I lam so stunned by what I just heard on the O’Reilly factor that my fingers are shaking while I type this.
I hate Bill O’Reilly- longtime readers are well aware of that. However, tonight I have it on Fox because I want to watch the re-run of Hannity and Colmes to see Clarke faced with the videotape of Condi Rice talking about Al Qaeda in 2000, making Clarke look like an idiot (Hanks has the rundown here).
At any rate, O’Reilly has guests on discussing the ‘browning’ of America. One of the pundits noted that one of the reasons for the fact that in 50 years whites will be a minority in America is due to the higher birth rate in the Hispanic community. Another white guest pipes in that another reason for the demographic shift is the aging of the predominantly white baby boom generation. O’Reilly then states, and I must paraphrase until I see the transcript:
Yeah, fifty years from now, we will all be dead. Thank God.
Un. Fucking. Believable. Trust me Bill- ‘darkie’ doesn’t want to live with you either. I am still stunned.
*** Update ***
Many people have stated that I have mis-heard or mis-interpreted Bill O’Moron’s statement last night. That might be possible, as I was only half listening while reading- a firm argument can be made that half of my attention is far more than Bill O’Reilly ever deserves. I will await the transcript for final judgement.
*** Update #2 ***
Atrios, late to the game as usual, has the transcript up– guess it took a while for him to get the tip from his readers.
I was not mistaken, I had the remarks in the right context, and O ‘Reilly is an ass. Typically, the Atriettes are siezing upon this as evidence that all Republicans are racist. Check out the comments at his site.
shark
I’m willing to charitable- for now- and ascribe O’Rileys comment to the fact that once the population explosion happens- especially in the minority community- that was predicted by the census bureau, our systems- educational, healthcare, penal, social assistance, etc etc. will be pushed and stretched beyond all tolerable limits. There are a lot of problems in the offing at this rate.
Of course, if he meant what you think he did, then he’s an asshat.
ub40
I guess people should be happy if they live with ethnic groups that don’t reflect their beliefs or speak their language. And if they don’t they’re racist.
Perhaps you should go live in areas of Los Angeles or Miami where English isn’t spoken, signs aren’t in English and you are a stranger in your own country. It is a precurser of what is to come to more and more communities, and if you don’t like it, you’re racist.
It can’t be stopped, so the only way to get away from it is to learn Spanish, move away, or die.
The Lonewacko Blog
Perhaps it was somehow a play on the Keynes “in the long run we’re all dead” quip.
Or, perhaps it was a response to the statements from some “Hispanic” leaders and extremists that Whitey should move out of California/the Southwest, that millions of young Hispanics won’t want to pay for the upkeep of millions of old whites, that “whites are old and tired and it’s their duty to die,” etc.
burnplant
Or perhaps it’s the neocon mission statement accidentally spoken out loud by one of it’s less reserved operatives.
F*** the future, let’s live for now, I’ll be dead anyway…sorry kids.
Why does it always shock you guys when one of your leaders gets caught? Not that anything will happen to him (look at your own comments).
HH
Ignore the troll… I didn’t catch this part of O’Reilly’s program and there are many interpretations of that remark as already noted here. I’m sure O’Reilly himself looked back at the tape and cringed. He already apologized for technical glitches from last night.
Emperor Misha I
Holy fuck, John.
I’m not exactly a fan of O’Reilly’s either, to put it very mildly, although he DOES occasionally pick up the right gauntlet and fights the good fight. However, the more I watch him, the more I’m convinced that those instances are more due to “what happens to be hot” than any sort of good sense on his behalf.
Back to your post: At first I thought “so what, they’re only talking about known facts? Surely you’re not saying that facts are ‘racist’ now?”, and then I got to the real point of your post.
All I can say is that I hope and pray that he once again managed to speak with both of his feet in his mouth at the same time and that he was trying to say something else.
I say “I hope”, because I really don’t want to believe that anybody can be that fantastically asshatted and still be allowed to breathe. But reading your post, it sure sounds as if he is.
The Lonewacko Blog
I heard a segment of the O’Reilly show just now on the John Ziegler radio show. It included the ‘thank god’ bit. JZ didn’t even comment on the ‘thank god’ bit, he played the O’Reilly segment to ask whether L.A. was too diverse. And, I don’t see what the big deal about the TG bit is anyway, it seemed to be just a throwaway utterance having little bearing on the subject matter.
There are bigger things to worry about. Here’s one.
AxL
Actually, when O’Reilly said “we will all be dead.” I think we means the Baby Boom generation, not whitey. O’Reilly, like my parents and many others of their age, recognize how ultimately worthless their generation proved to be. I think you’ve misinterpreted his remark completely.
Ricky
My take is similar to AxL’s.
Jim G.
John,
I watched that show and was under the same impression as Axl and Ricky. I watch O’Reilley a bit and have never come away thinking the man was a racist or bigot. Opportunist is mostly what I think of him.
Go back and get a transcript of the show and see the ‘context’ under which the statement was made, I don’t belive you will find it was meant as a racist slur.
Michael B
Believe that if you wish, I watch O’Reilly very rarely, probably less than you do, but strongly believe you’re applying a far too specific meaning to what O’Reilly said. I read what he said to be a highly generalized response to a much more specific, demographic, set of issues and read no racism into it whatsoever, nada.
Tom McMahon
Vaudeville:
I watch Fox News.
Oh, really?
No, O’Reilly
keith edge
his books lead me to believe he is not a racist. I think the line wasn’t meant in the way it’s being percieved. it’s just like the “stealing hubcaps” line he used at that fundraiser. he speaks off the top of his head, and he’s not always PC. I don’t think he is a racist, though.
V.W.Z.
It is not “racist” to talk about various ethnics. We’re all ethnics. It’s too bad (that) some are so “PC” that even certain subject matter(s) are too sensitive for them to discuss.
renato
You O’Reilly defenders are sad, sad, sad.
Play back that clip for your brown and black friends (I would find it surprising if you have any) and ask their opinion.
It’s that simple. Right-wingers are legendary for their ability to overlook the log in their own eyes while imagining a splinter in their neighbor’s/