After a police union attacked Quentin Tarantino for calling some cops “murderers” at a weekend rally, Fox responded - by saying progressives “ruin cities” and “get people killed.”
On Saturday, Tarantino spoke at a #RiseUpOctober rally against police brutality in New York City. Think Progress noted these excerpts:
This is not being dealt with in any way at all. That’s why we are out here. If it was being dealt with, then these murdering cops would be in jail or at least be facing charges… I’m a human being with a conscience… When I see murders, I do not stand by… I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association reacted with fury, especially given that the rally was held just a few days after a New York City police officer was killed. The head of the union called for a boycott of Tarantino’s films.
And Fox News helped demonize Tarantino and anybody who supported the rally.
On Outnumbered, African American Harris Faulkner just happened to be the cohost to introduce the discussion. She described the rally as “anti-police” and mentioned that FBI director James Comey says “officers have become less aggressive as police brutality is under the microscope and criminals are getting bolder.”
Even if you didn’t get the message just from Faulkner’s words, her shifting tones of voice indicated disapproval of the rally, shock at “criminals are getting bolder,” and ridicule as she noted that Tarantino had acknowledged the “unfortunate timing” of the rally.
Tony Sayegh was the show’s #OneLuckyGuy. He announced, “This was organized by a very radical group. I think they’re some form of the communist party of the United States.” Actually, while two of the 15 organizers’ bios state they are communists, several are also members of the clergy or theologians. But it is clear from the #RiseUpOctober website that the group is focused on police brutality, not overturning capitalism.
Sayegh called Tarantino a fool. “Most of these Hollywood A-listers who jump into political debates, knowing very little, I think are fools,” Sayegh said.
In that case, Sayegh might want to shut his own mouth. Sayegh’s index page on FoxNews.com describes him as a “Republican strategist and national political correspondent.” I could not find a single article he wrote that was about police, policing or crime.
But newly-minted expert Sayegh opined, “The problem is exactly what FBI Director Comey has said, what Commissioner Bratton here in New York has said, which is there is potentially a chilling effect. Because if you’re a police officer, you used to do your job and if you made a mistake, there was… the presumption you made a mistake in good faith. Now, you’re persecuted, prosecuted and completely maligned in the media. And that, whether they want to admit it or not, is going to have an unfortunate chilling effect and the loser are the people protected by cops.”
Rather than question Sayegh’s credibility, cohost Sandra Smith sneered, “What are the chances you hear Hollywood speak out on this, right? …This is such a misuse of power, right. He’s using his power to make a statement for everyone and …he’s hurting an entire community and hurting the police force and making for a very dangerous situation,” she said about Tarantino.
Funny, I don’t recall hearing Smith admonishing C-list actors Kevin Sorbo and Stacey Dash for advocating their conservative views – right there on Outnumbered.
That got Faulkner thinking about how the rally really should have been focusing on black crime instead.
But cohost Andrea Tantaros took the cake. She has blatantly promoted violence by telling her radio listeners, “Do me a favor” and punch an Obama supporter “in the face.” I have never heard her apologize nor heard any concern about that rhetoric from any of these Foxies, have you?
But “Punch” Tantaros went on to say, “That’s what progressives do all the time, they push these policies that make no sense through, they ruin cities, they get people killed, not just black police officers, Harris, but black men in very dangerous neighborhoods because the police are out there protecting them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Black lives matter, just not in Democratic cities.”
Or, to Tantaros, black lives matter, just not if they're Obama supporters.
Watch the hypocrisy below, from the October 26 Outnumbered.