NationStates Jolt Archive

Could his comments about racism against blacks have influenced on this decision? Or is this a way of saying no to Barrack Obama?

EVANSTON, Ill. (May 1) - Northwestern University has withdrawn its offer of an honorary degree to the former pastor of Democrat Barack Obama.

A university official says the school had offered the Rev. Jeremiah Wright an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology.

But vice president for university relations Alan Cubbage now says the offer has been rescinded because of the controversy surrounding Wright. He also says the school wants "to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement not be affected."

http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/university-cancels-wrights-degree/20080501162809990001

What say you, Generalites?

i say he was dis-invited because the university didnt want to jeopardize any big donations from rich alumni.

thats their primary focus in these things.

They're a private university and they are responsible for who they give these honorary degrees for. I have no problem with what they are doing.

i say he was dis-invited because the university didnt want to jeopardize any big donations from rich alumni.

thats their primary focus in these things.

Whatever their motivation is, it is their choice not to represented as being associated with Wright. You can try to demonize it as much as you want, but they also have a academic responsibility, and if they believe that the message Wright preaches shouldn't be given the legitimacy of a degree from their university, that is their call.

OMG RACISM!!!11!1!


I wish I could be at his church this sunday and hear his sermon...


Anyway, they have every right to do this. And they should. Act like a dousche, dont be suprised if people stop lining up to give you stuff.

OMG RACISM!!!11!1!


I wish I could be at his church this sunday and hear his sermon...


Anyway, they have every right to do this. And they should. Act like a dousche, dont be suprised if people stop lining up to give you stuff.

I thought the same thing and then I started thinking about Wright being Obama´s reverend and all and I felt a cold twinge. I don´t know why.

Whatever their motivation is, it is their choice not to represented as being associated with Wright. You can try to demonize it as much as you want, but they also have a academic responsibility, and if they believe that the message Wright preaches shouldn't be given the legitimacy of a degree from their university, that is their call.

is that demonizing? it seems to be to be true.

Northwestern is a pretty liberal institution in a liberal region of Obama's own home state. I think Obama's decision to cut ties with Wright triggered Northwestern's decision. The Wright controversy was being buried until Wright opened up his big fat mouth and even made Obama realize the criticism of Wright was correct.

i say he was dis-invited because the university didnt want to jeopardize any big donations from rich alumni.

thats their primary focus in these things.

That's right it is about money and that's about it.

i say he was dis-invited because the university didnt want to jeopardize any big donations from rich alumni.

thats their primary focus in these things.
Northwestern is a very liberal institution with a fairly liberal alumni base. We are talking about the North Shore here. Most of their alumni probably don't care.

Northwestern is a very liberal institution with a fairly liberal alumni base. We are talking about the North Shore here. Most of their alumni probably don't care.

why do you think he was dis-invited then?

is that demonizing? it seems to be to be true.

Well, it isn't by itself. It's only one small step to "OMG They're whoring themselves out in exchange for their morals" I don't think that's what they're doing, and I was trying to cut it off at the pass. Sorry if I came on a bit strong.

That's right it is about money and that's about it.

Aand there it is.

Yeah, they gave it to him and they have right to take it too. He didn't attend to the uni to earn it.

Well, it isn't by itself. It's only one small step to "OMG They're whoring themselves out in exchange for their morals" I don't think that's what they're doing, and I was trying to cut it off at the pass. Sorry if I came on a bit strong.

maybe im just more cynical than you are. it seems like a very normal reaction to me not bad, not good, but business as usual. i dont think less of them for it.

or maybe they are worried that there would be some kind of shitstorm due to what he would say in his speech and they think it would overshadow the graduation itself.

i dont think its because of his association with obama.

He's been behaving quite lamely lately, and piggybacking on Barack Obama's rise, in order to gain an awful lot of national attention for himself, that he wouldn't otherwise get.

