Hannity again selectively excerpted interview with Obama's pastor to claim church has "black-separatist agenda"
SUMMARY: On Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity claimed that the pastor of Sen. Barack Obama's church, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, "has a very black-separatist point of view." Hannity played a video clip of an interview with Wright from the March 1 Hannity & Colmes, but did not play the portion in which Wright specifically stated that his church's point of view does not "assume superiority, nor does it assume separatism."
On the June 25 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, discussing Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) June 23 speech on religion in politics, co-host Sean Hannity claimed that the head of Obama's church, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, "has a very black-separatist point of view." Hannity then played a video clip of his and co-host Alan Colmes' conversation with Wright on the March 1 edition of Hannity & Colmes and further asserted that the church, Trinity United Church of Christ, is "all about the black community. ... [I]t's a black-separatist agenda." However, Hannity did not play the portion of the March 1 interview in which Wright specifically stated that his church's point of view does not "assume superiority, nor does it assume separatism."
During the March 1 program, after explaining that Trinity's philosophy does not "assume superiority nor does it assume separatism," Wright continued: "We have no hierarchical arrangement. When you say an African-centered way of thinking -- African-centered philosophy, African-centered theology -- you're talking about one center. We're talking about something that's different, and different does not mean deficient, nor does it mean superior or inferior."
As Media Matters for America noted, Hannity made similar allegations on the March 20 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show in which he claimed that he "discovered" via Trinity United Church of Christ's website "that the pastor of the church has very Afrocentric and separatist views." Hannity also selectively excerpted from Wright's March 1 appearance to support his claim that the church is "separatist," leaving out the same portion of the interview in which Wright addressed those claims.
From the June 25 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
HANNITY: I gotta -- we talk about being divisive. Well, we had his pastor on this program. Remember -- who has a very black-separatist point of view about the black church. "Dedicate ourselves to the black community, the black this, and the -- " Well, I confronted him over this. Let's look at Obama's pastor right here, who he now distances himself from.
[begin video clip]
HANNITY: It seems to be, when you say, "The black community, black family, black work ethic, black community -- "
WRIGHT: Key word is "seems." Key word is "seems." It seems --
HANNITY: It seems -- sir, sir --
WRIGHT: -- to an arrogant, ignorant person. I'm asking you -- have you answered me? How many books [unintelligible] have you written?
HANNITY: Sir, I'm going to say this whether you like it or not. I'm gonna get my words in.
[end video clip]
HANNITY: It's all about the black community, the black -- it's a black-separatist agenda. Now, he -- this pastor was supposed to be at his announcement this winter, when he said he was going to announce for president. All of the sudden, at the last minute, Barack Obama disinvited him.
From Wright's March 1 appearance on Hannity & Colmes:
COLMES: I want the public to understand where your church is coming from, because you're being accused of being a black-separatist church, and thus Obama is being accused by default of being a black separatist. Could you straighten that out for us, please?
WRIGHT: OK. The African-centered point of view does not assume superiority, nor does it assume separatism. It assumes Africans speaking for themselves as subjects in history, not objects in history. It comes from the principles of Kawaida, the second principle being Kujichagulia, which is self-determination -- us naming ourselves -- and not saying we are superior to anybody. We have no hierarchical arrangement. When you say an African-centered way of thinking -- African-centered philosophy, African-centered theology -- you're talking about one center. We're talking about something that's different, and different does not mean deficient --
COLMES: Aren't there black churches --
WRIGHT: -- nor does it mean superior or inferior. The whole notion of hierarchical, one's superior, "let's be separate because we're better," that's nothing -- has absolutely nothing to do with --
Hannity is a race baiting, fear mongering, tool... and apparently he doesn't have short or long term memories...
The Rev. Wright in his own words:"Nine-eleven, he says: “White America got their wake-up call after 9-11. White America and the Western world came to realize people of color had not gone away, faded in the woodwork, or just disappeared as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns.” “The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for over 40 years now. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community and wake up Americans concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism.”
Thank you for quoting him!
Now there is no way I am going to vote for the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright for President of the United States.
