Shirley Sherrod

[Matorbogl]

Source: Salon, Full Article Here

If you don't already know about this, here is a bullet point version of events:

1. A video of a woman working for the USDA named Shirley Sherrod appears on Andrew Breitbart's website, he claims the video was sent to him.
2. The video itself shows Mrs.Sherrod talking about how she didn't help white farmers, and was cross about having to help them.
3. Fox News picks up the story before anyone else and then proceeded to demand that Mrs. Sherrod either resign or be fired.
4. Mrs. Sherrod is ordered to tender her resignation with a great deal of pressure from the White House. She is harshly criticized by both the NAACP and Tom Vilsack of the Department of Agriculture.
5. It revealed not long after, that the video in question was highly edited, and a full tape of the event surfaces.
6. In the unedited tape Mrs.Sherrod explains that she ended up helping those white farmers because she realized that it isn't about race, it's about helping those who have nothing. That became her mission after that moment, to help the poor, not exclusively blacks.
7. The Obama administration is backpedaling as fast as they can, claiming that they had no direct influence in her resignation.
8. Mrs. Sherrod has not been asked to come back, nor has anyone except the NAACP apologized to her.

FYI: The story she was talking about took place in the mid-1980's. The white farmers in question have since come to her defense.

My very simple timeline doesn't do the entire scandal justice, but the whole thing is just repulsive. I'm so happy to see that I helped elect an administration that throws it's own supporters under the bus just to save face with the likes of Fox News and scum like Andrew Breitbart.

 

[No Limit]

They did this with Van Jones, ACORN, and I knew it would happen again. What a bunch of pussies (the Obama admin I mean).

Doesn't excuse Fox News and the total joke that they are for peddling this bullshit but once again Obama bows down to any kind of pressure.

 

[Matorbogl]

They did this with Van Jones, ACORN, and I knew it would happen again. What a bunch of pussies (the Obama admin I mean).

Doesn't excuse Fox News and the total joke that they are for peddling this bullshit but once again Obama bows down to any kind of pressure.

Rachel Maddow put it perfectly, she said essentially that the whole Fox News, manufactured controversy is nothing new, or unusual, but what is unusual and what is insane is that democrats and the Obama admin continue to fall for it.

Why would anyone want to be a democrat when the democratic party seems perfectly willing to throw you under the bus just to, maybe, win over a couple of moderate conservatives.

Disillusionment to the max.

 

[No Limit]

Yeah, saw that on Maddow last night. Great segment.

 

[Sparta]

Yeah, Breitbart is becoming known for being completely and totally full of shit. It's a shame it's cost several good, honest human beings their jobs (including a few who were labeled as pimps for a child-smuggling ring) for everyone to realise this.

 

[No Limit]

I totally agree with this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPcnQvEAC4M

Was that Mel Gibson on the voicemail?

This is the longer version of the show where they break down how absolutely disgusting fox news is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvm607OoXBU

 

[Ridge]

It was wrong that her statements were edited and taken out of context, but I am still not pleased with the situation.

Had a white man said he took a black farmer to "One of his kind," he wouldve been fired on the spot and blacklisted by every company in the country...

 

[Eejit]

That's lame. Almost as lame as linking the young goddamn turks christ they do my head in.

 

[No Limit]

That's lame. Almost as lame as linking the young goddamn turks christ they do my head in.

Blasphemy!

Yeah, Ridge, when your dad is killed by the KKK get back to us about racial equality.

 

[Ridge]

Yeah, and when you get passed over for a government job due to affirmative action, get back to me.

Though, unlike your example, this has personally happened to me.

 

[No Limit]

lol, yeah. I totally believe you. All those employers hiring black people over white people.

And you are absolutely right, being passed over for a job for some reason is the exact equivalent to having your father killed by the KKK then having a cross burned in your front yard after the fact. And then after having that happen realizing that being racist against white people is the wrong thing to do.

 

[Ridge]

The last time anything like that happened and was reported was at least 40 years ago...if they want to put racism behind us, maybe they should stop bringing it up?

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the primary causes of strained race relations in this country. They'll pull out the race card for anything they feel is an injustice.

 

[No Limit]

Who gives a shit how long ago it was, they killed her dad because he was black. And she gets up in front of the NAACP and tells this story to black people to put an emphasis on how important it is to get over the past. And your racist ass is over here saying she is the one that is in fact racist because she has the nerve to tell this story (how dare she!).

Then you go on to the idiotic claim that black people are coming after your jobs. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. This women has been through hell because of actual racism, and you are over here acting like you are the victim and she needs to shut her pie hole. Looks like Fox News succeeded (I know, I know, you don't watch fox news, amirite?).

 

[Sparta]

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the primary causes of strained race relations in this country. They'll pull out the race card for anything they feel is an injustice.

Oh bollocks to that, there's no way you can be serious that the primary causes of strained race relations is two outspoken activists, when there is an entire news network drumming up this shit 24/7 on Fox News.

That's also forgetting the fact that conservative talk radio exists and is ****ing huge in the U.S.

 

[Ridge]

Oh bollocks to that, there's no way you can be serious that the primary causes of strained race relations is two outspoken activists, when there is an entire news network drumming up this shit 24/7 on Fox News.

Granted I don't watch Fox all that often, since all the hosts are douchebags of various degrees, besides calling this particular woman a racist, what other examples you got?

