I watched the surreal clip from The View repeatedly. The conversation between Goldberg, Behar, and O'Reilly unfolded in my head like some cheesy pop culture 80's movie: right before your eyes you see the young blonde bombshell with her layers and bangs. You can't help but notice her thin waist and oversized breasts (definitely fake). Men, women, and children can't help but stare in disbelief as she stands on the diving board over the pool in her inappropriately flimsy red bikini. She gracefully drops into the water and within seconds brings her head to the surface whisking her long hair back and forth (better yet she does it in slow mo…Everything back then was better in slow mo and you know it!). The camera pans out and the cheesy 80's pop song begins (George Michael, of course). The camera focuses on an eight year old boy. His mouth hangs open and his eyes become as large as basketballs before his mother's hand swiftly covers them. Back to the blonde; the camera view continues to widen as you come to the realization that perhaps you were right from the beginning. They were definitely fake.
Bill O'Reilly said what! "Muslims Killed Us On 9/11!"
Cover your ears and go to your room honey. You shouldn't hear this until you're fifty. Some of us just stood with our mouths open like the little eight year old in the cheesy 80's movie.
"Oh my God, that is such ****. Extremists – excuse me – extremists did that," Whoopi fires back so quickly she stumbles over her words. Ironically, it seemed as if an explosion had just taken place on that very stage.
Others at the same time, stood there with mischievous grins, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Finally, someone says what we've all been dying to hear. The grin explodes into hysterical laughter and clapping. Encore my good boy, Bill! Encore!
Within those few moments so much had been said by both words and body language. The truth for so many had finally been said and she stood there topless and exposed for all to see.
So go ahead folks. Step up to the plate. What's the truth for you? The Box is back and better than ever!
I thought that Joy and Whoopi were correct in getting up to leave, not so much because of the topic, but because O'Reilly is so rude that he can't carry on a decent conversation. He bullies everyone in the group. He's loud, he's obnoxious and he's pushy - and it could be any topic. He was doing his money-making act to perfection. And it is an act.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic, yes it was Muslim extremists who killed people in the towers, including 70 Muslims, apparently. And Christian extremists have been killing people since the Middle Ages; so don't forget that.
Why did it happen? To my mind, it happened because desperate people wanted to bring it home to protected, safe America, that people in the ME have been suffering through wars for decades, because of thoughtless arming of Israelis, by the Americans. They've lost their families, they've lost their homes, they've suffered through destruction of their cities. Even if it wasn't a collapsing tower, it definitely was destruction of everything they know -- by Israel.
So, it was a case of 'HERE - THIS IS WHAT WE GO THROUGH EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES!!!" and the only way to make Americans understand that was to bring it home for them. It was horrific, it was horrible, and it shook the world. But after that day, Americans started to think that gee maybe they're just a little too insular, a little too ignorant about the rest of the world.
You've all forgotten about that, and now you're just focused on fear and hatred. Building the mosque would go some way to inclusiveness. America's policy in Israel has brought about the destruction - it's the cause of the trouble.
But you can't even talk about that with a carnival act like O'Reilly, who, make no mistake, is making millions from his image and his controversy.
I don't know if this is about picking sides; I think this is about choosing rationality over fear-mongering. O'Reilly is correct when he says that Muslims killed us; Whoopi is right when she says extremists killed our citizens. They were (depending on how you see it) Muslims who happened to be extremists, or extremists that happened to be Muslims.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue to me is that conservative *tend* to play on the public's fear of Muslims since all of this began. No one talks about Timothy McVeigh and his act of terrorism (OK City bombing), or the KKK and their domestic terrorism (because at their core, hate crimes are just that -- acts of terrorism targeted at a specific group). No one will talk about those because the people who commit these types of crimes tend to fit into what many people consider to be the typical American male stereotype -- white, hetero, Christian male. It's easy to find problems with people who you view as unlike you because the unknown for some people can be scary.
I say all of this to illustrate that judging by what has happened on the View, there is still a lot we as American citizens need to do so that we aren't ruled by fear. Extremism of any kind is a bad thing, and in order to move forward, beyond party lines to create a safer place for ourselves and our children, we have to stop letting fear run our lives. But the only way to do that is to stop living in ignorance and begin holding our leaders and ourselves accountable. Don't believe everything you hear, go and research for yourself, be proactive in your communities -- then maybe we can bring about positive change.
Thank you very much for such an insightful comment. I'm sure someone else has something to say. So who else wants the ball?
ReplyDeleteFirst you need to refresh my memory which Muslim sect was Timothy McVeigh from again?
ReplyDeleteCannot pick a side - but will pick a winner of that discussion - O’Reilly - I am not a big fan, but my level of respect has risen tremendously. Is he that good - he can go to your show and make you leave your set? Wow!! That would be like an opposing football team coming to your stadium and your team leaves at half time - how many fans do you think would show up for the next game?
Fields decides to stir up the pot a little bit. Let's make some gumbo. What else do we want to through in?
ReplyDeleteWere the "extremists" not all Muslim? Are there ANY terrorists in the wold that are not Muslim? Get over it. Political Correctness is idiotic. McVeigh was not part of any group espousing Jihad against Americans, neither is the KKK. Muslims have declared war on Americans. Muslims attacked us on 9/11. Muslims are permitted to lie to non-believers (http://www.muslimfact.com/bm/terror-in-the-name-of-islam/islam-permits-lying-to-deceive-unbelievers-and-bri.shtml). What makes anyone think anything they say is true? It is a filthy, oppressive, evil religion of hate and intolerance, yet in America, Muslims have the right to practice it. What does that say about America? What does it say about Islam?
