It's only October, but for Bill O'Reilly it's never too early to start celebrating his Christmas tradition known as "the war on Christmas." And nothing says Christmas cheer more than Bill's annual attack on those who, in Bill's twisted mind, disrespect the holiday. Assisting Bill in spreading Christmas peace and love is Bill's stalker/producer and general shit stirrer Jesse Watters whose visit to the Christmas hating residents of Great Barrington MA, according to Watters, caused them to realize the error of their ways and as such was a clear victory in the Christmas war - at least for a while because last year O'Reilly was still attacking them! This year, Watters was sent to Maine where he confronted local officials about their decision to remove lights from a permanent Christmas tree veterans memorial. Watters' (not a veteran) scorching expose revealed how these "Christmas haters" insulted veterans and Christmas. So in the spirit of the season, perhaps the evil town council members will be getting some nice Christian, Christmas death threats as a result of O'Reilly's Christmas attack. God bless us everyone?!
Last night, O'Reilly began his "Back of the Book" segment by describing how his personal stalker/producer, Jesse Watters, was sent to the "affluent" (Is O'Reilly engaging in "class warfare?") town of Bar Harbor. The background visual was a map of Maine with "Christmas Controversy" under it. O'Reilly reported on how the town had a "nice tradition" of "paying tribute" to veterans with a tree that "memorializes the Christmas they never had" when they fought in the Battle of the Bulge. (What about the Hanukkah that Jewish soldiers never had?)
His voice rose as he reported that the town council voted to "ban the tradition" which was OMG "confusing and tacky." O'Reilly didn't mention that the "tradition" began only two years ago when the town allowed "Wreaths Across America," a group that places Christmas wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, to string lights commemorating those who fought in WWII, in a waterside pine tree. He didn't mention that the town has another veterans memorial.
The video began with what appeared to be a segment from a local newscast in which the background was explained and a local member of the American Legion, who supports the memorial, was interviewed. Watters was then shown confronting a female town council member (whose name was shown so that she can get nice Christian death threats) about how the memorial is about "peace, light, and hope." (Just like the Factor!) She told Watters that it is a "complicated symbol that most people did not understand completely." More people involved in the controversy were shown. While Watters allowed those who opposed the decision to speak freely, he was confrontational with the aforementioned council member who deftly rebutted Watters with her comment that she was sorry if the veterans "understanding of their success is service is dependent on lights on a tree."
In addressing the town council, the smug Watters, not a resident of Bar Harbor, expressed hope that they would "explain their rational" which they did. In response to a man who said that the memorial was inappropriate, Watters asked what they thought of the White House Christmas tree which, of course, isn't a memorial. Watters continued to grandstand on behalf of those who want the memorial to stay. Naturally, all the locals that Watters interviewed supported the memorial. He didn't show the part of the meeting where he was cut off so the board could discuss other issues.
O'Reilly and Watters accused the Bar Harbor council of being "anti-Christmas" because of their "absurd" decision. Laughs were heard, from the crew, while Bill and Jesse mocked those who made the decision. While Watters claimed that there were no complaints, it was reported that there were ten.
Is there any reason why Bill O'Reilly's claim to be divinely inspired is met with howls of derisive laughter?
It should be noted that not only does Bar Harbor already have a veteran’s memorial in their town square, but they actually voted funds to upgrade and improve it while dropping the more recent one. The more recent one appears to have been a gambit to provoke confrontations just like this one. Council members noted that it was flimsy, that it was so poorly built that it actually did a disservice to the veterans it purportedly honored, and that there was resistance to the idea of attaching any one specific religion to the sacrifice made by so many veterans. So this wasn’t a matter of a town voting against veterans or religion. It was a matter of a town dealing with the reality of a flimsy “memorial” that could potentially present a hazard, among other problems.
The last part of the council’s video is instructive. After enduring nearly 15 minutes of Watters’ attempt to monopolize their meeting with gotcha questions and soundbites, the chairperson asked if there was anyone else who wanted to discuss this matter, while regular townspeople made gestures that indicate they’d had enough of Watters too. Watters apparently kept at it for a couple minutes further before the chairperson was forced to remind Watters that they had other business to attend to. Watters attempted to get another gotcha shot in but saw it batted away and dismissed. His final attempt to flail with “Merry Christmas” was also batted away for what it was – another cheap shot. I’m not sure how anyone could portray this interaction as anything but humiliating for Watters.
Let’s be gentle with Billy. He will face Christmas alone while his ex and daughter have a joyous Christmas with her new man.
