Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, made a comment that New Orleans
 will be a black city again, and that is how God wants it.

 When I heard about this, on local talk radio, which is all right
 wing, I thought that was one stupid thing to say. Still, it's
 hard to miss the fact that got a whole lot more coverage and
 outrage than any conservative making a racial comment would get
 on talk radio. When a white conservative says something equally
 stupid the right wing media falls all over themselves to explain
 that he really isn't racist, and that it's being overblown.
 Witness Bennett's stupidity on black abortion and the crime rate.

 Still, it was stupid.

 The part I did not hear about is where he said a lot more about
 how the black community had to take responsibility for improving
 itself. When Cosby said that he got headlines in the right wing
 media. When Nagin said it, it got zero coverage that I have seen
 yet.

 Someone posted a portion of an article from Opinion Journal
 Online, which I did not find in a search of google for OJO, but
 did find on CNN. That article quoted part of a paragraph, 'In
 his speech, Nagin also said "God is mad at America," in part
 because he does not approve "of us being in Iraq under false
 pretenses."'

 Well, sorta quoted it, the actual paragraph was three sentences,
 and the real paragraph went, "Surely he doesn't approve of us
 being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at
 black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."

 Notice in the OJO/CNN quote, the absence of elipses? They
 merged two portions of the commentary together, making it appear
 it's one sentence.

 Seems when a black public figure says something it only gets
 coverage if it's something stupid that can be used against him,
 and all black democrats, or if it's a black man saying something
 critical of black people.

 When a black democrat says something positive to black people it
 gets buried, esp if the right has something they can hang him
 with at the same time.

 Here is more of what he had to say, what you didn't hear from
 the right wing media. When Cosby made similar comments I saw
 posters on the right gloating over it. Not this time.

 **************************************************************************
 Jan 16, 10:58 PM EST

 New Orleans Mayor Says God Mad at U.S.

 By BRETT MARTEL
 Associated Press Writer

 NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Mayor Ray Nagin suggested Monday that
 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other storms were a sign that
 "God is mad at America" and at black communities, too, for
 tearing themselves apart with violence and political infighting.

 ...

 "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false
 pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're
 not taking care of ourselves."

 ...

 Nagin described an imaginary conversation with King, the late
 civil rights leader.

 "I said, `What is it going to take for us to move on and live
 your dream and make it a reality?' He said, `I don't think that
 we need to pay attention any more as much about other folks and
 racists on the other side.' He said, `The thing we need to focus
 on as a community - black folks I'm talking about - is
 ourselves.'"

 Nagin said he also asked: "Why is black-on-black crime such an
 issue? Why do our young men hate each other so much that they
 look their brother in the face and they will take a gun and kill
 him in cold blood?" The reply, Nagin said, was: ''We as a people
 need to fix ourselves first."

 ...

 **************************************************************************

BOB KLAHN bob.klahn{at}sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... If it wasn't for white racism would there *BE* a black culture? <=C. Page.
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