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O'Reilly apparently still not relaxing "on all this gay stuff"

April 04, 2008 4:31 pm ET

In a promotional ad for Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show, an announcer said, "Is the media celebrating gay culture? Inside Rosie's family cruise." O'Reilly has stated that "I think everybody's got to relax on all this gay stuff."

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During the 12 a.m. ET hour, Fox News aired a promotional ad for the April 4 edition of The O'Reilly Factor that stated: "Is the media celebrating gay culture? Inside Rosie's family cruise." R Family Vacations, created by former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and her partner Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell, bills itself as "truly the most inclusive GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender] vacation offered. All of our vacations are designed for gays, lesbians, their families, and their friends. Everyone is welcome -- singles, couples without children, couples with children, groups of friends, grandparents, and almost any other family configuration you can think of. We have hosted three-month-old babies and 80-something grandparents."

As Media Matters for America has noted, on August 15, 2007, Factor host Bill O'Reilly stated: "I think everybody's got to relax on all this gay stuff." Media Matters has documented examples of O'Reilly failing to follow his own advice and "relax on all this gay stuff" since making that pronouncement.

From the 12 a.m. ET hour of the April 4 edition of Fox News:

ANNOUNCER: Bill blasts Hollywood for its anti-American ways, and Wayne Rogers takes offense. They mash it out in a wild debate. Plus: Is the media celebrating gay culture? Inside Rosie's family cruise.

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    • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 4:32 pm ET)
         
      You'll accept it someday Bill.  Just open that closet door, and take the first step, that one is always the hardest.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by anotheramerican (April 04, 2008 4:41 pm ET)
           

        Rick,

        Not to pick on you. I don't get why repeated gay bashing jokes are accepted around here. It seems as long as the object of derision is a conservative then accusing them of being closeted gays or making other gay insensitive remarks is almost de rigueur.  I've seen it time and time again with reference to Bill O'Reilley and Ann Coulter.

        Why the double standard?  Am I the only one who notices this underlying hostility toward gays where conservatives are somehow put down by this reference?

        Report Abuse
        • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 4:44 pm ET)
             
          AA, I think you're confusiing jabs at hypocrisy (those who seem preoccupied with others personal lives are often dealing with issues of their own) with anti-gay remarks.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 4:46 pm ET)
               
            Damn Colonel!

            You beat me to the punch and your post was half the size of mine.

            I've got to work on the brevity thing.
            Report Abuse
          • Author by webprogrammer (April 04, 2008 5:09 pm ET)
               
            Not only that, but AA appears to be confused about the meaning of double standard. How long have conservatives been calling Edwards the Breck girl, suggesting Hillary's masculinity, calling Gore a "total fag", ad infinitum. A double standard is when one side does something the other side doesn't do and it's accepted. My grandfather used to say, "If you don't want me pissing on your shoes, then don't piss on mine."
            Report Abuse
        • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 4:45 pm ET)
             
          There's no hostility. But many people who are vehemently opposed to any kind of rights for gays and who work to keep gays as second class citizens have been shown to be closeted gays themselves.

          O'Reilly and Coulter have been raving hysterically about homosexuals for years. It's only natural for others to guess why they have so much hatred.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by anotheramerican (April 04, 2008 4:56 pm ET)
               
            Oh I get it. If one is opposed the gay lifestyle, then baseless accuse them of being gay themselves as a putdown. Oh wait. I still don't get it.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by doggone-ga (April 04, 2008 5:02 pm ET)
                 

              "If one is opposed the gay lifestyle, then baseless accuse them of being gay themselves as a putdown."

              WHICH "gay lifestyle" would that be?  I've known quite a few gay men and women over the years and ALL of them lived "normal" suburban lives...except they were involved in dog showing, as am I.  So WHICH gay lifestyle is being opposed? 

              "Oh wait. I still don't get it."

              No big surprise

              Report Abuse
              • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 5:05 pm ET)
                   

                So WHICH gay lifestyle is being opposed?

                I think it's that one that's constantly being rammed down the throats of regular people and Americans.That's what I've heard, at least.

                Report Abuse
                • Author by doggone-ga (April 04, 2008 5:21 pm ET)
                     

                  "I think it's that one that's constantly being rammed down the throats of regular people and Americans.That's what I've heard, at least."

                  Darn, I must have missed the day THAT was being done! 

                  Report Abuse
                  • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 5:27 pm ET)
                       
                    Doggone,I missed it too, but I hear about it from callers to conservative radio all the time. I find it interesting that the men complaining about "the gay lifestyle" use that ramming imagery on such a regular basis.
                    Report Abuse
                    • Author by snoopy (April 04, 2008 6:01 pm ET)
                         
                      Maybe them complainers secretly like the idea of something being rammed down their throat forcibly? Kinda like near the end of American Beauty?
                      Report Abuse
                      • Author by doggone-ga (April 04, 2008 9:18 pm ET)
                           

                        "Maybe them complainers secretly like the idea of something being rammed down their throat forcibly? "

                        My thoughts exactly...except I don't think they "like" it so much as they're AFRAID they'd like it.  It's fear that's behind most prejudices anyway.

