It is very rare that I say I hate someone but I think that I can claim that feeling now for Pat Robertson particularly after this statement:

"Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream." (Thank a f-ing lot!)–Yep, I had to say it just like that.

So we should be thankful for all of the sub-standard programs implemented for black people? Nothing that implies prosperity but programs which assume we will always need just enough to get by and we'll never need to be empowered. Why should we be thankful? Pat should be thankful that black folks don't open up a can of…

There are no words…..

This all has to do with the ability of SOME white folks to forget any part of history that doesn't make them out as the hero. Yeah, we still be in Africa, but if the Europeans hadn't decide to rape Africa and hold it as a colony for hundreds of years, maybe parts of it wouldn't be in the state that it's in.

Sorry Buchanan, not Robertson, I get my Pats mixed up.

This jackass has got to be trippin'.

Happy to be here…sure, I suppose. I've got a little bit of Irish in me, not sure if that comes from rape or forbidden relationship. You know, I could've done without the slavery, Jim Crow, and tortoise like progress of race relations. Neither myself nor my parents ever benefitted from welfare, section 8, or the other programs referenced. The biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action were white women (studies have shown!). You know what? You can rescind all those programs if you just *poof* make racism disappear, and clean up all the institutions affected by it. Is it a deal?

Unbelievable!

You know, I was just telling my friend that the reason why most whites are upset with Rev Wright is that they feel like black people should be grateful to them for "rescuing" us from Africa and "letting" us live here. And how dare Rev Wright and other blacks be "ungrateful".

What he doesn't mention is how lucky white people in America are because of the hundreds of years of free laborblack people provided.

Whire America is the biggest welfare recipient from the day the Pilgrims stepped foot.

stunned. truly stunned that anyone should think that welfare, section 8, and a host of other so-called helpful policies that only served to further keep us down makes up for being taken from our motherland and then, literally, taken from the arms of ours mothers and sold into slavery. there's not enough money in the world to make up for that. boo-fucking-hoo that white people have to live with the consequences of their forefathers' actions. their discomfort or inconvenience will never compare with what black people have suffered in this country. get over it.

The whole point of Black History Month is to illustrate to people that Black Americans have contributed as much to this country if not more than White Americans. This is not a white man's country that we were just lucky to live in. This country is the way it is because of Black people! Period, end of story. khia213 is right also. Africa wouldn't be f*cked up if Europeans and now China did not control nearly all of its resources. This is our country too, jackass. These people never cease to amaze me.

Here's a thought folks. Just as Al Sharpton swooped in for the kill when Don Imus made his racially insensitive comments—in the entertainment realm no less— why is there no outrage that media outlets (MSNBC mostly)regularly give this man a platform for his opinions? This is not an entertainer just giving his half-cent opinion. This is a man who is a "trusted" authority on politics.

When are we going to barrage MSNBC, CNN, et. al. with complaint e-mails for their obvious (of late) bias in coverage of primary politics?

I watch MSNBC daily in their coverage of the current race to the White House. And I am getting damned tired of the obvious double-standard that is being employed by the mainstream media. They have been running an out of context snippet of Rev. Wright's comments in a constant loop for the last two weeks day in and day out (that was redundant, but you get my point I'm sure). Several pundits continue to make racially volcanic statements on these programs day in and day out. It's ironic for all of the "we don't need to have a convo about race" protestations in response to Obama's speech they continue to go there. It is also ironic that the very same media that was there at the beginning of the race to build Obama up is now doing its damndest to tear his campaign down. Amazing.

I don't care that they criticize Obama. But I do care that there is a free for all in the arena of hurling the most negative half-truths in this criticism as it concerns Obama, but not nearly the same amount of vigor as it concerns Clinton or McCain when it comes to their major gaffes/missteps/dishonesty.

Remember when David Schuster was suspended for a good while by MSNBC for making the flippant remark that Clinton is "pimping out" her daughter on the campaign trail? Or how about when Chris Matthews made one too many borderline misogynist remarks regarding Clinton? Yeah he was derided quickly and apologized publicly just as quickly and hasn't been back there since.

Or how Rev. Wright's "influence" on Obama's political views is being given more scrutiny (way past ad nauseum) than say…Rev. Hagee's "influence" on McCain's political views?

I bring all this up in this extremely long post (so sorry) to point out what should be obvious: the MSM (mainstream media)has taken the all too familiar turn (remember past two pres. elections, the wholesale endorsement of the subsequent war in Iraq) in producing a biased version of what should be news.

I watch (or wish to) watch these networks for information, not misinformation. But now I know I will never tune in to these networks again for such. Funny how the networks that accuse(d) Fox News or these practices is engaging in the same tactics now.

So when is the online petition\black outrage machine going to take the media to task just as they did Imus/Dog the Bounty Hunter?

Sorry for hijacking. Hopefully some of the good people that visit this site will agree and shoot off an e-mail to some of these networks and let them know how they feel. I know I will.

i completely agree, bleh. i watch msnbc regularly and i can't believe that the network has essentially allowed pat buchanan to lead the discussion on "the country's" reaction to the obama speech and rev. wright. this is a man that does not hide from his bigotry, and seems to take a sense of pride in it. the only way he could only make the comments he makes in his article is if he inherently believes that black people are inferior. that slavery was actually a way from saving black people from themselves…are you kidding me? why is msnbc legitimizing this man?

i agree with loudmouth, i am feeling actual hatred for a perfect stranger. i just cannot believe this stupid piece of shit had the nerve to say that black people should be thankful for abuduction, the middle passage, slavery, and jim crow. i seriously want him dead.

