Stop Taking The Bait

Bill O'Reilly's sophomoric attempt to shade Maxine Waters wasn’t funny: you don't go after our Auntie no matter what! He thought he was being clever with his James Brown joke, but ended up stepping in a pile of his own oral feces. He tried to diminish the points she was making about the Trump administration and got away with it. We should call out his ignorance, but we can't allow it to overshadow the statements that put it on display. a lot of the outrage I’ve seen on social media has been just as distracting as his failed attempt at humor. After 20 plus years in public life we know O'Reilly is a bigot and that Fox news will defended him no matter what he says or does; these facts have no bearing on this issue. Representative Waters was engaging in a monologue on the House floor about the legacy of discriminatory practices in our country and the faux patriots who seem to sit out every fight for equality. Instead of addressing that issue O'Reilly chose to punt. Bill O’Reilly’s childish response to her polemic has gotten more traction than the substance of the comments she was making: this offends me more than any bad joke the serial misogynist, racist, and domestic abuser could ever tell.

Bill O’Reilly, like a lot of people tasked with defending this administration, would rather obfuscate the real issues at hand with ad hominem attacks and faulty logic than address them. We have to stop taking the bait. O'Reilly succeeded in changing the conversation. He issued a weak apology on his show and then proceeded to slyly attack the congresswoman further proving her point about the way "patriots" address discrimination and equality. Yes, we have to address the ignorance around us, but we don't have to reward it with wall to wall coverage. We have to find a balance. The media should start treating this administration and their defenders like petulant children and stop rewarding their bad behavior with attention. I know this seems hypocritical in a blog about this subject, but we have to do better- All of us!