Olbermann Still Playing the Race Card [Olbermann badmouths FR in video]

Accuracy in Media ^ | February 16, 2010 | Roger Aronoff

[AIM Freeper]

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has offered another of his mindless rants that he calls "Special Commentaries." This time, he tried to rile up his audience by throwing around vague charges of racism against white people, including himself!

People-especially anti-Obama Tea Partiers-are surrounded and motivated by racism, Olbermann said, huffing and puffing in righteous indignation. This helps explain why Obama is losing popularity and his policies are failing, he implied.

Olbermann's diagnosis is correct, at least in part. Taking him at his word, he is a racist, and so is his network. Is this why there are no black faces hosting MSNBC political talk shows? Perhaps Olbermann will continue this series of commentaries by naming the CEO of NBC Universal (parent company of MSNBC), Jeff Zucker, as the worst person in the world!

"I think," the MSNBC host said, "having now been one [a white person] for 51 years, I am permitted to say I believe prejudice and discrimination still sit, defeated, dormant, or virulent, somewhere in the soul of each white man in this country."

Does it sit that way in Olbermann's mind? What exactly is he talking about anyway?

[Maverick68]

BTW, Herman Cain is an awesome name...wonder if he ever worked on the Danville Train...

[pillut48]

[<1/1,000,000th%]

"I think," the MSNBC host said, "having now been one [a white person] for 51 years, I am permitted to say I believe prejudice and discrimination still sit, defeated, dormant, or virulent, somewhere in the soul of each white man in this country."

He admits he's a racist. Does that mean he didn't vote for Obama?

[BookmanTheJanitor]

Gee.. all I see over there at MSNBC is white people.

[hennie pennie]

Keithie boy is jealous of Chrissy Matthews who declared that during the State of the Union, that he FORGOT that Barack was black, for one full hour.

These people are nuts, they are stark raving nuts.

Can you even begin to imagine what Michelle & Barack privately chortle with oneanother about Tingles Matthews????

Can you imagine Chriss Matthews EVER stating, MY GOODNESS FOR ONE HALF HOUR TODAY I FORGOT THAT HILLARY IS FEMALE OR FOR THE ENTIRE SPEECH I FORGOT THAT CHENEY IS WHITE.

ALL of this is just stark raving MAD, just like Olbermann.

[VRWCmember]

I’m forcing myself to listen to this Olbermann crapfest and guess what? That little weasel just badmouthed FREE REPUBLIC as the source of the phrase ‘teabaggers’ with it’s nasty definition!!!

There was one FReeper who had a sign at a rally that said "Tea Bag the liberal dems before they tea bag you." Whether that was before or after MSNBC and their ilk used all their "teabag" innuendo is questionable. And whether or not the FReeper understood the homoerotic connotations of the term is also unclear. What is not open to debate is the fact that the MSNBC sewer-mouthed talking heads knew full well the vulgar connotations of their several minute dialogue which featured a continueous string of forced innuendo and juvenile jokes worthy of an alternative school for junior high boys. To suggest, as Olberman does, that this FReeper's sign was the nexxus of all the drive-by media's smirking use of the the teabagging phrases indicates a tremendous lack of integrity or intelligence.

[hennie pennie]

MSNBC is owned by G.E. -— and believe you me, when we’ve needed to replace appliances, we avoid that name like the plague -— just look at all those weird people they consider fit to discuss the news, it’s just appalling.

[pillut48]

It was from one of the earliest Tea Party rallies if it was in February of '09--the liberals didn't start using the vulgar phrase until the April 15th protests, I believe. I believe the FReeper who made that sign did NOT intend the sexual deviant meaning at all, but just what it says at face value.

Maybe we should post an "Is this your Tea Party sign?" thread and see if that FReeper is still around, and what their original meaning was...

[Anti-Bubba182]

There was a story, Marvel Comics' depiction of anti-tax protesters inspires anger, apology that accuses the Tea Parties of racism and featured a sign with that wording:

"Tea bag libs before they tea bag you"

[mnehring]

Hey Olbermann, get offended by this:

[fieldmarshaldj]

And all White men, too.

[Bob J]

You know what I’d like to see once in my lifetime is conservatives who know how to effectively respond to the race card question rather then instantly reaching for the responses the race baiters count on to make us all look guilty.

Here’s the first suggestion, don’t post phases or pics that sound like “Gee, some of my favorite tea party rally speakers are black!”

[Lazamataz]

You know what I’d like to see once in my lifetime is conservatives who know how to effectively respond to the race card question rather then instantly reaching for the responses the race baiters count on to make us all look guilty.

Clue me in. What's the response?

[Bob J]

The first thing is you don’t play defense because you’re first action is to concede playing on your opponents field that they designed. 99% of responses to accusations like this I see on FR can be summed up as variations in two categories;

1. I’m not racist, why a couple of my friends are black!

2. I know I am but what are you?

Once yo do that you accept their premise and end up doingnothing but defending youself against an accusation that you believe to be false.

You’ve already lost and the saddest par is you don’t even know it.

The strategy should be to attack the premise before it has a chance to get legs. Always play offense, put your opponent on defense.

I’ll formulate a response I would have made and post it in a while.

[Lazamataz]

I knew that side of it; what I’m wanting is what you are working on — the proactive comment to defuse the charge.

[Bob J]

“Keith Olberman's latest diatribe painting the Tea Party movement as racist by counting the number of non white faces in the crowd makes about as much sense as accusing Opera of being a racist conspiracy because less than 5% of Opera attendees are non white. It's one of those “when did you stop beating your wife” tactics they teach you in Debate 101. No matter how innocent you are most any answer has the effect of making you appear guilty. And that is the intent of Olberman’s attack.

As cynical and despicable it appears it's just another in a long line of race baiting tactics by progressive liberals that has much more to do with the politics of smearing your opponents with incendiary yet baseless accusations than a real concern about racism.

If Olberman were legitimately concerned about the lack of black or brown faces in the crowd, or any crowd for that matter, Tea Party or Opera, he and the country would be better served and more enlightened by going to conservative black and brown faces (few would expect progressive, liberal or Obama supporters to be there) and asking them why they are not at these rallies.

But that's either too much work for Olberman or maybe he doesn't want the answer because it won't further his obvious partisan and ideological agenda. In either case it shows Olberman to be just another self serving race baiter who is more interested in maintaining a racial status quo of suspicion, tension and recrimination because it's good for business rather than doing something constructive to improve the situation."

[Bob J]

The point is don’t respond to the charge, dismiss it as I did by calling his accusation nothing more than race baiting. And you can’t just call it race baiting, you have to justify you’re own charges if you are to sway people to your side. I attempted to portray it as a partisan, ideological attack that was cynical, self serving and only advanced by Olberman because it was “good for business”.

You have defused the accusation and tossed the flaming ball back into Olbermans court. The last thought in people’s minds isn’t “racist Tea Partiers” but “race baiting Olberman”.