Bill O'Reilly is Not a Racist, and I'm Not Being Ironic

When Michael Richards used the N-word on stage, everybody got into a tizzy, even conservatives. Now the hero of the conservative talk show mindset-and I used the word mindset in all its irony-are saying that calling attention to Bill O'Reilly for his comments about Sylvia's Restaurant are just another case of liberals keeping the Man down. Let me point out some striking difference beween Richards' admittedly moronic usage of the N-word and what Bill O'Reilly said.

Michael Richards was provoked into a fit of anger and he lost control. Sure, it was stupid of him to do that and let loose that particular word, but I can guarantee that if it had been some Budweiser-guzzling, Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt wearing hick that had been heckling him he'd have called them rednecks or something worse. Not excusing the man, but just pointing out that Michael Richards was in a state of heightened emotion-and probably on drugs-when he let loose his anger. The only state of emotion that Bill O'Reilly might have been experiencing at a heightened level was his fear of a black nation. Clearly Bill O'Reilly does have a fear of a black nation. It is clear from his comments that Bill O'Reilly is one thing and is not one thing. The thing that O'Reilly is is a perfect example of the racial-and wealth-divide in America. "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." Those are words that would be spoken only by someone who has never actually lived among African-Americans on an equal playing field. The thing that Bill O'Reilly is not is a racist.