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| Russell Brand slams Bill O’Reilly over Ferguson Protests |
British comedian Russell Brand took to his online series The Trews to criticize Bill O’Reilly of Fox News for insisting that protesters angry over the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson are not letting justice take its course.
On the latest episode of The Trews, Brand performed running commentary of a recent O’Reilly segment
where the Fox News host begins by saying the death of Brown, 18, at the hands of a police officer “is now being investigated by state and local authorities, but that hasn’t stopped rioting and looting in the area.”
where the Fox News host begins by saying the death of Brown, 18, at the hands of a police officer “is now being investigated by state and local authorities, but that hasn’t stopped rioting and looting in the area.”
“I like that immediate implication,” Brand said, mimicking police: “We’re investigating! You can stop rioting and looting!”
“The police shot and killed an unarmed teenager, what’s there’s to investigate?” Brand added, comparing the killing of Brown to the slaying of Trayvon Martin, both African American teens who have become emblems of “larger social unrest.”
“The situation speaks for itself. He was a teenager, he was unarmed, there just isn’t a need for further inquiry - the inquiry itself is going to be sufficient.”
In his own segment, O’Reilly and guest Dr. Ben Carson agreed that, “in this case,” they have complete confidence in US Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black.
Brand took the opportunity to mock O’Reilly: “In this case - but I wouldn’t normally trust a black attorney general, not with my car keys, I wouldn’t let him feed my fish. I don’t like black people! Sorry!”
“Your racism, Bill, it comes bubbling out all the time,” Brand added, before he cut back to O’Reilly, who condemned the looting in Ferguson that happened in the wake of the killing.
“It’s almost, Bill,” Brand then said, “as if you’re living in a really unequal, unfair society that hasn’t recovered from the massive wounds of slavery and the continued subjugation of the non-white population. Eventually, inevitably, there will be flare ups.”
“There’s going to be a lot more of this happening as society becomes more and more unequal,” Brand added, going on to cite the militarization of police forces in the US. “The question will become, ‘Should we have a more equal society?’ or ‘Should we bolster our means of oppressing people?’”
Later, guest Carson is shown saying, “we feel their pain, but what we have to remember is that police are individuals too, they have feelings, also.”
Brand responded saying the likes of Fox News does not give equal quarter to angered residents in Ferguson and elsewhere.
“I think it’s worth pointing out at this juncture that if an unarmed policeman was shot by a black teenager, I can’t imagine Fox News giving voice to someone to say, ‘You’ve got to remember, black teenagers are people too.’ They’d be all, ‘This is unacceptable! This is an indication of a society in decline!’”
Brand ended with an attempt to sum up the cognitive dissonance present within Fox News’ agenda.
“The ironic thing is that the values that Fox News purports, like unity, like America, ‘this is a great country’ — they’re constantly at odds with that, because they really believe in oppression and exploitation, and the minimization of the suffering of the people who need the most support.”
Source : RT.com
Source: Russell Brand