spiderman Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Group Points Out O'Reilly Race Comments After eating dinner at a famed Harlem restaurant recently, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly told a radio audience he "couldn't get over the fact" that there was no difference between the black-run Sylvia's and other restaurants. "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," he said. "And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all." O'Reilly said his fellow patrons were tremendously respectful as he ate dinner with civil rights activist Al Sharpton. The comments were made during O'Reilly's nationally syndicated radio broadcast last week. The liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America called attention to them by distributing a transcript and audio clip on the Internet. "This is nothing more than left-wing outlets stirring up false racism accusations for ratings," said Bill Shine, senior vice president for programming at Fox News Channel. "It's sad." O'Reilly spoke during a general discussion about racial relations with Fox News analyst Juan Williams. O'Reilly said he believed black Americans were "starting to think more and more for themselves" and backing away from a race-based culture encouraged by Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He said he treated Sharpton to dinner to thank him for appearing on his Fox News Channel show. O'Reilly pointed to the lack of difference between Sylvia's and other restaurants as a marker of racial progress. He also noted that he went to an Anita Baker concert recently where the audience was evenly mixed between blacks and whites. "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," he said. "They think the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg." Williams concurred that too many people believe there's little else in black culture beyond profane rap. "That's right," O'Reilly said. "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, `M.F.-er, I want more iced tea." Sharpton said he was taken aback that anyone would be surprised at how blacks acted at Sylvia's and will ask O'Reilly on "The O'Reilly Factor" Wednesday to explain what he meant. Nothing O'Reilly said at the dinner was offensive, said Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger. Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters, called O'Reilly's comments "ignorant and racially charged." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_genius Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Everyone is racist except me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(mr_genius @ Sep 25, 2007 -> 10:29 PM) Everyone is racist except me. That's racist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 It is so tough to have a decent dialog when every word is parsed, every phrase examined, to see if it is 100% racism free. When we can look at the content of a man's soul and not the words he may unfortunately choose, we may have progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 O'Reilly is a jackass in any case. I suppose one might take the comments as racist, I think maybe they are. But I guess, given the source, it doesn't much matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 01:20 PM) O'Reilly is a jackass in any case. I suppose one might take the comments as racist, I think maybe they are. But I guess, given the source, it doesn't much matter. ^^^^ Indeed. I can't stand him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Don't know if it's racism or not, not sure I care, but this had to be fairly amusing. CNN's Rick Sanchez yesterday. SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. We've been talking about some of the remarks that were made by Bill O'Reilly on his syndicated radio show last week about African-Americans and his visit to a Harlem restaurant. Well, tonight on his program on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly responded to our coverage of his remarks and the reaction. O'REILLY (video clip): Now, I talked to CNN last night before that program. It was obvious they didn't listen to The Radio Factor, so I explained the deal. They went ahead with the racist angle anyway. This is dishonest and dangerous. SANCHEZ: Maybe untrue as well, because we went and we checked the transcript. The word "racist" was never mentioned during our show, certainly not by me. Never once did we utter the word "racist" in relation to Bill O'Reilly. Not by me, even not by our guest, Roland Martin, who was here at the time. One other thing: He talks about calling us and talking to us. In actually, he called and screamed at the top of his lungs for a very long period of time. We've invited Bill O'Reilly, by the way, to come and talk to us. We'll be right back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 I used to hate O'Reilly back when his show first started on Fox News, now I like him to an extent, I think he's funny at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 10:59 AM) Don't know if it's racism or not, not sure I care, but this had to be fairly amusing. CNN's Rick Sanchez yesterday. Was it racist? I think so. It has some very nasty undertones to it. "Oh, the black people aren't acting like thugs -- whoa, imagine that!" Is he racist? I don't think so. and I replied to you because that Sanchez quote is f***ing hilarious. Edited September 26, 2007 by Gregory Pratt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Here is a thought, and it will be very difficult to phrase this, so bear with me. I think racist is one of the worst labels we can slap on someone and should be used only in the worst cases. I want to see a pattern of this behavior, a preponderance of evidence, before labeling them a racist. This crap where one strike and your labeled and tossed aside is b.s. and does not accurately reflect the complexities of being human. It's like anointing