Comments on: On the South Side of Chicago http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/ An Internet hub for moderates, centrists, and independents, with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, and right Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:08:02 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: elrod http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115418 elrod Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:40:21 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115418 The White Sox are from the South Side. And unlike the hapless Cubs, they've won a World Series in the last 100 years. Heh heh. The White Sox are from the South Side. And unlike the hapless Cubs, they've won a World Series in the last 100 years. Heh heh.

]]> By: pabel http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115416 pabel Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:28:48 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115416 Marsh -- thanks for the extra detail. I stand duly corrected -- although there's no evidence Oprah severed her ties with the church due to inflammatory remarks she heard or practices she observed, rather perhaps, as a result of the distraction of her celebrity, as she seems to suggest. Rev. Wright, on the other hand, should probably cut her some slack. Marsh — thanks for the extra detail. I stand duly corrected — although there's no evidence Oprah severed her ties with the church due to inflammatory remarks she heard or practices she observed, rather perhaps, as a result of the distraction of her celebrity, as she seems to suggest. Rev. Wright, on the other hand, should probably cut her some slack.

]]> By: PaulSilver http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115383 PaulSilver Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:11:08 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115383 How does one compare the Keating five, The failure of Health Care reform and Reverend Wright? What if we were to concede that each candidate has said and done things they regret. How would you make your choice?<br>To me the unfortunate things that Obama has said and done is modest by comparison particularly when weighed against the stuff about him I like and his vision for the future. How does one compare the Keating five, The failure of Health Care reform and Reverend Wright? What if we were to concede that each candidate has said and done things they regret. How would you make your choice?
To me the unfortunate things that Obama has said and done is modest by comparison particularly when weighed against the stuff about him I like and his vision for the future.

]]> By: Marsh http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115341 Marsh Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:07:28 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115341 "If it had been, Sen. Obama claims he would have left — and, one might assume, Oprah Winfrey would have severed her ties with the Church, as well."<br><br>Pete - it appears Oprah did leave the church. See article in Christianity Today 2002.<br><a href="http://www.wikio.com/news/Oprah+Going?wfid=49728901">http://www.wikio.com/news/Oprah+Going?wfid=4972...</a> page 7<br><br><i>According to Trinity's senior pastor Jeremiah Wright, however, Oprah has not attended a service there in the last eight years. When she first came to Trinity in the 1980s, it seemed that she would become an active participant. Says Wright, "She walked the aisle to become a member, publicly claimed us as her church in Ebony magazine, and when I would run into her socially, like at a United Negro College Fund dinner, she would say, 'Here's my pastor!'" But Oprah never completed the membership classes and after awhile her attendance dropped off.<br><br>Wright says Oprah had been very active as a member of Bethel AME Church during her years in Baltimore. Mentoring young girls was one of her primary interests at Bethel, and it looked as though she would continue that ministry at Trinity. But then The Oprah Show went national and altered the course of her life.<br><br>"Sundays got to be a hassle for her," Wright says. "Everybody came at her with notes, with portfolios, with ideas and requests. It made her coming to church a problem."<br><br>Shortly after her show was syndicated in 1986, Oprah spoke about the challenges of being a celebrity in a public worship service: "Last Sunday I was in church, and a deacon tapped me on the knee and asked me for my autograph," she said. "I told him, 'I don't do autographs in church. Jesus is the star here.' "<br><br>Wright understands the pressures Oprah faces in public settings, but he has seen other celebrities maintain a commitment to their churches, despite their fame. He thinks there might be other reasons for Oprah's absence from the pew. "I think it is hard for most very wealthy people to be a part of the church," he says. "Somebody who makes $100 a week has no problem tithing. But start making $35 million a year, and you'll want to renegotiate the contract. You don't want to be a part of 'organized religion' at that point. That's a generalized statement, but that's what I've found across the years. The wealthier somebody gets, the more they pull away from the church."<br><br>Today Oprah's relationship with Trinity and Jeremiah Wright seems strained. In a column for a recent issue of Black Collegian magazine, Wright mentioned Oprah as an example of African Americans who forget their roots in the church after finding success. "A lot of us do not even like the word faith anymore," he wrote. "We prefer the more chic-sounding word, spirituality! We are caught up in an Oprah-generated mentality and a 12-step vocabulary that prevents us from using the very words and the very bridge that 'brought us over!' "<br><br>Oprah Winfrey did not respond to CT's request for comment about the article, but Wright stands by his statement. He is clearly put off by the direction Oprah's faith seems to have taken.</I><br><br>Also here, article by Jeremiah Wright. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/243f5z">http://tinyurl.com/243f5z</a></i> “If it had been, Sen. Obama claims he would have left — and, one might assume, Oprah Winfrey would have severed her ties with the Church, as well.”

