Among Blacks, Spitzer and Weiner Find a More Forgiving Crowd
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/nyregion/among-blacks-spitzer-and-weiner-find-a-more-forgiving-crowd.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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"Repeated polling has found a racial gap in the races for mayor and comptroller: black voters are far more likely than white voters to view Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Weiner favorably, and more likely to say they deserve a second chance. And the statistical evidence is reinforced on the campaign trail: last week, for example, the predominantly black audience at a mayoral forum in Laurelton, Queens, cheered Mr. Weiner and jeered at another candidate, George T. McDonald, a Republican, who called Mr. Weiner a “freak.” "
"The Rev. Dr. Marvin J. Bentley, the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Corona, Queens, said that he thought that the heightened attacks on Mr. Weiner in recent weeks had galvanized some African-Americans to stick with him, seeing him as a fighter who would not back down.
“I think on the larger scale the African-American community is a little embittered with the political process now, so it’s kind of, ‘If you don’t like this guy, we’ll take him,’ ” he said. Then, with a reference to George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Florida, he added: “When you look at the Zimmerman situation and other kinds of factors, and stop and frisk, these are some of the things that we’re still reeling over and angry about. And to see Weiner being beat up, I guess you could say, attacked, because of his own indiscretions or not, I think that there’s a backlash that’s coming from the African-American community.” "
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My thought - perhaps the black community has a long memory, such as J. Edgar Hoovers attempts to smear civil rights leaders, and the cointelpro attacks on the movement. Long suffering people seem to develop a strong sense of justice.
= new reply since forum marked as read
... is from an old classic called "Portrait of Jenny", about an artist who meets a girl "ghost" in Central Park. He loses her and in his search is directed to a black theatre wardrobe woman.. He is told, "They are wise people. They know what trouble is."
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" The film presents another rare example in Maude Simmons, playing an African-American character which is not stereotyped or demeaned. This was the second of only three film roles ever played by Miss Simmons, who is Clara, a former theatre wardrobe mistress who knew Jennie as a child, “She used to sit on my lap. I used to give her rock candy.” She helps Eben uncover clues about Jennie’s life. She is a stately, well-spoken, gentlewoman. Eben, and we ourselves, are led to her by former theatre backstage figure Pete played by Felix Bressart who directs Eben to Clara and remarks sympathetically, “Those colored people. Very wise people …They know what trouble is.” It is an unusual comment, out of context and having nothing to do with the story, and shows us, perhaps a bit self consciously, that Hollywood is starting to slide out of the era of ridiculous and insulting caricature. "
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http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/portrait-of-jennie-1948.html
sorry, wanted to be accurate so had to edit. 