someone a saint for attending Church once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 I don't think the comparison's very good but I agree with the sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 11:26 AM) I don't think the comparison's very good but I agree with the sentiment. It isn't a good analogy, but I can't think of an area that we are so quick to label, based on one instance. We don't slap on positive labels for one thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 It is blowing up on New York radio though. The office radio was on a music station and the afternoon DJ was just going off on it. Taking calls talking about how insulting it is that O'Reilly seems surprised that African Americans know how to behave in public. Regardless of motivation behind it, looks like the Factor is on its way to being Don Imussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 06:45 PM) It is blowing up on New York radio though. The office radio was on a music station and the afternoon DJ was just going off on it. Taking calls talking about how insulting it is that O'Reilly seems surprised that African Americans know how to behave in public. Regardless of motivation behind it, looks like the Factor is on its way to being Don Imussed. What a joke. The reverend(s) Al and Jesse can pull racist s*** all day long, and it goes right on by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 11:46 AM) What a joke. The reverend(s) Al and Jesse can pull racist s*** all day long, and it goes right on by. Yeah, s*** like taking O'Reilly to restaurants in NYC where the African Americans aren't acting crazy. What a cunning trap the Rev. laid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 06:50 PM) Yeah, s*** like taking O'Reilly to restaurants in NYC where the African Americans aren't acting crazy. What a cunning trap the Rev. laid. Don't get me wrong - O'Reilly opened himself up for this, but it's hypocritical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Seems to me that a lot of O'Reilly's crap is observational sarcasm. "Oh look, I'm here in this black restaurant and everyone's not a gang-banger or curses like Ludacris." "Everyone's 'normal' like white people." People always look for ways to barbecue those that they disagree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 01:55 PM) Don't get me wrong - O'Reilly opened himself up for this, but it's hypocritical. Well, if Jesse or Al were full time employees of some major network, they might get fired too. But, as they are basically unemployed, what's there to fire them from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 01:46 PM) What a joke. The reverend(s) Al and Jesse can pull racist s*** all day long, and it goes right on by. Perhaps you can fill me in, but what radio network and cable channel do Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have high rated shows on again? This is a function of making a living by being an asshole and playing the jerk. Eventually, someone bites back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 01:57 PM) Well, if Jesse or Al were full time employees of some major network, they might get fired too. But, as they are basically unemployed, what's there to fire them from? I love that observation. We've only been firing guys for statements like this for 20 years. Al Campanis was the first I can think of. And it is interesting that the coverage, IIRC, was he made racially insensitive remarks, not that he *was* a racist. His record was pretty spotless at that point. Some people pointed to the hiring of Tommy Lasorda over a black candidate, but look at Lasorda's record, they done pretty good with that hiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 06:57 PM) Well, if Jesse or Al were full time employees of some major network, they might get fired too. But, as they are basically unemployed, what's there to fire them from? They pimp money out of their own "followers" every day, so which is worse? Lying and running around screaming "racism" when they are using racist means to suck out money from people, or being a douche on TV? I rate it about the same, but since it's a "conservative" you all want to take pot shots at how bad he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 02:04 PM) They pimp money out of their own "followers" every day, so which is worse? Lying and running around screaming "racism" when they are using racist means to suck out money from people, or being a douche on TV? I rate it about the same, but since it's a "conservative" you all want to take pot shots at how bad he is. For the record, I'm pretty sure I've taken more "pot shots" at Jesse and Al than I have O'Factor. Who the f*** cares anyway - none of them are worth your time or energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 02:04 PM) I rate it about the same, but since it's a "conservative" you all want to take pot shots at how bad he is. I thought O'Reilly was more of a centralist? I could listen without barfing and popping some extra Tenormin so he can't be that conservative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 07:06 PM) For the record, I'm pretty sure I've taken more "pot shots" at Jesse and Al than I have O'Factor. Who the f*** cares anyway - none of them are worth your time or energy. You know, you're right - I shouldn't say "you all" - but I will say the "typical" liberal. Most of you here aren't to that level, so thanks for the correction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 02:07 PM) You know, you're right - I shouldn't say "you all" - but I will say the "typical" liberal. Most of you here aren't to that level, so thanks for the correction. I think who we have here are more the mainstream Democrats than the mythical ones that get pin poked. Which perhaps adds to the b.s. factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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