The Racism Of Fox News
Fox News Channel displayed a graphic referring to the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s wife Michelle as “Obama’s baby mama” on Wednesday, June 11th, in just the latest of a growing list of racially insensitive references to the African American candidate. The reference was made during an article with conservative columnist and Asian mouthpiece Michelle Malkin regarding whether or not it was fair to target Michelle Obama during the political campaign.
In the past three weeks, Fox News anchor E.D. Hill has apologized for referring to the affectionate onstage fist bump shared by the senator and Michelle Obama as a “terrorist fist jab” and Fox contributor Liz Trotta has made grossly insensitive remarks calling for Senator Obama’s assassination. And if I had a dollar for every time somebody on Fox confused Senator Obama with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, or has gone out of their way to use Mr. Obama’s middle name of Hussein, as in Saddam Hussein, I would be guaranteed not to ever worry about the price of gasoline or anything else for that matter. This is just another example of Fox’s impression of fair and balanced reporting. Fox actually practices a system of blatant offense, followed by an oops, and then an insincere apology.
In her defense, the Manchurian Candidate, oops, I meant to write Michelle Malkin, replied that the reference was never spoken over the air and therefore had seen no gratuitous cheap shot taken against Michelle Obama. Actually, since it was displayed on air I have no doubt that Mao Tse-tung, oops, I meant to write Ms. Malkin, had seen the cheap shot. What Charlene Chan, oops, I meant to write Ms. Malkin, meant was that she did not hear any cheap shot taken against Ms. Obama. Mr. Sulu, oops, I meant to write Michelle Malkin, is more than happy to play Confucius, oops, I meant to write confused, and engage in the type of amateurish, kamikaze journalism that has become the standard operating procedure at Fox.
Regardless, any reference to a black woman as a “baby mama” is intended as a racial slur. Never before has Fox, or any other news network, has ever referred to the wife of any political candidate as a baby mama. The callousness of the statement is truly blatant and disrespectful. It is used as a reference to a non white, unmarried woman with a bastard child and an unhealthy relationship with the father of the child.
One of the problems Senator Clinton’s run for presidency ran into was the ingrained sexism of the American culture. At one particular campaign stop, someone from the audience yelled to Ms. Clinton, iron my shirt. In debates, while men were being referred to by their surname, Ms. Clinton was often referred to as simply Hillary. A lot of women are angry with the way Ms. Clinton was treated on the campaign trail and are ready to take their anger out on Mr. Obama. However, it now appears that Barack Obama, through the association of his wife Michelle, is about to experience the unique combination of racial and gender bias that is the exclusive burden of the African American woman.
Without any real footing to attack Barack Obama on issues, opponents of the senator will attack his associations. The entire experience with his former pastor Jeremiah Wright has taught the Democratic nominee to sever his relationships when they prove to be too distracting. But the one relationship Mr. Obama cannot discard so easily is the relationship with his wife. It is more important to Republican supporters and white privilege protectionist to do whatever it takes to keep the Obamas out of the White House.
Soon, there will be suggestions of a future where black people will be hanging out on the White House front porch playing loud music from the presidential limo and watermelon prices going through the roof. Did someone say something offensive? They will be more than happy to follow up with an apology to Barack Osama and his baby’s mama for any totally unintentional offense. No derogatory references were ever intended to anyone who eats fried chicken and drinks malt liquor and smokes Kool filtered menthol cigarettes.
Pat Buchanan, the most despicable personification of racial bigotry, asked point blank do the American people want the “exotic” Mr. Obama and his family in the White House. These white people, and the nonwhites who want to prove their devotion to white privilege like Fu Manchu, oops, I meant to write Ms. Malkin, will play every race card to drive home the point that the country is risking a black man getting into office. As Fox contributor Liz Trotta says, “It’s a very colorful political season and many of us are making mistakes and saying things that we wish we hadn’t said.” You would swear up and down that these people have never encountered black people before.
But then again, after Kim Jong-Il, oops, I meant to write Ms. Malkin, had accused Rachel Ray of being sympathetic to Middle Eastern terrorist because she wore a scarf in a Dunkin’ Donut advertisement that supposedly looked like a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf of Arab men, what can anyone expect from the blatant racist of the Fox News channel.
