad, uncles and aunt, grandparents, great grand parents, nieces and nephews have make slights about (whether you want to admit it or not)? His whole point is that WE as a people have come a long way. Do you know what it means to him to live to see the day that a minority is president?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? You are offended? Get real… You sit on your pedestal looking down your nose to this man who fought for ME to be able to go to a predominantly white high school and be top in my class and participate in all of the school activities and walk through the halls and not get my behind beat! You walked and got arrested and got bit and traumatized for all of the people in my family and his family and the best you can do is complain? You don’t have nor will you EVER have the conviction to stand up to the majority and stand behind something you believe in so strongly that you put your life as risk. So before you DEMAND an apology, you should PRAY that God grant you the knowledge to know better and when you know better, you DO better….. Marinate on that….
Get over yourself would you. I’m not going to get into a race debate with you, this blog has squat to do with race. You as a people (Black American if you are) have the same opportunities as anyone in this country and if you can not succeed in America it’s your failure not mine. Quit using your color and the past as a crutch, as an excuse. It’s old and the argument not longer has any merit.
I’m not going to apologize for being white and I’m not going to accept “it’s because I’m black” as an excuse.
You want equality, you have it, act like it, the only people oppressing black Americans is other blacks.
Well, you asked since when have white people not done what’s right as a people? I think collectively deciding that slavery was warranted and legal was not right. Passing a law that blacks could vote and then throwing every stipulation at them, so that they in essence were unable to vote was wrong. And of course there is the whole Civil Right era…There is also the taking over of land owned by Native Americans through the most forceful of means…We can continue this further into the 21st century, and I don’t mean to imply that you or anyone you know is a member of such organizations, but today we have neo-Nazi’s (an organized group of more whites than I can count), KKK members (unfortunately this groups is alive and active all over the US – even in the 21st century) and let’s not forget the skinheads and other white supremacists groups. This is not indicative of the entire race, but large portions/organized groups of said race are not doing what is “right.” True you might find this in every other race – perhaps. But there is no other race of people that I am aware of that has so many subset and organized racist groups.
Perhaps it would not offend you so if you interpreted Rev. Lowery’s comments as being addressed to those whites. I’m sure you and I can agree that “they” do need to do what’s right and these are most likely the whites he was referring to as they cater to the same ideology as the whites he encountered in his era.
OK you mentioned slavery, well I doubt any slaves or slave owner are alive today, interestingly it was the blacks in Africa that captured there fellow man and sold them to the whites, where is the outrage over that? Frankly, I think the whole slavery whine has been sung long enough, there is no culture on earth that has not be enslaved at some point in history … I guess I still need to be pissed at the Roman, right?
While I’m being silly maybe the black community should pay me for all the white ancestors of mine that died in the Civil War … and it was a lot. Additionally black men got the right to vote before white women, so did black men march to fight for the right for white women to vote? Somehow I doubt it.
You mention white hate groups and white supremacist groups and then say “PERHAPS” some other races have them too … let have a look shall we .. yes we shall… Nation of Islam, New Black Panther Party, Black Panther Party, United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, Nation of Yahweh, Uhuru Movement et al and that’s just the black supremacist groups… but you don’t see whites running around all in a tizzy about them … hey have your little group I don’t care, and if they want to hate me because I’m not black, there loss not mine.
Facts are I could care less what Rev Lowery said my heart is not on my sleeve, I thought I’d take the opportunity to ACT offended because every damn time a white person says sometime that any minority doesn’t like we’re suppose to grovel and beg forgiveness and I’m sick of it. I never see any forgiveness from the black community when some old white guy says something stupid and out of date … no I do hear them call for an apology or their job … you can bet your ass if some old white preacher was you there and said some that didn’t set will you’d have Al “Not So” Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, the NAACP, Maxine Waters, Jeremiah Wright and tons more on every talk show demanding apologies and marching down the street.
And the black community wonders why whites don’t except them more freely… it’s because you can’t say a damn thing around them without a ‘don’t offend’ filter on. It’s a 2 way street … I say what I think and if someone doesn’t like it, not my problem.
Here I’ll let Jackie Mason explain it …
When one says something on national tv or radio, you open up yourself to the critique of the nation. So if you were offended by what Rev. Lowery said, it’s definitely within your rights. In everyday life, when people say something offensive – be it racial or otherwise, very rarely is a public apology required or even offered.
It would be great to say that in the 40 years since the Civil Rights era that all things are equal and that everyone is born on the same playing field, but this is not true. This is the equivalent (with regard to time progression) to saying that things were great and fair 40 years after the Civil War. Things of this sort seem to take a lot longer.
