CNN’s Rick Sanchez Echoes O’Reilly While Discussing O’Reilly’s Racism
CNN’s Rick Sanchez Echoes O’Reilly While Discussing O’Reilly’s Racism
On Friday, Media Matters noted that on the Sept. 19 broadcast of his radio show, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly made explicitly racist remarks about his recent dinner at Sylvia’s, a famous African-American-owned restaurant in Harlem. O’Reilly said he was shocked that the restaurant’s service was like that of “any other restaurant…even though it’s run by blacks“:
And 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. … There wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, “M-Fer, I want more iced tea.”
CNN anchor Rick Sanchez spoke with O’Reilly about the incident last night. Sanchez told CNN host Don Lemon that O’Reilly was “screaming the entire conversation.” Sanchez said he told O’Reilly, “I’m a huge fan Bill and I’ve been watching you for years.”
Sanchez then proceeded to sympathize with O’Reilly’s racially-charged gaffes while simultaneously revealing his own ignorance and insensitivity on race issues. Some examples:
Sanchez On O’Reilly’s remarks:
— “At first glance, you don’t see it as questionable. Especially if you’re not an African-American!”
– “Here’s a guy who’s trying to give a compliment.”
– “I agree with him [there was no racist intent].”
– “We all have an uncle who comes to parties at our house…who will occasionally say things like this.”
Sanchez On African-Americans:
– [To Lemon] “People are actually offended. And you would know. They call this a ’subtle type of racism’… it’s the velvet glove type.”
– “What my African-American friends and associates have told me…is that they were insulted that a man with his experience and his age would for the first time realize that … African-Americans who gather in places in America and have civilized meetings. That’s what they say.”
Watch the segment:
Yesterday, too, Sanchez defended O’Reilly, downplaying the severity of O’Reilly’s remarks: “But just how big a deal is this? … What’s wrong with a white guy making social commentary about other people’s race, which is what he seems to be doing here?”
Station WABC interviewed Sylvia’s patrons about O’Reilly’s remarks. Said one customer: “I’m concerned that people are still in that type of mindset.”
UPDATE: Media Matters notes that O’Reilly plans to attack CNN on his show tonight.
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35 Responses to “CNN’s Rick Sanchez Echoes O’Reilly While Discussing O’Reilly’s Racism”
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ok “Sanchez” -
“I found out that “Sanchez” was just like any other talking head, even though he’s primarily latino-named. He wasn’t hanging drywall, or busing tables….he was, just like any other cnn newsreader. No one yelling “Ay, caramba!, or andele! andele!, just a nice, well-dressed guy, reading some stuff that someone else wrote from a teleprompter.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:49 pmAnd we are supposed to be shocked by billo being a racist? No different then beck or the rusher. They are all bigoted, elitist scumbags of the first order.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:55 pmOk, but I wanna know what happened to War on Xmas.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:57 pmGood grief. These people embarrass me more every single day.
Pass me my Unknown American bag, please!
September 25th, 2007 at 5:57 pmIf Sanchez thinks that this was just…
…then I know Sanchez will appreciate my good intentions when I say how wonderful it is that his newsroom has no graffiti or junk cars parked on the set. It’s just like other newsrooms in Manhattan.
• Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast
September 25th, 2007 at 5:58 pmI watched this live and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
What got me most was when they talked about how Bill O claimed this was just a stunt by left leaning news organizations to profit and get ratings from.
They TRIED to deny that, but instead said, “well we tried to get Bill on our Show, Out In The Open tonight at 8pm” He just kept plugging his stupid show.
I don’t really know what’s shocking about Sanchez saying to Lemon “You would know” Is it really racist to point out the fact that Lemon IS INDEED BLACK?! No! It’s stupid of Sanchez to think ANYone would know who is actually offended.
And I sure don’t give any kudos to Lemon himself either. Racist comment or not, Sanchez made an assumption about hLemon personally - and Lemon should have defended the remark.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:01 pmBill O’Lielly’s annual “War on Christmas” rant should be coming up right after his “War on Thanksgiving” rant.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:05 pmI stopped watching Sanchez some time ago–changing the channels whenever he as on, simply because he’s just not terribly bright. Seriously. Watching Rick Sanchez and expecting anything insightful or intelligible is like waiting for Paula Zahn to suddenly become a journalist. It’s just not ever going to happen.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:10 pmhey, at least billdo didnt call them “nappy headed ho’s”……
September 25th, 2007 at 6:10 pm“We all have an uncle who comes to parties at our house…”
Bill O’Reilly: America’s Bigoted Half-Senile Old Uncle You Still Have To Have Over!
“Honestly, he doesn’t mean anything by it!”
I’ve got his next ad campaign all worked out…
September 25th, 2007 at 6:13 pmMaybe it’s time for Sanchez to volunteer for another round of tasering.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:21 pmI grew up in South Florida where Sanchez got his start. He worked for the Fox affiliate WSVN, which at the time was a fourth rate local station at best.
