Eric Bolling, co-host of The Five on Fox, was a fill-in host for the O’Reilly Factor this past Tuesday and went off on a guest who ridiculously claimed that Fox News was actually perpetuating racism in America.
Jasymne Cannick is a self-proclaimed “social commentator" from Los Angeles. Bolling asked "So Jasmyne, is America a racist country?" She said "You bet it is."
JASMYNE CANNICK: You bet it is. And I would say to what the President said especially when he said why work on it. We have to work on it because there are people like me and millions of other black people and Latinos and other minorities living in this country. So that's why we have to continue to work on it. But we do have a responsibility to recognize that America is still a very racist country.
Such a lofty statement to make without having any basis to back it up, Bolling asked Cannick, ““What are we doing wrong in America that’s perpetuating racism?” Cannick responded:
“Well, first of all, many of the shows on this very network help perpetuate the racism that exists in America, so we can start there.”
Bolling was flabbergasted, but didn’t back down, asking how Fox News was perpetuating racism - even rattling off Fox’s coverage of race issues. Bolling pressed for facts, for something tangible that could be shown as an example of perpetuating racism, but Cannick couldn’t give one specific example. Her answer?
“No no no, you know exactly what I’m saying, Eric.”
Really? So now Fox News hosts are mind-readers? Interesting. When Bolling made the point that this Fox show had blacks from both perspectives on to talk about race, Cannick changed the subject back to the general situation in America.
CANNICK: Look, you asked me a question about how do we change it and is there hope? There is hope as long as people want to be honest about it and they want to honestly make the changes that need to be made. And those changes include looking at the criminal justice system. Looking at our educational system. Looking at what are the barriers that keep black and brown people from being hired in this country. We need to have honest discussions about all of that and make policy changes, that include all of us so that we can also become a part of the One Percent.
