Jon Stewart, the
host of the popular satirical news talk-show "The Daily Show", invited Bill O'Reilly (author and host of the
"The O'Reilly Factor") onto his show for something like the fifth
time on October 15th. They have had several long held debates and Stewart has
appeared on O'Reilly's show several times as well. This time, things went a
little differently.
Jon Stewart completely
dismissed O'Reilly's new book: “Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious
General.” Stewart
lifted the book, showed it to his audience and said, “The book is called Bill
O’Reilly, ‘Killing Patton,’ it’s like what? the eighth? We’re just going to
call this series ‘Killing Trees,’ they sell like crazy.” He then dropped the
book onto his desk and told O’Reilly that he hadn't read it.
Jon proceeded
to demand that O'Reilly acknowledge the existence of what he calls 'White Privilege.'
Besides the fact that I do like "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart, I
happen to agree with him on his points. So-called White Privilege is a problem
in this country and there is currently a lot of turmoil over the subject.
When Stewart insisted that white privilege is still a problem in
modern American society, O’Reilly countered: “Maybe you haven’t figured out
that there is no more slavery and there is no more Jim Crow. The most powerful
man in the world is a black American and the most powerful woman in the world,
Oprah Winfrey, is black.”
Jon Stewart then says, "Slavery and Jim Crow are dead, but
the residual effects of that systemic subjugation exist today." African American are forced into ghettos and 'hoods' where they do not grow up with traditional American values. They receive far poorer education and have a much higher chance of incarceration later in life. Many won't get into secondary education, limiting the job market for themselves. Working minimum wage means they won't have the money to move out of the ghetto and the vicious cycle is repeated. Out of the many born in the hoods, the majority will be forced to stay. 'White Privilege' on the other hand is the opposite. Born into middle-class houses with quality education readily available means much higher chances of being 'successful' in life.
I am aware the whole segment is long, but I believe it is more than worth while:
I am aware the whole segment is long, but I believe it is more than worth while:
You should title this "Jon Stewart Ambushes Bill O'Reilly". Things like this ambush make me think that Jon Stewart is just pandering to his audience who just want an easy laugh by making fun of Bill O'Reilly so freely. This ambush to me just seems cheap; to invite someone to your show for a book promotion and ambush them is pretty underhanded, even if you are doing it satirically.
ReplyDeleteDavid's take on this is interesting -- but he probably is not aware of the long-standing "feud" between O'Reilly and Stewart. My take is that both men benefit greatly from this "ambush" type of exchange (with their respective audiences).
ReplyDeleteAdam, I wish you would have analyzed this clip as opposed to simply summarize. If it is long, isn't it your responsibility to quote and explain for the benefit of your audience?
And PLEASE take off the "word verification" for comments. It really encourages more to participate, including yours, truly.
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