The fires of impotent indignation were ablaze on Tuesday’s edition of The View. ABC’s staunchly racist co-host, Sunny Hostin scolded the passengers of a New York City subway for not just forking over their money to Jordan Neely, the mentally unstable felon who was allegedly threatening and victimizing them. Marine veteran Daniel Penny and two other men had to step in and subdue Neely, which ultimately led to his death. Hostin suggested that if she was there, she would have helped Neely.
After most of the cast had spoken, Hostin self-righteously announced her “different take on it.” She demanded that they shouldn’t reveal Neely’s long criminal history because that would be “re-victimizing this victim.”
She then bloviated about how the system failed him but didn’t fail the passengers on the train by letting out a man who punched an elderly woman in the face, breaking her nose and causing other injuries:
The reason he had so many mental health issues is because he saw the brutal murder of his mother at the age of 14. When he was recently arrested, rather than put him in jail, they actually -- he pled guilty and he was sentenced to live at a Bronx treatment facility, take his medication, and stay clean for 15 months. Unfortunately, he left the place after 13 days. So this is a troubled person who needed help. As prosecutors, when someone is a danger to society, you don't give them -- you don't put them in a mental health facility, you put them in prison.
Of course, Hostin didn’t put together the pieces that showed it was New York’s destructive or “progressive” criminal justice reformers that let him out.
Hostin then scolded the passengers on the train and questioned their humanity for not just forking over their money and food as Neely allegedly acted erratically and threatened them. Of course, she proclaimed herself his would-be savior if she was there:
This is what he was doing. He was shouting that he was hungry, that he was thirsty, and he had little to live for. Hungry, thirsty, and little to live for. Where was the humanity of anyone that was on that train?! I would have given him money! I would have tried to give him food! I would have tried to help! This is someone in need, in desperate need.
Despite never sacrificing anything for America, Hostin denounced Penny, a veteran. “And I am ashamed that someone that was part of our armed forces decided to become a vigilante and kill him,” sneered at him as if he woke up and decided to get into a confrontation with Neely that day.
Of course, she didn’t have anything to say about the two other men who helped Penny subdue Neely. Possibly because one of them was black.
Toward the end of the segment, Hostin demanded New York City defund its police force despite not being involved in the incident:
May I make a quick suggestion? New York City has the highest police budget in our entire country. I think it's something like $5 billion. How about taking a billion dollars of that money, Whoopi, and doing what you did with Comic Relief, and get them the mental health services that they need?
Faux conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin also got in on the Penny bashing. Without evidence, she asserted: “There were so many steps in between that could have been taken where this guy could have been alive.” She also lamented if they “had several people, they could have restrained him,” which was what they were trying to do.
“It was avoidable. I support those protesting in his name,” she proclaimed. Although, she would go on to admit that people don’t feel safe in the subway because of all the rapes and her husband doesn’t let her use it.
If Hostin wasn’t enough lunacy, co-host Joy Behar appeared to think we live in a movie and gunshots to the wrists and legs were a reasonable way to halt an attacker. This triggered a back and forth with co-host Sara Haines about how that doesn’t work in real life (Click “expand”):
BEHAR: I don’t understand why people go for the death. It’s like police sometimes when they shoot somebody. It’s like can’t you shoot them in the leg? Why do you have to shoot them in the head?
HAINES: Well, that’s a false – Actually, having dated a homicide detective. He used to tell me when he hears it on TV, his eyes roll because you have to shoot, when you’re trained with a weapon, for the mass of the body. So, to shoot a leg or a wrist happens in a James Bond film but in real life that actually not something they can do.
BEHAR: Why?
HAINES: Because it’s hard enough to hit a target – you target practice on a mass, which is the main part of your body, your torso.
“So, if it’s hard to hit a target, why do these gun toters want us to constantly have guns when we're not trained to even shoot as well as a police officer?” she obtusely wondered, as if police officers had an otherworldly ability to use firearms and it was impossible for civilians to be as proficient.
The View’s defense of a violent man who was allegedly threatening a train car full of people was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Progressive and Red Lobster. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
May 9, 2023
11:03:17 a.m. Eastern(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: There's so many questions, ending with why wasn't he arrested when they realized--
JOY BEHAR: The Marine.