Could his comments about racism against blacks have influenced on this decision? Or is this a way of saying no to Barrack Obama?



http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/university-cancels-wrights-degree/20080501162809990001

What say you, Generalites?

MODEDIT: You forgot the link. It should read, "As Charles Krauthammer says in his Washington Post column (Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900.html?sub=new)): This 20-year association with Wright calls into question everything about Obama: his truthfulness in his serially adjusted stories of what he knew and when he knew it; his judgment in choosing as his mentor, pastor and great friend a man he just now realizes is a purveyor of racial hatred; and the central premise of his campaign, that he is the bringer of a "new politics," rising above the old Washington ways of expediency. It's hard to think of an act more blatantly expedient than renouncing Wright when his show, once done from the press club instead of the pulpit, could no longer be "contextualized" as something whites could not understand and only Obama could explain in all its complexity.

So why did Obama dump Wright, and by extension, the university withdraw the degree? For political expedience, or, "politics as usual". Don't stop supporting what you really believe in - that whites are innately evil, that America should be damned, and that it's all the white folks fault and they white people should permanently feel guilty - until polls show you should back off.

MODEDIT: You forgot the link again, Hotwife. It should read,

More from Charles Krauthammer's Washington Post column (Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900.html?sub=new)):At a news conference in North Carolina, Obama explained why he finally decided to do the deed. Apparently, Wright's latest comments -- Obama cited three in particular -- were so shockingly "divisive and destructive" that he had to renounce the man, not just the words.

What were Obama's three citations? Wright's claim that AIDS was invented by the U.S. government to commit genocide. His praise of Louis Farrakhan as a great man. And his blaming Sept. 11 on American "terrorism."

But these comments are not new. These were precisely the outrages that prompted the initial furor when the Wright tapes emerged seven weeks ago. Obama decided to cut off Wright not because Wright's words or character or views had suddenly changed. The only thing that changed was the venue in which Wright chose to display them -- live on national TV at the National Press Club. That unfortunate choice destroyed Obama's Philadelphia pretense that this "endless loop" of sermon excerpts being shown on "television sets and YouTube" had been taken out of context.

Obama's Philadelphia oration was an exercise in contextualization. In one particularly egregious play on white guilt, Obama had the audacity to suggest that whites should be ashamed that they were ever surprised by Wright's remarks: "The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour of American life occurs on Sunday morning."

That was then. On Tuesday, Obama declared that he himself was surprised at Wright's outrages. But hadn't Obama told us that surprise about Wright is a result of white ignorance of black churches brought on by America's history of segregated services? How then to explain Obama's own presumed ignorance? Surely he too was not sitting in those segregated white churches on those fateful Sundays when he conveniently missed all of Wright's racist rants.

Obama's turning surprise about Wright into something to be counted against whites-- one of the more clever devices in that shameful, brilliantly executed, 5,000-word intellectual fraud in Philadelphia -- now stands discredited by Obama's own admission of surprise.

This 20-year association with Wright calls into question everything about Obama: his truthfulness in his serially adjusted stories of what he knew and when he knew it; his judgment in choosing as his mentor, pastor and great friend a man he just now realizes is a purveyor of racial hatred; and the central premise of his campaign, that he is the bringer of a "new politics," rising above the old Washington ways of expediency. It's hard to think of an act more blatantly expedient than renouncing Wright when his show, once done from the press club instead of the pulpit, could no longer be "contextualized" as something whites could not understand and only Obama could explain in all its complexity.

That very well may mean that Wright's association with Barack Obama could cost him the election...

That very well may mean that Wright's association with Barack Obama could cost him the election...

Don't get me wrong - Barack seems like a nice guy, and certainly no worse than the other candidates - but he should have dumped Wright a long, long time ago.

Don't get me wrong - Barack seems like a nice guy, and certainly no worse than the other candidates - but he should have dumped Wright a long, long time ago.

Agreed. He needed a clean slate so as to avoid this sort of controversy so close already to the elections.

