Chgo Sun-Times Columnist Supports Louis Farrakhan, Scolds Obama

Newsbusters.org ^ | 3/3/08 | Warner Todd Huston

[Mobile Vulgus]

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has proven that skin color is deeper than hate in her Sunday column as she scolded Barack Obama for distancing himself from the endorsement of the racist Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan. Mitchell scoffed at Barack's denouncement of Farrakhan as merely a "game" to placate racist white people and tried to pump up the legitimacy of Farrakhan at the same time. Shockingly Mitchell excused every hateful thing ever said by Farrakhan and said that Barack should have "found a way" to accept Farrakhan's endorsement "without denigrating Farrakhan's legacy."

Mitchell scolded Barack Obama because he tried to make sure that voters don't think that he, Barack, supports the sort of racism evinced in the past by Louis Farrakhan. Saying that, "most black people understand the game," Mitchell seems to feel that the only reason Obama eschewed Farrakhan’s praise is because all those racist whites would pillory Barack for accepting such an endorsement and so, she feels, he had to trash Farrakhan. Sadly for Mitchell, Farrakhan is a worthy representative of the black community and she feels that Obama is somehow being an apostate to that community for dumping on Farrakhan.

How Mitchell can excuse Farrakhan for all his racist comments is inexplicable. She seems, though, to merely accept at face value his word that he isn't a racist. One wonders if she would as easily accept the disclaimer from any KKK member that he doesn't really hate blacks... wink, wink... in the same way she so easily seems to take Farrakhan at his word despite all his continued racist comments?

But, Louis Farrakhan has a long and storied history of racist pronouncements against Jews and whites and has made many, many threats of violence against whites as well as numerous proclamations urging black separatism. He hasn't just made a comment or two that "might" be interpreted as racist he's made a career out of being a hatemonger.

During the 1984 presidential campaign of Jesse Jackson, for instance, Farrakhan threatened white America with a black insurrection. Farrakhan said he'd "lead an army of black men and women to Washington, D.C. and we will . . . negotiate for a separate state or territory of our own." This is Black Panther type rhetoric not that of a religious leader, for sure.

The ADL has chronicled many of Farrakhan's anti-Jew, anti-white, and anti-homosexual attacks over these many years.

Farrakhan’s bigoted and anti-Semitic rhetoric has included statements calling whites "blue eyed devils" and Jews "bloodsuckers" that controlled the slave trade, the government, the media and various Black individuals and organizations. In 2006, he blamed Jews and Israel for the war in Iraq, for controlling Hollywood and for promoting what he considers immorality during his February Saviours' Day address in Chicago.

In a 2007 interview with Arabic-language television news network Al Jazeera, Farrakhan accused Jews of anti-Semitism, charging that "The real anti-Semites are those who came out of Europe and settled in Palestine, and now they call themselves the true Jews, when in fact, they converted to Judaism."

There are dozens and dozens of Farrakhan quotes revealing his hatred for white and Jews. It is without legitimate dispute that he is an overt racist and a violence advocating cult leader. Mitchell's ability to ignore decades of Farrakhan's hate-speak is simply incredible.

Apparently Mitchell doesn’t even believe Barack when he says he disavows Farrakhan.

When Sen. Barack Obama "rejected" and "denounced" the support of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan during the MSNBC debate last week, it wasn't his finest hour.

Here Mitchell winks at Obama's possibly fake denouncement of Farrakhan as a sop to racist whites. Of Barack's rejection of Farrakhan, Mitchell says that his efforts were "insulting" to Farrakhan and the black community.

Although Obama scored points for defusing a political bomb, his answer was insulting.

She goes on to paint Farrakhan as the sensible one by praising his efforts to smooth Obama's feathers and seems to praise other Nation of Islam followers for keeping their eye on good politics by "forgiving" Obama for his apostasy.

Other longtime supporters of the Nation of Islam are willing to forgive Obama for playing into the hands of his staunchest critics.

Forgive? What is to forgive? Barack rightfully let people know he doesn’t support the hate that constantly flows from Farrakhan. Barack has nothing to be forgiven for in this case. But here is Mitchell imagining that Barack must be forgiven for speaking out against racism! Simply unbelievable.