ReplyDeleteMuslim's killed us on 9/11. Anyone who doesn't believe that is in denial.
Thanks Salvus for the comment. Anyone else have something to say? Which side do you pick?
ReplyDeleteYes it was surreal wasn't it. When pseudo-flabbergasted Joy jumped up to storm off the set hesitated a nano-second, who she wondered would bravely follow suit; then her eyes met Whoopi's, and Whoopi, tail between her legs, followed like a good little bow wow she is. If either had any SUBSTANCE they should have remained backstage; but, oh my they thought we really should rethink that action (we could be the next Rick Sanchez) one false move and we are out of our jobs. Yes, Joy and Whoopi the Liberal media has been shoved down our throats long enough and via enough clicks of the remotes your show sinks in the ratings. BTW good riddance to the garbage sows, and contrived or not at least Bill put it out there for all the world to see and hear! The women of the 'View' lack a, what would you call it, a view!
ReplyDeleteAlright. On that note let's keep the ball rolling. Who else wants some?
ReplyDeleteBarbara Walters said to O'Reilly, "It was extremists. You cannot take a whole religion and demean them." With your politically correct talking points firmly asserted, Ms. Walters, could we perhaps return our attention to what O'Reilly actually said? He did not say "Islam attacked us"; THAT would demean an entire religion. He said Muslims did—because Muslims did.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only person who has a problem with Bill O'Reilly selectively deciding when Muslim extremists commit terrorist acts, all Muslims are guilty BUT when white males (e.g. Timothy McVeigh, Scott Roeder) commit terrorist acts, they are aberrations?
ReplyDeleteThat's what is insulting about the BS he spewed so proudly on The View.
Also Barbara Walters has zero integrity to me. She agreed to be a beard for that hateful closet case Roy Cohn. I can't respect someone who goes out of their way to help a bigot who destroyed peoples lives with venom and glee.
@25th -- No; you're not alone. I can't stand Bill O'Reilly and his fear-mongering.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Bill O'Reilly and that's an understatement. But just because I disagree with his views, doesn't mean that I get to dismiss everything he says as being wrong or hateful. He made a factually correct statement. That he uses this as an argument against building the mosque/community center is another issue, but "Muslinms did kill us on 9/11."
ReplyDeleteHi, this is an interesting debate indeed. I have found that often the question "is Islam evil?" or general statements "Muslims kill us", albeit being the product of 'commonsensical reasoning' in Gramscian terms, lack actual rationalization. I have often debated in my blog about this topic, for whom may be interested in knowing more my argument:
ReplyDeletehttp://marranci.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/pastor-jones-tautological-islam/
http://marranci.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/“islam-is-evil”-“no-islam-is-peace”-the-fallacy-of-the-‘scripturegnosis’-argument/
thanks
yes. the terrorists were muslim.
ReplyDeletebut they were all individuals!, just because they did what they did doesnt mean that every muslim has to be punished for it! the religion shouldnt matter at all, as if all christians and catholics are holy, thats why we cant judge people according to what they look like or where they come from, we are all individuals...god bill pisses me off
Why dont Americans understand the Islamic religious leaders (Imam's, Ayahatollas, etc) from Islam are the ones telling these Jihadi's to kill infidels when they go to prayers? Isnt it the ayatollahs that issue the death warrants if they dont like what you say? Thats terrorism from the top down!
ReplyDeleteGo to Utube & request "preaching jihad from the mosque" & u will see secretly recorded video's of islamic leaders urging the so called moderate muslims to go kill infidels for Allah.
One islamic preacher even says, "If an infidel is hiding behind a rock allah will have the rock cry out, here brave warrior of Islam there is an infidel hiding behind me, kill him for the glory of Allah"
Finally why havent you seen or heard hundreds of moderate Muslims condemming the attacks? I know of two, one a woman from canada & Dr Zuhdi Jasser of America who says it is the leadership that has corrupted Islam into a murderous cult!
just watch this (Pecking Order - Dealing with Islamophobia) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTUPZDln-NY
ReplyDeleteFalse logic. An American is a nationality. Muslim is a religion.
ReplyDeleteIt was Saudis who killed Americans.
It was Muslims who killed other Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Athiests.
No one wants to use th 'S' word because you're still buying oil from them and you can't square that circle. Much easier to use lazy argument and call them muslims
Again, I would like to thank everyone for their comments and tweets on this post. One tweet that i just had to mention came from the user name @fismat - a pediatric cardiologist in PA.
ReplyDelete@fismat stated that "The problem is that the problem is more complicated than 'Whoopi vs. O'Reilly'. What are the implications of each?"
Wonderful question! The implications of each side change from person to person. Asking an average person what the importance of 1+1=2 would get one answer. But what if you asked a mathematician? Asking an average chess player what the importance of the e4 square is on the chess board would get a certain answer. But what if you asked a chess master?
The answer to these implications change from person to person based on their knowledge and life experiences. Everyones opinion should be tolerated whether we agree with each other or not. This is the only way we can explore this issue, expose the boxes, and if need be escape them; something we can all benefit from.
Make sure to follow @fismat on twitter.