Bill O'Reilly's Throwing a Lynching Party
I'm sick to death of people like FOX News host, Bill O'Reilly, and his ilk thinking that he can use a racial slur against a black woman who could be the next First Lady of the United States, give a half-assed apology and not be taken to task and called on his crap.
This week O'Reilly gave the following response to a caller on his radio show who was making unsubstantiated negative charges against presidential candidate Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama:
"And I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- then that's legit. We'll track it down."
What the hell? If it's "legit," you're going to "track it down?" And then what do you plan to do?
How dare this white man with a microphone and the trust of the public think that in 2008, he can still put the words "lynch and party" together in the same sentence with reference to a black woman; in this case, Michelle Obama? I don't care how you "spin it" in the "no spin zone," that statement in and of itself is racist, unacceptable and inappropriate on every level.
O'Reilly claims his comments were taken out of context. Please don't insult my intelligence while you're insulting me. I've read the comments and heard them delivered in O'Reilly's own voice; and there is no right context that exists. So, his insincere apology and "out-of-context" excuse is not going to cut it with me.
And just so we're clear, this has nothing to do with the 2008 presidential election, me being a Democrat, him claiming to be Independent while talking Republican, the liberal media or a conservative point of view. To the contrary, this is about crossing a line in the sand that needs to be drawn based on history, dignity, taste and truth.
Bill, I'm not sure of where you come from, but let me tell you what the phrase "lynching party" conjures up to me, a black woman born in North Carolina. Those words depict the image of a group of white men who are angry with the state of the own lives getting together, drinking more than they need to drink, lamenting how some black person has moved forward (usually ahead of them in stature or dignity), and had the audacity to think that they are equal. These same men for years, instead of looking at what changes, should and could make in their own lives that might remove that bitterness born of perceived privilege, these white men take all of that resentment and anger and decide to get together and drag the closest black person near them to their death by hanging them from a tree -- usually after violent beating, torturing and violating their human dignity. Check your history books, because you don't need a masters or a law degree from Harvard to know that is what constitutes a "lynching party."
Imagine, Michelle and Barack Obama having the audacity to think that they have the right to the American dream, hopes, and ideals. O'Reilly must think to himself: how dare they have the arrogance to think they can stand in a front of this nation, challenge the status quo and express the frustration of millions? When this happens, the first thing that comes to mind for O'Reilly and people like him is: "it's time for a party."
Not so fast...don't order the rope just yet.
Would O'Reilly ever in a million years use this phrase with reference to Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain or Judi Nathan? I mean, in all of the statements and criticisms that were made about Judi Nathan, the one-time mistress turned missus, of former presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, I never heard any talk of forming a lynch party because of something she said or did.
So why is it that when you're referring to someone who's African-American you must dig to a historical place of pain, agony and death to symbolize your feelings? Lynching is not a joke to off-handedly throw around and it is not a metaphor that has a place in political commentary; provocative or otherwise. I admit that I come from a place of personal outrage here having buried my 90 year-old grandfather last year. This proud, amazing African-American man raised his family and lived through the time when he had to use separate water fountains, ride in the back of a bus, take his wife on a date to the "colored section" of a movie theater, and avert his eyes when a white woman walked down the street for fear of what a white man and his cronies might do if they felt the urge to "party"; don't tell me that the phrase you chose, Mr. O'Reilly, was taken out of context.
To add insult to injury, O'Reilly tried to "clarify" his statements, by using the excuse that his comments were reminiscent of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' use of the term "high-tech lynching" during his confirmation hearing. I reject that analogy. You see Justice Thomas did mean to bring up the image of lynching in its racist context. He was saying that politics and the media were using a new technology to do to him what had been done to black men for many years -- hang him. Regardless of if you agreed with Justice Thomas' premise or not, if in fact -- Bill O'Reilly was referencing it -- the context becomes even clearer.
What annoys me more than anything is that I get the feeling that one of the reasons Bill O'Reilly made this statement, thinking he could get away with it in the first place, and then followed it up with a lame apology in a half-hearted attempt to smooth any ruffled feathers, is because he doesn't think that black women will come out and go after him when he goes after us. Well, he's dead wrong. Be clear Bill O'Reilly: there will be no lynch party for that black woman. And this black woman assures you that if you come for her, you come for all of us.
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I think O'Reilly probably knew exactly what he was doing ... getting himself lots more free publicity.
He keeps doing shit like this, and we keep talking about him. The guy may an idiot, but he's not stupid when it comes to knowing how to promote himself.
Oscar Wilde said, "I'd rather have people speak ill of me that not speak of me at all." In other words, "there's no such thing as bad publicity.
