© Fox News/The O’Reilly FactorMegyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly.
It is helpful to examine how the American media subtly influences audiences toward tolerating oppression when they should be resisting it. Illustrating this point, two major cable news hosts devoted airtime toward denigrating citizen activists' efforts to hold the government accountable.
The topic of discussion earlier this week on Fox News'
The O'Reilly Factor was the subject of filming police officers during on-the job duties. Or, as host Bill O'Reilly describes it, "spying on the police."
Mr. O'Reilly and guest commentator Megyn Kelly proceeded to attempt to marginalize a group known as
Cop Block, which has dedicated a great deal of effort toward seeking accountability among police officers through the use of cameras.
The two hosts showed nothing but contempt toward the concept of filming police and the individuals who spend effort to do it.
"There's enough stress on police, without these clowns chasing them around," Mr. O'Reilly sneered.
"You're riding down the road, trying to do your job, suddenly, its like, Paul Bunyan is after me!!" Ms. Kelly mocked, in reference to a clip of an activist who had a beard.
The loud-mouthed host shared the objection to the Texas activist's appearance, saying, "the guy with a beard, he looks like a biker."
Mr. O'Reilly said lamented that cops "have to deal with idiots - all day" and that they shouldn't "have a camera in their face."
One of the most compelling reasons to film police is to capture (and sometimes prevent) instances of corruption and brutality. These are the same reasons that many towns elect to outfit their local enforcers with personal cameras and dashboard cameras. The job inherently carries a large responsibility and liability, as one might expect as armed men go about wielding the power to initiate violence in the name of the government.
However, two government apologists craftily avoided mentioning this context entirely. To trivialize the activist effort, Ms. Kelly describes the purpose of filming as "to catch a cop speeding, or whatever."
"The problem is that no one has hired them, or wants them to provide that service," Ms. Kelly scoffed.
Curiously, these two hosts commonly characterize themselves as supporters of the constitution and limited government (at least for the purpose of audience pandering). Yet somehow the existence of activists attempting to hold the government accountable during official duties has become fodder for their ridicule and scorn. Mr. O'Reilly - despite making his living in front of a camera - even suggested that filming was illegal in some areas.
This sort of authoritarian mentality is the kind of thing we have grown to expect from Bill O'Reilly, who has spent a career advocating
stopping & frisking random citizens,
federalization of crime,
warrantless spying,
federal weapons bans, and more. Megyn Kelly, on the other hand, has been slightly more ambiguous with her statist leanings.
When she read Cop Block founder Ademo Freeman's statement that he was a "victim of the War on Drugs," she let out a cackle. "I've never heard it phrase quite that way!" she said, as if it had never occurred to her that Prohibition itself could create victims. One would presume that in a career spent often discussing government policy, she might have encountered some of the endless
tyranny caused by the Drug War; the brutality, the lives ruined, the families destroyed. Either she has managed to miss these things, or perhaps there is a concerted effort to keep the American public in the dark about certain topics.
Corruption is enabled by the absence of a populace that is informed or willing to fight for justice. The developing American police state depends on these media gatekeepers keeping viewers ignorant about things that matter. Well-meaning audiences walk away from this sort of programming with the impression that they are "keeping up with current events" or are "getting informed." In reality they are being filled with poisonous talking points, being distracted by trivial nonsense, or are being groomed to be sympathetic with the police state.
Reader Comments
The perfect treatment for the criminal conspirators of the Fourth Estate.
People cherish modern money and will do anything for it, because 'it' has become everything. It is a wonderful substitute for morals, for true character, for effort, for actual concern and compassion for others, and for any advanced form of critical thinking or analysis, for example. It is, in this world of deceit and untruth, THE substitute for God....it is very fashionable, stylish and vogue. It is the rage. It is even backed by modern science!
If you have it, this 'money', this modern 'do-all', you need no authentic skill, no spectrum or variety of authentic skills, and you need no soul, no connection to the whole. It is very good, in this sense. Money can replace hard work and struggle with a good and easy acting job, it is a machine and it is wonderful and it is simple and it is GRRRRRRRREAT.
So people focus on becoming good actors, good fakes, good little shills for the money machine.
And this of course, works very well for the psychos who print (or manufacture) and control the money. The makers and owners of the modern money machine.
Psychos and their money are God in this world.
And that is why this world is so dead, so filled with death and so terribly dark and afraid. Just behind the act. Just right there, beneath it or right around the corner. And it will get you.
ned
Bill O.; a disgusting pathetic excuse for news...absolutely a scumbag of the first order.
He is horribly rude to people on his show.
WHY people agree to be on his show is beyond me. If they even try to speak the truth, or present a different opinion this maggot screams them down.
I keep hoping someone on his show will get up and just smack the living **** out of him live on air..LOL
Would love to see that on a you tube someday.
Pravdaseeker
Making accountable using LEGAL means is controversial?, because Bill said so. Come on!. Give us a break!.
mindless, spineless, puppets that have sold their soul to the highest bidder. Give yourself a huge gift, take any television you own and have it meet the end of sledgehammer.
This broadcast demonstrates that commentator Bill O'Reilly ought to resign and get out of journalism NOW! We need to start publicly demanding his IMMEDIATE REMOVAL. It is now time that everyone start writing the show's staff, producers, management of the network, all of the different industry/trade associations, the advertisers, etc. and call for his IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OR HIS RESIGNATION!
How can any journalist anywhere in the world say that members of the public (never mind of course journalists in general) should not be allowed to legally record what they hear and see in public? Have they lost their minds? Why all of a sudden do these people (or for that matter any journalist) wish to limit in any way the freedoms of everyone -- never mind Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, the right to file complaints and/or grievances -- all guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment?
I personally am going to start forming a list of anyone I can think of to complain about all of this and to demand that O'REILLY be removed and banned as a journalist from any industry wide associations, groups, and most importantly banned as a journalist.
I wonder if he himself was involved in any kind of incident with any law enforcement official what he would say if members of the public, journalists, etc. "captured" the incident on video/audio proving that he was a victim what he would have to say!
Simply put any recording properly made (not altered) is proof positive of what took place in any given situation! Unless someone illegally enters a premises (committing burglary) why shouldn't anyone be able to record (audio/video) anything they hear (without the use of amplification, eavesdropping equipment, etc.).
Apparently all of these people have something really BIG TO HIDE or why else wouldn't they do something to encourage others to record and document public officials engaged in misconduct, questionable acts/omissions, or just in the performance of their "official duties"!