Just in case you've been vacationing in the Swiss Alps for the past few days, here's a brief recap. Mr. O'Reilly invited Al Sharpton out to dinner as a thank you for Sharpton having agreed to be a guest on his show, The Factor, a number of times. O'Reilly selected the restaurant, a popular, soul food restaurant in Harlem known as Sylvia's. Evidently, a good time was had by all. Such a good time that Mr. O'Reilly shared his insights about his dining experience on The Radio Factor, a few days later. Following is an excerpt of the comments that have garnered all the attention:
And we went to Sylvia's, a very famous restaurant in Harlem. I had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful. They all watch The Factor. You know, when Sharpton and I walked in, it was like a big commotion and everything, but everybody was very nice....
And I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship. It was the same, and that's really what this society's all about now here in the U.S.A. There's no difference. There's no difference. There may be a cultural entertainment -- people may gravitate toward different cultural entertainment, but you go down to Little Italy, and you're gonna have that. It has nothing to do with the color of anybody's skin....
There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more iced tea."...
You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all.
Some have alleged that Mr. O'Reilly's comments were racist, but I don't hold with that opinion. I read the entire transcript from the program and I think that he actually intended his comments to be positive, even complimentary. Notice that I said intended; I haven't been kicked in the head by a horse recently and I don't find his remarks complimentary, but neither do I think that they are racist. (If you would like to read the entire transcript, please click here. It's not very long.)
What has intrigued me about all of this are the comments that I've been reading on blogs and news stories about this minor ripple on the pond of discontentment that plagues this country. There appears to be a sentiment that black folks should feel highly complimented by Mr. O'Reilly's words. I repeat, I'm not calling his comments racist nor am I alleging that Bill O'Reilly is a racist, but I do find it disturbing that folks don’t understand why black people aren't just falling all over ourselves in delight over his comments.
Let me try to explain it with an analogy; y'all know that I love analogies.
Imagine that I visit your home and after leaving, I publicly marvel at the fact that your house was clean, you didn't smell, and that you were just like other people. Would you feel complimented? I agree that we toss the term racism around too much; it detracts from real racism, which does exist. However, Mr. O'Reilly's comments reflect ignorance and condescension; he's not a racist, just a moron.
Maybe if Mr. O’Reilly lets us know in advance the next time that he plans to visit a black owned restaurant, we can plan on break dancing on the table tops and shouting M**F**er loudly while we drink iced tea.
If you still don’t get it, I’m not offended. This really isn’t a big deal and I’m not losing sleep over O’Reilly’s remarks. I take them as well intentioned and try to leave it at that. I just hope that he doesn’t decide to compliment us any more.
11 comments:
Sheria, you have such a wonderful way with words. I "get" exactly what you are trying to say. It's all condescending BS. (not your words, O'riley's) I always loved Rosanna Rosanadana. In fact I loved all the characters Gilda played. She was a real gem!
Marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/
sorta off subject (ok, lots off subject), tangent; i was thinking about some folks from back in the day, characters like roseanne roseannadanna (who usta always say, "as my daddy usta say,'roseanne roseannadanna...'") and ruth buzzi's spinster with the hairnet (i was wearing a snood while baking) and why it was that those characters were so funny. it's cuz they were flat, one feature or attribute was exaggerated to the point where it could be nothing but funny.
but when folks who are not in the business of being funny, or who act in offensive ways that are most definitely unfunny; it smacks of ignorance, more often than not. and when those folks are in positions of authority, exuding power, it is downright frightening. also along that vein are those folks who magnanimously shower unintentional acid while attempting to do the opposite, in their own condescending fashion. their good intentions often end up ricocheting and becoming grounds for throwing the baby out with the bathwater, it seems. i always heard it said that the road to hell was paved with good intentions and republicans.
I like your analogy. I can relate, lots of assumptions are made and preconceptions formed and then pie in the face when we discover that it's not necessarily that way. and ya know, sometimes i am the one with egg on the face and sometimes i'm the one who threw it!
great post, grins, debra
O'Reilly's remarks just confirm what is at the root of racism: fear and ignorance. When you don't KNOW any black people in your daily life, as in are friends with, you're prone to form assumptions based on whoever has the volume turned up the loudest. Of course, I don't think many black people think Paris Hilton is representative of most white people, and yet poor ignorant O'Reilly things bling-bling gangsta rappers are somehow indicative of most black people.
