O'Reilly surprised "there was no difference" between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants
SUMMARY: Discussing his recent dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at the Harlem restaurant
Sylvia's, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "couldn't get over the fact that there
was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in
New York City. I
mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black
patronship." O'Reilly added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was
screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' "
During the September 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, discussing his recent trip to have dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's, a famous restaurant in Harlem, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful," adding: "I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." Later, during a discussion with National Public Radio senior correspondent and Fox News contributor Juan Williams about the effect of rap on culture, O'Reilly asserted: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all." O'Reilly also stated: "I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They're getting away from the Sharptons and the [Rev. Jesse] Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out. 'Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it."
As Media Matters for America has documented, O'Reilly has made a number of provocative statements about race. During the February 5 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, in a conversation about President Bush's description of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) as "articulate," O'Reilly told Temple University education professor Marc Lamont Hill: "Instead of black and white Americans coming together, white Americans are terrified. They're terrified. Now we can't even say you're articulate? We can't even give you guys compliments because they may be taken as condescension?" Other examples include:
- On the June 7 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly said of Edwin Roy Hall -- the man charged with murdering 18-year-old Kelsey Smith after abducting her from the parking lot of a Target store in Overland Park, Kansas: "[T]his guy who is charged has a child and a wife. You know, he's like white-bread guy. And we're all going, 'What is that?' "
- On the August 16, 2006, edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly argued extensively for "profiling of Muslims" at airports, arguing that detaining all "Muslims between the ages of 16 and 45" for questioning "isn't racial profiling," but "criminal profiling."
- During the April 12, 2006, broadcast of The Radio Factor, O'Reilly claimed that on the April 11 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, guest Charles Barron, a New York City councilman, had revealed the "hidden agenda" behind the current immigration debate, which, O'Reilly said, was "to wipe out 'white privilege' and to have the browning of America." O'Reilly suggested that this "hidden agenda" included plans to let "people who live in the Caribbean, people who live in Africa and Asia ... walk in and become citizens immediately."
- In a February 27, 2006, conversation with a caller about the disproportionately few jobs and contracts that have gone to locals in the rebuilding of New Orleans, O'Reilly said: "[T]he homies, you know ... I mean, they're just not going to get the job."
- On the September 13, 2005, broadcast of The Radio Factor, O'Reilly claimed that "many of the poor in New Orleans" did not evacuate the city before Hurricane Katrina because "[t]hey were drug-addicted" and "weren't going to get turned off from their source." O'Reilly added, "They were thugs."
From the September 19 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor:
O"REILLY: Now, how do we get to this point? Black people in this country understand that they've had a very, very tough go of it, and some of them can get past that, and some of them cannot. I don't think there's a black American who hasn't had a personal insult that they've had to deal with because of the color of their skin. I don't think there's one in the country. So you've got to accept that as being the truth. People deal with that stuff in a variety of ways. Some get bitter. Some say, [unintelligible] "You call me that, I'm gonna be more successful." OK, it depends on the personality.
So it's there. It's there, and I think it's getting better. I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They're getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out: "Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it."
You know, I was up in Harlem a few weeks ago, and I actually had dinner with Al Sharpton, who is a very, very interesting guy. And he comes on The Factor a lot, and then I treated him to dinner, because he's made himself available to us, and I felt that I wanted to take him up there. And we went to Sylvia's, a very famous restaurant in Harlem. I had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful. They all watch The Factor. You know, when Sharpton and I walked in, it was like a big commotion and everything, but everybody was very nice.
And I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship. It was the same, and that's really what this society's all about now here in the U.S.A. There's no difference. There's no difference. There may be a cultural entertainment -- people may gravitate toward different cultural entertainment, but you go down to Little Italy, and you're gonna have that. It has nothing to do with the color of anybody's skin.
[...]
O'REILLY: No, no, I mean, I like that soul food. I had the meatloaf special. I had coconut shrimp. I had the iced tea. It was great.