I guess we should hold Bush to Pat Robertson's statements because they have met and discussed policy issues then, correct?
I can't wait to hear Insannity claim he was being taken out of context here.
Hannity, some of the loudest rightwing words that money can buy, comes though again.
Colmes showed a little spine with AC, is that why he got cut here?
Colmes seems to be doing that more often since Franken burned him in Lies. I'd say good on him but, he doesn't do it enough and until he shouts down Hannity, he doesn't do it well enough.
I am breeding a bunch of elephant size dung beattles. I am going to turn them lose in the fnc studios. Colmes is going to be busy and all alone.
This is just more of Hannity's it’s really the Blacks that are the racist crapola he's been pushing and the wing nuts have been lapping up like well kool-aid. He's taken great issue with Black organizations that have these types of creeds that are absolutely historic in nature and they must be examined in context. Now if knucklehead wants to argue the merit of updating these historic mission statements that's one thing, but as always Hannity likes to incite racial divisiveness by calling others racially divisive. It reminds me of one of our local conservative talk show hosts chastising some Blacks in Atlanta for moving into “Black” upscale neighborhoods. He said they were prejudiced and were separatists. Now I in my life time have personally seen two previously predominantly White neighborhoods I moved in become predominantly Black. When Black family number whatever moves in evidently my White neighbors get nervous and they BOOK. Moreover statistics and patterns have shown that Whites will not even consider buying a house in a traditionally Black neighborhood or even purchase houses that were previously owned by Black people, yet the rich Blacks of Atlanta are singled out for doing just what Whites have done for years. I saw a documentary about this trend among Black professionals, many of the builders in these communities were Black owned and they did indeed market to an upscale professional Black clientele. The builders and the buyers reported accounts of previously living in affluent White neighborhoods and how they were often mistaken for the nanny, the gardener, the housekeeper etc, and worse there sons were repeatedly stopped and questioned by the authorities about their presence in these communities. They said moving to these Black communities removed that from their lives. It’s very very sad that we have yet to get beyond this, I honestly believe we’ve made really good progress but Lord knows we’re not there yet. Oh yeah and Hannity is a race-baiting trouble maker.
Lynn
For decades now, right wingers have been promoting this meme of how hard it is to be a white man in America, what with all the Reverse Discrimination & Race Cards & all. Their target audience is poorly educated working class whites, who are desperately seeking a comforting explanation for how they ended up in such a screwed, lowly, & trailer park-living state. By blaming integration, "quotas", & "hand outs" to blacks, the power elite are able to divert them from correctly assessing their lack of education & traditionally assigned class position as the true culprit for lack of economic & social status.
It's an ancient & time-tested game that Hannity & his right wing brothers are playing: Divide & Conquer. If blacks can be pitted against whites... & both pitted against Jews... & all three against Muslims... & so on & so on... then who is left to challenge the predations of the rich?
Then again Lynn, I seriously doubt if I'm telling you anything that you haven't known for years. Your posts have long shown you to be extremely perceptive & quite aware of how the system works... not to mention warm, funny, & possessed by a gift of gently disecting the logical fallacies of young, misguided wingnuts... a gift that I definitely do not possess.
Thanks for the kind words. As for the Hannity followers of the world. I find them absolutely fascinating. They seem so easily frightened and consequently they will follow anyone who clearly identifies who the enemy is for them and who offers protection from said enemy. I kind of feel sorry for people like that. It seems that because of this weakness ordinarily good people can be lead in the wrong direction by a charismatic effective leader. Hitler and the people who followed him are extreme examples of that. Not that I’m calling Hannity a Nazi or anything, so right wingers don’t pounce.
Hannity's racism is one of the under-reported stories about FOX News, IMHO. As Lynn touched on, he is obsessed with the notion that blacks are getting special treatment. In Hannity's world, and the one that FOX News allows him to push on Hannity & Colmes as well as Hannity's America, it's whites are who suppressed and the objects of prejudice and he's ever vigilant and outspoken to correct the "injustice." Robert Greenwald's Fox Atttacks Black America video illustrates that point well.
