Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly began his Monday evening edition of The O'Reilly Factor by pointing out what anchors on two of his cable network rivals said about his statement that people in “the grievance industry” don't discuss complicated racial problems.
O'Reilly then went on to contrast the actions of Don Lemon -- an anchor on CNN-- who the Fox News host called “honest” and courageous for daring to state that the FNC host was not some sort of racist for daring to state that a number of young black men have destructive habits that are encouraged by entertainment media.
During his Talking Points Memo segment, which was entitled “The Grievance Industry Fights Back,” O'Reilly said: “One of the big reasons Trayvon Martin lost his life was that George Zimmerman feared the image he projected that night in Florida.”
The anger this case has engendered is understandable. If Trayvon was my son, I would be doing exactly what his parents are doing.
The host then urged “the civil rights folks to stop maligning the country and face up to a huge problem that is directly harming millions, primarily in the African-American community.”
One aspect of the problem that leads to violence in the black segment of society is “the collapse of the African-American family unit.” The civil rights activists also ignore the entertainment industry, which embraces a “gangster culture,” he added.
O'Reilly then turned his attention to Al Sharpton, host of the weekday afternoon PoliticsNation program on MSNBC, who “is now in business with a company that distributes garbage” like that produced by vulgar rapper Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
The Factor host then stated that “Sharpton attacked the messenger, implying I am a racist.”
To accomplish this, the liberal activist dredged up a clip of O'Reilly describing a visit the pair made to a restaurant in Harlem during September of 2007:
There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming “Mother F***er, I want some iced tea.” It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense that people were sitting there. They were ordering and having fun, and there wasn't any kind of craziness at all.
What Sharpton and a number of other people have done has been to take his remarks completely out of context, O'Reilly said. He stated that he was “continuing the theme that despite racial injustice in the past, we are all Americans with much in common. I illustrated that point by talking about my dinner with Sharpton at Sylvia's restaurant.”
So why are the MSNBC anchor and other TV pundits attacking O'Reilly? The conservative host's answer was “because I am a threat to them.”
The day of the race hustlers is quickly coming to an end. There are problems in the black community that have to be solved, and it will take honest people of all races to do that.
O'Reilly then said that “one of those honest people is CNN anchor Don Lemon,” who not only agreed with the Fox News host's comments, but also stated he “didn't go far enough.”
In addition, Lemon listed several things African-Americans are doing to combat social problems in their community.
To virtually no one's surprise, the black newsman was quickly slammed for his stance on those issues.
“After his remarks, Lemon was attacked by the race hustlers,” O'Reilly stated, but “his courage stands in stark contrast to their ignorance and corruption.”
The Fox News host concluded the segment by calling Sharpton's charges “ridiculous” and told the liberal activist: “Your day is done.”
As NewsBusters previously reported, liberal talk radio host Alan Colmes defended Lemon during Fox News Channel's Happening Now program on Monday, stating:
We’ll have true equality in this country when someone like Don Lemon or any other person of color can make a statement that doesn't conform with what the so-called majority believes without being called names, without being called an “Uncle Tom.”
After MSNBC's Goldie Taylor slammed Lemon as a “turncoat mofo” on Twitter, conservative talk radio host Larry Taylor gave her a serious dressing-down that concluded:
No, @AlanColmes, we won't have true equality until @goldietaylor no longer calls @DonLemonCNN a “turncoat mofo”
Earlier today, Sherri Shepherd -- one of the hosts on ABC's The View -- went overboard when she stated:
I don't want to give Bill O'Reilly a license to say anything because he's never been a young black man growing up in the situations that a lot of them grow up in.
Iinterestingly enough, Lemon previously espoused the idea that only blacks can understand the views and experiences of other African-Americans. We can only wonder if watching The O'Reilly Factor led to this dramatic turnaround in the CNN host's philosophy.