WILLIAMS: Well, let me just tell you, the one thing I would say is this. And we're talking about the kids who still like this gangsta rap, this vile poison that I think is absolutely, you know, literally a corruption of culture. I think that what you've got to take into account that it's still a majority white audience -- young, white people who think they're into rebelling against their parents who buy this stuff and think it's just a kick. You know, it's just a way of expressing their anti-authoritarianism.
O'REILLY: But it's a different -- it's a different dynamic, though.
WILLIAMS: Exactly right --
O'REILLY: Because the young, white kids don't have to struggle out of the ghetto.
WILLIAMS: Right, and also, I think they can have that as one phase of their lives.
O'REILLY: Yeah.
WILLIAMS: I think too many of the black kids take it as, "Oh, that's what it means to be authentically black. That's how you make money. That's how you become rich and famous and get on TV and get music videos." And you either get the boys or the girls. The girls think they have to, you know, be half-naked and spinning around like they're on meth in order to get any attention. It really corrupts people, and I think it adds, Bill, to some serious sociological problems, like the high out-of-wedlock birth rate because of this hypersexual imagery that then the kids adapt to some kind of reality. I mean, it's inauthentic. It's not in keeping with great black traditions of struggle and excellence, from Willie Mays to Aretha Franklin, but even in terms of academics, you know, going back to people like Charles Drew or Ben Carson here, the neurosurgeon at [Johns] Hopkins [University]. That stuff, all of a sudden, is pushed aside. That's treated as, "You're a nerd, you're acting white," if you try to be excellent and black.
O'REILLY: You know, and I went to the concert by Anita Baker at Radio City Music Hall, and the crowd was 50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed. And she came out -- Anita Baker came out on the stage and said, "Look, this is a show for the family. We're not gonna have any profanity here. We're not gonna do any rapping here." The band was excellent, but they were dressed in tuxedoes, and this is what white America doesn't know, particularly people who don't have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg.
WILLIAMS: Oh, and it's just so awful. It's just so awful because, I mean, it's literally the sewer come to the surface, and now people take it that the sewer is the whole story --
O'REILLY: That's right. That's right. There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more iced tea."
WILLIAMS: Please --
O'REILLY: You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all.
O'reilly was doing ok job of reporting until the 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' comment. These guys just can't shut up and leave it alone.
"O'reilly was doing ok job of reporting until..."
No, actually, it was racist from the start.
The intent was there, he propbably rehersed the line in front of a mirror prior to his appearance. i am just commenting on what i read, not what i thought.
Agreed. Racist from the start. O'Reilly is a piece of work.
Bill’s a bigoted dope. Sylvia’s is a very nice restaurant and must stop for many middle class to affluent Blacks when visiting NYC. O'rielly once again proves his complete idiocy. And in case anyone’s interested Bea Smith who is sort of a Black Martha Stewart but younger, prettier and much nicer I understand. (I believe she’s a former model) has a really lovely restaurant in Union station in DC.
It looks like O'Reilly has never been in a minority situation like that before. Very strange.
Anyway, I hope O'Reilly took the opportunity to challenge his apparent preconceptions of the way some black folks are. It really shouldn't be that shocking. The fact he seems to think that is really offensive.
This guy is a racist boor....this is really offensive and sick.
maybe hannity should have dinner there with Mr Sharpton ?
Hey there, O'Reilly, stereotype much? O'Reilly will probably now claim his remarks were taken out of context by those vile smear merchants and assassins at MM. Yeah, those horrible people at MM. How dare they give us your actual words! LOL! -snark- Poor O'Reilly, imagine, someone holding him responsible for what he says.
"O'Reilly has made a number of provocative statements about race."
For my money, this one takes the cake. Thi s is possibly the most racist thing I've heard him say. And the fact that he went on and on saying it with not an ounce of awareness makes it even worse.