GOLDBERG: Yes. – that Jordan Neely was dead. And I think that's what got everybody freaked out. Because often times, we’ve seen that it looks like people get to walk away. We don’t – Again, we don't have all the information, but I’m wondering: as you're seeing everything unfold, what are y'all thinking?
BEHAR: Well, it's a very complicated story, I think. It's not an open and shut case. On the one hand, you have the victim, a homeless kid, a young guy. Sad. I mean, he was arrested -- 42 arrests. He was on a list of top 50 list of homeless people with urgent need for help. So, the system failed that boy. Failed him.
On the other hand, you have this Marine, who's trained to do a chokehold. And my understanding is, if you go past eight seconds of the chokehold, the person is dead. Now, this Marine should have known that. But maybe he made a mistake. Maybe he went too long and this poor kid died.
But my understanding, and you can correct me, because I saw this story, was that there were two other men there also trying to restrain this kid. And so, you mean to tell me, that kid had to die? Why? The three of them could have restrained this perp. Whatever you want to call him.
I don’t understand why people go for the death. It’s like police sometimes when they shoot somebody. It’s like can’t you shoot them in the leg? Why do you have to shoot them in the head?
SARA HAINES: Well, that’s a false – Actually, having dated a homicide detective. He used to tell me when he hears it on TV, his eyes roll because you have to shoot, when you’re trained with a weapon, for the mass of the body. So, to shoot a leg or a wrist happens in a James Bond film but in real life that actually not something they can do.
BEHAR: Why?
HAINES: Because it’s hard enough to hit a target – you target practice on a mass, which is the main part of your body, your torso.
BEHAR: So, if it’s hard to hit a target, why do these gun toters want us to constantly have guns when we're not trained to even shoot as well as a police officer? That’s another obviously, but I’m pivoting.
[Crosstalk]
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: There were so many steps in between that could have been taken where this guy could have been alive. If you had several people, they could have restrained him. They could have kept him from any threat they thought he may have posed.
BEHAR: Three guys.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Short of him, of course, dying.
But two things can be true at once. Jordan Neely's death was tragic. It was avoidable. I support those protesting in his name. The system failed him. But people are not wrong to feel unsafe on the subways.
Now, some crime has gone down since 2022, the mayor is trying to make some efforts, but Google rape on the New York City subway and there will be dozens and dozens of cases. My husband doesn't let me ride the subway anymore because of a fear of threat. And we live in a society – On this show, we talk every other week about a mass shooting. So when you see somebody acting erratic, acting irrational, it is natural to fear they might have a weapon. You're in a contained space.
So, I don’t fault them for the first action but how far they took it. A Marine with training should have known they can restrain him without killing him. It is a tragedy. You see his face, and it breaks my heart. But we've got to do more to make people feel in their communities.
SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, I have a different take on it in that: One, we are re-victimizing this victim by talking about the fact that he had been arrested. The reason he had so many mental health issues is because he saw the brutal murder of his mother at the age of 14. When he was recently arrested, rather than put him in jail, they actually -- he pled guilty and he was sentenced to live at a Bronx treatment facility, take his medication, and stay clean for 15 months. Unfortunately, he left the place after 13 days.
So this is a troubled person who needed help. As prosecutors, when someone is a danger to society, you don't give them -- you don't put them in a mental health facility, you put them in prison.
The other thing I think is important to say: Let's put this in context. Yes, he was on the train. I ride the train. I've been riding the train in New York City since I was 12 years old. This is what he was doing. He was shouting that he was hungry, that he was thirsty, and he had little to live for. Hungry, thirsty, and little to live for. Where was the humanity of anyone that was on that train?! I would have given him money! I would have tried to give him food! I would have tried to help!
This is someone in need, in desperate need. And I am ashamed that someone that was part of our armed forces decided to become a vigilante and kill him. That's how I feel about it.
(…)
11:08:52 a.m. Eastern
HOSTIN: May I make a quick suggestion? New York City has the highest police budget in our entire country. I think it's something like $5 billion. How about taking a billion dollars of that money, Whoopi, and doing what you did with Comic Relief, and get them the mental health services that they need?
(…)
