Why do you think Bishop Robinson's prayer wasn't included in the HBO special?

because I agree with your post. HBO is an entertainment company, and nothing more.

:shrug:

By single focus and calling everything a slight, weakens the patience of some not as their top concern. Sorry, but still need to win hearts nd minds.

What does it take from you to allow others to be upset?

I'm 62, have lived a life in the arts with people of differences, so I get it. I care enough about longtime friends in gay relationships being seen as whole, loving humans, that I DO care how homosexuality is perceived and litigated. Hearts and minds, civil unions on every block, and enough years of Obama saying black or white, gay or straight, and enough years away from the GOP wedge issue, for acceptance to take hold.

The anger I feel is from posters who bash Obama, trivialize the issue with faux outrage, who haven't walked the walk being discriminated against of any kind.

(sp)

it into the second showing either. Show producers are all about entertainment & glitz.

However, that doesn't mean it was a smart decision to have made. I think trimming a minute each from Jamie Foxx's, Tom Hanks' and Jack Black's rambly, self-satisified babblings would have allowed room for an invocation as the audience got its popcorn and beer.

He did 3 songs! I like Jamie Foxx.

If you want to keep Jamie's talk, three-one-two shout-outs and all, then cut two minutes from Tom Hanks--or better yet, just disinvite Jack Black. That was just unwatchable. Everything he said sounded sarcastic, even though he clearly wasn't intending it to.

There was a 10 minute gap between Robinson and the rest of the program. Was HBO supposed to go to dead air for 10 minutes.

the scheduling fairy or team Obama.

I know it has to be upsetting to not get to see Robinson. I read his prayer and it was beautiful, so much compassion, and so much heart for the injustices of the world.

I was disappointed when I heard that it would be aired exclusively on HBO, however I got over it, when I came here to visit yesterday and some nice posters here posted the link that you could view it online. Thank you to everyone who posted that link.
My mother n law called me last night when it was re-airing and said that HBO was airing it for free on TV where she was, my husband turned TV on, and we couldn't get it. So I went back online to watch it again.

I thought the DC Gay Men's choir was absolutely beautiful, the whole thing was. I cried many tears throughout the whole show. I have a question, if you think Team Obama, purposefully set out to make sure that Robinson was not aired, what would be their reason? Why would they air the DC Gay Men's Choir and not Robinson if it was meant to be a slight towards the GLBT community?

I seriously don't think it was meant to be a slight. As much as I would have loved to hear his prayer, I must say I was blessed for having had the opportunity to read it.

but once OK that can happen. Twice, well maybe OK. But time and again, gays and only gays, have seen this kind of glitch happen. At some point it starts to become apparent that there is a problem.

Is it really fair to blame Obama himself though?

If he, himself, purposefully did this, I don't think his speech would would have included this:

It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together -- Democrats, Republicans and independents; Latino, Asian and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not, then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our Union in the process...

full text here if anyone wants it: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-text.html

I don't know what the answer is here, but IMO, Obama didn't do this.

not only knows who Robinson is but they also know his sexual orientation. :sarcasm:

"10 minute gap?"

You seriously think "team Obama" has nothing better to do than think of ways to schedule 10 minute gaps?

Do you also think "team Obama" decided the exact schedule for each artist...who would team up with who, who would perform first, second, third, etc., what song they would sing, how long the song would be...and so on?

and James Taylor confirmed as much in his interview on NPR. He submitted the song he wished to sing and Obama's team signed off.

From where I was standing I couldn't really hear Bishop Robinson or anything that came before him. It was fixed somewhat during his invocation when people began chanting "I can't hear you" but they probably had to go over everything just to make sure.

why the hell did Obama hug him and talk to him, which I saw on CNN?

Let's be rational instead of acting like everything is a conspiracy.

Cause I'd bet if you asked someone like Bono, "would you give up one of the songs of your performance slot so we can do this?" he and the rest of that band would have said 'yes,' cause they sure as fuck wouldn't be able to look Adam in the eye if not.

And I'd bet if you asked Springsteen, "would you give up one of the songs of your performance slot so we can do this?" he would have said 'yes,' cause he'd probably offer to strum underneath it.

