I don't think anybody who's commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington today would argue that we have not made great strides in civil rights since 1963. Or that we still have a way to go. But Fox News seems to be doing its best to turn the clock back both by fanning the flames of racial divisiveness, creating outright hostility and suggesting we have come far enough, if not too far. Even worse, Bill O'Reilly is poaching Martin Luther King's name to foment racial hostility.
If you haven't already seen it, please check out my article in Salon.com about this. I wrote:
Chris Wallace sent a clear message on Fox News Sunday when he “asked,” in anticipation of President Obama’s speech: “(A)t what point have we gone as far as the country, as the government needs to go in putting a thumb on the scale if you will? … (A)t what point do we in effect say, you’re on your own? Obviously there’ll be government programs to help poor people or education in the inner city, but not this kind of special preference affirmative action.”
The question speaks volumes about Fox News’ attitudes toward civil rights in the 21st century: There’s a “thumb on the scale” to ensure “special preference” for African-Americans. And like a 4-year-old during a tiresome car trip, whining, “Are we there yet?” Wallace is really signaling, “I’ve had enough of this whether we’re there yet or not.”
Bill O’Reilly took it a step further in his Talking Points commentary Monday night. He implied that the vision of Dr. King had been corrupted by modern-day African-Americans. Insisting that King would have been “appalled” at “the violent crime wave caused by young black men,” as well as the high rate of unwed pregnancies in the black community, rap music and “other pernicious entertainment,” O’Reilly attacked the “civil rights industry, teachers unions, far left media and apathetic Americans” for “working together to block any kind of meaningful problem solving or cultural reform in this country.” He concluded, “In the end, it is indeed about the content of character. When will the civil rights industry get back to that?”
Or to put it another way, in O’Reilly’s world, Dr. King would agree with him that the content of the character of modern-day African-Americans is quite lacking.
Check out the rest of the article here.
But he won’t even try curbing it for ratings or image. He’s basically lost most of the 2014 GOP candidates their election before it even started because he’s created the mentality that they need him to win, and that acting like the Klan is how to get his approval.
Seriously, how do you even go about talking about this in greater depth than that?
Strides, yes.
Great strides? Sadly, IMHO, no. It actually seems that the country has regressed in the last 6 years. The racism is just as fierce, and these days, it’s almost fashionable to overt about one’s hatred of brown folks. I wonder sometimes….is President Obama hated more than MLK was?