While I am empathic to many of the central tenets of black radicalism, I am not writing to you to excuse the specific comments made by Reverend Wright. As you may already know, Barack Obama has been scrutinized by the media because of his ties to Reverend Wright. Wright was a close religious adviser to the Obama family and preached regularly at Obama’s church. Recently, Wright called America the “USKKKA” and 9/11 “chickens coming home to roost” just after the attacks.

Obama has denounced these statements and claims. He was also not in Wright’s church when they were made. These comments were at least unnecessarily inflammatory and at worst, offensive. Comparing the United States to Al-Qaeda after 9/11 is simply gratuitous and hurtful to all races and political affiliations.

Regardless, I would think that our nation would be understanding enough to perceive the sentiment of one side from the collective experience of that side. After generations of discrimination, police brutality and general racism, can any of us not really expect that Blacks’ perceptions of America differ from that of Whites? Honestly people.

African-American resentment had been around long before Reverend Wright’s remarks. The reason this has received so much attention is not because there is any real evidence that Obama is somehow a secret black radical or harbors resentment against all white people—he is the first competitive and mainstream black presidential candidate. He never said anything that could in any way be construed as bigoted against white people. He has been explicitly inclusionary and campaigned to the whole country, not just the African-American community like many failed black candidates. It has actually been funny to watch fringe anti-Obama lunatics back pedal from the assertion that Obama is a Muslim or that he wasn’t “black” enough, instead labeling him a Christian racist.

The reason Wright’s controversial statements have received so much attention is partly because it is a juicy news story, partly because of some latent racism, but mostly because of the good old-fashioned cheap, mud-slinging political tactics. What do people expect Obama will do? Embezzle money to the New Black Panthers? Put Whites in concentration camps? Please.

Clinton, McCain, and the media should be ashamed of themselves for not quickly dismissing Wright’s comments as rubbish. By continuing to dwell on his comments, we are publicizing his demagogic preaching. Instead, as a nation, we must prove that 2008 is the year when we are capable of ignoring such incidents.