The other thing that struck me about this segment was the fact that in a discussion that was supposed to be about whether or not the right-wing used religion to be divisive, Hannity and Coulter were doing just that -- they were attacking Obama's religion for no good reason, other than to score vicious, partisan points.
http://www.newshounds.us/2007/06/26/in_debate_over_obamas_claim_that_right_wing_has_used_religion_to_be_divisive_hannity_and_coulter_attacked_obamas_faith.php
Hannity usually throws in some clumsy remark intended to show how much he loves all races, right before he goes off on his "Poor Whitey" crying jag.
Between Muslims, Blacks, Gays, Non-housewife women and people who don't go to church, I have to wonder if Sean has one moment in his day when he's noy wetting himself in terror.
On another (and trivial) note, what's with these words that suddenly get a new pronunciation out of nowhere?
My whole life it was huh-RASS-ment, then a few years ago it turned into HAIR-us-ment.Now the pretentious pseudo-thinkers like Ann Coulter are all saying di-VISS-ive.Wasn't it always di-VISE- ive ?
Is this how zombie conformist types rebel, by deciding as a group to start pronouncing words differently?
Hunty... Yes, they WERE pronounced that way, and now they are/starting NOT to be pronounced that way, AND, as an untrained linquist/sociologist/neocon braintank (yes- all by myself), my premise is that some word pronunciations are changed ONLY to alert the listener that something is off- THUS making the listener MORE ATENTIVE to what the speaker is saying (regardless of it's truth/usefulness/etc.) BUT, by that more attentive ear, MORE of that particular speaker gets heard (and only because the listener picked up on a verbal miscue- apparently a republican't inherent trait... I am actually thinking of going back to school to figure that out...
Thanks for the inout, Mr. L.
Now I'm wondering about Nookyuler.
"input". I'm doing my own creative wordsmithing now. You never sent me an Eskimo.
I apparently have a much filthier mind than you do, HBL.
When I saw you thanking Mr L for the 'inout', I immediately flashed on A Clockwork Orange, & assumed you were thanking him for some recent & particularly proficient sexual congress.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Ellen,
I love your site. I have been a fan for a long time. You guys do a great job. I long for the day when Hannity will grow a spine and try to defend his reasoning in an arena where he does not have control. I think we seen a little of that with his debate with the Salt Lace City mayor. We all know who won. We all seen Hannity can't really debate.
Hannity, like many conservatives, always gets nervous at a gathering of minorities.
An "African-centered" way of thinking does not mean "black." It just means, well, comes from Africa.
Media Matters should offer a special one day symposium..."Sean Hannity: Liar, Idiot, or Both".
and hypocrite, don't forgrt hypocrite.
Hannity is a professional victim. For the life of me I can't understand how he has followers.
There must be people who consider Rush too intellectual, and who really like Christian country-pop flag-wavin' music.
Toby Keith?
I was listening to the review of his new album yesterday on NPR, and they said he spends more time trashing the Dixie Chicks and talking tough then actually making music. I'm betting many dollars that he LOVES Hannity.
He might and he might not:
The guiding philosiphy of many of these Ethnocentric/Socical help groups is Self Determination, as the Reverend stated in the video. Self Determination is the product of of a person/ group of people whom have decided to be proactive in confronting the issues of thier respetive community. This is the very definition of "personal responsibilty," a "consevative principle." Hannity should be cheering and Obama, his pastor, and this church community for assuming responsibilty for thier collective desinty.... Wait.
Hannity...cheering...democrat? *puts drink down* I need to lay off.
White churchgoers were so welcoming to black people so Mr. Hannity would claim. In particular the LDS of Mr. Romney who until recently believed that black people were not and could not go to heaven. Why no discussion on that belief? The late Reverend Jerry Falwell support for segregationist organizations and stating that black people were put on earth by God to serve white people.
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o�clock on Sunday morning." How much have things changed?Here's the truth. Sean does not know ANYTHING about the African American culture. He knows NOTHING about African American churches, food, the style, the hair, the language, etc. Absolutely nothing! He base his judgement on what he sees and hears.
If you ever meet this media insult in person, I challenge you to ask him about African American culture. I can guarantee you that he won't know anything about it.