Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Jeremiah Wright and the Animal House Connection

By Cameron Clark

Who knew Reverend Jeremiah Wright was such a great fan of the "White American" comedy classics like National Lampoon's Animal House? Reverend Wright has obviously been studying the subtle humor and undertones of this movie for quite some time, as the expanded version of the movie's drollery has made its way into his sermons and speeches.

For example, when Wright said, "In the 21st century, white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01. White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns," he was just expounding on Flounder's line:

"The Negroes stole our dates!"

Here's a short list of Reverend Wright's comedic musings that have been misinterpreted:

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye."- Jeremiah Wright

This is just an expansion of Belushi's infamous "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" analogy.

"Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain’t! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty."- Jeremiah Wright

Easy to explain as well. This is one was an adaptation of Boone's "We're willing to trade looks for a certain morally casual attitude."

"Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!…We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."- Jeremiah Wright

Derived from yet another great line: "Boone, I anticipate a deeply religious experience."- Eric "Otter" Stratton

So, when Rev. Wright was quoted on Sunday as saying "It is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It is an attack on the black church," when addressing the recent barrage of criticism he has endured for his erratum statements, he drew upon this bit for his deflection:

"But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick, twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society?

Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!"

Think about it while you enjoy your Tuesday!

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