Now, look, you could, as well, pick some libelous anti-Muslim stuff (shouldn’t be too difficult, a day’s worth of the LGF should have plenty) and contrast it with, say, Murder, Inc., or, for that matter, any number of ‘Jewish’ atrocities perpetrated by Israeli Zionists (here, read this, for example). And now what? What does it prove, what does it mean to you?

People who blow up people in public (and other) places are Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and atheists. In fact I suspect Jews and Christians in the last 50-60 years probably have been far ahead in the ‘blowing up people’ game. I’m sure you feel that they for the most part had good excuses to blow up people, but that’s just your opinion.

Well, not quite, in that Jews weren’t really using the blood of Muslim babies in their Passover bread, but Muslims really do blow up people in public places using suicide bombers, behead people, and so on. That is to say, the one is about an imaginary evil, the other about a real evil which, while it isn’t remotely universal, sadly IS associated with a particular religion.

Actually, I noticed in many cases it’s even worse than that; one doesn’t even have to be dark. Any association will do: the name, clothes, accent, facial features, anything. It really is exactly identical to standard 20th century antisemitism, and I believe it really is the same phenomenon.

argh…

Since this seems to afflict Democrats as well as Republicans, Obama might want to worry about the constituency a little bit.

How people hear something depends on their own experience and worldview, says Teresa Fry Brown, who teaches the art of preaching at Emory University in Atlanta. “I listen to 60 sermons a week by black and white pastors, and you could find something in almost any one that is offensive to somebody.”

The key as to whether language is hate speech lies in a preacher’s overall message, according to Martin Marty, professor emeritus of the University of Chicago Divinity School and renowned historian of religion. Dr. Marty, who has visited Trinity many times, says, “If Wright only had whites in his searchlight, you might call it [hate speech]. But he goes after the men in his church” about fatherhood, he puts himself and his people under the prophetic spotlight.

Prophetic preaching has been fundamental to the black church since the days of slavery. The Bible and its thundering prophets modeled a way forward that enabled black preachers to speak the hard truths while simultaneously envisioning a better future. [...]

As Dr. King once wrote, there can only be deep disappointment where there is deep love, Braxton says. That’s the way he sees Wright’s deep disappointment and anger, too – not as hateful speech, but simply “radical,” from someone who expects so much more.

Some say it may also be the style of preaching that puts people off, especially those used to a tamer message.

“Prophetic preaching involves critique and social analysis,” says Dr. Fry Brown. “One has to be able to assess the needs and issues of a people and then, using language the people understand, say, ‘This is what’s happening. God is not pleased. We need to do something about it.’”