That's also forgetting the fact that conservative talk radio exists and is ****ing huge in the U.S.

Fair enough. I had forgotten that. I dont listen to talk radio. As far as I'm concerned, my radio is there for traffic and weather reports, and music.

I'm on the hiiiiiiiighway to hell! Hiiiiiiighway to hell! On the hiiiiiighway to hell!...

 

[lord_raken]

Rachel Maddow put it perfectly, she said essentially that the whole Fox News, manufactured controversy is nothing new, or unusual, but what is unusual and what is insane is that democrats and the Obama admin continue to fall for it.

Why would anyone want to be a democrat when the democratic party seems perfectly willing to throw you under the bus just to, maybe, win over a couple of moderate conservatives.

Disillusionment to the max.

Was if Fox news that edited the tape, or was it edited before showing up on the website?

The white house was not taken in by Fox's portrayal. They made a stupid, politically correct, and knee-jerk reaction like everyone else. Democrats are politicians too and are capable off all horrible acts that the title entails.

Its so sad that someone would try to ruin this woman's life, and that the mass media helped them to do it. This is one of the many reasons why I don't trust the media or politicians (of any party). The former will do anything to sell a story and the latter will crucify anyone to strengthen their political standing... even one of their own.

 

[Ridge]

Was if Fox news that edited the tape, or was it edited before showing up on the website?

The white house was not taken in by Fox's portrayal. They made a stupid, politically correct, and knee-jerk reaction like everyone else. Democrats are politicians too and are capable off all horrible acts that the title entails.

Its so sad that someone would try to ruin this woman's life, and that the mass media helped them to do it. This is one of the many reasons why I don't trust the media or politicians (of any party). The former will do anything to sell a story and the latter will crucify anyone to strengthen their political standing... even one of their own.

Word is Breitbart edited the video and Fox picked it up in that format.

 

[No Limit]

Was if Fox news that edited the tape, or was it edited before showing up on the website?

The white house was not taken in by Fox's portrayal. They made a stupid, politically correct, and knee-jerk reaction like everyone else. Democrats are politicians too and are capable off all horrible acts that the title entails.

Its so sad that someone would try to ruin this woman's life, and that the mass media helped them to do it. This is one of the many reasons why I don't trust the media or politicians (of any party). The former will do anything to sell a story and the latter will crucify anyone to strengthen their political standing... even one of their own.

The way news works in this country is just because something goes up on a blog doesn't mean most people will hear about it. It takes a large national news agency to spread the news across the country. Since Fox "News" decided to be that agency it was up to them to verify that this wasn't edited. All they had to do was pick up the phone and make a few phone calls to verify the information, they chose not to. With their millions of daily viewers other news organizations picked it up assuming it was legitimate since it came from a national news organization (not that it excuses other media outlets that spread this crap). But I think you already knew that.

Rdige, you really need more examples of Fox news being racist? These are just off the top of my head: Glenn Beck calling Obama racist, bringing down ACORN on highly editted highly fictional tapes, Van Jones, Bill O'Reilly not being able to believe that black people can be classy when serving him iced tea, them making a huge issue out of 2 black idiots standing in polling places in 2008 then blaming Obama for dropping charges against them when it was in fact Bush that did so. Again, just off the top of my head.

 

[Ridge]

Rdige, you really need more examples of Fox news being racist? These are just off the top of my head: Glenn Beck calling Obama racist, bringing down ACORN on highly editted highly fictional tapes, Van Jones, Bill O'Reilly not being able to believe that black people can be classy when serving him iced tea, them making a huge issue out of 2 black idiots standing in polling places in 2008 then blaming Obama for dropping charges against them when it was in fact Bush that did so. Again, just off the top of my head.

Yes, please do.

And those two idiots at the polling place had a night stick, and were intimidating voters, a federal offense. And the charges were told to be dropped just a few months ago. It's time you guys stop blaming Bush for every injustice.

 

[No Limit]

Yes, please do.

Umm, I just did.

And those two idiots at the polling place had a night stick, and were intimidating voters, a federal offense. And the charges were told to be dropped just a few months ago. It's time you guys stop blaming Bush for every injustice.

Wow, night sticks, how scary. They didn't say anything to any of the voters there. When I said the charges were dropped I should have been more specific, the Bush administration decided not to go after them on criminal charges. They filed civil charges against them which the Obama administration continued to persude and got a default judgement on. The other 2 people couldn't be charged with anything because they didn't break any laws. There was no national news story here. Yet Fox News made it a national story and then lied about the facts in an attempt to get white people to feel like victims again. This is what Fox News does time and time again, black people are the racist people, not the whites. The same bullshit card you tried to play in this thread against a women that has been through hell because of actual racism.

So I just gave you a bunch of cases where Fox News was racist. If you can't deny any of these I don't see how you could deny that Fox News is a kind of a racist organization.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I swear to god 'black racism' is just like 'political correctness': neither is a phenomenon that I'm willing to entirely deny, but it does seem that every report of their appearance turns out, when investigated, to be false. At the very least they are exaggerations made possible by exactly the conditions they seek to obscure; black-on-white racism may be pervasive but its exponents are rarely in a position to oppress anyone. These are attempts to isolate the problems faced by disenfranchised groups and redefine their source as the groups themselves - blaming the ****ed for the ****ing.

 

[Ridge]

While I agree with your statement, Sulkdodds, I am offended by your use of the word **** :cheese: