On CNN, O’Reilly Is ‘Ahmadinejad,’ Juan Williams, ‘Happy Negro’

NewsBusters.org ^ | 9/26/2007 | Matthew Balan

[Pyro7480]

Even after the Juan Williams "idiots at CNN" rebuke, CNN still pressed on about Bill O’Reilly’s race remarks, and a guest on Wednesday’s "Newsroom" took the language being used against O’Reilly and Williams to new lows. Syracuse University professor and blogger Boyce Watkins appeared on the CNN program, and compared O’Reilly to a murderous movie villain and to Iranian president Ahmadinejad. "If the villain in a movie comes up and says, 'I love you very much,' that usually means he wants to kill you. The fact is that Bill O'Reilly is a guy who has made a career demeaning, degrading, and devaluing every black institution he can get his hands on.... You know, he's about like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when it comes to making ridiculous assertions and waiting for people to respond."

After his villain/Ahmadinejad comparison, Watkins blasted NPR host and Fox News contributor Juan Williams for coming to O’Reilly’s defense. O’Reilly’s race comments had come from an hour of his radio program that involved a segment with Williams. "Juan Williams sitting there, is sort of the 'Happy Negro' agreeing with Bill O'Reilly, doesn't impress me at all. A man cannot walk into your home and congratulate your mother for not being a prostitute and not expect you to be offended."

Video: Real (3.20 MB) or Windows (3.63 MB), plus MP3 (912 KB)

Boyce Watkins appeared with fellow blogger and NB contributor La Shawn Barber during the 10 am Eastern hour of "Newsroom." Prior to their segment, host Heidi Collins played a report by CNN correspondent Mary Snow, which recapped the whole O’Reilly "affair," including sound bites from CNN contributor Roland Martin (from an interview on "American Morning" in which Martin was critical of O’Reilly) and CNN host Rick Sanchez, who had talked to O’Reilly for a segment on his program.

Barber later took issue with the "Juan Williams is a Happy Negro" characterization by Watkins.

BARBER: You know, that the 'Happy Negro' comment about Juan Williams was totally uncalled for. That's the kind of ad hominem that we have to deal with....

WATKINS: (LAUGHS)

BARBER: And you know, these people are going to talk about O'Reilly and they're doing the same things. Put the man's comment in context. I'm not a Bill O'Reilly apologist. He does say outrageous things, but that's what he does. It's not that big a deal. It's really not that big a deal given the context ...

Boyce Watkins also went over-the-top in portraying Bill O’Reilly’s impact on race relations. Note how Heidi Collins does not challenge any of the previous statements Boyce Watkins made about O’Reilly.

COLLINS: Okay, so Boyce, so far, you've called him a villian and you've compared him to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other people are comparing what he said to what Don Imus said about the Rutgers basketball team. Is that a fair comparison to you?

WATKINS: Well, I think it is. It is actually a fair comparison. It's only unfair to the extent that actually O'Reilly has done more damage than Imus. It's like comparing 9/11 to the Iraq War. More people have died in Iraq, but in 9/11, it was more traumatic, so people would consider that to be a more devastating event. Don Imus's clash sort of came all at once, where as O'Reilly's -- his pain has sort of been evolving through time, and I think he needs to be challenged and he needs to understand that people are going to come back at him if he makes these sort of offhand remarks about stereotypes in the black community. He may think he's complimenting us, but the fact is that it was an insult.

Earlier in the segment, Collins addressed the following questions to Barber. " La Shawn, what is this story about? Is this about race? Is this about the way things come across on television? Is this about a battle between CNN and Fox?" Barber’s answer:

BARBER: I think this is a lot of media-generated nonsense. I, personally, as a black person, wasn't offended by what O'Reilly said. If you actually listen and read his comments -- listen to and read his comments and context, it becomes clear that he and Juan Williams were talking about the violent, profanity-laced element of the gangster rap culture. And Bill O'Reilly was trying to make the point that people -- white people who don't know black people or aren't exposed to black people, may get the impression that gangster rap culture represents black Americans. Well, we know that's not true. So, he may have expressed it awkwardly. I have to admit that it was kind of an awkward way he said it, but it wasn't offensive to me, given the context in which he spoke.

"Media-generated nonsense" - that’s a good description of this whole affair.

Related: Barber's blog post about the intervew.

—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.

[Nam Vet]

You obviously didn't see the segment being referred to. It had nothing to do with comments about BOR.

Nam Vet

[bray]

The maroon obviously got through college on Affirmative Action.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[kcvl]

Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse Professor and author of the best-selling book “What if George Bush were a Black Man?” and a Professor of Finance at Syracuse University.

Dr. Watkins argues that Oprah’s issues with hard-core rappers such as Ludacris, Fifty Cent and Ice Cube may stem from issues that Oprah has with black men in general. “If you have a Nobel Prize next to your Oscar, next to your Grammy, you are in good with Oprah. But after that, you have to be on the down low, beat your wife or do something terrible to get her attention. Rank and file black men doing positive things in their communities tend to be ignored.”

[L98Fiero]

“You obviously didn’t see the segment being referred to.”

I did see it and I did not completely agree with him. That was not my point.

My point was that it’s a stretch to expect people you publicly trash to say nice things about you.

