Yet another Bill O Reilly Goof
 

During the February 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly took a call from a listener who said of Michelle Obama, "I just wanted to say that I think Michelle Obama is an angry woman -- is speaking, I think, with her real voice for the first time." O'Reilly and his callers were discussing Obama's recent comments, which included her assertion that "[f]or the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." When O'Reilly asked the caller, whom he identified as "Maryanne," "You're basing that on what?" she replied: "Well your representative asked me not to talk about this, but I have a friend who had knowledge of her and said to me months ago, 'This is a very angry,' her word was 'militant woman.' " O'Reilly then responded, "What I want you to do then, Maryanne ... I want you to stay on the line. ... Because it's not fair to Michelle Obama for you ... because we don't know who you are, and we don't know who your friend is, but we want to know. We want to know, OK. But it's not fair at this point for you to say, 'My friend said X and Y,' because we just don't know. But if you would give us your information, we would like to talk to your friend. And then whatever your friend tells us, we'll track it down. We'll do it in a fair and balanced and methodical way." He later added, "If indeed Michelle Obama is angry about something, if she has a history, we would like to know that, and then we can put it into some kind of context so that we can be fair to everybody."
O'Reilly then stated:
O'REILLY: You know, I have a lot of sympathy for Michelle Obama, for Bill Clinton, for all of these people. Bill Clinton, I have sympathy for him, because they're thrown into a hopper where everybody is waiting for them to make a mistake, so that they can just go and bludgeon them. And, you know, Bill Clinton and I don't agree on a lot of things, and I think I've made that clear over the years, but he's trying to stick up for his wife, and every time the guy turns around, there's another demagogue or another ideologue in his face trying to humiliate him because they're rooting for Obama.
That's wrong. 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.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200802200001

o well...Bill...nobody will probably pay you any mind anyway...

Bill it's just funny how you criticize someone for what they said and you commit the same error all in teh same breath even.

**coff** Kelly Tilghman **coff**

" I don't want to go on a lynching party unless...."

Wow....this stuff cracks me up....LOL

Am I reading this right?

O'Reilly said he wasn't interested in going after Michelle's comments unless he knew her true intent?

Is it just because he used the term "lynching"?

Seems like a bit of a reach if I'm understanding your post.

Yes just like that sports anchor's "lynch him in a back alley."

I understand O'Reilly's sentiment and really like O'Reilly. This was a nonracial comment that, if he had been thinking of the larger context, he would've expressed differently as to avoid the trouble.

I thought the Tiger Woods fiasco was overblown too. I thought the comment was inappropriate, but that was a different scenario in my opinion. The comment there was a joking "lets lynch him in a back alley," which would have been awkward, at best, even for a white golfer. It simply wasn't a professional thing to say.

I think this is more of a reach because it is simply a reference to a lynch mob scenario (which by definition is not racial, though the connotation is obviously there), which in my mind is a much more common usage and not particularly controversial.

I understand that the many people wince when a black person and the term "lynch" are used in the same paragraph, but I think in the O'Reilly type scenario we should simply let that be it. I don't really even think he should refrain from doing that, unless he justs wants to eliminate the possibility of word-choice questioning like this.

Not reaching...laughing.

really think about it...that's par for the course for O'reilly....

I just hope and pray this doesn't become a stupid media circus when he is cornered into giving some half assed apology just to save his job.


and all because he was actually trying to defend Mrs Obama....heh

Fair enough. He's probably just thankful he doesn't work for MSNBC, otherwise he'd (have never been hired) be packing his stuff.

Shiner...speaking of MSNBC....Keith Olbermann is talking about this now....


The circus now begins

They need to do this to Saliva's "Ladies and Gentlemen"

They're talkin about the lynching comment?

Who is it, Olbermann? I wouldn't be surprised considering he spends 80% of his time trying to attack O'Reilly.

yup...turn it on...quick....

and to be more specific..
the part of 'Lynching, unless...'

sigh....

Ummm, O'Reily is a racist fool. And the Tiger Woods comment was NOT overblown.

You're right, we should make a racism scandal out of every stupid-yet-not-at-all-prejudiced comment someone makes. Good call.

No, you're right. It's perfectly ok to walk around and say you're going to lynch black people. Better call.

pinkies up.....


i have to actually side for once with shiner...


Like I said...if this gets overblown....what's gonna happen?


Let me tell you

Al Sharpton

Empty Apologies

Suspensions

Get another job.....



I will be honest with you...I hope he doesn't apologize....

Never fix your mouth to say something that you may have to apologize for later - Kanye West

How is O'Reilly racist?

