Not a day goes by that we couldn't put up a post about Bill O'Reilly's arrogance and sense of white privilege, so when we do, it's truly egregious. This Talking Points Memo segment from Wednesday's show was one of those over-the-top moments, similar to Hannity's framing of JayZ as a crack dealer.
Because BillO has no concept of what it means or feels like to be a black person living in a white person's world, he feels completely entitled to not only frame Jackson as a radical rebel, thanks to that Morehouse College and its radical Commie ways,
From the Fox blog:
Bill O’Reilly tonight slammed actor Samuel L. Jackson for “jumping on the grievance train.”
He is seen on video singing, “I can hear my neighbor cryin,' 'I can't breathe.’ Now I'm in the struggle, and I can't leave. Calling out the violence of the racist police, we ain't gonna stop 'til people are free.”
O’Reilly said that Jackson was raised by his grandmother, with no father present. He was poor and lived in an all-black neighborhood, eventually finding his way to Morehouse College. That’s where O’Reilly said he associated with black militants and was so radical that the FBI investigated him in the 1960s.
Now, O’Reilly said Jackson has made more than 100 movies and is a wealthy man.
"With all due respect, rather than diminish his country, Mr. Jackson should be trying to make it better. His message could be that if I can succeed, so can you.”
O’Reilly noted that African Americans have it much tougher than white Americans.
"It's true, historical injustice has affected the black experience in America, but this country now offers a pathway to success for everybody, and while injustice must be dealt with, the message of opportunity and America’s basic nobility should be on the backside of every one of those ‘I can't breathe’ t-shirts.”
So once again we have a Fox News blowhard reducing a black guy to the lowest common denominator possible, then slamming him for speaking out about his own experience and perspective.
It just reeks of condescension and arrogance, two of Bill O'Reilly's native tongues.
I'm ready for some truth to be told instead of the old "if I can succeed, so can you" BS. One person's success doesn't erase centuries of injustice. BillO should really listen to the lyrics in that song and try just this once to see them through a frame other than his privileged one.
