http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2177841,00.html

new word for today, "velvet racism"

quote:

Dinnertime tale lands Fox pundit in race row Ed Pilkington in New York Thursday September 27, 2007 The Guardian One of Rupert Murdoch's leading pundits on the Fox News television channel, Bill O'Reilly, has become embroiled in the latest public row over the depiction of black people in the mainstream media. O'Reilly, who describes himself as a populist and traditionalist, has been accused of "velvet racism" for comments on his radio show about the famous Harlem restaurant Sylvia's. The remarks referred to a dinner the commentator had enjoyed there with the Rev Al Sharpton, the black preacher and political leader. The dinner itself passed off uneventfully, by all accounts. But when O'Reilly reminisced about the evening he portrayed it in a way that set alarm bells ringing across the blogosphere. He started out by praising the staff and largely black clientele of the restaurant for being "very, very nice" and "tremendously respectful". Warming to his theme, he said: "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." To compound matters, in a separate radio broadcast he referred to the dinner again. "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'Mother ******, I want more iced tea.' You know, it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb. People were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all." O'Reilly insists he was making positive points about the American melting pot - a common theme of his radio and television shows in which he frequently lambasts "race-based" activists such as Mr Sharpton. But the tone of surprise in his voice, and the implication that he had previously assumed black restaurants to be less civilised than their white counterparts, has caused outrage. As a black law professor, Anita Allen of Pennsylvania University, put it to ABC News: "He doesn't realise dinner can be a civilised affair and we do use table napkins." The furore is the latest evidence that previously untouchable rightwing talkshow hosts are now vulnerable to scrutiny as a result of blogs. The pundit's comments were publicised by the liberal monitoring website Media Matters, which pointed to previous O'Reilly remarks including a 2005 broadcast in which he said many poor residents of New Orleans failed to evacuate the hurricane-stricken city because "they were drug-addicted". O'Reilly will be aware of the fate of his fellow rightwing controversialist Don Imus, who was sacked by CBS five months ago when he referred to a black women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos". Imus, who was also exposed by new media activists, has yet to be taken back on air.

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

Sounds quite stupid things to say... but* aside from the 'run by blacks' comment this is Harlem. It's got a hell of a rep.

Still sounds an arse.

EDIT:*Typo

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If you can read this, I'm seriously fucking bored.

Last edited by Dervish on Sep-27-2007 at 20:29

O'Reilly is a total douche, but there is a bit of context here.

quote:

By DAVID BAUDER (AP) Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly appears on the Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," on Jan. 18,... Full Image Google sponsored links Bill O'Reilly - Free Book - Get your Free copy of the new hit "Culture Warrior" today! www.ConservativeBookClub.com Franken: Fair or Biased? - Take the PollingPoint Media Poll and rate Franken for fairness. www.PollingPoint.com NEW YORK (AP) - Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly said Wednesday his critics took remarks he made about a famed Harlem restaurant out of context and "fabricated a racial controversy where none exists." He criticized the liberal group Media Matters for America as "smear merchants" for publicizing statements he made on his radio show last week. O'Reilly told his radio audience that he dined with civil rights activist Al Sharpton at Sylvia's recently and "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference" between the black-run restaurant and others in New York City. It was just like a suburban Italian restaurant, he said. "There wasn't any kind of craziness at all," he said. O'Reilly told The Associated Press that Media Matters had "cherry-picked" remarks out of a broader conversation about racial attitudes. He had told listeners that his grandmother - and many other white Americans - feared blacks because they didn't know any and were swayed by violent images in black culture. "If you listened to the full hour, it was a criticism of racism on the part of white Americans who are ignorant of the fact that there is no difference between white and black anymore," he told the AP. "Circumstances may be different in their lives but we're all Americans. Anyone who would be offended by that conversation would have to be looking to be offended." His radio show was a conversation with Fox News contributor Juan Williams, author of a book about the coarseness of some black culture. Williams defended O'Reilly during a Tuesday appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor." "It's so frustrating," Williams said. "They want to shut you up. They want to shut up anybody who has an honest discussion about race." Sharpton, appearing on O'Reilly's TV program Wednesday, acknowledged that he found accounts of what O'Reilly said "disturbing and surprising," but added that he had not heard the radio broadcast. "You and I have gone to dinner before in Harlem, and I've never heard you say anything offensive," said Sharpton, speaking from Baton Rouge, La. "I'm going to listen to the tape and I'm going to give a judgment." The controversy was similar to one that enveloped presidential candidate Joe Biden last winter. When Biden praised rival Barack Obama as "articulate" and "clean," many saw this as a way of conveying those were unusual characteristics for blacks. Sylvia's manager Trenness Woods-Black told the New York Daily News that O'Reilly's remarks were "insulting" and showed he has little knowledge of the black community. At one point on the radio show, Williams mentioned that too many people see little else in black culture beyond profane rap. "That's right," O'Reilly said. "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M.F.-er, I want more iced tea.'" Karl Frisch, spokesman for Media Matters, said it is typical for O'Reilly to criticize his group for merely reporting what he says. "We didn't call him a racist," Frisch said. "We said his comments were ignorant and racially charged, and we stand by that." O'Reilly said that the Williams conversation was carried on more than 400 radio stations and that there wasn't one complaint from a listener. "This isn't about a racially insensitive remark," he said. "Anybody can listen to the unedited version of the conversation on Billoreilly.com. You want to think I'm insensitive to race, you go right ahead." The real story, he said, was about the "corrupt media culture" in which outlets like CNN and MSNBC do stories about his remarks "because they're getting killed in the ratings." "The O'Reilly Factor" is seen by more people - 2.2 million average this year - than its direct competitors on MSNBC and CNN combined. MSNBC's "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann averages 721,000 viewers in the time slot while CNN's 8 p.m. show averages 611,000, according to Nielsen Media Research.

i don't think so. He's trying to save face after an embarassing incident. The guy who was right there with him surely knew the right "context" in which he made his remarks. He thought it was disturbing right then.

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

I'm not saying it wasn't a dumb thing to say, I'm just saying to put it in the context of the conversation which was O'reilly talking about the perceptions of his grandmother vs. how things are now. Sure it came across as pretty stupid, but I don't think it's proof that O'Reilly is some sort of closet racist. He's just a blowhard who appears to have stuck his foot in his mouth. and "the guy who was right there with him" happens to be Al Sharpton, so take his comments with a few grains of salt as well. Al Sharpton thinks everyone is out to get the black man. He's got about as bad a track record as anyone on matters of racism and bigotry.

quote:

Originally posted by HardTranceProd There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'Mother ******, I want more iced tea.

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka O'Reilly is a total douche, but there is a bit of context here.

I saw that episode yesterday. Seems like the left wing media is taking its revenge for all the hatred he spews about them on his show.

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