Brian Kilmeade of Fox News went on TV and radio last Friday, and one of the more thoughtless, offensive comments entered our lives. For reasons known only to him and his inner demons, Mr. Kilmeade stated, "Not every Muslim is an extremist, but every terrorist is a Muslim."
The thing is, that was not the thoughtless, offensive comment.
While that one sentence got the attention, most videoclips left out the full statement. You see, remarkably, Mr. Kilmeade reinforced his invective:
"You can't avoid that fact," he insisted, making certain we knew this wasn't just opinion. No, it was "Fact." Actual fact. " And that is ridiculous that we got to keep defining this -"
One can feel his pain, having to keep reminding chumps to understand simple Kilmeade Fact.
The thing is, that wasn't the thoughtless, offensive comment either. You see, most news coverage missed the comment entirely.
Part of the confusion came because Mr. Kilmeade spoke both on television and radio. And what he added was: "Americans have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, 'Show me you're not one of them.'"
According to Fox News's constitutional authority, you as an American have the right to go up to another American citizen, check their religion, and if they give the wrong answer insist they prove on the spot they're not a terrorist. It's your right. (Perhaps where "Far Right" comes from.)
Mind you, Mr. Kilmeade neglected to make clear how they are to prove it. Presumably, replying, "No, mullah, I'm not a terrorist," won't suffice. But those are just details. They can be worked out.
But that wasn't the thoughtless, offensive comment either.
All the pointed outrage at Brian Kilmeade noted the many terrorists he ignored who aren't Muslim, like Timothy McVeigh -- but it missed the larger issue: the most thoughtless, offensive comment wasn't even said by Brian Kilmeade.
The worst comment came from Fox News Sr. VP Bill Shine, who told the Huffington Post on Friday, "Obviously, not all terrorists are Muslim, and Brian will clarify this point on television and radio on Monday."
Look at that again. Friday on Fox News, Brian Kilmeade spread through the entire world that "All Muslims are terrorists," and it sat there as "Fact" on Fox News, uncorrected for three days. Not until a full 72 hours later did Fox News insist that a correction from one of its hosts be made.
Actually, that's not totally accurate. All we know is that Brian Kilmeade is going to "clarify" his point. The point doesn't need clarifying. It needs eradication.
And the thing is, Fox News never publicly offered that "Obviously not all terrorists are Muslim." They waited until an outside reporter asked.
Yes, I know not everyone considers Fox News actually, well..."news." Yet even if you believe in Fox News as a matter of faith, even you recognize that Fox itself says a clarification is necessary. And waiting three days to clarify anything is far too long. But for what purports to be a "news organization," three days is reprehensible. It's like Fox News isn't even trying to pretend.
As for the "clarification" that Brian Kilmeade will give - honestly, why bother? We all know what it will be. That "I was taken out of context. 'All' terrorists aren't Muslims. That I know Timothy McVeigh wasn't a Muslim. But what I was saying is that all terrorists involved in 9/11 and al qaeda are Muslims. And the Far Left are apologists for those trying to hurt America."
And his clarification will all be a lie. Because Brian Kilmeade wasn't taken out of context. The context is on tape. And he repeated it on TV and radio. And because Brian Kilmeade has said this kind of racist, Muslim-hating invective before. And Fox has happily kept him on the air.
Because, you see, what most clips left out of Brian Kilmeade's White Friday is that he did mention Timothy McVeigh -- and made clear he doesn't consider blowing up 168 Americans real terrorism, that it's foolish to compare the two. Because what Brian Kilmeade said was --
"And that is ridiculous that we got to keep defining this - the people that equate Timothy McVeigh with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization..."
But the proof that what he "really meant" will be a massive lie goes further. Because the context of Brian Kilmeade is what he's kept saying before. Because it shows clearly what he thinks and was thinking on Friday.
Here's what Brian Kilmeade said on Fox & Friends on July 8, 2009. (I've cleaned up the interruptions and pauses, but click here for the full video - in context.) A co-host had brought up a light-hearted study by the Swedes and Finnish about how marriage makes a person happier. And Mr. Kilmeade and his inner demon decided he wanted to dispute this:
"Leave it to the Finns and Swedes to come up with something. We [in America] keep marrying other species and other ethnics, and the problem is, the Swedes have pure genes. Because they marry other Swedes. Because that's the rule. Finland -- Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society. In America, we marry everybody. So, we'll marry Italians and Irish."
Okay, forget for a moment I'm not sure what other "species" he's referring to that Americans wed. Intermarriage with Coho Salmon, perhaps.
But there is the real Brian Kilmeade in context. The Brian Kilmeade who said crystal clear that "All Muslims are terrorists." There is Brian Kilmeade bemoaning intermingling the races, mixing the "ethnics," marrying Italians, the Irish, everybody. All at the expense of pure genes, pure society.
That's Brian Kilmeade. In context. Clarified.
Who Fox News waited three days to let him figure out what to say that would allow his hate-filled, racist rant to make sense to their audience.
In fairness, most humans couldn't have done it in a lifetime.