                        Report Abuse
              • Author by solon (April 05, 2008 3:56 pm ET)
                   
                I used to show dogs. I used to show Kuvasz. I did like those dogs and enjoyed dogshowing so did my late wife
                Report Abuse
                • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 05, 2008 9:21 pm ET)
                     
                  I used to show my Kuvasz, but I got arrested too many times. I keep it in now.
                  Report Abuse
            • Author by Old_Benjamin (April 04, 2008 5:03 pm ET)
                 
              No - see when someone suggests a person with homophobic views may be gay themselves it isn't necessarily a put down or gay bashing.  Only homophobes react that way to the suggestion they might be gay. Or maybe not.  I don’t know what to think until tommy comes along to interpret these words for us.

               

              Report Abuse
              • Author by finarfin (April 05, 2008 2:27 am ET)
                   

                "I don’t know what to think until tommy comes along to interpret these words for us."

                I'm tommy's fill-in for the day.

                THere seems to be sufficient confusion over what is the "gay lifestyle"among you fellows. So i shall take the liberty to define it for you from a conservative prospective.

                The gay lifestyle is different from the straight lifestyle most consisntently in the part of one's life involving sexuality.
                It can be said that these lifestyles are not overtly different, yet it is in the substratum were the difference is most evident.

                Report Abuse
                • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 05, 2008 2:38 am ET)
                     
                  Thanks, Fin. Hopefully your next post will be made up of something other than completely stating the obvious and telling everyone else things they knew when they were recently weaned and only about twice as smart as you.Good luck.
                  Report Abuse
                • Author by rtwmd1230 (April 05, 2008 11:24 am ET)
                     
                  Could you please define "lifestyle substratum" ? Would my wife be flattered if tonight ask to explore her "lifestyle substratum"?
                  Report Abuse
                • Author by solon (April 05, 2008 3:58 pm ET)
                     
                  There is confusion alright its yours. You are mistaking your hivemind delusions with reality again. You never know what you are talking about and consistantly mistake stupid talking points with ACTUAl reality.
                  Report Abuse
                • Author by solon (April 05, 2008 4:00 pm ET)
                     
                  Sorry Fin I misread your post. It was actually pretty reasonable if obvious as the Col pointed out.
                  Report Abuse
                  • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 06, 2008 4:13 am ET)
                       

                    Solon, it was a bit confusing. I think Fin was trying so hard to squeeze in the 5 or 6 multi-syllable words he knows that he over-thunk it.

                    It may have been accidental,or maybe racial issues are the only area where he gets dizzy, but I think he made this very rational, if obvious, point; Gay people are just like straight people, except for what they do in the bedroom, which is nobody else's business.

                    I never would have guessed Fin for such an outspoken gay rights advocate, but I'll give credit where it's due. Good for you, Finarfin.

                    Report Abuse
            • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 5:04 pm ET)
                 
              Do you criticize O'Reilly when he makes baseless claims?
              Report Abuse
            • Author by jawill11 (April 04, 2008 5:06 pm ET)
                 

              The big hole in your argument is the baseles part.  I would argue that the repeated instances of very outspoken anti-gay public figures having secret gay affairs as well as the classic psychological theory of projection make it appropraite to question the motives of someone obsessed with the personal sex lives of others. 

              Report Abuse
              • Author by Old_Benjamin (April 04, 2008 5:10 pm ET)
                   

                Exactly - this from a 1996 study by the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 

                "The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals ... The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire ... Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies."
                Report Abuse
                • Author by August Heat (April 05, 2008 1:59 am ET)
                     

                  I can't explain that study, but I can tell you its cultural also.  There are very homophobic cultures and all the men from these countries don't have latent homosexual desires.  They are actually just intolerant to homosexual behavior. 

                   

                  Report Abuse
                  • Author by jawill11 (April 05, 2008 5:27 pm ET)
                       

                    One thingI would say about cultural homophobia is that it seems to be in conjunction with a very adolescent sense of manhood, or machismo, within that culture. 

                    Similarly, I would say that overt homophobia on an individual level is not necessarily associated with suppressed homosexual desire.  In many cases it seems to be associated with insecurity and a need to prove one's manhood for one reason or another.  The resulting actions are often adolescent in nature and the person often seems to be emotionally immature.  

                    Report Abuse
            • Author by watershed (April 04, 2008 5:13 pm ET)
                 
              "Opposed to the gay lifestyle" is just code for "I hate gay people".
              Report Abuse
        • Author by rjc (April 04, 2008 6:19 pm ET)
             

          AA,
          I think there is a very fine line (that does get crossed) in situations like this. I think the motivation is to imply that the homophobe is gay in order to make them uncomfortable and angry - not necessarily to show hostility toward gay people. However, I think the line does get crossed and gay people end up being insulted. Personally, I don't think it's a good tactic.

          PS: I don't think the initial comment expressed hostility towards gay people. Simply encouraging someone to come out of the closet is not an insult.

