Is God mad at America? Black America?
Don't look at me. I didn't say it. Neither did Pat Robertson. Mayor Ralph Nagin (New Orleans) did. Highlights:
"Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day.
"Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."
"It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans--the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," the mayor said. "This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
I am not at all convinced that Mr. Nagin's theology is sound. In fact, I'm almost sure it's not. And I doubt that the race of the majority of its inhabitants is the only factor that defines the character of a city (although I'm sure it contributes). Claiming a divine mandate for a particular race to populate a particular geographical region is rather dubious as well, but lets be honest: several other races have made similar claims at various times in history. But in the same speech the mayor did go on to address the serious problem of "black on black" crime, pointing out that, clearly, this was a problem that can only be solved by black people. So hopefully Mr. Nagin's wild assertions about God's judgment won't overshadow this useful observation. And maybe we can get a little closer to the dream this year, who knows? Happy MLK Day.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/16/D8F61AV80.html
"Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day.
"Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."
"It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans--the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," the mayor said. "This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
I am not at all convinced that Mr. Nagin's theology is sound. In fact, I'm almost sure it's not. And I doubt that the race of the majority of its inhabitants is the only factor that defines the character of a city (although I'm sure it contributes). Claiming a divine mandate for a particular race to populate a particular geographical region is rather dubious as well, but lets be honest: several other races have made similar claims at various times in history. But in the same speech the mayor did go on to address the serious problem of "black on black" crime, pointing out that, clearly, this was a problem that can only be solved by black people. So hopefully Mr. Nagin's wild assertions about God's judgment won't overshadow this useful observation. And maybe we can get a little closer to the dream this year, who knows? Happy MLK Day.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/16/D8F61AV80.html
6 Comments:
a "chocolate" New Orleans???? I can't believe he said that.
Yeah, I've always felt that references to things like "chocolate" or "vanilla" when speaking about race were in bad taste. Clearly Nagin disagrees.
You know, it's comments like this that really make me want to pack my bags for a semester and head down there to see what's really going on. I find myself in complete disbelief of what the politicians and media are saying.
FYI: Today Nagin took back the "chocolate" and "God" comments. Read it here: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/17/D8F6M8IG2.html
Congrats on scooping the opinion journal Joni. Today Best of the Web has a charming bit comparing Nagin and Robertson.
I scooped OJ?! Sweet! Guess it pays to read Drudge...although I must admit the Robertson comment was my own addition...
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