2/21/08

Bill O'Reilly on Lynching Michelle Obama

Via Crooks and Liars, where they have the video up:

Keith Olbermann brings on Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson to discuss the horrific history behind Bill O’Reilly’s casual and callous use of the phrase “lynching party” in reference to Michelle Obama’s quote about being really proud of this country and the implications one may draw from it.

You know what lynching was? Lynching was a horrific practice of murder, torture, dismemberment, burning alive, hanging, and the only purpose of lynching was to perpetuate white supremacy in the Jim Crow south. It wasn’t…the idea of course, wasn’t to lynch all black people, but by lynching a few black people…not a few, by lynching some black people to demonstrate to other African Americans that this could happen to you, that you have no power, that we have all the power, and that we can take anything we want from you, including your life. There’s nothing funny about lynching. There’s certainly nothing at all funny or remotely appropriate about the use of a lynching reference to talk about Michelle Obama. And the word “unless” followed by “we’ll track it down,” is way beyond the pale.


I have written on this subject before, and I agree with Eugene Robinson on this topic, but I also think that it goes beyond just the racial issues:
Is Racism on the Rise in the USA?

I am sadly leaning towards a "yes" considering the reports of things that are going on locally in Connecticut and, via Man Eegee, around the rest of the country:
I'm sure race has nothing to with the recent surge of nooses in the news since we are soooo over bigotry in the U.S.
Police are looking for whoever dangled a 3-foot rope with a small loop at its end from a tree outside a campus cultural center that is home to several black organizations. The incident is being treated as a possible hate crime.

"This is bigger than a noose," Black Student Union President Altmann Pannell told his fellow students, many of whom were wearing "Terps as one" buttons."

"This is bigger than a noose because we as a community know that something else is going on in this country," Pannell said to murmurs of agreement.
linkage
That "something else" is not missed by minority communties, especially when the disparities in justice are blatantly tied to the color of one's skin.

For a year, Jena (pronounced JEEN-uh), a poor mining community of 3,000 people, has been embroiled in racial tensions pitting the black community against white school officials and a white prosecutor. It began last August when a black student asked at an assembly if black students could sit under a tree where white students usually sat. The next day, two nooses hung from the tree.

Black parents were outraged by the symbolism, recalling the mob lynchings of black men. They complained to school officials. District superintendent Roy Breithaupt and the school board gave three-day suspensions to the white students who hung the nooses, overruling the recommendation of then-principal Scott Windham that the students be expelled.

linkage

The case of the Jena Six has been covered extensively by fellow bloggers, such as Hello, Negro with information on how to donate to the defense fund; also My Right Mind! who offers a slew of tips to assist these young teens.

Nooses are more than just complex slip knots in a rope - they are both symbolic and directly representative of torture, murder and racist mob rule.

Man Eegee has some more bad news on this sad reality check...

But before you go there, I want you to think about this:
Lynching is sometimes justified by its supporters as the administration of justice (in a social-moral sense, not in law) without the delays and inefficiencies inherent to the legal system; in this way it echoes the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, which was justified by the claim:

"Terror is nothing other than
prompt, severe, inflexible justice."



What are some of the possible reasons why racism seems to be on the rise in the Good Ol' USA? Hey! It's not like anyone in our government would ever encourage this kind of terrorizing behavior with its own actions and ideologies...

The "traditional" conservative Claes G. Ryn has argued that neoconservatives are "a variety of neo-Jacobins." Ryn maintains that true conservatives deny the existence of a universal political and economic philosophy and model that is suitable for all societies and cultures, and believe that a society's institutions should be adjusted to suit its culture, while Neo-Jacobins

are attached in the end to ahistorical, supranational principles that they believe should supplant the traditions of particular societies. The new Jacobins see themselves as on the side of right and fighting evil and are not prone to respecting or looking for common ground with countries that do not share their democratic preferences. (Ryn 2003: 387)

Further examining the relationship between Neoconservatism and moral rhetoric, Ryn argues that

Neo-Jacobinism regards America as founded on universal principles and assigns to the United States the role of supervising the remaking of the world. Its adherents have the intense dogmatic commitment of true believers and are highly prone to moralistic rhetoric. They demand, among other things, "moral clarity" in dealing with regimes that stand in the way of America's universal purpose. They see themselves as champions of "virtue." (p. 384).

