I’ve written on this subject a few times in the past and I’m happy to report that no one as yet has accused me of speaking out of turn. That is encouraging, since I am a white man speaking on this volatile subject. Perhaps the message is sinking into more hearts and minds than I give credit for and there is more of a general consensus on my view than I had imagined.
There are still, however, too many out there who refuse to give up. I’ll get right to the latest Bill O’Reilly dustup and the furor it has generated. Media Matters had this to say about his comments regarding his dinner at Sylvia’s with Al Sharpton:
O’Reilly surprised “there was no difference” between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants
On its face it does sound to be an ignorant, racist remark. Bill invited Juan Williams on the Factor to discuss the remarks and the reaction by CNN and Media Matters. The portrayal of the actual intent of O’Reilly’s comments become much more palatable under the proper context, despite the fact that folks like Boyce Watkins will not allow it easily. On a CNN broadcast, Watkins refers to Williams as “the eternal happy negro”. Sure, that’s constructive.
This is a common attack on blacks who are mainstream Americans by blacks who, like Watkins, et al, resist any movement towards a norm. I don’t even agree with much of Juan Williams politics but at least he’s a stand-up guy. People like Watkins are apparently hell-bent on keeping the races separate and different. It is, after all, a thriving cottage industry.
Let’s get back to what O’Reilly said, according to Media Matters: “O’Reilly surprised ‘there was no difference’ between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants”. Simply outrageous, if that was what he truly felt. That is not the case though, as evidenced by the text wrapped around those fourteen words.
Prior to uttering the now infamous fourteen words, O’Reilly was discussing the perception of black America being force-fed to the country via the “entertainment” industry. (All one has to do is watch fifteen minutes of MTV to see my meaning). It should be crystal clear to anyone that O’Reilly’s feigned surprise was designed to mock the stereotype that hucksters such as Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, as well as the sundry “hip hop artists”, wish to perpetuate on society.
Bill Cosby suffered a similar fate for attempting to suggest that blacks should stop trying to validate that very stereotype. That was from the usual suspects, however, the ones who garner all of the media attention. If I were so inclined I’d be willing to bet that if I took a poll of everyday, run of the mill, working black people that they would say they were cheering Bill Cosby’s words.
The left is equally culpable in this travesty for, should the perceived “problem” ever go away, there would be one less thing for which they could lament.
They fought so hard to let Terri Schiavo die. Why do they insist on keeping the bogus spectre of institutionized racism alive? I say it’s time to pull the plug and let the rest of us live in peace. Let racism wither and die, once and for all.
-Woody