For my money, this one takes the cake. Thi s is possibly the most racist thing I've heard him say. And the fact that he went on and on saying it with not an ounce of awareness makes it even worse.
I would agree, CC, as I normally do, but his "White Male Christian Power Structure" comment a few months ago were so overt it would make Pat Buchanan blush with envy.
Right On Preston. As a black man, who's even been accused of being "too white," let me confirm your assertion.
Almost everyone concludes there is still racism in America. Yet when a racist rears their ugly and insidious head, we accuse their accusers of being "race baiters."
Examples: Trent Lott, Don Imus, Bill O"Smelly and host of other numbnuts mostly spouting their malignacy from the right. It's a fact and a shame.
A BOYCOTT OF ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THIS FOOL IS NOT ONLY IN ORDER, IT'S PATRIOTIC AND MORALLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO REGARDLESS OF HOW YOUR POLITICAL AFFILIATION!
Two more crazy statements in one article in addition to the title quote (and the highlighted ones.
GEEZ! What did he expect "the blacks" to wear?
I am surprised O'Reilly didn't expect the black folks to be seated in the balcony as well.
Such amazement and wonder at something I think most people take for granted.
O'Reilly was looking at these folks with the amazement and wide-eyed wonder like a Kentuckian looks at indoor plumbing for the first time.
; )
anita baker is a decent singer, but if you want to see a real concert....patti labelle. could be a little too ethnic for bill though.
Mefirst, you just became my new best friend. Patti LaBelle is my favorite female Soul singer after Aretha Franklin (though, today, LaBelle’s voice is in better shape than Franklin's). But I agree, Patti would be "too-ethnic" for those who aren't that accustomed to that type of Gospel-belting, shouting and stage presence. It's one of the reasons why she never became AS revered (by rock critics and the Grammys) as her rival, Aretha Franklin. But black folks revere her as much as much as Aretha, both were household names before they became famous worldwide.
i've seen aretha too. i actually prefer her records ["ain't no way" is a perfect song], but she is not quite as good as labelle in concert. my taste is mainly classic rock, but anything i like i will listen to. led zeppelin to tony bennett to benny goodman to george jones. saw the stones a couple years ago, pretty damn good for guys eligible for social security.
That's how I am, too, I have a pretty diverse taste when it comes to music (and movies, for that matter). I was probably the only brotha in the hood bumpin' to David Bowie, The Smiths and Elvis Costello with no shame in my game. Some of my friends found it odd how I use to create mixtapes where it was nothing but a hotchpotch of different genres and artists. Looking back at that now, maybe I didn't create a smooth enough synthesis and listening experience I thought achieved at the time. That could explain why they asked me politely to stop making mixtapes for them. :)
Bill, like Sean have no understanding of the black culture because they surround themselves in a white environment. Both Bill and Sean live in an upper-class neighborhood on Long Island. Very few black folks live in these neighborhoods because it is cost-prohibitive.
Bill and Sean's bias of black people is a reflection of Fox News Channel.
Fox News needs serious revamping. The formats are aging and so are their media stars.
Being a New Yorker living uptown and being exposed to all the diversity this city has to offer all I have to say is O'Reilly is showing off his suburban Long Island roots and they aren't pretty.
I would not be a bit surprised if Bill's "Long Island roots" includes the occasional KKK meeting....
What do we expect it's O'Rielly. I'm sure he expected all of the staff to have gold teth and no shoes on.
Can't wait to see who is the first to stick up for this "m-fer"
Nobody can patronize like O'Reilly can, he has elevated it into an art form. To me, one of the worst racial slurs against a member of another race is patronization - it is probably more offensive in some ways than wearing your racism on your sleeve, for at least then you know what you're dealing with.
My feelings sentiments exactly.
It's like they feel they get a pass for being slick about it.
Holy crap, Tommy and I are in full agreement. Release the doves!
We are the world, we are the children......
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving. There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives. It's true we make a better day, just you and me.
Somos el mundo, somos los hijos.
