President Obama's "Black Value System"

[whiskeytown]

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It is being taken out of context and used by conservatives to smear Obama.

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I included the entire text and a link to the Tribune article specifically to avoid the charge of taking things out of context.

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I should have clarified that some people are taking it out of context. You are not.

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There are some valuable ideas in there. There are others that are beyond the pale.

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What BCPVP said.

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I find what the enemies say more telling then what the allies say -

word is Hillary is furious he's getting money - Repubs joke about wanting Hillary to be the nomination...

but when it's their turn, the Repub's fire up the smear machine again - the quality of the smears is hilarious -

"hmm, he smokes - what else could he be hiding?"
"hmm...muslim name - is that SAFE for America?"
"ohhh..his church has a Mission Statement - let's parse it down and apply it to him out of context - woohooo!"

I mean, they're not even trying to rebut his policies or address his plan for a phased withdrawl of Iraq.

Hillary is pissed, but the Repubs are SCARED - big difference - even using the Rev. Moon's inspired rag to print smears and inneundo does not a 2008 candidate make.

Undoubtly their fear is motivated by the fact the current president is sinking their party and the runners-up look as compromised and old school as they come - even the Maverick is a suckup now. meh....

I would have voted for Mccain in 2000 or 2004 perhaps - never now.

to many Democrats, Obama is their candidate - and every time a republican attack bounces off him, it just reinforces their motivation to get him in there - kinda like the madder you make Hulk, the stronger he gets.

billion dollar presidental race - should be something.

rb

[elwoodblues]

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kinda like the madder you make Hulk, the stronger he gets.

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Obama might very well be the first colored president --- green. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

[bisonbison]

Where are the mission statements for McCain's church? Guliani's? Romney's temple?

[elwoodblues]

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Where are the mission statements for McCain's church? Guliani's? Romney's temple?

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Those are, apparently, irrelevant.

[haarley]

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Where are the mission statements for McCain's church? Guliani's? Romney's temple?

[/ QUOTE ] It would be racist to have a white value system, You silly guy.

[peritonlogon]

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There are some valuable ideas in there. There are others that are beyond the pale.

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Such as?

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Start with this:

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Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness”

Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must keep the captive ignorant educationally, but trained sufficiently well to serve the system. Also, the captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control.

Those so identified as separated from the rest of the people by:

Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that encourages them to kill off one another.

Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.

Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us”.

So, while it is permissible to chase “middle-incomeness” with all our might, we must avoid the third separation method-the psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness”: If we avoid the snare, we will also diminish our “voluntary” contributions to methods A and B. And more importantly, Black people no longer will be deprived of their birthright, the leadership, resourcefulness, and example of their own talented persons.

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That is not out there at all. Wasn't this written in 1982? Which was less than a decade after the FBI assasinated leaders of the BPP and US. I mean, in LA they decapitated a strong community organization that was trying to defend it's people from decades of victimizations by the LAPD which was full of people hired with southern military backgrounds specifically to work in black neighborhoods. It's pretty well accepted that if you were a Civil rights leader in the 60s and 70s and your still alive, you probably weren't doing your job.

What do you think would be on the mind of a Black minister in his 30s in 1982?

Also, the prison system in the US is primarily about storing Black people, this is nothing new and the only reason it's not common knowledge is because we don't like to talk about real problems in this country or admit to racism or racist policies.

Not persuing "middle classness" is not just some stupid idea, "middle classness" was (and to a certain extent still is) closed off to black people so, not persuing, but rather, coming up with an alternative is more prudent than anything.

[00gene]

People are really reaching to smear Obama, aren't they?

FWIW, I'm going to see him declare his candidacy on Saturday, I'll let you know if he seems like a muslim-indoctrinated, militant black soldier ready to destroy the US.

[adios]

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There are some valuable ideas in there. There are others that are beyond the pale.

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Such as?

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Start with this:

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Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness”

Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must keep the captive ignorant educationally, but trained sufficiently well to serve the system. Also, the captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control.

Those so identified as separated from the rest of the people by:

Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that encourages them to kill off one another.

Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.

Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us”.