I dislike O'Reilly and disagree with most of his views. However, I did listen to the clip in question, and he was clearly defending Michelle Obama. As for his use of the phrase "lynch party," lynching is a crime that is not specific for victims of any particular race. White people were also lynched in times past. O'Reilly may in fact be a racist, but this particular statement of his was not a racist one.
You're missing the point, Bill O'Reilly said it so it must be evil.
Now you are finally getting closer to the point! Anyway, O'Reilly is a clown. Did you ever notice in all his segments there is always some bad guy somewhere? He always finds someone to blame and that is the secret to his success among fans like you who like a convenient scapegoat and simplistic answers to complex problems.
A few white people have been lynched in the past but it wasn't used as a means of terrorizing their entire communities , at times with a demand to vacate the town that night , or burning down their houses.It wasn't accompanied by cross burnings and marches.
It wasn't terrorism
Actually white people were lynched, burnt at the stake, and drowned to death, when this country was in its infancy. The early settlers came here to practice their bazaar religions where entire communities were run as theocracies. If the church didn’t like you or thought you were a witch or you refused to join the church you were murdered in the name of GOD.
England voted not to have an official religion that could control the throne, London, and beyond and so the rejected religious fanatics fled to America and started a new country that they could control. TOWNS WERE TERRORIZED! People lived in fear!
That is the real history of America. Later, our founding fathers, Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, corrected this huge mistake. That is how important the constitution is.
Another interesting question ??? Why is Michelle Obama's Thesis being kept under lock and key until after the elections ???? Wonder what lurcks in that piece of writing ?
Are you smoking your keyboard? Her college thesis? You want an interesting college thesis go look up Hillary's because it's about a man who she admired but disagreed with politically. The right wing went nuts because as a Goldwater Girl in her college days, Hillary's thesis was about a far left wing idealogue.
Man, how ridiculous can you Obama Bashers get? Did you even go to college? Do you even understand what a thesis is all about? It's not necessarily writing about what you believe in or what you like, it's supposed to be a challenge.
I wonder why someone is so curious about a college thesis when they cannot even spell the word "lurks". Like you'd even be able to read her thesis with any comprehension. Not.
Are you kidding me? Using the term 'lynching party' in connection with a black woman and it's not racist? How come he hasn't offered to throw a lynching party for Paris Hilton, hmmm?
O'Reilly thinks that nothing he does will stick to him because he has high ratings. He feels that he can make racist veiled threats under the guise of "defending" Mrs Obama. O'Reilly intent was to warn the Mrs Obama that he is coming after her if they don't back off. He hates the fact that this black woman is his "intellectual" superior and is staunchly supporting her husband's campaign. O'Reilly and those like him are having a hard time bringing down Obama, so they are going after his wife.
I've listened to Archie O'Reilly for years and not a day goes by that he doesn't say something god awful stupid.
After the gaffe, I guarantee O'Reilly and his falafel free, no spin staff spent hours on the Google, trying to find some reference to a black man referencing a lynching. They probably all celebrated with some motherfuckin' ice tea when they ran across the Clarence Thomas quote.
Clarence Thomas and O'Reilly are actually pretty similar. Thomas was willing to trivialize the real suffering and deaths of African Americans by comparing himself to their struggle, in an attempt to dissuade the public from looking at the justifiable criticism of his candidacy. O'Reilly is willing to trivialize the real suffering and deaths of African Americans in an attempt to provide some laughable apology for his latent racism and knuckle dragging ineptitude.
And there is a vast difference between a black man saying, however accurately, "They tried to lynch me" and a white man saying "We might lynch you."
Well said! I'd be interested to know Ms Jones's position on the casual use of the n-word by African Americans. I find that word ugly no matter how much people defend it on the ground of voice appropriation (imagine Jews casually referring to one another as "Kikes" or "Hebes"). It's like a fact once pointed out by MAD magazine, that if you tell a joke about your ethnic group to fellow members of your group you're a wit, but if you're from a different ethnic group and you tell the very same joke to the very same group you're a bigot.
Trying to change the direction of the topic again are we? O'Reilly said to Dennis Miller, "Words matter" and I can only assume that he was talking about his own words as well.
O'Reilly can't go around making veiled threats against people and think that it doesn't matter.
That wasn't a threat, come on. A stupid comment yes, a threat, no.
Agreed. There is no accident in his use of this terminology.
He used the term knowing full well the history and associations it would IMMEDIATELY bring to mind - especially discussing a black woman.
The man is a snake. And I'm being nice.
