Originally Posted by willravel

How about this: Rev. Wright peppered in some really irresponsible claims during his sermons, including the idea that AIDS was created to kill black people. Were they stupid? Not until the media got ahold of them. Up until the tenants of spin alley, it was simply irresponsible, and I continue to view them as such. Is it okay to believe that AIDS was created to kill black people? Not unless you have real, verifiable evidence. Otherwise it's comparable to some of the thing Jerry Falwell said, from a certain perspective. The problem with that perspective, though, is that it fails to take into account any relevant history. Jerry Falwell has likely never been victimized as a result of his skin color, and Jerry Falwell's great great grandparents weren't slaves.

Like it or not, that changes the comparison considerably. The frightening thing, as DC pointed out, is that despite the comparison not even being fair to black people, it seems clear that some people can't even find them as being equivalent. The even nuttier part is that Ustwo is just as much of an atheist as I am (imagine Ustwo as a Christopher Hitchens type of atheist, or an atheist that's conservative), but he still hasn't, to my memory, mentioned Falwell and his hate-squad.

So I'm saying it: what Reverend Wright said was irresponsible. I'd also ask Obama about it, but he's already answered questions about it. Ad nauseum. When has Bush asked about Jerry "God is full of hate according to me" Falwell?