We love to see them screw up, our high and mighty leaders of the day. Be them actors or legislators, we just cannot seem to get enough of the pain and suffering of others. We are especially interested in the “gotcha” approach, splashing their wrong doings or misspeaks all over the national stage.
I’m thinking of Bill O’Reilly’s recent revelation about blacks in Harlem. Here’s the thing though – and you know I am no conservative, nor fan of O’Reilly – I think most people missed the point altogether, choosing to see his mistake as an opportunity to condemn him.
Now calm down. Let me make my point.
I have revelations, epiphanies, all the time on this blog. I record my misconceptions and missteps all the time. I write about things that I thought, and about my understanding that things are not as I previously thought. No one condemns me. Usually I am greeted with a “good for you” mentality; people understanding that I have developed in a positive way.
Not so with O’Reilly. Let’s just assume for a second that it was, indeed, a racist comment. That O’Reilly really was waking up to see that African Americans are really just like us whiteys. (For the record, I read the entire thing and I do not think that is the case.) If he goes to Harlem and realizes that most of the folks there are not gang bangers and hate-filled hip hoppers, then O’Reilly has just had a positive epiphany. His life will not be the same and such a realization will color a person’s life forever.
We should be proud of anyone who finally realizes that their discriminatory or prejudiced viewpoints were wrong. We should salute those who then have the courage to tell the rest of the world about that epiphany. It is a positive thing for Bill O’Reilly to state that not everyone who is black is also a gang-banger. There are so many conservative, religious Caucasians out there who desperately need to hear such a thing.
Here’s a hypothetical. I am willing to talk about hypotheticals because I am not running for office. If Larry, over at Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind were to realize that his views on denying homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals were discriminatory, and he then choose to write about his new found understanding, surely we would not bash him for it. It takes some people longer to come to conclusions than others. I would hope that we would celebrate his understanding, not be made because it took him so long.
We missed an opportunity to address racial misconceptions with the handling of the Bill O’Reilly comments. The main stream media and bloggers alike have missed the change to help lead those who do hold racist views to better understanding of who African Americans really are.
I’m thinking of Bill O’Reilly’s recent revelation about blacks in Harlem. Here’s the thing though – and you know I am no conservative, nor fan of O’Reilly – I think most people missed the point altogether, choosing to see his mistake as an opportunity to condemn him.
Now calm down. Let me make my point.
I have revelations, epiphanies, all the time on this blog. I record my misconceptions and missteps all the time. I write about things that I thought, and about my understanding that things are not as I previously thought. No one condemns me. Usually I am greeted with a “good for you” mentality; people understanding that I have developed in a positive way.
Not so with O’Reilly. Let’s just assume for a second that it was, indeed, a racist comment. That O’Reilly really was waking up to see that African Americans are really just like us whiteys. (For the record, I read the entire thing and I do not think that is the case.) If he goes to Harlem and realizes that most of the folks there are not gang bangers and hate-filled hip hoppers, then O’Reilly has just had a positive epiphany. His life will not be the same and such a realization will color a person’s life forever.
We should be proud of anyone who finally realizes that their discriminatory or prejudiced viewpoints were wrong. We should salute those who then have the courage to tell the rest of the world about that epiphany. It is a positive thing for Bill O’Reilly to state that not everyone who is black is also a gang-banger. There are so many conservative, religious Caucasians out there who desperately need to hear such a thing.
Here’s a hypothetical. I am willing to talk about hypotheticals because I am not running for office. If Larry, over at Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind were to realize that his views on denying homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals were discriminatory, and he then choose to write about his new found understanding, surely we would not bash him for it. It takes some people longer to come to conclusions than others. I would hope that we would celebrate his understanding, not be made because it took him so long.
We missed an opportunity to address racial misconceptions with the handling of the Bill O’Reilly comments. The main stream media and bloggers alike have missed the change to help lead those who do hold racist views to better understanding of who African Americans really are.
Posts
2 comments:
Good post. I'm with you that people missed the whole point in the O'Reilly situation.
My .02,
Bill got a taste of his own medicine. By that I mean this, Bill O'Reilly is so quick to jump the gun on someone and he makes a big deal of it. He just happened to get a backlash this time and this is the result.
The person with the biggest mouth will get the biggest and brightest spotlight. The spotlight has its drawbacks as it shows everything. I see O'Reilly's point, there just comes a time where even he has to keep quiet and let it pass.
Post a Comment