*
I have heard almost EVERY ethnic group use the slur against their group between one another. It's natural. Take PSYCH 101. You'll find that it takes the sting out of the original meaning.
It's the same reason why some black Frats brand one another. It was forced upon their people long ago. Now, by claiming ownership of it, it takes the sting off.
You can witness similar behavior in rape victims. Go get a book. Read a sentence or two. You might learn something.
Now we can come back from our tangent and adress Mr. O'Reilly. Because what he said has nothing to do with words that some black people may or may not use to refer to themselves.
This is the common illogic that is always used when whites try to defend racism. It is almost as bad as IMUS using Hip-Hop music to defend his eloquent discourse on the Rutgers women's basketball team.
Changing the subject won't work. How 'bout we castrate, hang, and then burn Bill-O and then ask him if he thinks that WE are being racist?
I am well aware of how innumerable groups have appropriated a word directed at them to "take the sting out". How do you think the word "Christian" originated? That does not necessarily mean the practice is justified for all such words. I don't happen to think that race relations should be based on hypocrisy. You may have no problem with society being a series of linguistic ghettos (or enclaves, as minorities call ghettos they choose to live in) but I do. If racists are saying it's OK to use the n-word because blacks are they're utterly wrong, but that does not mean blacks should go on using it themselves just because no one else can without, rightly, being considered a racist. Hate words should be done away with absolutely, not relatively. BTW next time when you attack O'Reilly or someone who makes an argument you disagree with, try not to sound like O'Reilly.
I have to agree with you Ms. Star. The only
comment that struck me as equally stupid, though
not quite as offensive (probably depends on ones
sex), was Fred Thompson's description of his
trophy wife, as his proudest possession.
All right, girl! You had to say it! Keep speaking truth to power and we will all be in the "amen" corner.
Amen corner at Augusta? I love the masters.
I think Mrs Jones doesn't watch Bill O'Reilly.
As such, her desire to stir up hatred towards him is pretty much exactly along the lines of what BOR said he was going to do if he discovered that Michelle Obama "has never been proud of her country."
Mrs. Jones, if you ever want this great country to get beyond the hatred, someone has to turn the other cheek. Since you have no control over what BOR does, (other than to turn the channel), perhaps you can be the first one.
But I get the feeling you aren't all that interested in moving beyond racism. For all I know, you make your living by perpetuating it.
"Mrs. Jones, if you ever want this great country to get beyond the hatred, someone has to turn the other cheek."
Timothe, we (black people)ran out of cheeks to turn a LONG time ago.
WELL SAID, STAR!!
Not all of you, kitty. People like Bill Cosby are out there talking about the importance of family and personal responsibility. Women like Condolezza Rice are proudly representing our country to the rest of the world. Oprah turned the other cheek a long time ago and she respect Bill O'Reilly greatly.
Ever think about that kitty? Ever think about what one of these world leaders like King Abdullah think when the most powerful nation in the world sends a black woman to negotiate with them?
If you realy want to be offended about the white people "keeping the black man down", look no further than your own Democratic party. It's obvious that Obama is electable amongst all ages, races, and demographics. He is far enough in the lead that Hillary really can't catch him. All she can do is try to manipulate the results by bringing in Florida and Michigan after the fact and by winning the majority of these superdelegates. And she has the Democratic machine backing her.
It's easy to spout out the same old BS that the conservatives are racist, the conservatives are bigoted. But right now, the facts on the ground really don't support that.
Go Star!
How can a great country have hatred to get past? We must not be great yet. If BOR loves America he will resign so that we can be great and have no hate.
We're a great nation because guys like BOR and KO can speak freely, in spite of it.
Christ on a crooked crutch, Star! You really need to get out of L.A. once in a while. Bill O'Lieley and his ilk KNOW they can say what ever HATEFUL, IGNORANT, BIGGOTTED PROPAGANDA that pops into their tiny pea-brains; they are CompanyMen that rake in the PROFITS, and that's all that matters in 'AmeriCo' today. You act like you don't comprehend the simplest TRUTHS about the industry you work in.
Right On, Star! Very thorough and thoughtful discussion of his disgusting comments.
But no thoughtful discussion of the place that the n-word has with black people themselves.
Well, O'Reilly's comments need not be put in any larger context of the use of the "n-- word" among blacks. O'Reilly's comments were hateful in themselves. (We do not have to solve all society's problems to address one in particular
Blacks have not historically repressed themselves and denied themselves access to lunch counters and rest rooms. They have not historically lynched themselves for looking at white women or whatever reason with the goal of further subjugating their own race. Why don't you grow up, BOfever?