But now to the crux of the reason I’m actually writing, which is to clear up a little bit of history. Let’s not ACT like the Civil War was fought for slavery. We can pull out any history book on this. Facts are facts in this case. You use this argument to support your reasoning that perhaps you are entitled to be paid for all of your white ancestors who died in that war. Perhaps one who does not know her history would have read over this sentence without much pause. I cannot honestly believe that you believe the Civil War was fought to abolish slavery. Need I even go into this? Shall I quote Abraham Lincoln on his reasoning for entering into war or forward excerpts? Shall I quote the history book that I am currently reading? Perhaps I should become AFH (Appalled Female Historian). It should be noted that blacks fought in this war, too, as well as in the American Revolution.
“Blacks who captured their fellow man…” AWG, you make it hard to enter into logical debate when I first have to address so much inaccurate information… This is like saying that it was the Indians who captured their fellow man. First we would need to address your concept of “fellow man”. You seem to equate “fellow man” with skin complexion. Sociological and anthropological advancements are such now that one can be (if one chooses) more adept at understanding various cultural structures: language, religion, material culture, archaeological origins, etc. In essence the humanities and what exactly makes one a “fellow man” of another. Consider this – would the Turks be considered the fellow man of say the Greeks? Are people from Spain the fellow man of the French? Perhaps by your definition of “fellow man,” after all they are similar in complexion, but careful study teaches us otherwise.
On the continent of Africa, there are several countries. Within those countries are yet many different tribes and ethnic groups – much like with Europe. Different tribes fought and captured and sold one another. They would not consider themselves to be “brothers” or “fellow men” just because they were of the same complexion, and even this was not always the case. African tribes (not blacks) did capture and sell Africans of other tribes (not their fellow man) to slave traders. This was not the slave traders’ only means of capturing slaves – they were quite adept at doing this themselves.
I cannot hope to change your views on race, but maybe I provided you with a clearer and more factual account of history.
JD aka AFH,
Did you not read my last reply? I said and I quote myself …
So you’re beating a dead horse there.
Now, I know the Civil War was NOT about slavery, the end of slavery (emancipation proclamation) was a move by Lincoln to undermine the southern labor force and cripple the southern economy. The South seceded from the union do to unfair representation in congress amongst other reasons. That’s it in less than 50 words.Yes it’s more complicated than that, but you get the point.
Now let’s quote you …
At what point did I ever say that? Nowhere are those words, phrase or meaning is found, those are your words, your perceptions and your opinion being projected on me it would seem. Could ‘fellow man’ just be that, fellow men regardless of race, religion or creed? Must race be part of your argument? You are missing the point, Native Africans captured other Native Africans to sell to the Europeans, primarily the Africans being captured and sold where from the equatorial west Africa, which is not home to light skinned people at that time in history they are on the north along the Mediterranean.
More info here …
You said …
You’re playing with semantics, so in a word “Yes” fellow man is your fellow human regardless of color and gender. It is not cultural as some would have you believe and like to claim, fellow man is of the same species, human beings and that’s all. Understand, man created the Turks, the Greeks, the French the Spanish those are all cultures created by man each with various ethnicities within that culture. Do I really need to get into how each culture has different ethnic groups within that culture and how those ethnics group can have subcultures and they continue to breakdown to the family level.(Let’s hope not) But yet all those cultures came to America and became one creating a new cultural. So to say fellow man is based solely on complexion is at best naive and at worst racist. Fellow man is nothing more than another human being walking around on face of the planet. Please do not project your prejudices on me, if that is what you are doing.
I shall quote one more time …
Enlighten me, what is my view on race? I dying to know.
If you talk to me long enough you’ll find I have no real views on race, I do have views on ethics, pride, self reliance I an equal opportunity critic and do not discriminate when it comes to my condemnation of slackers, loafer and government parasites. I carry my weight and I don’t care what color you are you need to carry your, it’s just that simple.
Now to be far, there are some black cultures things I do not like such as rap music, but then again I am not a big fan of country and western or polkas either so I guess it’s balances out.
Ok I got to get back to work now, I have mortgages to bailout.
“If you talk to me long enough you’ll find I have no real views on race”
Really? So then why do you have a whole blog devoted to what you dislike as a white guy? Clearly you have views on race, otherwise your blog would just be “angry guy.”
Really, what are they?
So let me get this right, I’m angry at the direction the liberal democrats are taking this country and I happen to be white and male thus a Angry White Guy that makes me a racist, is that right?
That is one of the most pathetic conclusions I’ve ever read.
Try reading the About page.
UPDATE – INTERESTING: Two days later and neither of the “accusers” can answer the question. Typical throw bombs and run.
[...] this old guy, this old racist? And Obama just gave him the Medal of Freedom. Old post here… The Dr. Rev. Joseph Lowery … I want an apology! “Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new [...]