It is easier to fear the unfamiliar than get to know it. But let me tell you, one of the great gifts of prison was getting to know the "homies" around me, getting past the presentations and poses. And I would have let almost any of them babysit my kids HANDS DOWN over the white boys.
And still, I am far from colorblind. No one is. We are raised in a racist society, it is impossible not to internalize it. The only thing to do is recognize it, own it, and then label it "my perception," put it on the shelf, and then see the person as a person first and everything else after.
"If it isn't one thin', is somethin' else!"
ROFLMAO at the idea of you organizing (what type of dancing was that?) and ordering iced tea while yelling out obscenities. Yanno, just to fulfill some sort of stereotype.
Wish I'd missed this due to vacationing in the Swiss Alps, but have just been too busy to even read my daily newspaper (until this a.m.) zoom zoom zoom it passed me by. (Mind, I don't watch television, so my knowing what show this is that this person's on will likely never happen.)
I do think that his intentions were good. I also agree that it seems to show his ignorance, that he'd almost be surprised that, wow, people are people everywhere gee whiz, he had a positive experience. I'm glad that he did, sure, glad that he was open to it, and had no problem with sharing that, but gosh, shame it took him this many years to learn it.
I get it on so many different levels. I've dealt with the preconcieved ideology of what people think Native Americans are, as well as misconceptions of what to expect from a deaf person. O' Reilly is a moron, simply put. If everyone seriously put aside their asumptions and literally tried to trancend what they lack in understanding, wouldn't the world be a better place.
My mother used to be a minister in a Penecostal church. She ended up befriending a number of Black women, approaching them with the ideal they all needed to be saved. At that time my best friend in school was Christine. Christine was black....Some of the women my mother confronted was Christine's mother and grandmother. Needless to say my friendship with Christine ended on a sour note. It was absently thought that if this was my mothers thinking, it was mine as well. Her family no longer trusted our friendship. I lost a great freind for what was so stupidly a misunderstanding with my mother and hers. I have never once looked on another human being by the color of their skin, rather by the contents of someones heart and spirit.
Unfortunately in this day and age people like my mother and Bill O'Reilly still put a taint on skin color. (Hugs) Indigo
your analogy was a good one...but i didn't need it. i agree that he wasn't being racist and he did intend to be complimentary...but, the compliment was backhanded and really shows ignorance. what a sad commentary that he thought he was being so generous with his 'compliment'.
gina
I agree totally with your assessment. I think his intentions were good, but his content was wayyy off. I also strongly agree that RACIST should not be yelled after every comment. Some of it is clearly ignorance. My father, an Italian soldier during WW2, had never seen a black person until stationed in Africa. He was told horrid things, & initially believed them....ignorance. ~Mary
He may or may not be a racist, but he is definitely an ignorant, boorish man. And a few other words I won't use.
Russ
PS I really miss Gilda
Puhhhleaze!!! You pinpointed the pinhead! He is a moron! He's proved it time and time again. I won't EVEN get into the racist comment but to only say....yes...his comments were racist. He may not have meant it that way....but the moron thinks he's smarter than others and can say what he wants and then backsteps. He doesn't think before he speaks. There is NOTHING that man says that I would ever give him merit for. And I think that is sad. I try so hard to be openminded but he tends to close it every time his mouth opens. Yes...very sad he is a public person that some people actually think may be intelligent.
Sheria, you're a fine, deep thinker, but do you really mean this? I deal with extreme bigotry every day of my life, I know if I order a bowl of soup in a restauraunt where blacks work and patronize, the cook will spit in that soup. That's how stereotypes get stared. So I could decide, well - that's just how "they" are, they're different, they're just morons. When you assign judgment like that, calling Mr. O'Reilly a moron because his thoughts don't go as deep as others might, because he sees the world one way and others another way, because his experiences with blacks may be and most likely are negative - to label him moronic for simply doing what he believed was an audable, worthy thing to do - going to the great length of surprise about how "nice" blacks folks are - well, it doesn't matter that he's being patronizing or that it's obvious to us and not him, it just doesn't matter. There IS a difference between blacks and whites, it's a healthy difference when you see it that way and we all have a choice to. The worst phrase even thought up is "separate but equal". We're different thank God and have much to share and learn from each other, even this guy. CATHY
http://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/
I visited this soul Food Restaurant in May, we don't have this kind of food in the UK and i always wanted to try all i can say it was fabulous we had a lively eving in ther and will visit again when next in NYC.
I also was a fan of Gilda Radnor although you did'nt see her much on British TV but also a fan of Gene Wilder.
Take Care
Yasmin
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