ISBL Asshat of the Week: Bill O'Reilly

I’m sure you all remember First Lady Michelle Obama’s gorgeous speech at the Democratic National Convention last week; if you don’t, you can catch Melania [t]Rump’s version that she’ll be giving at the grand opening of the [t]Rump 7/11 in Weehawken, New Jersey next month.

But I digress …

One of the most beautiful, and poignant, things Mrs. Obama said was:

"I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.”

And that’s a fact. And it infuriated a lot of people because, well, as a person on Facebook wrote, she was tired of the Obama’s playing the ‘race’ card. See, racists say Black people are playing the race card whenever they mention that they are Black because, yeah, racists are also stupid.

What I heard was a testimony to the progress that this country has made — and is still trying to make — toward equality, when a Black woman can live in a house, a government home, a public house, built by slaves.

It’s progress and it’s worth nothing. Unless you’re FoxNews wingnut Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly considers himself somewhat of an historian because he’s “written” some historical novels; that’s like me considering myself a chef because I opened a can of soup.

Again … digress.

After Michelle Obama’s speech, O’Reilly felt he needed to fact-0check the First Lady:

"Slaves that worked there were well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802. However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well. In addition, free blacks, whites, and immigrants also worked on the massive building. There were no illegal immigrants at that time. If you could make it here, you could stay here.”

Well, let’s be clear, Bill, back in those days you did not ‘hire’ slave labor; it was forced upon them and it was the slave owners who received payment for the work of those slaves  And I don’t think a cot and a warm bowl of some kinda mush makes up for being kidnapped from your family, stolen, in effect, chained to other kidnap victims in the hold of a cargo ship and sailed clear across the ocean to be sold into slavery to white people.

Okay?

And I can guarantee that the slaves who worked on the White House were treated far differently than the freed Black men, the whites and the immigrants, who were paid for their services and probably allowed to return to their homes at the end of the day.

But then O’Reilly really showed his stupidly when he ended his lunacy with:

“I just can't get rid of that history teacher thing. You know what I'm talking about?”

Cue Abigail Adams …. You see, Michelle Obama’s predecessor as first lady, Abigail Adams was living in the White House at the time slaves were building it, and she recorded her observations:

“The effects of Slavery are visible everywhere; and I have amused myself from day to day in looking at the labour of 12 negroes from my window, who are employd [sic] with four small Horse Carts to remove some dirt in front of the house. Two of our hardy N England men would do as much work in a day as the whole 12, but it is true Republicanism that drive the Slaves half fed, and destitute of cloathing [sic], ... to labour.”

Huh, so someone who was actually there noted that slaves — again … slaves — were half-fed and barely clothed.

Bill O’Reilly, you are no historian, because no historian would attempt to portray slavery as, while not a good thing, not so much of a bad thing.

Please, take a seat, sir, and close your mouth.

You are The ISBL Asshat of the Week.

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