As they did in smearing Trayvon Martin as a young black thug who had it coming, Fox News is doing the same thing with Michael Brown. Last week, Fox ran with discredited account that purported to show that Brown was acting aggressively. While acknowledging that their source's story hadn't been verified, a number of Fox talkers claimed that Officer Wilson suffered a facial fracture because he was assaulted by Brown - a story that has subsequently been debunked. Bill O'Reilly and Peter Johnson Jr. claimed that the video of Brown, allegedly robbing a store, was relevant to the case even though the Ferguson Police Chief said it wasn't. And this morning, the very irrelevant GOP spokesperson Linda Chavez, in engaging in the now patented Fox trashing of Eric Holder, said that Michael Brown, who is being buried today, couldn't be considered unarmed because he was so big. Just when you thought it couldn't go any lower.....
Given that Fox News continuously fans the flames of angry, white racist hatred, Steve Doocy's opening comment, directed towards fanning those flames, was deliciously ironic: "Attorney General Eric Holder visited Ferguson Missouri personally claiming that he understood the public's mistrust towards the police." He showed a video clip of Holder talking about how he understood Ferguson's mistrust of the police and how his department "stands by the people of Ferguson." The chyron, also ironic, reinforced the message that Eric Holder is a very bad, black man: "Fanning Flames, Holder Says He Understands Police Mistrust." Doocy, who, as a lily white man, has never and will never be profiled by the police in his posh suburban New Jersey suburb, framed the message in the form of a question: "OK, but does this only inflame racial tension and interference with the judicial system." (Uh, Steve, Holder is part of the system that is charged with investigating civil rights which, in this case, might have been abridged!)
He introduced Linda Chavez whose nomination for Secretary of Labor, under George W Bush, was scuttled because she employed, as Fox would say, "illegals." Doocy asked her to elaborate on her Holder trashing article in the Murdoch tabloid, the NY Post. Doocy agreed when she claimed the Holder is "picking a side" in the Ferguson investigation. In true right wing fashion, she accused the media of not acting "responsibly." She said racial fears are being "enhanced" because of this "mantra of an unarmed black teenager shot be a white cop, you know that description in and of itself actually colors the way in which we look at story." She continued the smear: "We're talking about an 18 year old man who is 6'4" and weighs almost 300 pounds who was videotaped just moments before the confrontation with the police officer, strong arming an employee and robbing a convenience store." As she spoke, the video of Brown, allegedly strong arming a convenience store clerk was shown next to Officer Wilson receiving his police award.
She claimed that the presentation of the story "colors the outcome" and asserted that it's "outrageous when the top law enforcement officer is helping to do this." Doocy said "absolutely" and (irony alert) "you're supposed to be impartial." The chyron: "Race Case, Chavez: Holder Fans Tensions He Wants to Calm." Doocy (irony alert) whined about "the rush to judgement, not only by the DOJ but by this administration." Just when you thought it couldn't get an more ludicrous, Doocy whined about how Obama is sending three representatives to the Brown funeral but didn't send any for General Greene who was killed in Afghanistan - a meme being pimped on right wing media. Doocy showed us a flash of his genius: "It seems like there is something going on here." Chavez agreed and added that it's "an exploitation of the black community" by - ready for it - "playing the race card" which is "disgraceful."
She alluded to Officer Wilson's "spotless record" which the chyron gave us more irony: "Media Bias, Is Unarmed Teen "Description" Misleading." Chavez, not an attorney, said that civil rights investigations shouldn't occur before the conclusions of a Grand Jury which is a crock because a civil rights investigation can occur any time there is a suspicion that civil rights have been violated. Doocy: "There seems to be a rush to judgment."
Here's the thing: MICHAEL BROWN WAS UNARMED WHEN HE WAS SHOT. WEIGHT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. HE WAS NOT CARRYING A WEAPON, ERGO "UNARMED."
But thanks Linda, for advancing the Fox smear of Michael Brown on the day that he is being buried. Talk about "playing the race card" and trying to "color the outcome." Remind me who is "fanning flames" of "racial tension." Disgraceful?
Boiled down, that means that an incompetent cop should not be blamed for shooting first and asking questions afterwards.
Mindboggling.
Fox for some time has been the “Black People Behaving Badly” network as much as it is GOP-TV.