TheLoop21.com

By: devona walker (follow this member)
Tue, 02/03/2009 - 01:00

For the next several posts I will provide 10 arguments illustrating why I am pretty damn sure we are not living in a post race society.

Argument No. 1: Fox News

For most of us disenfranchised folks — minorities, poor folks and many immigrants — it is pretty clear that Fox News hates us. They have been waging this cultural war between us and the people they consider to be “Real America” for years. And this will continue, regardless of the election of President Barack Obama.

In fact, I would argue that Fox News will try to use the Obamas as a vehicle to attack black people. They will use the first family as a means to attack the black family.

It began back during the election when they called Michelle Barack’s Baby Momma. It is what they do. They take a strength, an obvious positive, and turn it into an attack.

Fox News employs the most reactionary and corrupt pseudo journalists money can buy and it will stop at nothing to advance the fear-mongering, hate-drive neocon agenda. It will attempt to distance itself from the lowest attacks by continuing to use black commentators like Juan Williams of National Public Radio and token black political strategist like Ron Christie, formerly employed by Dick Cheney.

In a recent commentary. Tolu Olorunda, of The Black Commentator, called Williams Fox’s “go-to guy for black-bashing, immigrant-bashing, Iraqi-bashing.”

 “Williams knows his role and plays it well...  He’s, after all, Fox News’ golden black boy,” Olorunda noted. 

As for Ron Christie, the cross-eyed one, he will continue to play a role any time the network race-baiters at Fox News need a black mule to carry their water.

So that was the rant, here’s the argument. This country cannot possibly be post race as long as Fox News maintains an audience. Just two weeks, according to Nielsen’s ratings, Fox News was the most watched news channel in just about every demographic beating CNN, MSNBC and CNBC. And individually speaking, it is their foulest, most bitter and hate-filled anchors who continue to rake in the top spots: Think Bill O’Reilly, Lou “I HATE IMMIGRANTS” Dobbs, Hannity and Fox & Friends.

How can we be post race as long as there is obviously such a huge audience for these folks? Sure, they have gotten conditioned to not dropping the “N” word at work and masking their discrimination with code words such as values, but THEY are still out there. And if O’Reilly’s popularity is any indication there are a lot of THEM. (and just to make it clear they and them refer to racists not white people.)

Devona Walker is The Loop's senior reporter/blogger. She writes the Post-Race? blog.