O’Reilly Tells African-Americans Whom They Can And Cannot Hold Up As Icons

[kpete]

O’Reilly Tells African-Americans Whom They Can And Cannot Hold Up As Icons

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was full of his usual hypocrisy as he went off last night about the death of Michael Jackson. O’Reilly started off on a respectful note, saying, “The family of Michael Jackson honored his memory today in Los Angeles. And I do not, do not wish to intrude on that. They are entitled to grieve any way they want.” However, he then decided to intrude, saying that he was “just about fed up with all the adulation” because it’s “basically grandstanding and pathetic in the extreme.”

O’Reilly was also offended at the “racial component” to the Jackson coverage. “The message is very clear, if you criticize Michael Jackson, you hate black people,” said O’Reilly. He, however, then injected race into the discussion by telling Fox News analyst Marc Lamont Hill that blacks shouldn’t look up to Jackson:



O’REILLY: Okay, then why is he being held up by the African-American community as a pillar of black America when he blanches his skin? <...>

But answer me this, if he is such a black American icon, why did he have his kids with white men?

HILL: That’s a personal matter. That doesn’t make him less black. There’s no blackness meter here. You don’t become less black when you have a white kid.

O’REILLY: You don’t become an African-American icon when you do something like that.

more:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/08/oreilly-mj/

[imdjh]

1. So was Michael making a political statement by having white children?

The whitening of his skin, I always figured that was to make him more photogenic, but even if he has vitiligo then it would make sense that he would use his powers to get an even skin tone, whichever one it ends up being.

[NC_Nurse]

2. His arrogance knows no bounds. He's such a dick. Old farts who want their

1950's worldview supported are the only ones who watch this pathetic shithead.

Go F*CK yourself, Bill.

[Alenne]

3. I think Bill needs to worry about important things

like the crimes the Bush administration committed and allowed others to commit in the name of the American people. Who Black people consider an icon is one of the least important issues facing this country.

[peekaloo]

4. anything to keep his mind off

SENATOR AL FRANKEN

[Sukie]

5. Could it be possible that Jackson saw no color

in people's skin, unlike most of us?

[maxsolomon]

9. yes it is possible but that would mean he was actually blind.

perhaps you mean to say that st. jackson attached no judgement to the color of people's skin?

how does your theory jibe with his demonstrable dislike of his own features?

[greenbriar]

10. Jackson did NOT want to look like his father

he hated his dad and every time he looked in the mirror, that is what he saw


that is why he did not like his own features

[Sukie]

11. From your use of "st" in describing Jackson,

your own bias shows loud and clear. His use of plastic surgery to change his looks would really be more indicative of his dislike of how HE looked. He had friends from all walks of life, as was evident yesterday during his memorial, where black and white alike mourned his passing. BTW...this is not a "theory" of mine. Just an observation.

[maxsolomon]

12. my bias is neutral

i own "off the wall" on vinyl but i don't listen to it much beyond "rock with you" every other year, and i don't consider him a the pedophilic monster he was accused of being. to me he was a sad person who could have used some skilled therapy as a teen to help him sort out his sexuality and gender identification.

but my "observation" is that the spectacle at the Staples Center yesterday was the canonization of a pop martyr. which makes him St. Jackson.

[SoxFan]

6. The Approved List

[LeftinOH]

7. God damn -O'Reilly, is there no end to your uselessness?

[Lilyeye]

8. The jerk also claimed that black people care more about the coverage than whites.

Funny because MJ had plently of white fans.

[AngryOldDem]

13. Thanks for posting this.

Stay classy, Bill -- you dick.

[edbermac]

14. Right On Bill! You tell 'em brother!

Don't take dat shit from DA MAN! :sarcasm:

[KamaAina]

15. He had his kids with white men? Seriesly?

I always thought it was with box turtles or dolphins or something. :sarcasm: Bit of a Freudian slip, Bill-O? :shrug:

[maxsolomon]

18. he was correct, actually

caucasian mom (debbie rowe), caucasian sperm donor (obviously), despite his assertions otherwise ("my sperm cells") in the Bashir documentary.

[CatWoman]

16. Apparently DU agrees with Bill O'Reilly

from what I've seen around here.

[butterfly77]

17. I agree with that but...

Who in the hell does he think he is to tell some who they can or cannot mourn and why in the hell does he care. They must think that they didn't do a good enough job all of these years, trying to make people hate Michael be they black,white or whatever race.