Pete – it appears Oprah did leave the church. See article in Christianity Today 2002.
http://www.wikio.com/news/Oprah+Going?wfid=4972... page 7

According to Trinity's senior pastor Jeremiah Wright, however, Oprah has not attended a service there in the last eight years. When she first came to Trinity in the 1980s, it seemed that she would become an active participant. Says Wright, “She walked the aisle to become a member, publicly claimed us as her church in Ebony magazine, and when I would run into her socially, like at a United Negro College Fund dinner, she would say, 'Here's my pastor!'” But Oprah never completed the membership classes and after awhile her attendance dropped off.

Wright says Oprah had been very active as a member of Bethel AME Church during her years in Baltimore. Mentoring young girls was one of her primary interests at Bethel, and it looked as though she would continue that ministry at Trinity. But then The Oprah Show went national and altered the course of her life.

“Sundays got to be a hassle for her,” Wright says. “Everybody came at her with notes, with portfolios, with ideas and requests. It made her coming to church a problem.”

Shortly after her show was syndicated in 1986, Oprah spoke about the challenges of being a celebrity in a public worship service: “Last Sunday I was in church, and a deacon tapped me on the knee and asked me for my autograph,” she said. “I told him, 'I don't do autographs in church. Jesus is the star here.' “

Wright understands the pressures Oprah faces in public settings, but he has seen other celebrities maintain a commitment to their churches, despite their fame. He thinks there might be other reasons for Oprah's absence from the pew. “I think it is hard for most very wealthy people to be a part of the church,” he says. “Somebody who makes $100 a week has no problem tithing. But start making $35 million a year, and you'll want to renegotiate the contract. You don't want to be a part of 'organized religion' at that point. That's a generalized statement, but that's what I've found across the years. The wealthier somebody gets, the more they pull away from the church.”

Today Oprah's relationship with Trinity and Jeremiah Wright seems strained. In a column for a recent issue of Black Collegian magazine, Wright mentioned Oprah as an example of African Americans who forget their roots in the church after finding success. “A lot of us do not even like the word faith anymore,” he wrote. “We prefer the more chic-sounding word, spirituality! We are caught up in an Oprah-generated mentality and a 12-step vocabulary that prevents us from using the very words and the very bridge that 'brought us over!' “

Oprah Winfrey did not respond to CT's request for comment about the article, but Wright stands by his statement. He is clearly put off by the direction Oprah's faith seems to have taken.

Also here, article by Jeremiah Wright. http://tinyurl.com/243f5z

]]> By: pabel http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115336 pabel Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:37:34 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115336 George -- absolutely. One of the reasons I went back and edited this post to include the quote from Laurence Peter. George — absolutely. One of the reasons I went back and edited this post to include the quote from Laurence Peter.

]]> By: GeorgeSorwell http://themoderatevoice.com/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/comment-page-1/#comment-115297 GeorgeSorwell Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:50:08 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18571/on-the-south-side-of-chicago/#comment-115297 <blockquote>What writers like Glick refuse to acknowledge, however, is the utter lack of evidence that there was actually 20 years’ worth of vitriol to sit through.</blockquote><br><br>What takes the place of evidence? Fear? Prejudice?

What writers like Glick refuse to acknowledge, however, is the utter lack of evidence that there was actually 20 years’ worth of vitriol to sit through.

What takes the place of evidence? Fear? Prejudice?

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