Fox News' Jesse Watters Is Sorry...If You Were Upset By His Amazing Racism
by David Colon in News on Oct 6, 2016 10:30 am
Sorry if you don't see the sophisticated political humor in asking non-English speakers to weigh in on our politics, you liberal crybabies.
"I know we're gonna get letters," Bill O'Reilly said dismissively about his show's visit to Chinatown, in which he proved that there's still an appetite somewhere in Fox Nation for gross Asian stereotypes. Bill-O probably figured he'd get one or two complaints, not an avalanche of bad press that put so much heat on rancid yogurt carton Jesse Watters that Watters had to tweet out a standard non-apology apology to anyone who was offended by what he said was supposed to just be a big goof.
You know, that classic political humor of asking people who don't speak your language to answer complicated political questions and then laughing when they don't understand. This was so funny that Watters did it twice, but he's sorry if you found offense in this. He was just having fun out there.
Beyond bloggers, friends of bloggers and really just anyone with good taste, elected officials "found offense" in Watters' segment. Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz tweeted that Watters should be ashamed of himself:
Mayor de Blasio and San Francisco mayor Ed Lee put their bet about disgusting crimes against bagels aside and both condemned the segment's stereotyping:
And a number other local New York City officials condemned Watters. Council Member Margaret Chin blasted O'Reilly and Watters in a statement that called the segment "particularly mean-spirited":
“Bill O’Reilly sent his correspondent into our neighborhood without knowing or acknowledging the culture, the language or even the difference between Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans. As the daughter of an elderly Chinese American who still lives in Chinatown, the moment when his correspondent mocked a senior citizen who seemingly did not know English stood out as a particularly mean-spirited act of disrespect. Would Bill O’Reilly or his correspondent treat an elderly Irish grandmother in the same manner?"
State Senator Daniel Squadron told Watters to never return to Chinatown:
“Under the guise of asking residents of Manhattan’s Chinatown their thoughts on Donald Trump, O'Reilly Factor correspondent Jesse Watters brought the kind of disrespect to my constituents that has been all too common this election cycle: stereotyping, mockery and a thinly veiled disdain for immigrants.
Unfortunately, one of the real costs of Trump’s divisiveness is the climate of racism and disrespect it’s made commonplace in our national discourse. That’s unacceptable in Chinatown, unacceptable in New York, and must be unacceptable on Fox News.
And to Jesse Watters: welcome to my district -- hope you don't come back.”
Assemblymember Ron Kim, Congresswoman Grace Meng, and members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus of New York have all promised to be at News Corp HQ on 6th Avenue this afternoon for a press conference during which they'll be demanding Fox News Channel management take action against whoever greenlit the segment.
Whether getting lit up by the entire internet changes Watters's or O'Reilly's outlook on things is yet to be seen. Ah who am I kidding? The O'Reilly Factor is two years away, at most, from a segment where a phrenologist explains why the skull shape of non-Europeans makes them more susceptible to criminal behavior. Good luck not getting punched at your next fancy media gathering, Jesse!
by David Colon in News on Oct 6, 2016 10:30 am
Sorry if you don't see the sophisticated political humor in asking non-English speakers to weigh in on our politics, you liberal crybabies.
"I know we're gonna get letters," Bill O'Reilly said dismissively about his show's visit to Chinatown, in which he proved that there's still an appetite somewhere in Fox Nation for gross Asian stereotypes. Bill-O probably figured he'd get one or two complaints, not an avalanche of bad press that put so much heat on rancid yogurt carton Jesse Watters that Watters had to tweet out a standard non-apology apology to anyone who was offended by what he said was supposed to just be a big goof.
You know, that classic political humor of asking people who don't speak your language to answer complicated political questions and then laughing when they don't understand. This was so funny that Watters did it twice, but he's sorry if you found offense in this. He was just having fun out there.
Beyond bloggers, friends of bloggers and really just anyone with good taste, elected officials "found offense" in Watters' segment. Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz tweeted that Watters should be ashamed of himself:
Mayor de Blasio and San Francisco mayor Ed Lee put their bet about disgusting crimes against bagels aside and both condemned the segment's stereotyping:
And a number other local New York City officials condemned Watters. Council Member Margaret Chin blasted O'Reilly and Watters in a statement that called the segment "particularly mean-spirited":
“Bill O’Reilly sent his correspondent into our neighborhood without knowing or acknowledging the culture, the language or even the difference between Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans. As the daughter of an elderly Chinese American who still lives in Chinatown, the moment when his correspondent mocked a senior citizen who seemingly did not know English stood out as a particularly mean-spirited act of disrespect. Would Bill O’Reilly or his correspondent treat an elderly Irish grandmother in the same manner?"
State Senator Daniel Squadron told Watters to never return to Chinatown:
“Under the guise of asking residents of Manhattan’s Chinatown their thoughts on Donald Trump, O'Reilly Factor correspondent Jesse Watters brought the kind of disrespect to my constituents that has been all too common this election cycle: stereotyping, mockery and a thinly veiled disdain for immigrants.
Unfortunately, one of the real costs of Trump’s divisiveness is the climate of racism and disrespect it’s made commonplace in our national discourse. That’s unacceptable in Chinatown, unacceptable in New York, and must be unacceptable on Fox News.
And to Jesse Watters: welcome to my district -- hope you don't come back.”
Assemblymember Ron Kim, Congresswoman Grace Meng, and members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus of New York have all promised to be at News Corp HQ on 6th Avenue this afternoon for a press conference during which they'll be demanding Fox News Channel management take action against whoever greenlit the segment.
Whether getting lit up by the entire internet changes Watters's or O'Reilly's outlook on things is yet to be seen. Ah who am I kidding? The O'Reilly Factor is two years away, at most, from a segment where a phrenologist explains why the skull shape of non-Europeans makes them more susceptible to criminal behavior. Good luck not getting punched at your next fancy media gathering, Jesse!