[tennteacher]

It’s the CNN way. If it isn’t there, invent it. This entire brouhaha was indeed invented. I watched O’Reilly and Williams. It was not racist- quite the opposite.

Except for Lou Dobbs, I find CNN intolerable and certainly intolerant.

[kcvl]

Seriously committed to social justice, Dr. Watkins has been an outspoken critic of social and racial inequality.

Dr. Boyce Watkins, both appeared on “The Today Show” and CNN Headline News to provide some element of support for Michael Vick as he faces the dog fighting charges and abandonment from his former team, the Atlanta Falcons.

“It’s odd that we call Michael Vick a monster and barbarian for dog fighting,” says Dr. Watkins author of the popular book “What if George Bush were a Black Man”. “At the same time, Dick Cheney went on a hunting trip with full intent to kill animals and also shot his friend in the face while he was at it. He and Karl Rove have killed thousands in Iraq with Rove endangering the life of a CIA operative, but no one is calling them monsters. Those ugly terms are more likely to be used for black men.”

[kcvl]

Watkins asked “Do you REALLY think it’s a coincidence that the most hated athlete in America is almost always a black man Whether you’re talking about Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, Terrell Owens, Barry Bonds, Ron Artest, Muhammad Ali, or Jack Johnson, there’s always an extra element of disdain that is preserved for the black male athlete. Also, most black male athletes are not like Deion Sanders and Stephon Marbury, willing to come to Vick’s defense. Most of the black male athletes are afraid.”

“There are far more black athletes doing the right thing than the other way around, but the only time we put black men on TV is when they are screwing up. If you shine a consistent negative light on a group of people, you are always going to see dirt. But this notion that ‘all those athletes need to stop getting in trouble’ is as ridiculous as seeing Paris Hilton and saying ‘all those white women need to stop drinking and driving.’”

[elcid1970]

“He dislikes BOR for past imagined grievances”

Has O’Reilly dissed this @sshat before? Would like to know.

;^)

[kcvl]

Syracuse, NY (PRWEB) August 18, 2006 — Well known professors Dr. Boyce Watkins (Syracuse University) and Michael Eric Dyson (The University of Pennsylvania) are seeking solutions to Paris Hilton-itis, the name for a social disorder that Watkins claims has infected many American college students. The “disease” consists of symptoms related to an overwhelming sense of laziness and entitlement, along with excessive behavior in the form of long nights of partying and drinking. They will discuss the problem Thursday, August 21 at 12:15 EST on The Michael Eric Dyson Show, a nationally-syndicated talk show, airing in several major cities.

Dr. Watkins, author of “Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success – a Professor Tells it All”, says that college student culture is out of control. “When I heard about the allegations at Duke University, I didn’t wonder if anyone was raped,” says Watkins, who has given advice in USA Today and The New York Times, “I was thinking ‘What in THE HELL were 19 year olds doing having a party with 27-year old strippers?”

[roses of sharon]

Typical “cosmic justice” promoter. Barf.

[kcvl]

An educated idiot!

[fatnotlazy]

“Juan Williams sitting there, is sort of the ‘Happy Negro’ agreeing with Bill O’Reilly, doesn’t impress me at all. A man cannot walk into your home and congratulate your mother for not being a prostitute and not expect you to be offended.”

***

Watkins may have a “Dr.” in front of her name, but judging from this comment, she doesn’t sound too bright. Did she even see the segment in question? Probably not. Williams is too much of a gentleman, but I wouldn’t blame him if he would seek her out and poke her in the snoot.

[joebuck]

CNN realizes its audience is down to a small base of left wing extremists. Trashing Fox and Bush is the only way they can keep even this small remnant.

[kcvl]

La Shawn Barber

That was fun! The ad hominem-laced e-mail is rolling in already. Keep it coming. I love it. The only thing you’re doing is confirming the stereotype that black people don’t know how to think or express themselves without calling people names. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not going anywhere. As long as CNN producers invite me on the show, I’m going on. Ain’t America great? Free expression, baby.

O’Reilly also said he couldn’t get over the fact that people in a black-owned restaurant behaved no differently than people in any other restaurant. Again, I believe it’s the same awkwardly expressed idea about the rap subculture. Whatever he meant by it, I promise you this: the sky will not fall.

However, some blacks see it differently. It’s a shame that certain black Americans, circa 2007, are so darn sensitive. With no more klansman to defend against or whites-only signs to knock down, they look for racism under cable news rocks. But hey, this is what cable news and the “civil rights” industry are all about.

http://lashawnbarber.com/

[Uncle Hal]

O’Reilly talked about this on his show last night. This is just a MSM made up attack on him. It is so obvious there is nothing there.

[shankbear]

yabba dabba........these racist communist bigots can say all they wants. They are the fools and BOR is still on TV making a zillion bucks a year. Perhaps these pukes are a tad jealous.

[God luvs America]

can anyone direct me to O’Reilly’s “race remarks”??

[Bruinator]

Its about time people get over the FR incident. Oreilly is pompous but he is right a majority of the time.

[vetsvette]

Typical leftist black racists.

Who really cares what these morons think? Do they think?

[OESY]

It's time to end the double standard. I call upon Syracuse University to fire professor and blogger Boyce Watkins in the name of decency.

.