In So FL, Sanchez was considered a joke of a newscaster, sort of the way many people feel about Geraldo. I was always amazed to see that CNN had hired him considering how much of a clown he is.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:26 pm“Wow!! Black people eat with knives and forks and use napkins just like US!!!”
Good grief, Billo.
Shut …up.
Just …shut …up.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:29 pmI think I’d enjoy having dinner in the Super -Max prison with the brothers much more than having to sit with dildo o’liely.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:36 pmOf course O’Reilly is a racist. He thinks that his condescending remarks put him on the defense of minorities but his is the most insidious of bigotry. His is the Archie Bunker type. He thinks he’s being complimentary because HE’S surprised that the blacks at Sylvia’s were behaving just like white folks, when it is his own ignorance and racism that inspired his words.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:37 pmSure, we all have had relatives come over and make comments that we don’t approve, but you can deal with your senile uncle; the racists like O’Reilly have hundreds of thousands of listeners who consider him as validation for their own behavior.
You could depend on family dinners at my in-laws’ homes years ago to descend into this kind of talk - with them thinking they are being so “tolerant” and my calling them out on their ignorance and racism. But they were poorly educated, never cracked a book, or read past the sports page in the paper.
There is no excuse for O’Reilly. He is simply a racist. A pompous ass who is too conceited to see himself as flawed.
Duncan Black swatted Trent Lott’s testicles around in his badminton court for saying something half as stupid.
I can’t believe this animal still has his job. Many, many time the blogosphere has rallied around a blog on a crusade. They’d do it this time, of course, to get rid of this…this…thing called a “journalist.”
Damn it, he can’t keep his job after this, he just can’t. [sigh]
September 25th, 2007 at 6:37 pmI am sure that Sanchez encountered a fair amount of bigotry and racism in his life — why is he so ready to accept O’Reilly?
September 25th, 2007 at 6:39 pmSo O’Reilly’s making news for saying something stupid.
Big deal.
It will be news when the twerp doesn’t say something boneheaded during a broadcast.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:40 pmDoes Sanchez have any ratings at all? Isn’t he up against O’Reilly and Olbermann in his time slot? At least when he embarrasses himself, no one is watching.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:49 pmas part of my new ad campaign, we could have, whenever Camarillo Billo makes a public appearance, or–much better–if he’s seen at a restaurant, people would stand up in a group and shout “Where’s my M-F’n Iced Tea, Bill?”
With any luck, he’d start frothing about pink-automatic totin’ lesbian gangs again…
Wait–wait–Inspiration is coming by with a second helping…
September 25th, 2007 at 7:18 pmRick Sanchez is a filthy tool.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:08 pmMy friend used to be a producer at CNN, and she told me that they would watch his piece where he got voluntarily tasered - anytime he did, or said something stupid.
They watched it A LOT, according to her.
He’s even congratulated an openly hostile guest for being a good sport after this prick tore down hispanics on behalf of Newt Gingrich. HELLO….. SANCHEZ….. does he think he’s a white republican?
PATHETIC waste of air time.
As a Black male, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. When white progressives/liberals try to seize upon what they see as racist speech from a fellow white person without consulting someone who would be a target of that racist speech, you end up making a big deal out of a little one.
Of course Bill O’Reilly is racist, just like the overwhelming majority of white Americans. Black people aren’t surprised that O’Reilly would be surprised at what he found in Sylvia’s because we know that most whites, liberal or conservative, would probably have the same reaction.
I’ll give Bill credit for venturing into a Black-owned establishment and taking in the ambience for himself; most white people avoid being around too many Black people because they seem to think the Black people are going to attack them just because they’re white (?).
For my white progressive/liberal brothers and sisters, check with some of your Black acquaintances before trying to point out racism in a foe that many progressive/liberals exhibit as well.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:59 pmI couldn’t believe it. I figured O’Reilly couldn’t be so stupid, but he keeps proving me wrong. Its just so astonishing that he is so backwards. I guess having all that money and success can’t buy you class and sophistication. O’Reilly isn’t the only one who just doesn’t get it. Look at Sanchez.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:08 pmAmandla - Billo would embarrass me even if he *wasn’t* a racist. I guess it’s a ‘right-wing tool’ thing.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:18 pmI did listen to the entire segment and I heard correctly. I stand by what I said.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:44 pmMore vicious lies from TP. You guys don’t have to sink to this to give your political rivals a hard time. Pure BS.
Comment by Toliver
Marie has it right, Toli.
The main reason O’liely and his audience HAS that “rap” impression of African Americans is because that’s how Billo presents them on his show.
∞
September 26th, 2007 at 2:01 amReally? BillO says that ALL blacks are “gangsta†rappers?
Comment by Toliver
Not in so many words, but yes, he does.
Why do you think he is sooo surprised that Sylvia’s patrons were so well behaved ?
∞
September 26th, 2007 at 2:32 amAll you did was read the tripe TP provided.
Comment by Toliver
Listen, Fella, I heard the whole O’Reilly radio comment.
I saw the CNN show in question.
Marie is right; now clean up the Cheetos and go to bed.
