Are you really trying to pass of news for "Air America" as a legit source of anything but liberal propaganda?

Hmm... No complaints about John Edwards "racist quote"?



“We cannot build enough prisons to solve this problem. And the idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating — pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They’re all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two," John Edwards said during the MTV/MySpace Presidential Dialogue.

Nice to know that there is selective outrage over what's racist and what's not... depending on who it comes from, of course.

I get what he means, though because right wing nutcases that think that African Americans are evil are gonna keep on blaming young black kids, and either killing them, or arresting them on bulls**t charges.

Nice to know where you stand.

Yes, but this is about John Gibson, not John Edwards. Not sure what made you think it was about every racist comment ever made.

Well, I'm wondering why there's all this outrage over one comment... and not another.

Seems like selective outrage to me... and that shows that it's not actual outrage over the topic, it's outrage over the person presenting the topic. In other words... this isn't about racism... it's about attacking John Gibson... racism is just an excuse to use to attack him. The proof is that if they were so concern about racism, they would have also condemned John Edwards’ words... which they did not. Therefore the racism angle is just a farce, manipulated by people who would rather attack John Gibson, FOX News, and anyone else who doesn't expressly agree with their particular point of view.

I have read this like 5 times, and have no idea what you are trying to say.

How do you know that they never brought Edwards' statement up in an earlier or later show?

It's pretty simple. Right-wing a-holes will keep blaming young black males for anything they can, and will either have them arrested, or worse. That's what John Edwards was trying to say: That there is too much racial profiling against African Americans, and it needs to stop. Not that hard to comprehend.

If a young black male commits a crime he is responsible for that crime. Don't blame it on "black culture". If a young white male commits a crime, he is also responsible for the crime. We have a problem in this country (and maybe elsewhere) about trying to push the blame on culture or circumstance. A crime is a crime and you have to take personal responsibility for your actions no matter who you are.

In this day and age I think we are using the word "racist" more and more without knowing what it really means. Just because I have had some negative feelings towards a particular group of people does that make me a racist? I don't think so. I don't like what some white people do and I am a white person. Does that make me racist to my own race?

I know exactly what you mean.I'm Puerto Rican, and I'm ashamed sometimes at the stupidity of some latinos. It makes me sick. I also agree with your point on crime. It shouldn't make a difference who did the crime, the fact that the crime was committed is enough.

I hate that people have an issue with music, in this case, "hip-hop." Back in the day, everyone blamed rock and roll for deviant behavior. Now, it's rap and hip-hop. It's just stupid to blame criminial activity on a particular style of music. Do you mean to tell me that a rap song makes a person kill someone? I don't think so.

Okay, the first thing I must do is appologise. I did not listen or watch the full clip until now. After watching the clip, I must admit is was racist. Unfortunatly, however, the racism comes from the host of the program… not Gibson.

Let’s take look at what he does:

The first point that this guy objects to is Gibson saying that the first images from the school were all of black kids. He stops the tape, and starts ranting about how bad it was that Gibson said he saw black faces, at a school that was 85% black. (We’ll touch on this point in a minute) He immediately stops tape, right after he says that all he saw were black faces. This apparently means that Gibson thought they (I guess the black students, although that doesn’t really make much sense) were guilty… although guilty of what, I don’t know. He was suggesting they were guilty how? That is a conclusion the host makes on his own.

He then goes on to blame white people for every school shooting and bit of gun violence that has happened in this country. He says it’s clearly a white problem that nobody talks about. He even brings up references to Columbine. However, as I’m sure we all remember (sans this guy) the culture of the kids involved in the shoot WAS brought up in the wake of Columbine! The music, the influences, AND the culture were all discussed, in depth, time and time again. Apparently this guy, however thought that those kids got a “pass” because they were white.

He then talks about how blaming the “hip-hop culture” is foolish… but never talks about (or plays a clip from Gibson) talking about what the “hip-hop culture” is and why it should and could be blamed. Instead, he falls back on the “racist right-wing lunatic” line. The hip-hop culture, of course, refers to the numerous songs about murder, killing all kinds of people, guns, and violence portrayed in many hip-hop/rap songs. It also refers to the actions of many hip-hop stars… How many shootings have happened outside of “HOT 97” in NYC? Enough for the “Rap News Network” to use the headline “Hip-Hop News: Another Shooting Outside Hip Hop Radio Station Hot 97” (http://www.rapnews.net/0-202-261327-00.html). Additionally, have we forgotten about the “Stop Snitchin’” campaign promoted by some in the hip-hop industry? “Stop Snitchin' Rapper Cam'ron: Snitching Hurts His Business, "Code Of Ethics" (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/60minutes/main2704565.shtml)

So Gibson’s point about referring to the culture that could have helped create this situation, is justified. Just as had he made the point (which we don’t know if he did, because this guy just takes a sentence or two, stops it, and never plays the rest so we don’t know what Gibson ACTUALLY said… just what this guy WANTS us to hear) that Goth or death metal culture could had an influence in a different situation.

