Bill O'Reilly's comments

[krazeeboi]

Anyone familiar with the story? What do you think about it?

I would have to hear what he said in context in order to truly know how he meant what he said.

[MsKayLander]

krazeeboi said:

Anyone familiar with the story? What do you think about it?

I would have to hear what he said in context in order to truly know how he meant what he said.

I think it's a no issue that everyone is trying to make an issue... I seen the interview and read the comments...

[MsKayLander]

Here is the information....

O’Reilly Dines in Harlem, Talks About It, Then Hears About It
By MANNY FERNANDEZ and JOHN ELIGON
It was not your typical day at Sylvia’s restaurant, the famous soul food institution in Harlem. A CNN crew showed up around lunchtime yesterday, interviewed patrons and filmed some close-ups of a plate of food. Reporters cornered tourists with questions about their dining experience, and the restaurant’s regulars called, not to make an order, but to ask about the controversy.

The food, atmosphere and clientele at Sylvia’s were a matter of nationwide attention yesterday because Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News Channel talk show host, recently described being surprised to find that the black-owned establishment was as pleasant as other restaurants.

“It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun,” Mr. O’Reilly said on his nationally syndicated radio show on Sept. 19. “And there wasn’t any kind of craziness at all.”

His comments have outraged some black leaders and baffled black New Yorkers, many of whom said yesterday they were puzzled by what sort of craziness Mr. O’Reilly would expect to find at Sylvia’s, since the Lenox Avenue restaurant is a favorite of Harlem residents, international tourists and former President Bill Clinton.

Indeed, yesterday afternoon, as Mr. O’Reilly accurately described, iced teas were ordered with civility, not hostility. Servers behind the counter were shoveling ice into glasses and dishing out macaroni and cheese, greens, chicken and some of the other specialties. Black and white customers described Mr. O’Reilly variously as living under a rock, or ignorant of black Americans, or, in the words of one diner, George Hymen, 68, “nutty in the head.”

“The idea that people would be in here acting out, cussing, is kind of archaic,” said Beverly Wilburn, 63, a clothing designer who lives nearby and sat at the counter munching on a sandwich and sipping coffee. “I would laugh if I didn’t think it was sad.”

Some diners said they did not want to judge Mr. O’Reilly too harshly. Samuel Johnson, 49, who went to Sylvia’s after reading about the controversy, said he had met Mr. O’Reilly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He was working as a chef at a Lower Manhattan restaurant where Mr. O’Reilly had worked as a volunteer, serving meals. “When I heard the derogatory comments I was like, ‘Wow,’” Mr. Johnson said. “Over all, I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He just made some bad comments.”

Mr. O’Reilly told The Associated Press yesterday that his comments had been taken out of context. “If you listened to the full hour, it was a criticism of racism on the part of white Americans who are ignorant of the fact that there is no difference between white and black anymore,” he said. “Circumstances may be different in their lives, but we’re all Americans. Anyone who would be offended by that conversation would have to be looking to be offended.”

Irena Briganti, a spokeswoman for Fox News Channel, said the network had no comment beyond the statement given earlier this week by Bill Shine, the network’s senior vice president for programming. “This is nothing more than left-wing outlets stirring up false racism accusations for ratings,” Mr. Shine said. “It’s sad.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, whom Mr. O’Reilly had been dining with when he visited Sylvia’s, appeared on Mr. O’Reilly’s television show last night and said he wanted to hear the radio show before reaching any conclusions. “You and I have gone to dinner before in Harlem, and I’ve never heard you say anything offensive,” Mr. Sharpton said.

H. Kenneth Woods, the president and chief executive of Sylvia’s and the son of Sylvia Woods, the restaurant’s founder, seemed to take the publicity in stride. He said he was happy that Mr. O’Reilly enjoyed his visit. “I was surprised that after all these years in business he would have thought that he would’ve possibly seen something different,” he said. “He’s welcome to come again.”

Mr. O’Reilly, who has earned legions of fans and detractors across the country for lashing out at Democratic politicians, illegal immigrants and a daily cast of characters he calls pinheads, found himself in the middle of a controversy caused not by a rant but by what he considered to be a compliment. Mr. O’Reilly’s Web site, www.billoreilly.com, posted an audio clip of the show and asked people to listen to the actual broadcast and “decide for yourself.”

The strange tale of Mr. O’Reilly’s dinner in Harlem shows what can happen when a right-leaning talk show host shares a meal with Mr. Sharpton, has a splendid time and then discusses the experience in detail on a national radio program, diving into the thorny matter of white perceptions of black culture.

It started like this: Mr. O’Reilly treated Mr. Sharpton to dinner at Sylvia’s several weeks ago, to thank him for appearing on his television show, “The O’Reilly Factor.” On Sept. 19, on “The Radio Factor,” Mr. O’Reilly’s radio show, he talked about his experience at Sylvia’s, comments that went largely unnoticed until Media Matters for America, a liberal nonprofit group that monitors the conservative media, publicized them on its Web site on Friday.

Some of the comments came in an on-air discussion between Mr. O’Reilly and Juan Williams, a political analyst for Fox News Channel and author who is black. They talked about racial relations in a meandering discussion.

About black culture, Mr. O’Reilly said: “I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They’re getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture.”