.....and another angel just got it's wings.
Lol. I brought some bongos. Anyone up for singing Kumbayah?
Tommy and CC in one accord, there is hope for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict yet.
LOL......
Today CC and Tommy, tomorrow the Shia's and Sunni's, then on to bin Laden and Bush.....it's unstoppable.
I'm all for solidarity, but I've been working out with REM's The Best of the IRS Years the last week or so. I'll dedicate Begin the Begin to this wonderful moment, next time I play it.
Holy crap, Tommy and I are in full agreement. Release the doves!
Lol. I do have to admit, CC, that I enjoy the battles between you and Tommy, they have become legendary here at MMFA. Tommy is a very complex person and hard to pin down. He's still a Reaganite libertarian through and through, but at times, like Jeter, he shows a bit of compassion and humanism that sets him a part from other conservative posters here (I won't name names, let's just say a certain person who can't grasp the history of the 'N' word, and rejects any explanation why black folks find it offensive). ;)
Thanks for your kind words Preston, actually I am not that complex, maybe hard to pin down because like most of us here, I hate to lost debates, but I will admit if I am wrong - and have been many times as many people can attest.
It is pretty hard to get the full flavor of a person just by their postings here, as our anger sometimes takes over unfairly. Just between you and me, Clams offers up good points, in my opinion, quite often. His phrasing is direct and he doesn't mince or parse words, he has my props for that. But we have our differences to say the least.....maybe we can get beyond the personal references, it makes for better debate and I am as guilty of coercion as anyone.
But thanks for your thoughtful posts as well, if I can learn something here from the topics and the posters, that is the main reason I am here.
Have a nice weekend...
No problem, Tommy. Though I'm all for you and CC making peace with each other, I have to admit, there's a part of me that hope you two don't -- I enjoy the back and forth bickering. But since I'm a liberal and all about peace, I guess I shouldn't have admitted that and advise you two being more diplomatic. :)
Anyway, you have a good weekend.
I'll carve a statue immediatly!
he truly has. jaw-dropping stuff. it's a gift, really.
he's like Archie Bunker without the soft spot, who somehow got elevated to national prominence and got the ego to go with it. unbearable eejit. i'm just counting the days till he simply -implodes- from the weight of his own martyred arrogance and incoherent rage.
You mean you don't what you have been dealing with when it comes to O'Reilly until now?
Interesting.
And, this is a guy who claims to understand the little guy right?
He understands as long as you're the right color I guess.
I think he may have been specifically referring to Mr. Hat there, unfortunately.
How many sharks does this guy get to jump?
What do you mean?
I think Barney means that if you don't get kicked off the air for saying that you're amazed that black folks can run a restaurant just like real people, what IS it going to take?
I think Bill was entirely expecting to be greeted at the door by the host and hostess, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jamima. They would then ask him "How many b*tches and pimps will be dining with you this evening?"..."Would you prefer the chronic or the non-chronic section?"
LOL, exactly.
He expected Miss Celie be cookin' in the kitchen, Florida to be cleanin' up, Florence to be makin' wisecracks whilst seatin' guests and Oprah in the back at her own table waitin' for watermelon desert while slurping on chicken skins.
Them blacks is mighty efficient in the food servin' areas.
Essentially, "jumping the shark" indicates the beginning of a downhill slide that ends in cancellation. Or at the very least, indicates the point at which people with triple digit IQs can't bear to watch any more.
I don't think anyone with a triple digit has ever watched O'Reilly except out of masochism or to find out why anyone else would ever watch him
based on a Happy Days episode wherein a shark was actually jumped, I believe.
More specifically, it refers to the episode of "Happy Days" where Fonzie was water skiing (in his leather jacket of course) and hit the ski jump, which launched him OVER a shark. The originator of the phrase implied that it marked the point where the show had lost all credibility, and had ceased to provide any further value.
