Sean Hannity followed in Bill O’Reilly’s footsteps last night in devoting a segment to blasting Al Sharpton for having criticized Fox News’ race baiting. Or, as Hannity put it, the network's “honest conversation about race relations in the country in the aftermath of the George Zimmerman trial.” Later, Hannity demanded that Al Sharpton apologize because one of his guests called Hannity and O’Reilly “professional assassins” on racial issues. But if that’s the case, Hannity owes all African Americans countless apologies. Because while the O’Reilly Factor may be beating him out at the moment, the Hannity show is the go-to place on cable news for blatant race-based attacks on African Americans of all stripes (except Republicans).
Hannity whined that the "professional assassin" accusation was “wildly inappropriate and inaccurate.” But, unfortunately for him, that’s just not the case. We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, Hannity kind of proved the point right then and there as he played a clip or clips of Sharpton acting like an angry black man – and then accused HIM of throwing stones. Hannity followed that up by telling National Action Network’s Michael Hardy that some of his best friends are black he had given internships to African Americans – as if that undid years of smearing the community on the air.
After Hannity shouted, “I want an apology! I want an apology! …I deserve an apology!” Hardy shot back, “Sean, if Rev. Sharpton demanded an apology of everyone that may have been a guest on your show that said something outrageous about him, you guys would be apologizing to each other every day.”
As if to prove his point, Hannity launched a race-baiting attack on Sharpton. “This isn’t one instance of Rev. Al over the years: Brawley, ‘white interlopers,’ the n-word for David Dinkins, the slurs against gays and lesbians, this was, like, all the time over the course of years. Do I really need to get lectured on his show about this stuff?”
In a word, yes.
As any regular reader knows, I’ve got mixed feelings about Sharpton, mostly for his failure to call out Fox News bigotry. But if Hannity thinks that making race-based attacks on Sharpton exonerates himself for his own race-baiting – well, I’m here to correct the record.
The facts are – and I’ve got video to prove them – that Hannity’s Fox News show has been home to vile smears against African Americans for years. The repeated accusations by guests that blacks are racist for having voted en masse for Barack Obama is just one of the reasons I dubbed Hannity the “Go-To Show For Race Baiting Against African Americans.” Hannity’s affinity for white racists, including white supremacist Hal Turner, is another. His vicious mocking of Haitian Abner Louima, as a way of defending the white police officer who had been accused of sodomizing Louima, stopped only when the officer confessed. So it was no surprise that when Hannity struck back at Rep. Keith Ellison for sharply criticizing Hannity on the air, Hannity made it a racial attack, i.e. suggesting that Ellison is the black “equivalent” of the Ku Klux Klan.
Then there’s Hannity’s African American pal, the thankful-for-slavery Jesse Lee Peterson. Peterson seems to have made a career out of smearing African Americans, at least on the Hannity show, or its precursor, Hannity & Colmes. Some examples:
Most blacks, not all but most in Tennessee, especially in the Memphis, Tennessee area, are still living in the 50’s and 60’s. They are so racist that they don’t even realize that white Americans have moved on. And so whenever there’s a (political) campaign like this, such as this, they always use racism in order to intimidate white America.” (8/6/08 Hannity & Colmes)
“(Obama) wants us to take care of people who really will not get up and take care of themselves… You know what? I have changed the White House from being the White House to Big Mama’s House.” (3/19/10 Hannity)
Not only did Hannity not disavow this rhetoric, he continues to serve on the advisory board of Peterson’s non-profit organization.
But even putting all that aside, nothing speaks to Hannity’s contempt and lack of regard for African Americans like his disingenuous use of noted white bigots, Mark Fuhrman and Pat Buchanan, as “neutral” commenters on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case.
So Sharpton’s criticism was not just absolutely appropriate but long overdue.
Video available at Mediaite which seems somehow to have missed every single instance of Hannity's race baiting.
Hal Turner told us everything about his relationship with Hannocchio. He once visited Hannocchio at his radio station in New York City before this clown’s show was syndicated.
Hannocchio was raised in a predominantly white environment. He attended a predominantly white private Catholic school. His children attended a predominantly white private school, and his tennis club is predominantly white.
This Long Island Lolito was a bigot during his brief stint at KCSB radio station in Santa Barbara. His bigoted remarks toward a lesbian got him terminated from the station.
Hannocchio is hyper sensitive. He cannot handle criticism due to low self-esteem about himself. He’s a complicated man with complicated issues since childhood.
Hannocchio does have interns and we feel sorry for them to have to work with this bog. Some interns are from Nixon trainee Ailes apprentice program and this fraudulent “news” network’s so-called university program.
NOTE TO HANNITY
You should apologize to the troops for your failure to waterboard yourself for charity.
Until certain people hold other public figures to the fire for THEIR outrageous actions, Sharpton shouldn’t be unfairly targeted, Mr Marsh—no matter how much you may dislike the man. None of the police involved in the shooting deaths of Amadou, Tyisha or Sean were found guilty of murder (yet between the three incidents, more than 100 shots were fired by the cops and 0 by the victims).
This poseur has never, to my knowledge, apologized for any of his past transgressions: not for his role in the Brawley fraud (and has not paid of dime of his own money — it came from others — for the defamation judgment against him in that case), not for his inciting hate, anti-semitism and violence in Crown Heights and in Harlem.
Yes, this all happened years ago, but would think that if Sharpton were concerned about the perception of his life as a chameleon, he might have made amends after all this time.
As Bemused (apparently one of the politically-correct police in this forum) pointed out to me the other day, George Wallace publicly apologized later in his life. Yes, Wallace did.
What has Sharpton done? He trimmed his wild hair, lost weight, became a “Reverend” and toned down his speech, at least in some venues; he still shrieks loudly at most of these tragic white/black incidents he jets off to on a moments notice.
Sharpton probably knows it’s not in his interest to ever come clean on the past. His goals are to be perceived as a civil and social rights leader, to seize control of the Harlem Democratic machine (now that senile, corrupt Rangel has been marginalized) and line his pockets. Speaking about his past behavior runs counter to Sharpton’s plans. Admitting the truth would upset a whole younger generation of progressives; it’s only old Jews like myself who remember him, what he did and will never forget!
So it’s no surprise that Sharpton has never uttered peep about his regrets over his past behavior. And as long as he never does, the right wing scum will continue to attack him with the historical facts.
They know what they’re defending, and the old excuses aren’t cutting it anymore.
