Sean Hannity is a white cultural supremacist. This is the only conclusion one can legitimately reach after watching the vitriol spew forth from him and his Fox News colleagues.
Nearly every time I turn it to Fox News in the evening, either Hannity or Bill O’Reilly are finding some way of turning Barack Obama into a black nationalist.
Day and night, they are linking him with black intellectuals and clerics while claiming that the loose affiliation he has with them proves that he hates his country. Essentially, Fox is suggesting that the only way for Obama to prove his patriotism is to renounce African-American culture.
It is true that a lot of the civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King himself, often spoke harshly about America’s history. But why shouldn’t he, and what is so inherently wrong with Barack Obama having a familiarity and bond with the black community? According to Fox News, Hannity, and O’Reilly, the only way a black person can be patriotic is by distancing him or herself from the mainstream of black culture and thought over the last century. In light of O’Reilly’s comments about his trip to Sylvia’s and Hannity’s relationship with known neo-Nazi Hal Turner, it’s no surprise that their litmus test for an African American president is basically a complete repudiation of black culture and intellectual history.
What is that but a veiled call for white supremacy? Admittedly, it’s likely not the color of the skin that Hannity and O’Reilly are worried about, it’s the color of the culture. I promise you that if any other black Democrat was in the running for the presidency, Fox and company would hit him with the same patriotism argument that is only remedied in their eyes by a rejection of black culture, history, and thought.
Ultimately, the point is this: in the eyes of Fox, O’Reilly, and Hannity, any multicultural individual is by definition a threat to America. They permit you to be Asian, African-American, or Hispanic, but you must completely distance yourself from the culture of your ancestors in order to be seen as patriotic. Any sign of being anything than 100% enmeshed in the dominant culture raises concerns.
I would recommend avoiding the Fox clowns at all costs, especially if you happen to have a golf club in your hand. And rest assured that the only people watching are elderly right wing nuts. And me, of course, when I’m feeling masochistic.