Specifically, it refers to the episode of "Happy Days" where Fonzie is water skiing (in his leather jacket of course) and hits the ski jump, which launches him over a shark. The originator of the phrase implied that this was the moment where the show became irrelevant, ran out of ideas, and provided no further entertainment value.
Sounds like the Democrats and Republicans.
You know the strange part about all that is that he's thinking he's being complimentary, while all the while showing just how racist he really is.
I thought the exact same thing. BO thinks he's being a good guy here.
This guy is just so wrong in so many ways, on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.
I'm more afraid of my president than I am about going to Harlem.
And Bill, you're not lookin' out for me.
You're lookin' out for yourself and the rest of the douche bags.
Well if O'Reilly was really this racist, why would Sharpton have dinner with him?
Because Sharpton isn't racist pehaps.
because he's a politician, and that's what politicians do.
Sharpton was making a useless effort to expose the Culture Warrior to some culture. Maybe Al was hoping to open and change a few minds. Heck, I could have told Al it's a waste of time.
Maybe Al is optimistic that he can domesticate Falafel Bill...
Do you actually read the articles?
I actually had dinner with Al Sharpton, who is a very, very interesting guy. And he comes on The Factor a lot, and then I treated him to dinner, because he's made himself available to us, and I felt that I wanted to take him up there.
The better question is if he WASNT racist why would he spew racist crapola like this?
And I went to a white restaurant the other day and the waiter didn't smash his guitar on the table when he took my order... ...nor did I use my cigarette lighter to ask for the bill...
Jesus Christ, Bill, the 'influence of rap'?
"Well if O'Reilly was really this racist, why would Sharpton have dinner with him? "
A dinner at Sylvia's on O'Reilly's tab?
Who could pass that up?
"Well if O'Reilly was really this racist, why would Sharpton have dinner with him?"
That's the litmus test?
If Sharpton has dinner with you you're not racist?
Please...
- ... people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out. 'Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it. - by anyone who cares to say it
I'm not an O'Reilly supporter and he's a big boy and can handle his own defense...aside from anything else...the above words are absolutely true.
So what do you think "a race-based culture" means, and what is wrong with it? And what is meant by "making it"? Are we talking about making it financially, or culturally, or some other way?
Placing race ahead of the general good of the society.
Everyone has their own definition of success...whatever the individual deems "making it"...a good education and hard work will not be detrimental.
"Placing race ahead of the general good of the society."
I just don't think that things get prioritized like that. I don't know how you could place your race or your culture above the general good.
Obviously what O'Reilly means by this is that his measure of black people "making it" is whether or not they can dress right (white) and not act crazy.
CC, I was thinking about that. I never get up in the morning thinking about race, I'm thinking about all the sh-it I have to do at work that day or hoping I can get a hold of a plumber or something. I'm always amazed at what slips out of these guys from time to time when they allow a peep into their little isolated worlds. I bet my day to day life is pretty typical for the average middle class American.
Placing race ahead of the general good of the society.
Sorry, Wes, that's a huge misconception. First of all, black people do not put their race before the general good of society. The fact is black folks have been legally subjugated and ostracized from mainstream America for centuries, and during this time blacks created their own behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought, to survive against a dominant society that rejected them as unequal and unwelcoming citizens. This is what the Black Diaspora is all about. Therefore, it’s quite natural that black people, after generations of being told that they’re not white, they’ll never be white, and will always be inferior to whites, build pride within themselves by learning the history of their people, and discovering that being black is not as bad as what they were brainwashed to believe in the first place. This pride is so rich and powerful in the black experience, you can easily find it in our music (e.g., Jazz, Gospel, Soul, Blues, etc.) our poems, novels, plays, etc. It reminds me of something that the great James Baldwin said in his powerful essay “If Black English Isn’t A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” where he states: A child cannot be taught by anyone whose demand, essentially, is that the child repudiate his experience, and all that gives him sustenance, and enter a limbo in which he will no longer be black, and in which he knows that he can never become white. Black people have lost too many black children that way.