          Report Abuse
          • Author by Blue Dog (April 06, 2008 8:43 am ET)
               
            I agree, mostly. I wouldn't call someone gay because I think being gay is bad. I might call someone gay if HE thought being gay was bad.

            I might call bush "Insightful," not because insight is a bad thing, but because HE would take umbrage to it.
            Report Abuse
      • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 4:45 pm ET)
           
        Which reminds me, Therick--- it's baseball season again, so get ready for gay hat day!
        Report Abuse
        • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 5:44 pm ET)
             
          Excuse me, that's "Fabulous gay hat day!"
          Report Abuse
          • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 5:48 pm ET)
               
            by the way, What happened to HuntingtonBeachLefty?  Seems we all went to that game together last year (at least cyberly)
            Report Abuse
            • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 5:51 pm ET)
                 
              I'm HBL, rick. Just with a new name, same ol' sh*t.
              Report Abuse
              • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 5:53 pm ET)
                   
                OH!  Now it's all starting to make sense!
                Report Abuse
              • Author by solon (April 04, 2008 5:59 pm ET)
                   
                I figured that because of the Barney thing but you seem to crack less jokes under this nick
                Report Abuse
                • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 6:03 pm ET)
                     

                  Maybe I should change my name too, then Tommy will start talking to me again. . .Oh wait!  Let me rethink that.

                  (Geez, everthing seems backwards lately)

                  Report Abuse
                • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 6:08 pm ET)
                     
                  Wow, I thought you knew, Solon. Maybe everybody should change their name, it'd be like a costume party.
                  Report Abuse
                  • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 6:39 pm ET)
                       
                    Am I the only one who uses his given, Christian name here?

                    My full name is J. Farnsworth Worrierking.
                    Report Abuse
                    • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 7:00 pm ET)
                         
                      Of the Point Pleasant Worrierkings?
                      Report Abuse
                      • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 7:10 pm ET)
                           
                        Yes, that's my family.

                        Although we were driven out of Point Pleasant after they passed a law banning circus freaks from living within the towns borders.
                        Report Abuse
                  • Author by solon (April 04, 2008 8:50 pm ET)
                       
                    Well I was pretty sure but I didnt KNOW.
                    Report Abuse
                    • Author by princeofwheels (April 04, 2008 9:05 pm ET)
                         

                      Sorry, but Royal Law prohibits me from changing my name. Royal lineage will be destroyed and Copious Blog Guy will move up one spot in the scheme of things....can't let that happen.

                      P.S. Billy O'....could you explain to me the exact nature of your LIFESTYLE..don't forget the phone calls to that producer.

                      Report Abuse
    • Author by magnolialover (April 04, 2008 4:47 pm ET)
         

      Hey Bill. Psst... If you weren't talking about this on your show, I have a feeling NOBODY would really know about it, except the people who WANT to know about it. If you think that the media is celebrating that gay "culture" (whatever that means), then you're the problem, as this is the first place I've heard of this on here, and now on your show.

      Oh, and another thing. For the most part, guess what? Gay culture is the same as hetero culture.

      Report Abuse
    • Author by worrierking (April 04, 2008 5:00 pm ET)
         
      Bill should run his own cruise.

      He could call it "The Culture Warrior's Cruise for Homophobes " with silverware and all the motherf_cking iced tea you can drink.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 04, 2008 5:02 pm ET)
           
        No clustering on the poopdeck!
        Report Abuse
        • Author by therick (April 04, 2008 5:46 pm ET)
             

          OH GOD! You didn't really write that, did you?

          Oh, I guess you did, since I read it.  DOH!

          Report Abuse
      • Author by thedailyphosdex (April 04, 2008 7:37 pm ET)
           

        I think a more than likely possibility here would be cheap bus tours down to Branson, complete with tickets to some of the more obnoxiously pathetic displays of "nutritious patriotism" in music-show form as panders all the more to Mr. No-Spin Zone's target audience.

        Report Abuse
    • Author by dazedandconfused26 (April 04, 2008 6:06 pm ET)
         
      Captain Billo, the Butt Pirate. Maybe he Hannity can be his "First Mate"
      Report Abuse
    • Author by notanotherconservative2254 (April 04, 2008 6:17 pm ET)
         

      Just asking:  What part of the mission statement for MMFA does this topic relate to?

      Nothing that I can see.  Bill O.'s show had nothing to do with politics, "progressive" candidates or any of the other items usually mentioned.

       

       

      Report Abuse
      • Author by dazedandconfused26 (April 04, 2008 6:25 pm ET)
           

        "Is the media celebrating gay culture?"

        Billdo says yes, that's conservative misinformation. That and idea that there is a "gay culture." Just like the rest of America the gay community doesn't have a single culture that defines the entire group.

        Report Abuse
        • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (April 05, 2008 1:54 am ET)
             

          Not just celebrating, but, as I heard BilldO say tonight "glorifying" the gay lifestyle.

          "Glorifying" meaning not making something a felony.

          Report Abuse