Joan Walsh on MSNBC

Sunday, May 04, 2008

To: Joan Walsh
Salon.com



I saw you on reliable sources. Let me first thank you for raising the issue of racist pastors who are given a pass by white dominated corporate media. But you failed miserably when you aided and abetted corporate media in re-tying Obama to Wright. You may have not liked what Wright said about this white dominated country, because you are white, but you have no idea how living through segregation, discrimination, and racism is. I do. I’ve been there and done that. At 58, I have witnessed my life ruined, economically, because of this.

As to the Wright controversy, here you are two days from the Indiana primary still talking about how he is hurting Barack Obama. It seems that no matter what Obama says, you and your white media colleagues, and some black (Amy Holmes is a ridiculous opportunist who obviously has gotten as far as she has gotten by attacking people of her own race), continue the mantra of Wright.

Holmes wasted no time in coming to corporate media’s defense in both its coverage of these other pastors and Hagee, for example, drawing a distinction between McCain’s embrace of Hagee as being different from the Wright coverage because Wright was Obama’s pastor and Hagee is not McCain’s pastor.

Sadly, you agreed with her and I strongly disagree with both of you. What does it say about McCain’a judgment, when he seek the endorsement of a Hagee? What about his judgment in refusing to “divorce” Hagee? McCain basically told us that he may disagree with Hagee’s statements but he wasn’t going to dump him. Why wasn’t the bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran song that McCain sang for an elite audience, looped 24 hours, seven days a week, for six weeks? And why wasn’t Hillary’s odious lie about Bosnia sniper fire continually looped 24-7? Why didn’t you and other so-called journalist question her about blatantly lying? If you had lived in the inner city, like I have and heard bullets whizzing by, you would know that this is an unforgettable experience. No, she flat out lied and media gave her a big pass.

As an African American woman, a journalist, a displaced New Orleanian, and a Catholic, I could not have been more insulted by Hagee’s pronouncements. Yet, corporate media aired it for two days and swept it under the rug.

And your station’s debate? A total set-up to torpedo Obama’s campaign. Stephanopolous? Come on!


News flash, Wright is not running. Why, five weeks later, are we still seeing and hearing about Reverend Wright? To ensure that an African American does not get into the “White House,” of course. You and your colleagues are so afraid of having a black in the “White House” that you’d rather pave the way, via character assassination of Obama, for a stone cold liar or a wealthy warmonger who admits to not knowing anything about the economy. If Obama had done and said either of these things, that would be the subject of endless looping.

Let me also say, I’m not support Obama because he is black. I initially wanted to support Hillary Clinton because I thought it would be great to have a woman with experience in White House politics as president.

But as the race has progressed and Clinton has proven Obama right, that she will do and say anything to get elected, I have lost all respect for her. Obama is an educated, intelligent man, a man of integrity and honest, and a man who cares about others. That’s why I’m voting for him.

Ms. Walsh, you and corporate media managers, and corporate media, in general, are infected with institutionalized racism. In case you don’t know, racism is a mental illness. There’s a story for you. Ask Dr. Alvin Poussaint, the Harvard psychiatrist about that. Until I see fair and balanced treatment of Senator Obama, I will continue to view corporate media as racist to the core.

CC Campbell-Rock