Sociologist Stephen Steinberg wrote an important article about this very issue a few days ago that I think can educate many as to why blacks find pride in their race and refuse to by into America's assimilation game that are used for other immigrants the come to this country.
That's a good article with some interesting ideas.
But you've jumped the gun...I didn't say that blacks put their race ahead of the good of the general society...but if any race does...it's not a good thing...promoting racial bias.
There is nothing wrong with being proud of your black heritage or Irish or Dutch or anything. But "America's assimilation game" is based on individual achievement not race based achievement.
If the black community thinks that they can succeed by developing a race based culture that will make them more successful...more power to them...but it is a really long row to hoe.
No one need forget their racial heritage...but I believe that promoting a culture based on race is dangerous.
Yep, this is a complex issue...not easily defined in a few sentences...appreciate the links...and I will read them.
Wes, could you define to me, though, what you mean by this "race-based culture," because before I continue with this discussion, I do want to know what your definition of "race-based culture" consist of.
Sure...I've probably been a little clumsy with the term.
I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with a "race based culture"...but when race becomes the dominant theme...at the expense of other races and the society in general...it's not a good thing.
Nevermind, I read the thread further down and I think I get the gist of what you're referring to.
America's assimiliation game that I was referring to has its roots in colonization. Throughout the ages expansionism and colonialism has been responsible for bringing foreign ideas (ideas both good and bad) to non-European cultures. For the most part however, this global expansionist/colonialist drive to occupy other people's lands has led to a very long series of oppressions, massacres, and imperialist doctrines which promoted open slavery, and overt racism. This has literally shaped the entire power structure of society, from bottom up. Additionally, the maintenance and influence of that power is filtered from the top (the elite) to the bottom (the masses) of the hierarchy. Generation after generation, people become more and more conditioned inside of this system. Almost all the major institutions of power and influence in the United States and Canada (to name a few), whether it be within the business sector, to the educational system, to the political system, to the media industry, and to the financial system, are controlled by white people (usually white men at the very top). This is how Institutionalized Racism is maintained, through a multi-faceted system stemming from colonalism. In other words, the entire system has been rigged to make it easier for white people (especially white men) to succeed AND maintain that power structure over others. Institutionalized Racism plays a very significant central role in that system because it covertly gives privileges to one group, while covertly denying those same privileges to other groups. An example of those privileges is White Privilege. Here’s a study from University of Dayton that shines a light on the issue I'm touching on. And if you want to further explore the social construction of "whiteness" and how assimliation works in America, I advise you to read books by historians Matthew Frye Jacobson, David R. Roediger and Alexander Saxton. They all have explored why assimilation is not only about "individual success" but how successful an individual can assimilate into "whiteness."
Whew!...just finished the Helfand article on "Constructing Whiteness"...when you assign home work you really pile it on.
It was a great read on her perspective of the history of racism...thanks for the read.
No problem, Wes. Glad that you found the article interesting. :)
yet another brilliant post Preston. Thank you
Wes, You are absolutely correct. But it's O'Reilly's statement that he is surprised that the Harlem restaurant is the "same" even though it's run by blacks. Any message he wanted to send about hard work and self reliance gets lost when he makes such idiotic, patronizing statements like that.
That's a big 10-4.
But it doesn't end when you've 'made it.'
Wes, I know you don't mean to be insulting because I've read many of your previous posts, but I do live a responsible life and except for the aberrant near do well relative here and there that all families have so do the people in my world. We don't need the self appointed spokesman for the WCM power structure blathering on and lecturing us about how we should live. We’re doing just fine, and anyone who knows me would tell you it’s absolutely impossible for me to follow any human being blindly, lets just say I’m not easily led. Furthermore I don’t even know what a “race based culture is” But I do know it’s extremely patronizing and annoying to be included in a discussion aimed at people who behave irresponsibly just because I have this pretty brown face. J
Good for you Lynn...