At this point, all I can do is laugh because what else is there to do. Clearly this cat is very ignorant and I'm not even gonna bother correcting him on this blog because I can see that all of you know better. The questioin should no longer be, "What is the correct information?" or, "Why is Pat Buchanan wrong?", but "What will we, as educated colored people do about statements such as these?" We don't need to talk about this on this blog, what we do need to do is GET ON THE NETWORKS!!! Flood the servers with these messages as well as the blog boards. Get on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, NBC and all of the other networks only playing small cuts of Wright's sermons out of context and only reflecting token fractions of the colored people. DONT TALK ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT!

The more you think and acknowledge the more you empower somebody like that. Its all in the head. He won because your doing so much bitchin.

No, he wins because he's in the public eye and no one is speaking out against him or "bitchin" as you call it.

Pat is known for having those not so secret biases.
FACT:
He forgets the great potato famine in Ireland, that drove the Irish to these shores.
The Irish (his ancestors) were fleeing hunger and death to arrive here as a menial and despised group.

HISTORY PRIOR TO THAT:
The early Irish to the Americas were criminals/convicts released from the King's jail to fight and die civilizing America and Australia, the shackles weren't even removed until they were off British soil, on board ship.

People are not surprised by this, surely.

The gratitude, Pat, is demonstrated by our not storming your offices with guns. Where you complain of a riot, you should be grateful there aren't 100 riots.

Our gratitude is reinvesting our education, skills, and trades back into this often ungrateful nation.

Over the years, I have witnessed numerous individuals and groups wield statistical data as a weapon to convince people that their (usually biased) stance is one supported by factual numbers. What I find amazing is how two differing groups (like Democrats and Republicans) speaking on one common topic can shape questions and extract data to support their polar opposite views. Depending on How, Who and When we Present, Ask and Collect data, it seems to fit neatly into to biased box containing the desired content of information which supports the view we wish the world to see. So I will not spend this whole article refuting Mr. Buchanan’s statistics with those of my own. Although I have little doubt that I could find a mountain of statistics which contradict his.
First Mr. Buchanan, how can you decide or judge if America has been the best country on earth for Black folks? Have you ever been Black to know what we feel? It is ridiculous for you to make a statement like this when you are not able to know and feel the experience of being Black in America. Many Blacks have traveled to many other countries and found that the level of respect and acceptance of us as a people far exceeds that which we find within our American homeland borders.
You speak as if growing from the 600,000 brought over on slave ships to 40 million was some kind of utopian milestone. We grew in numbers while here; What and How does that represent anything tangible towards your hypothesis that “America has been the best place on earth for Blacks”? While you talk about us multiplying to 40 million here, why don’t you include how White Americans (slave owners) helped grow our population by breeding us like cattle during slavery time?
Do you really believe that you introduced Africans to Christianity? Acts 8:27-38 tells the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian (which by the way is an African my friend). Not only did Phillip expose him to Christ 1800 plus years before you generous White folks did to the slaves you brought over, but the Ethiopian was reading the scriptures of Esaias while in Jerusalem to worship. So while you think that Reverend Wright should get down on his knees and thank God that he is an American, maybe you should learn more about Biblical Scriptures.
You ask, “Is White America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of White America”? You asked this question as if it is answered strictly by a simple yes or no reply. There are some people (no matter their race) who will commit crimes regardless of their Socioeconomic status, their access to quality education, or their family structure. But to think that racial prejudices, poverty, not having access to exceptional legal representation, attending under funded schools ect., does not contribute to this large disparity between Blacks and Whites is preposterous.
It’s interesting how Mr. Buchanan has chosen to use his statistics. He talks about how the African-American community’s illegitimacy rate has reached 70 percent, But he does not touch on the fact that Black women are less likely to have an abortion than White women. How many White children who are counted as legitimate, are living with one parental figure which is not their biological parent? What is the illegitimacy rate of White Americans living in impoverished settings, such as trailer parks? If we just take these three factors into consideration, How much higher would White America’s illegitimacy rate be? If you factor in, The separating of African-American families during slavery, The historical reluctance to allow African-American men access to Family Supporting wage earning jobs and The financial aide system set up to encourage women to be alone with their children, you can see how illegitimacy rates might soar.
Mr. Buchanan goes on about how Blacks commit more crimes against Whites than Whites commit against Blacks. Plainly stated, interracial crimes are a small percentage of overall crimes committed. Most crimes are committed by someone of one’s own race (White on White, Black on Black, Asian on Asian ect.). Now in touching the subject of interracial crimes such as rape (in which Mr. Buchanan states is 100 times more likely to happen Black on White, than White on Black), are we talking strictly convictions? Who doesn’t know that you are more likely to be convicted if you are a Black man accused of raping a White woman? Well, I guess it could be worse, we could still be getting hung just for looking at one (That’s another story though). Are you counting in that number, Public defenders who did not give adequate representation to their Black clients? Are you considering how many Black women do not come forward, believing that this judicial system will not diligently pursue justice in a case of a White man accused of raping a Black woman? You say that the Tawana Brawley and Duke rape cases were hoaxes. But you do not state that the reason there was so much energy behind these cases was the despicable past sexual criminal acts perpetrated towards African-American women by White men. Of course none of those cases would be on your statistical data sheet since those men were not convicted. So in your mind, no conviction, no stat huh?
Life is more than manipulated stats and your nonsensical view of how glad someone should be living in America. Maybe you should take the time to really listen, maybe you would learn something to help you make a true and accurate assessment.

This Article Is Part Of The Perspectives Series
By Jonathan Richardson
Author Of The Thought Provoking Book: The Complicated Life Of The African-American Man(What’s on his mind)