Then Mitchell ridiculously praises Farrakhan for his long "battle against racial oppression and hatred."

At 74 years old, Farrakhan has paid his dues in the battle against racial oppression and hatred. Over the years, a lot of black people have disagreed with Farrakhan on his stance regarding Israel, and many of us have regretted his ongoing controversy with powerful Jewish leaders.

This is amazing for its obliviousness. Farrakhan is an agent against racism and hatred? His entire history is one of fomenting such sentiments! Yet, here is Mitchell bold faced in her denials of such. This is simply a head spinner.

Mitchell ends her piece with a finger wagging in Obama's face.

Obama should have found a way to escape Russert's trap without denigrating Farrakhan's legacy.

This Sun-Times piece has to rank as one of the most obscene apologias for evil I've seen in a national U.S. paper since Walter Duranty won the Pulitzer making excuses for Joseph Stalin in the pages of the New York Times in the 1930s.

The Sun-Times should certainly be ashamed of this idiocy.

See more at Newsbusters.org

[Mobile Vulgus]

Man is this Mitchell a racist!

[chessplayer]

Unreal.

[WashingtonSource]

It would appear a virulent form of black racism has entrenched itself in Chicago. It needs to be exposed and ridiculed until it can no longer rear its ugly head.

[USS Alaska]

Doesn’t she play the looie on Law and Order?

[AbeKrieger]

She’s a racist but I think she’s not all wrong in pointing out Obama’s motives for distancing himself from Farrakhan. Without white support he’s cooked.

I guarantee he’s reached out to Farrakhan via back channels to work out some sort of public-private stance here where he’ll play both sides.

[dinoparty]

Obama is in a real Pickle on this issue, and the Repubs should use it for all its worth. Does he piss off the closeted Farrakhan backers in the black community, or does he make himself look like a racist, anti-semitic kook?

[dinoparty]

“I guarantee he’s reached out to Farrakhan via back channels to work out some sort of public-private stance here where he’ll play both sides.”

I think it would be fair for Repubs to ask whether this has happened.

[MinuteGal]

The Sun-Times is about two pig-hairs from bankruptcy.

This rag has been a cancer in the city of Chicago for far too long. It catered to the North Shore limousine liberals for decades......now it's also catering to radicals and lunatics in order to keep some readership so it can sell advertising.

Too bad the radicals and lunatics don't have any money to buy the type of major advertising that keep a newspaper in business.

Leni

[PGR88]

Obama! Obama! He’s our Man!
If he can’t do it - Farrakahn!

[stylin19a]

always has been...long time.

I had a running email conversation with her, for awhile, about a lot of things.

the last contact I had with her was:

she ranted about prejudice because cab drivers not going into certain parts of Chicago’s south side to pick up or drop off.

I pointed out to her that the cab drivers’ quotes that she re-quoted, the drivers were black.

nothing but silence.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Perpetually offended.

[toddlintown]

The Sun-Times is now smaller than our village newspaper. They’ve cut so many staffers that the paper’s a joke as anything of substance.

For the last decade, it’s been unofficially known as the Chicago newspaper for blacks, the Tribune being the “white folks” newspaper. Guess this article is suppose to be a circulation enhancer, since the real black newspaper, The Defender, has gone from a daily to a weekly.

[Condor51]

As soon as I saw the Headline Link in the Sidebar I knew, I KNEW, it was Mary Mitchell. And it's (cough) columnists like her why some of us older 'Chicagoans', i.e.: Chi metro area, call that rag the Chicago Slum-Times (natch, there's other reasons too).

If it wasn't for the Diagramless Crossword Puzzle they run that 'newspaper' would be completely useless. Even their Sports section sucks.

[RonF]

I drove a cab. Cab drivers don’t shun particular areas because they don’t like the races that live there. They shun particular areas because they’re afraid of getting beaten, held up, or worse.

I actually once dropped off 3 black guys at Fields Corner in Roxbury in Boston. When I got there, the guys in the cab told me to sit tight until they had a chance to talk to the guys on the corner so I could safely proceed.

[BARLF]

I think you are exactly right. Farrakhan smoothing feathers message was telling the blacks, vote for Barak Hussein. The media carried the message for them.