A Political Glimpse from Ireland

Well I have decided to create a whole new category today and make two posts in one day because of a conversation I had with a Korean friend of mine this morning. This did not see quite the coverage that it should have got here in the West but some Pro-Chinese demonstrator’s beat up some Pro-Tibetan demonstrator’s in Seoul during the Torch Relay. This video is quite disturbing however I must state that the Chinese people in this video do not represent the whole of China but merely a fringe few who have taken nationalism/patriotism a fair bit too far. This kind of behavior is intolerable and also gives credence to my theory that the nationalistic tendency in China is only increasing rather than abating as the Olympics draws closer. Nationalism/Patriotism can be deadly and I hope people around the world realize that you should be proud of your country but that pride must be balanced with logic, common sense and control. This video is in Korean but you don’t need to understand the language to feel my disgust.

I have to admit that I really was not too clued up on the Jeremiah Wright story and was one of those people who was subjugated to the never-ending bombardment of cut video clips. Yesterday’s Daily Show was great though because it affirmed the one thing that I had been thinking about all day and that is the Main Stream Media is really out of control. Instead of reporting on the issues yesterday, on every single news channel we had stories about Reverend Wright hurting Senator Obama. Now if you were the typical human being sitting at home and everytime you switched the channel and saw an isolated clip of Rev. Wright; it would be pretty easy for you to dismiss the man as a “nutter” as they say here in Ireland. This dismissal might also cause you to believe that Senator Obama is some sort of closet racist that was brain-washed by this man but this is far from the truth.

Having properly listening to what the good Reverend has said, I didn’t find a single problem with any of it. He is the real “straight talker” with some eccentric views I give you that but the one important thing that he stressed was that the differences that make us White, Black, Latino, Indian, and Chinese are what makes the United States of America strong. I thought this man bore some hatred towards white people or the United States but I am happy to say that I have changed my mind. To put it simply: “This dude ain’t that bad.”

Edit(2230 GMT): Given the events of the past day, and Senator Obama’s adamant denouncement of Jeremiah Wright, I will still agree that Jeremiah Wright is not that bad and he has done alot for his community but his hogging the spotlight as seriously hurt my candidate therefore I hope in all sincerity that he stops his “tour” and enjoys the rest of his retirement.