But don't lose sight of the aberrant groups that do promote race based cultures. Some that come to mind...white supremacy...black panthers...nazi germany...and the current rap society.
They all have promoted cultures based on race to the detriment of the general society...and I would not want any member of those groups as a neighbor, friend, or acquaintance.
I believe, like you, that we should base our friendships and relationships on actions...not skin color.
I'll also go out on a limb...and bet that we agree that O'Reilly is a poor choice to lecture anybody...on anything. His goal of "making it" is just high ratings...whatever he has to do to get there.
But just because O'Reilly uttered the words doesn't make them false...a good education and hard work are good things.
"But don't lose sight of the aberrant groups that do promote race based cultures. Some that come to mind...white supremacy...black panthers...nazi germany...and the current rap society."--wesley
I think you are right about how race-based groups are bad. I just disagree that "the current rap society" is on that list. Sure a lot of the artists are black, but they are also selling to an overwhelmingly white male audience. I don't know how rap and hip-hop couldn't resonate with white males if we couldn't relate at all in the first place.
I don't see anything in rap/hip-hop that promotes racial seperatism or black superiority for that matter either - which your other examples are much better examples of that.
This is the same guy who once asked this question about one of the acts at an inner-city fundraiser a few yrs ago: "Does anyone know where the Best Men are? I hope they're not in the parking lot stealing our hubcaps."
Once again, i would state my truest opinion of him, but to do so would be a grievous insult to certain feminine hygiene products made of vinegar and water
"I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves."
Well, I guess that disqualifies them from becoming Fox viewers.
Good lord, this guy is a moron.
Come on, get off Bill O's case. Why I bet some of his best friends are black.
[link to www.blackpeopleloveus.com]
So in retrospect, maybe it WAS right to release the slaves. Apparently, even though they're black, they can run a business and take care of themselves.
Wasn't he once the host of INSIDE EDITION or one of those tacky-ass tabloid shows? He needs to go back there, where he belongs.
His show is still tabloid, probably even more so today.
I don't watch him that much, but my prediction for tonight on the Factor:
1) OJ for a full 15 minutes.
2) Superficial discussion of Jena, probably by with Sharpton.
3) Michelle Makin on the MoveOn.Org ad.
4) Dick Morris on why Hillary had to explain that she's NOT a lesbian.
His old show was Nancy Grace-style tabloid. This is much worse, because it is packaged as "news commentary" despite being filled with lies.
His old show was Nancy Grace-style tabloid.
I think you’re on to something. I’ve always viewed his old program and The O'Reilly Factor as a tabloid news program. It's no wonder that both Grace and O’Reilly bring in more ratings than Olbermann. When you have a sensationalistic piece of kitsch such as American Idol bringing in over 40 million viewers a week, it's no surprise that O'Reilly's show would dominant cable news: it's dumb-down entertainment like Idol.
...a tabloid show? But that's where he won his 25 Peabody awards for excellence in broadcasting. Bill is a pathetic old coot , and I understand that he has very young children. It's a shame Bill's rearing filling their heads full of his bigoted BS.
If there were any doubts about O'Lielly's racism, this segment should put all doubts to rest. And this guy is the one of the biggest stars, if not the biggest, on Faux News.
racist moron. No other way to say it.
I think the technical word for his sense that he is paying a compliment to African Americans is "paternalism".
question: why weren't Edith, Gloria and Mike ("Meathead") in this episode?
"But don't lose sight of the aberrant groups that do promote race based cultures. Some that come to mind...white supremacy...black panthers...nazi germany...and the current rap society."
Yeah, that's it.
50 Cent = Adolph Hitler.
It sounds like you've listened to as much rap as Bill O'Reilly has.
How do you explain rap becoming the international phenomenon it has over the past couple of decades if its promoting a race based culture?
You do realize the large majority of the audience making up "rap culture" as you call it are white right?
You do realize the large majority of the audience making up "rap culture" as you call it are white right?