I think the Tiger situation could have been handled with an on aire apology, prefaced by the fact that a racial comment was not her intent, and an acknowledgement of the history behind the word "lynch." All the other commentary and protest was extra. There always needs to be varying levels of importance and response or else the -isms will become meaningless.

That's fine. I think that there comes a time when people; ALL people should be held accountable for their actions. I don't think it is overblown. I think that people are just too accepting of ignorance.

O'Reily is really just a fool. Racist is just another adjective to his foolishness.

Accountability means nothing if the actions of the employers mean nothing....think about it....


Fox may move in on O Reilly if ad agents pull out or any entity that donates money start to pull out...if that happens when that happens then that's when action will take place....

Learn from Imus...

I agree. I believe in freedom of expression; however, we can't just say any and everything. I live in Mississippi and believe me, racisim is very much alive and well here. I hear the n-word from our children everyday and it sickens me that they have embraced it as a badge of honor. Makes you wonder what all the sit-ins and marches were really for.

During his Talking Points:

He can stand behind what he says and simply say "I understand the history behind the word and would've used the same word if she had not been black...for those of you who are offended, I did not mean to offend." :) That's an apology without an apology.

As long as he doesn't make himself a Pinhead instead of a Patriot. :p

O'Reilly isn't moved by Sharpton.

Michelle must get a new stylist who can DO her hurr with a straightening comb!!! DAMMIT!!! I am tired of seeing her wacky edges!!! Or dayum, get some locks!!! But don't be fuzzy!!! On TV!!!



And as far as Bill O' Reilly--say hello to the plaintiff and the wifey!!!

Congratulations on contextually reducing "racism" to nothingness and unfoundedly using it as ammunition against someone you simply don't care for.

Hooray.

I know Sharpton doesn't scare him but this will become another un needed side show

That's not what was said.

This isn't Dog the Bounty Hunter we're talking about.

It won't really. Just like people are still saying "Nas and Kelis who?" :p

speaking of...he will be back on the air next month

Yay. I can pretend like I'm boycotting his show...as if I ever really watched his show and even knew when it came on. :)

I'm not pretending to boycott because of his initial comments. I'm pretending to boycott because of his interview with Sean Hannity where he shed crocodile tears and said that he's just NOW realizing that's not black. He had always been allowed to use certain words and he thought he was black. :rolleyes: Right.

Please tell me how this isn't a racist comment. He wouldn't say he would go and lynch Hillary Clinton.

Never said that it wasn't...this is actually par for the course when it comes to Bill...but like I said earlier...why go chasing after him when we all know the end result.

and sadly enough...he said this while defending her...that's what makes this thing so dayumed hilarious

musical interlude/

Ice Cube and the Lynch Mob, we're jackin' 4 beats!!!!

/musical interlude

Are you two serious?

Yikes.

So what are your thoughts on the Rap Entertainment Industry?

not really....but think about DST....if this becomes another media circus, what's really going to happen? At worst same thing that happened to Imus...at least same thing that happened to Tilghman...it's a matter of who complains the loudest and who screams the most for Bill's head....and somewhere you wi;ll get the statement that you provided.

It's a farce if this gets bigger.

Kevlar.....that's a whole 'nother thread...but suffice to say, I don't listen to too much of any modern rap (since 1990)

*sigh of relief*


What happened to Imus was mean spirited, regardless of anything else, and that is a different context.

different context true but if MSNBC's report makes this snowball, the end result will still somewhere be the same

First of all, all rap isn't entertaining. However, it's funny to see others doing the "heismen on the hoe" and "soulja boy". Entertaining music? Nope.

Your right I’m not trying to stir up the controversy in this thread so I’ll keep it on topic.

My opinions on the lynching comment…Should she have known better? Yes. Did she mean for it to be taken with a racial connotation? I don’t know.

But Tiger seemed to put it behind him pretty quickly and since he actually knows the woman I’m fine with accepting his interpretation of the incident.

I thought it was superman that hoe...but who is counting...

young people and their vernacular....heh

You can do a Heisman on that hoe and Souja Boy supermans's that hoe. Now, we have to identify who the hoe is...:cool:

After reading the transcription...it doesn't seem like O'Reilly is purposefully making a racist remark. Using the term "lynching," I think, took away from the intention and the context of his comment. So, I said that to say though I do understand where O'Reilly was coming from, at the end of the day "lynching" would still NOT be a word of choice to help express this point.

The fact that he states he would have used that word if he where talking about someone else doesn't make his use of the word very tactful in my eyes either....but then again....I don't expect much tact from him anyway;).