And I bet if they asked Garth Brooks, "would you give up one of the songs in your slot so we can do this?" he, too, would have said yes, cause he sure as shit couldn't look at all his closeted gay country friends if not.

If it is true that some people really felt the prayer was important--or looking at it from the perspective of making up for Rick Warren, then yes, it should have been included in the televised portion no matter what. Even if it wasn't as entertaining as the performers.

I don't think Robinson was included to make up for Rick Warren so I guess that's where the confusion comes in.

I didn't know that the inclusion of Robinson's prayer would carry that much emotional weight--especially after the vitriol posted about how Robinson's presence wouldn't help.

I don't believe there could have been any other reason for asking and adding him to the bill except to send a message to gays that they do have a place at the table, even if it's more pop culture than official pomp & circumstance.

I think someone made a colossal error in not communicating that to the people on the production end of the concert/broadcast and underestimating the importance of including it in the telecast.

Even if Robinson was nothing more than a conciliatory gesture, and even if GLBT were still pissed, not including him in the telecast served to reinforce the idea that it was all lip service.

concocted by the Washington DC Gay Men's Chorus to get more air time on HBO........

And no other reason.

It's like oil and vinegar.

But gay men's choirs are!

Where I was standing--and apparently for quite a large part of the crowd--the videos they played before the show were essentially inaudible. We all assumed they'd crank it up when the show started.

The people standing near me were all surprised to see the Bishop on the teletron and still not being able to hear him. People started chanting "We Can't Hear You". The problem was fixed toward the end of the invocation and we caught his last couple of lines.

I have no way of knowing if the problem extended to HBO's microphones but it was definately an issue and, as I've said was not limited to the Bishop.

:eyes:






:tinfoilhat:

but whether it was deliberately excluded from the broadcast.

is this...

Was it deliberate?

If so, who did it?

I don't think it was Obama, otherwise, why would the DC Gay Men's Choir be televised?

Why would he include this in his speech, if he did it to slight the GLBT community?

It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together -- Democrats, Republicans and independents; Latino, Asian and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not, then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our Union in the process...

text here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-text.html

IMO, it was not included due to time contraints.

If there were time constraints, they could have cut one of Garth Brooks' 3 SONGS. The symbolic importance of Robinson being there was far more important, particularly since Warren will be front and center tomorrow, and I guarantee you his appearance won't be cut out due to "time constraints."

Or, maybe the whole idea of tacking on Robinson to create a false sense of "balance" was bullshit to begin with.

of a televised Springsteen/U2/Beyonce/etc. concert that opened with prayer?

and thus from history, for what for gay people is an historic event.

Perhaps historians will attach as an appendix to the archive a copy of that awful cheap cell phone video that has been floating around on DU. At least some anonymous person in the crowd had the presence of mind to try to record it, even though it's so far from the stage you can't see Robinson, and it's hard to concentrate on his prayer because of all the people moving around and making noise in the foreground. It's awful, if that low tech cheap cell phone file is the only record of Robinson's prayer.

There's a small community of dead-enders who slurred Robinson when it was announced he would be giving a prayer and attacked the very notion of him doing so. And now they're inventing some homophobic conspiracy involving Obama and HBO to silence him, like he's some sort of martyr now.

Good stuff.

As for an explanation, Robinson's prayer was a recent addition to the program. I would assume, given no other information, that HBO had already negotiated what time they would broadcast the show, and the additional prayer did not fit in.

I don't think it was intentional but that it probably fell to a non transitional producer who put the final arrangements together and didn't realize that the 'little prayer thingie' was of significant symbolic importance.


This doesn't obsolve the Obama campaign. Having made the effort to invite him they should have ensured that he was well heard and seen.


The idea that a person of Obama's civility, courtesy and intelligence would intentionally slight anyone during the concert is not reasonable although the feeling that it was intentional and the disappointment that some feel is.

Robinson.

:shrug:

Sad but true.

including Pelosi, were left out.

...made the decision.

Impeach him already !!!!11!

regardless of who is giving them. I pray in private.

Which is fine, if that's what you mean to do.