This seems to always be the important factor that many on the opposition tend to miss. In fact, my white friends are bigger hip hop heads than myself, and I'm a black man that was raised in poor neighborhoods. They're far more encyclopedic of hip hop than me, too. Not that I feel ashamed of that, because while I'm more of a fan of old school hip hop, I tend to listen to Jazz, Blues, Soul for the most part. There’s enough great American music with origins deep in the black American experience to pass around and share with everyone.
Preston, I know exactly what you mean. The only reason i'm up to date on the newer rap artists is because of my nieces and my g/f's son. My music tastes vary widely though, from old school rap and r&b, to jazz and reggae. Black people have influenced so many different forms of music, there's more than enough to enjoy.
And what was a "black resteraunt" supposed to look like, Mr. Bill O'Whiteman Honkey? Stinking racist.
Does anyone here remember the old TV show, "Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!"? A spoof on soap operas (and brilliant, imo)?
Anyway, in one scene, an aspiring country singer (played by the great Mary Kay Place) was appearing on the old Dinah Shore daytime variety show and, after singing her new single, was doing a cooking segment with Ms. Shore. (I believe they were cooking grits.) Ms. Place's character was babbling on about how well she'd been treated by everyone connected with Dinah's show and the network -- folks with names like Weinstein and Golberg -- and then finished off the anecdote by saying, "It's hard to believe they're the people that killed Our Lord."
O'Reilly's spiel here is exactly like that. Williams's jaw should've hit the floor with this crap.
O'Reilly reminds me of what the character Mike said about Archie Bunker to Sammy Davis, Jr., i.e. that Archie wasn't the kind of bigot who would burn a cross on a black man's lawn. Davis's response was classic: "Yeah, but if he saw one burning, he'd toast marshmallows on it."
Again, that's O'Reilly to a tee. Toasting marshmallows.
"there was no difference" between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants."
There also appears to be no difference between O'Reilly and other middle aged, angry, resentful, dyspeptic, flatulent, paunchy, conservative white males who can't tell the difference between a luffa and a falafel. O'Reilly...retire and stick to writing trashy novels like Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder. Sorry Bill but I read your novel and it is cr@p. However you are even worse on the air. About the novel; many have wondered whether O'Reilly is Shannon Michaels or Tommy O’Malley. From a plot synopsis of the novel on the website so loved by all right wingers:
"Michaels stalks the woman who forced his resignation from the network and throws her off a balcony. He next murders a television research consultant who had advised the local station to dismiss him by burying him in beach sand up to his neck and letting him slowly drown. Finally, during a break in the Radio and Television News Directors Association convention, he slits the throat of the station manager."
Could Andrea Mackris possible be a case of life imitating art? Hard to say, but with Bill we are dealing with very deep pathology. Given how O'Reilly has conducted his life so far I'm going with the resemblance between O'Reilly and Michaels. O'Reilly is on a short fuse and the clock is ticking. I is only a matter time before he goes off and hurts someone.
What bucket of backwater slime has that guy been festering in all these years? He is offensive to all races on this planet.
If Al Sharpton frequents Sylvia's, he has a more discriminating palate than Bill O'Reilly does. Points for Sharpton.
I just listened to the audio. So, O'Reilly's assertion is that black Americans are pretty much just like everyone else, contrary to what Sharpton and Jackson might have us believe.
And this is outrageous, how?
I also have to agree that this is racist from the word go, I find these comments to be just as bad as Imus's and believe that O'Reilly should face the same consequences that Imus did.
This basically shows how much of a bigot O'Reilly is. But, at least, it seems like his eyes have maybe opened a little bit. I think a problem a lot of folks have is that they like to fit everyone into nice, neat stereotypes. It involves less cognitive processing doing things that way. Unfortunately, you end up with the O'Reillys being surprised that all blacks aren't rapping idiots.
What a dumb ass!
Just wants to hear himself.
Anyone believing this crap should get out more often