∞
September 26th, 2007 at 3:33 amI can’t watch Sanchez, as he presents himself to be a parody of a news man. I’ve always said that it looks like he spends more time studying other reporters, so he can act the part, than he does studying the news. I guess I now have evidence for that as he admits to having just read a book about Bill O’Reilly. What serious news man would admit to being a huge O’Reilly fan…so much so that he reads about him?
Anyway, Ludicris is no more representative of black people than Sanchez and O’Reilly are representative of white people. It’s just shameful that we even have to have this conversation.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:38 amO’Reilly often suffers from attacks of “foot-in-mouth” disease. His mouth operates faster than his brain causing him to say stupid, racist remarks regularly. No reasonable person (not even Senor Sanchez) can successfully defend his racist remarks–just listen to what O’Reilly said, for goodness sakes!
September 26th, 2007 at 12:19 pm#35 Amen. Enough said.
September 26th, 2007 at 4:30 pmRumor is that BO’s radio show has been headed toward cancellation for some time now so BO is trying his best to raise some sort of ruckus so he will look like the victim instead of the loser. He appears to be working at setting himself up as another Don Imus who was ‘unfairly attacked by the liberal media’ rather than admit his show bombed.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:55 amI am a Black female and I am so tired of people making a big fuss about foolish comments that are said by narrow-minded people. Who Really Cares About Bill O’Reilly? Honestly! People are going to believe what they want to believe. You cannot control that. We will always be stereotyped by people of different races and even our own race, but do you lose sleep over it? No way. Just prove them wrong.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:32 amSanchez speaks truth to power! Finally a progressive voice at CNN instead of that toady Blitzer. Any honest person would admit that Sanchez caught O’Reilly in a BIG FAT LIE! How can O’Reilly claim that he is not a racist and that there were no complaints about his insensitive show when there was a caller to that very same show who pointed out how O’Reilly constantly harps on the supposedly negative influences of African American rap artists? And so what that Sanchez didn’t listen to O’Reilly’s entire show to make sure of proper context before reporting on the isolated parts. Who would want to listen to the whole show?
September 29th, 2007 at 9:49 amI just fear that the scurrilous attacks on Sanchez will soon start because he is now obviously such a threat to the Right Wing. We will hear lrehashed ies about how his Katrina work was so inaccurate that lives might well have been lost in all the alleged fog. The smearers might even stoop to “revealing” the ancient history of how Sanchez killed someone while driving DUI. We must combat these smearers and their intimidation!
this is precisely how gossip starts and people denigrate others without even knowing the facts….sad & ignorant…..and sadly, it’s the same with voting….rather than be armed with complete knowledge of the subject’s point of views on issues….its a popularlity contest built on TV ads and gossip….get with it America…step up intelligence….really know what you are talking about before taking action.
The spin certainly does not stop here on Think Progress.
How many of you actually heard the exchange between Bill O’Reilly and Juan Williams? I did, and there was absolutely nothing racist about it. Those of you on the fringe left who are using this to hammer Bill O’Reilly are being dishonest, and the gaggle of kook lib followers who swallow it hook, line, and sinker are merely perpetuating the lie.
If you think O’Reilly is racist with his comments, how about Juan Williams calling television shows which purportedly represent “mainstream†black Americans: “Minstrel Showsâ€. Williams was just as tough, if not tougher, in his commentary on the subject…apparently he can be, because he is black.
Are you all prepared to call Juan Williams racist also? Juan Williams was commenting on the fact that most of the current “reality†shows portraying black America do not represent mainstream black America, merely the “Jerry Springer†version of black America, all for a buck.
The entire segment, and a follow up last night, was a commentary on how the “thug rap†culture portrays black America in a negative light, and some blacks, and a lot of whites, profit from it. Predominantly white recording execs were also castigated for their actions in promoting a violent, extreme, fringe culture that in reality has little to do with real black America.
The entire exchange about Sylvia’s was tongue-in-cheeck, in that is was about the fact that mainstream black America is in reality a civil society, with manners, polite social exchange, and good relations with other cultures, NOT the violent, extremely vulgar, crime-ridden version that also denigrates women as mere sex objects, which you see portrayed in the “rap†culture in recordings, movies, and on television.
O’Reilly’s feigned “surprise†(and it was, indeed, feigned) was nothing more than a personality tool used to drive the point home. Anyone who watches O’Reilly more than once know he uses sarcasm, from mild to extreme, from time to time to make his points. It’s called having a personality AND sense of humour…both are traits many liberals lack, and it shows.
He was remarking on the fact that in mainstream black America, the society IS civil, the lifestyle IS healthy and family oriented, and the culture IS beneficial to America as a whole.
The “alternative†version of black “culture†portrayed by “gangsta rap†is eagerly promoted by white record execs, for money, and just as eagerly bought up en mass by white, and black, kids who then see the black cuture in a dishonest light, and then emulate the same dishonest portrayal of the culture, further perpetuating the lie..just as lies are further perpetuated here on Think Progress.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — September 26, 2007 @ 10:08 am
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