So why did Obama dump Wright, and by extension, the university (............)of surprise.

Only the first paragraph is yours. The rest is lifted from here
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/the_race_speech_revisited.html

Kindly edit your post to show you're quoting and give a link back to the source.

Only the first paragraph is yours. The rest is lifted from here
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/the_race_speech_revisited.html

Kindly edit your post to show you're quoting and give a link back to the source.

Actually, you're wrong. It's from here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900_pf.html

Why should I not post an already clear and impermeable argument?

Actually, you're wrong. It's from here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900_pf.html

Why should I not post an already clear and impermeable argument?

I never commented on what you should or should not post. What I said - in a very clear way - is that you should show that you are quoting and give a link back to the source.. Thats what people usually do to avoid accusations of plagarism.

why do you think he was dis-invited then?
An honorary degree is supposed to be a "celebratory" occasion (in the word they use). Commencements aren't supposed to be about arguing controversial issues. The honorary-degree recipient should be someone that everyone feels happy about honoring.

Actually, you're wrong. It's from here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900_pf.html

Why should I not post an already clear and impermeable argument?

of course you should. its just that you need to attribute it to the actual author eh?

obama's association with rev. wright would be far more significant if the other 2 candidates didnt have their own sketchy associations with shady characters.

why do you think he was dis-invited then?
Because Wright is being a Dick. And Dicks like that don't deserve anything.


Oh and I just 'love' the Faux news like posts that Hotwife is making.
Republican fearmongering and all.

This 20-year association with Wright calls into question everything about Obama: his truthfulness in his serially adjusted stories of what he knew and when he knew it; his judgment in choosing as his mentor, pastor and great friend a man he just now realizes is a purveyor of racial hatred; and the central premise of his campaign, that he is the bringer of a "new politics," rising above the old Washington ways of expediency. It's hard to think of an act more blatantly expedient than renouncing Wright when his show, once done from the press club instead of the pulpit, could no longer be "contextualized" as something whites could not understand and only Obama could explain in all its complexity.

And that is lifted from the same article by Krauthammer. Its the second last paragraph of the original.

Actually, you're wrong. It's from here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900_pf.html

Why should I not post an already clear and impermeable argument?

I'm not attacking you Hotwife but what the others say is true. If you're posting an already published article, it's imperative that you link your source. Otherwise it could be considered as plagerism and that's a felony.

So why did Obama dump Wright, and by extension, the university withdraw the degree? - snip -



Kimchi, when you blatantly and without any effort to hide the fact what so ever decide to plagerize someone elses work word for word (http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9129233) at least have the good sense to cite it and be honest with the fact that you couldn't think it up by yourself.

Kimchi, when you blatantly and without any effort to hide the fact what so ever decide to plagerize someone elses work word for word (http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9129233) at least have the good sense to cite it and be honest with the fact that you couldn't think it up by yourself.

Haha, Deep Kimchi's still plagiarising? Hilarious, especially as I thought the last time I caught him in the act (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=456594&highlight=plagiarise), he/they learnt their lesson. Guess some old dogs can't learn new tricks.

It's been so quiet around here without him.


...or should I say, peaceful...

It's a good thing they canceled it. Rev. Wright is a racist like Jesse Jackson and Sharpton. If any white person would have said a quarter of what he said there would be riots against them. The double standard has to end! Racism exists BOTH ways.

Please note: If you're quoting from another person's writings, please include a link to your source in the post where they're quoted.

The legal obligations to do so are important, but can lead to silly off-topic bickering about how much quoting constitutes "fair comment".

I think we'd be better sticking to the more compelling reason: intellectual honesty.

I agree with the school. Look no farther than McCain and New School last year.

Graduation is about the graduates and their families. Not about politics. Not about dick waving. It is about our accomplishments. Fuck the rest, and if they get in the way, then get rid of it. That simple..

Does canceling his degree also revoke his 10% discount at Dairy Queen? Filed under: Who cares.