So, while it is permissible to chase “middle-incomeness” with all our might, we must avoid the third separation method-the psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness”: If we avoid the snare, we will also diminish our “voluntary” contributions to methods A and B. And more importantly, Black people no longer will be deprived of their birthright, the leadership, resourcefulness, and example of their own talented persons.

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That is not out there at all. Wasn't this written in 1982? Which was less than a decade after the FBI assasinated leaders of the BPP and US. I mean, in LA they decapitated a strong community organization that was trying to defend it's people from decades of victimizations by the LAPD which was full of people hired with southern military backgrounds specifically to work in black neighborhoods. It's pretty well accepted that if you were a Civil rights leader in the 60s and 70s and your still alive, you probably weren't doing your job.

What do you think would be on the mind of a Black minister in his 30s in 1982?

Also, the prison system in the US is primarily about storing Black people, this is nothing new and the only reason it's not common knowledge is because we don't like to talk about real problems in this country or admit to racism or racist policies.

Not persuing "middle classness" is not just some stupid idea, "middle classness" was (and to a certain extent still is) closed off to black people so, not persuing, but rather, coming up with an alternative is more prudent than anything.

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Ok so the statement is indicting the system as being racist more or less and you're pointing that out. I'll get to that shortly. I actually like much of what is stated in this manifesto but admittedly I find a few things confusing. I'll pick one that really confuses me:

The Black family circle must generate strength, stability, and love despite the uncertainty of externals, because these characteristics are required if the developing person is to withstand warping by our racist competitive society.

Is this talking about U.S. society, the relevent ethnic group, or what? I'm fairly certain it's addressing U.S. society so I'm unclear about using the adjective competitive in the same context as racism. Wierd and confusing.

As far as the prison population being disportionately black, crime rates have decreased since the rates of incarcerations have risen due to initiatives in law enforcement and sentencing that can be traced back to the 80's. I think that the prescription offered in these espoused "values" is one of a change in cultural values which IMO would lead to less criminals. I mean the people going to jail for a long time in the U.S. aren't political prisoners. They're people committing violent crimes like burglary, rape, murder, etc. I don't think it's any secret that the family unit among the disenfranchised has "taken a beating" over the past several decades. I think this "value system" is basically addressing the cultural issue of the destruction of the family unit among the disenfranchised. I applaud a "value system" that seeks to change that.

When Bill Cosby made his famous remarks about the black community he was talking about warped cultural values more or less. This "value system" seems to be addressing the same sort of warped cultural values that Cosby was addressing and basically making the same points that he, Cosby, made in a different manner.

Other things like the failure of public education for the disenfranchised which this "value system" addresses is accurate IMO. So I guess the bottom line for me is that I really don't see this document as being outrageous and further I think it has a lot to do with being accountable.

[adios]

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People are really reaching to smear Obama, aren't they?

FWIW, I'm going to see him declare his candidacy on Saturday, I'll let you know if he seems like a muslim-indoctrinated, militant black soldier ready to destroy the US.

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If Obama holds to these views I would seriously consider voting for him. No kidding. So in my mind he doesn't need to back away in the least. Reading Obama's remarks I think he made a relevant point:

But Obama scoffed at the suggestion that Trinity espouses a value system that seeks to help blacks exclusively. "If I say to anybody in Iowa--white, black, Hispanic or Asian--that my church believes in the African-American community strengthening families or adhering to the black work ethic or being committed to self-discipline and self-respect and not forgetting where you came from, I don't think that's something anybody would object to.

Not sure why people are looking at this as an attempt to smear him.

[fun160]

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People are really reaching to smear Obama, aren't they?

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Please explain how posting the entirety of the "Black Values System" (not cherry-picking stuff out of context) and posting an article with his thoughts on it is a "smear."

Is it unfair to investigate the values and beliefs of a presidential candidate? If this is something that shapes his views the voters should know about it. That goes for any candidate for President: black, white or Hispanic, man, woman, or other, Republican, Democratic, or Green.

I actually have a lot of respect for President Obama for not trying to run away from the potential controversy, as many candidates would have done.