I am no fan of Ms. Jones -- her ego is a match for O'R's -- but she's nailed this one. It's startling how little has been made of this, in "post-Imus" America.
But look at that America: Shuster says pimp, O'Reilly uses lynching. Who got in trouble?
You know I am starting to believe African Americans sure to have a lot of nerve...
Daily, Weekly, Monthly White Americans are publicly humiliated by African American Comedians, Rap Stars, Actors and the General Public. African Americans know no boundaries when it comes racism.
After years of "White Americans" walking on egg shells around African Americans out of guilt and trying to eliminate racism. We end up with another road block.
People like you. African Americans alone proved in this election that they are once again the leading bigotry artists in this country. 87% of African Americans voted for a man who has done nothing nationally versus a woman who has provided the best opportunities for African Americans. Again, racism.
As I watch movies produced with a primarily African American audience. They usually have some white guy who is the dork and the evil man.
I say to myself what if it was a Black Man being thrown into the pool by a group of white people. That movie would be picketed in a heart beat.
Point: African Americans say it is their race who is being put down. When every I go I see it as opposite. Is it the color of your skin that cause 82% of African Americans to drop out of School?
No it is your own apathy and hypocritical comments. Just like this. You only further progress racism. But hey, at least it gives you an excuse.
Ok, it is clear here that English is what, your second or third language? Also, you saw your first Black people just a couple of years ago.
So who is telling you these things? You'd be better off with a more articulate class of friends.
Good job. You completely dodged giving me an answer.
im white and i would find the white's playing the victim card funny,if it were not so sad
Wow, African-Americans have put whites down so systemically through the years. The process was so thorough I did not even know it was taking place. Whites, I suppose, have been denied the vote and their rightful place at the societal table. You must be some brilliant sociologist. Fox News has a place for you.
There are many movies where whites can see themselves as whole, thoughtful beings. The roles for blacks over the years has largely been confined to sterotypical images of hoodlums, etc. Blacks are finally starting to see different images of themselves portrayed in movies. This process is healthy for society. Your post is overall, sort of nutty.
Mrs Jones.
I'm completely agree with you.
Thank you,
Star Jones, you have to calm down a tad. As a lawyer, and a pretty good one, you should ask yourself "what was his INTENT" behind it. Did he say it maliciously? or was it flippant?
A lot of of the Intent behind many liberals against Obama sound more racist than what O'reilly said but then what do I know. Pick your battles, wisely.
What a crock of manure. Just because you write this stuff doesn't mean it is true. It is hard to discern intent when the speaker has a history of saying racially charged (as well as other stupid) things. A few months ago he patronized Al Sharpton and others by commenting on how well behaved the diners at Sylvia's Restaurant were. Now he uses the "lynch" word--a word that I would never feel compelled or comfortable using and thinks it is innocent?
I suggest we hold a castration and a labotomy party for Loofah boy but then again that would require he has balls and brains. He has neither.
Defending his grotesque behavior is in very bad taste.
I would hazard to guess the lobotomy party would be a case of "damn, somebody already beat us to it".
Oh give me a break. You don't use that phrase against an African American..
She picked the right battle. And as a white woman I'll be there behind her and Michelle Obama if old Billy decides to 'come after them' like he always threatens to do to liberals on his show. I'd kick that old goat in his balls so hard they come out of his nose.
What is the history of America? What did the KKK and some of America's most racist people do?
They lynched Black Americans for being Black.
They called them: "EMPTY SUITS", EMPTY HEADED, NO BRAINS,
No matter how intelligent the Black Americans were just like they are doing and calling Barack Obama.
Hillary and Bill Clinton used those Code terms and thought no one would figure out what he was saying.
Bill Clinton is a good old Arkansas person and Hillary is still a good old Goldwater Girl.
A leopard cannot change their spots and The Clintons are proving they will say anything and will use anyone to become Presidents again.
Anger, Temper Tantrums, Mood Swings and all. It is so sad to see the Clintons loose all their good will not just here at home but from around the World.
Sorry, Dietrich -- There is no right way to say the wrong thing, especially when the words have such a heavy connotatio
the next time you see mike tyson...or any black man ...threate
call westwood one radio network and their sponsors to voice your concerns.. O'Reilly should be fired.
Replace his radio show with Air America then? I'm sure the affiliates are willing to loose a bunch of money in that station.
Wow, so the choice is between a bigoted O'Reilly or Air America?
WHEW!!!!
I was really, really worried you would take Bill's side. Shows you what I know. I hurt for the anger you must feel, and I hope this post turns up the heat on Bill-O big time!
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