He noted that he attended an Anita Baker concert, and seemed surprised to find the crowd was “50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed.” He said the band was excellent, “but they were dressed in tuxedos, and this is what white America doesn’t know, particularly people who don’t have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg.”

Last night, Mr. O’Reilly said on his TV show that Media Matters had distorted “a very positive discussion on race,” an opinion echoed by Mr. Williams. Mr. O’Reilly said Media Matters, CNN “and the other media in bed with the far left” lied about what happened on the radio program. “My words on the radio were an attack on racism, that’s quite clear,” he told viewers.

On the radio show, Mr. O’Reilly had sympathized with black Americans who face personal insults because of the color of their skin. “We don’t need any racial tension in this country, we really don’t,” he said.

Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright, a Democrat whose district includes Sylvia’s, said Mr. O’Reilly’s comments revealed his ignorance about black culture. “In the year 2007, if he’s surprised that black folks can sit in a restaurant and have cordial conversations, where has he been all these years?” he said.

Sylvia’s opened in 1962 and was featured in the Spike Lee movie “Jungle Fever.” It offers not so much down-home but brand-name soul food. There are two Sylvia’s cookbooks, Sylvia’s canned foods and even Sylvia’s beauty products.

Mr. O’Reilly had said on his radio show that he enjoyed soul food, and he gave Sylvia’s a stellar review. “I had the meatloaf special,” he said. “I had coconut shrimp. I had the iced tea. It was great.”

Bill Carter contributed reporting.

[MsKayLander]

Transcript from the show...


O"REILLY: Now, how do we get to this point? Black people in this country understand that they've had a very, very tough go of it, and some of them can get past that, and some of them cannot. I don't think there's a black American who hasn't had a personal insult that they've had to deal with because of the color of their skin. I don't think there's one in the country. So you've got to accept that as being the truth. People deal with that stuff in a variety of ways. Some get bitter. Some say, [unintelligible] "You call me that, I'm gonna be more successful." OK, it depends on the personality.

So it's there. It's there, and I think it's getting better. I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They're getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out: "Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it."

You know, I was up in Harlem a few weeks ago, and I actually had dinner with Al Sharpton, who is a very, very interesting guy. And he comes on The Factor a lot, and then I treated him to dinner, because he's made himself available to us, and I felt that I wanted to take him up there. And we went to Sylvia's, a very famous restaurant in Harlem. I had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful. They all watch The Factor. You know, when Sharpton and I walked in, it was like a big commotion and everything, but everybody was very nice.

And I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship. It was the same, and that's really what this society's all about now here in the U.S.A. There's no difference. There's no difference. There may be a cultural entertainment -- people may gravitate toward different cultural entertainment, but you go down to Little Italy, and you're gonna have that. It has nothing to do with the color of anybody's skin.

[...]

O'REILLY: No, no, I mean, I like that soul food. I had the meatloaf special. I had coconut shrimp. I had the iced tea. It was great.

WILLIAMS: Well, let me just tell you, the one thing I would say is this. And we're talking about the kids who still like this gangsta rap, this vile poison that I think is absolutely, you know, literally a corruption of culture. I think that what you've got to take into account that it's still a majority white audience -- young, white people who think they're into rebelling against their parents who buy this stuff and think it's just a kick. You know, it's just a way of expressing their anti-authoritarianism.

O'REILLY: But it's a different -- it's a different dynamic, though.

WILLIAMS: Exactly right --

O'REILLY: Because the young, white kids don't have to struggle out of the ghetto.

WILLIAMS: Right, and also, I think they can have that as one phase of their lives.

O'REILLY: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: I think too many of the black kids take it as, "Oh, that's what it means to be authentically black. That's how you make money. That's how you become rich and famous and get on TV and get music videos." And you either get the boys or the girls. The girls think they have to, you know, be half-naked and spinning around like they're on meth in order to get any attention. It really corrupts people, and I think it adds, Bill, to some serious sociological problems, like the high out-of-wedlock birth rate because of this hypersexual imagery that then the kids adapt to some kind of reality. I mean, it's inauthentic. It's not in keeping with great black traditions of struggle and excellence, from Willie Mays to Aretha Franklin, but even in terms of academics, you know, going back to people like Charles Drew or Ben Carson here, the neurosurgeon at [Johns] Hopkins [University]. That stuff, all of a sudden, is pushed aside. That's treated as, "You're a nerd, you're acting white," if you try to be excellent and black.

O'REILLY: You know, and I went to the concert by Anita Baker at Radio City Music Hall, and the crowd was 50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed. And she came out -- Anita Baker came out on the stage and said, "Look, this is a show for the family. We're not gonna have any profanity here. We're not gonna do any rapping here." The band was excellent, but they were dressed in tuxedoes, and this is what white America doesn't know, particularly people who don't have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg.

WILLIAMS: Oh, and it's just so awful. It's just so awful because, I mean, it's literally the sewer come to the surface, and now people take it that the sewer is the whole story --

O'REILLY: That's right. That's right. There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more iced tea."

WILLIAMS: Please --

O'REILLY: You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all.

[krazeeboi]

I changed the font to yellow, because the green was a bit hard on the eyes.

I think the context of the discussion vindicates O'Reilly here.