Thus, according to Ryn, neoconservatism is analogous to Bolshevism: in the same way that the Bolsheviks wanted to destroy established ways of life throughout the world to replace them with communism, the neoconservatives want to do the same, only imposing free-market capitalism and American-style liberal democracy instead of socialism.

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, had the following to say in a December, 2005 interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel:

"They are not new conservatives. They're Jacobins. Their predecessor is French Revolution leader Maximilien Robespierre."

Sheeple see... Sheeple do...
Or some terrorizing thought like that?

His statement makes Bill O'Reilly both racist and a homegrown terrorist, IMHO. The Jacobins used lynching to terrorize the people during the French revolution, and the neoconservatives/Jacobins do it today.

The prospect of even a symbolic press lynching party is a horrible and disgusting message for O'Reilly to send to Michelle Obama and it is meant to go to the entire African American community in the USA... But it is also part of the "Fear Campaign" meant for the consumption and terrorizing of all Americans and to spill over to the rest of the world.

10 comments:

sptmck said...

Great post. And some of your observations DEFINITELY fit into the "shock doctrine" of US domestic and foreign policy--check out Klein's book, if you have time. With respect to Michelle, I knew a few days ago that the Wingtards were coming after her like Storm Troopers. It's unreal...but you can sense the smear strategy that they will launch against Barack once he does become the nominee. The freaks are obviously re-building a whole new, fully operationally death star. And let's not forget: Our very own Judas Joe is aboard.

Connecticut Man1 said...

Thanks sptmck... I have only seen some generous excerpts from Klein's book. But you are right. It does fit what little I have read. And I hadn't even been thinking about the star wars angle fitting with this diary?

This country needs help!

Om said...

I need to get that book! Barnes and Noble here I come! You are right, their tactics are in plain sight!

I can't wait to see if O'Reilly gets away with this one again! He is sooo overdue to be put out to pasture. He represents nothing that resembles a thinking person! Why is he on the air anywhere!

Oddly,, I just read that 'The Bounty Hunter' guy- Dwayne something is being put back on TV! No lie! After his BLATENT use of slurs! How does that happen!?

Connecticut Man1 said...

I had heard about that, disgustipated. I think they call him "Dog". I am guessing that it happens because they think there is a market for it? Which is a sad thought.

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

he needs to check himself, especially the comments he made regarding lynching directed towars michelle obama, its Like screaming fire in a theater

Connecticut Man1 said...

Thanks for the comment torrance stephens. And the link is worth the read.

Unknown said...

Truly an outstanding post. It is sad that the concept of lynching is so recklessly being tossed around by radio show hosts and golf television announcers...

peace, Villager

Connecticut Man1 said...

Being somewhat familiar with your Blog and community participants, I will take that as high praise, villager. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Bill is a clown and some others on the far right are just as bad. It just bothers me so much that race is such an issue in the current presidential race. Another writer over on Highbrid Nation wrote a piece about how very recently Repulicans have been surveying college students to see how far they could push the racial stereotype language before people would say its too much. How crazy is that?! It'd be nice if we could judge these candidates on their leadership skills and nothing else. I know, thats not gonna happen.

Connecticut Man1 said...

Thanks Mike. How crazy is that? It is insane and to be expected if they follow their typical patterns.

As far as judging candidates: Perhaps their leadership skills AND the actual policies they support. Dumbya has some leadership skills, judging by the Republican bridge jumpers that followed him, but I don't like his insane policies.