The guy then tries to say that Gibson suggested that blacks started the gun culture. Of course, Gibson never actually said this… the guy just made it up to make Gibson sound like a racist. He’s putting words in his mouth, manipulating the facts, and trying to trick the audience (which apparently he is somewhat succeeding in) into thinking things that aren’t actually true.

But this is my favorite part… near the end, this guy’s producer (I believe) says that he thinks Gibson’s comment at the beginning of the clip where says the first images he saw were “black faces” (remember, that first clip that started him ranting and raving) were because the school was 85% black… and logically, if you were going to pick someone out at random, wouldn’t you assume with such a big margin, the student would be black? If you had a bag of 10 jelly beans, 8 red ones, 2 blue ones, and you picked out a jelly bean at random… which color would you expect to get?!

This is such a “duh” point, that even the host admits it makes sense… then saying that he “Never had a problem with Gibson’s assumption.” Well, if you didn’t have a problem with it… why did you stop the tape, start a whole rant, and talk about that clip in the first place?! Easy… he was ready to us that to his advantage, to manipulate it and make it sound like something it wasn’t… up until he got called out on it by his producer!

Look, the guys is using the standard Air America/Blue Blog tactic of taking little bits and pieces out of context, to try to fool the audience into thinking whatever it is they want them to think. It’s just a shame that even people here on Plime are fooled so easily.

I didn't click this to hear about john Kerry, you are more then welcome to make a post about his comments if you want.
I'm so glad I live in a country where stuff like this is some kind of surreal joke.
And I really wish this guy would shutup so I could actually listen to what was said without him beaking off every two seconds

Easy... the show is from Air America... they're a liberal interest group. They don't talk about things that don't fit their particular point of view... unless they can use it to attack the other side. Just like far-right groups wouldn't talk about certain things that make them look bad... Air America isn't touching things that make them (or their candidates) look bad.

No, it isn't enough. Shouldn’t we attempt to understand WHY it happened? Isn't that the only way we'll ever figure out how to prevent it from happening again?

There are a lot of stupid people out there... and to blame one particular race for someone, is wrong. However, to examine what took place in a person's life that influenced their actions, is the only way we'll learn something. If we can find a patter... a similarity between them... perhaps then we can do something about it.

You can find out why someone did what they did but that doesn't mean the person gets off because of it. Lets say that, purely hypothetical, a person goes on a killing spree that might, in some remote way resemble a video game. If you are Jack Thompson you immediately blame the video game and try to remove it from sale. We can't take the blame off the criminal for a criminal act. There may be things that influence an act but in the end it is a person choosing to break the law. That choice makes the person a criminal, not the "mitigating" circumstances.

Uh, maybe you should listen to this again.

Oh no, totally agree. In the end, it all comes down to free will... and if someone's done something, they are responsible. However, if we can figure out the influencing elements... maybe we can prevent them in the future. But they are not an excuse to get away with whatever.

Are you kidding me? All he talked about was how the hip hop culture was ruining America and spreading violence. He even went so far as to say that "hip hoppers" don't commit suicide when they kill people, they walk away so they can kill again. I think you need to actually listen to the clip, and I mean really listen this time.

Whoops, you are right... and I'm big enough to admit that I missed that when I listened to it. Probably was opening a Word doc so I could take notes on the rest, and it slipped.

My mistake. I'm going to edit that part out of what I originally wrote, because... we'll it is inaccurate. Don't want that mistake getting in the way of the other stuff... which is still accurate.

My bad... good catch. My apologies all around.

Yes, he did. But he didn't stay that part until later on. And what is the evidence for that statement. Drive by shootings, people getting gunned down in the street, gang killings, etc. Versus something like Columbine, where the kids eventually shot themselves.

Listen to the lyrics (really listen) of the popular hip hop songs out there... how many say "I'm going to kill you, and then kill myself." It's not he MO of someone who has taken hip hop lyrics too seriously.