Is Sean Hannity a Blatant Racist?

Written by Guest Blogger: David Reiter on Apr 28, 2008 7:06 PM

I was listening to Sean Hannity on the way home form work today, who was working hard to link Reverend Wright to Senator Obama as one in the same. As usual, he played many selected sound bites, and tried to elicit as much negative reaction from the audience as possible. I would imagine that his core audience responds as desired, or he would not continue to repeat the strategy and linkage as much as possible.

What struck me most about what I heard today was Hannity's attempt to incite racial hatred. The underlying tone was not as much about the linkage to Obama as much as it was to divide blacks and whites. Whether this was his strategy, or a glimpse into his own fears and hatreds--I don't know.

I was trying to figure out if he was a moron, or just thinks his audience are morons, and I believe it was the latter. It was the way he paused after saying an inciting remark, no matter how ridiculous it was. I concluded 2 things: 1) Sean hannity is racist, and 2) he believes that his core audience is just as racist as he is. It was amazing to me how many times he could play a snippet of material from Reverend Wright, and link it to how somehow the black community are not Americans.

It was astonishing to see how many times he would repeat the general mantra of 'guilt by association.' The very things our Constitution guarantees in the Bill of Rights, he proclaims as unpatriotic: Freedom of expression, and no guilt by association. To totally elide over the fact that there is a general context and perspective to what the Reverend is saying, and sum up his comments as 'unpatriotic' shows just how out of touch he is. When Reverend Wright correctly points out that we sold Iraq chemical weapons that were used against his own people, Hannity proclaims it as an unpatriotic statement. When the Reverend points out the specific reasons why global public opinion of America has deteriorated over the last decade, Hannity almost calls it treason. When the Reverend points out the slavery and oppression he and his grandfathers experienced in this country, Hannity calls him ungrateful--as if the Reverend doesn't have the right to voice his opinion about the struggles he endured and witnessed in his lifetime.

Finally, Hannity attempts to link all of Reverend Wright's opinions to Obama's, as if they were one in the same. "If you are wondering where Barrack Obama stands on the issue," Hannity squeals, "just listen to Reverend Wright." As if people parrot whatever their religious leaders think and say...as if people don't have a mind of their own...as if political leaders don't associate with a wide array of personalities and opinions by the very nature of their representation of all people...they are one in the same. I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life.

If Hannity's listeners do not think for themselves...if they do not know anyone that thinks differently than themselves, or if they do and say exactly what their religious leaders say---shame on them all. But I do not think his listeners are as stupid as Hannity thinks they are. Political leaders like Barrack Obama must and do associate themselves with all sorts of people because they represent all sorts of people. They represent the person convicted of murder and suggest punitive guidelines, just as much as they represent the business leader and suggest government incentives to help grow their business--they represent the individual trying to get by on minimum wage just as much as they represent the wealthy investor looking for tax loopholes--they represent Christian leaders, Muslim leaders, Jewish leaders, Mormon leaders, or any other religious leaders....and are therefore associated with them all. Did anyone confront the GOP Mormon Presidential candidate about his beliefs, and how 'un-American' they were? After all, they were his beliefs and not that of his religious leader, right? Am I missing something here?

So why does anyone care about Obama's association with one associate out of thousands that he has? Because he was his own pastor? How many people reading this follow and believe 100% of what your pastor tells you? Don't many of us like our religious leaders for the passion more so than the content of their sermons? Isn't passion more closely related to faith than opinions?

Once we get through the soundbites, and many more like Hannity blatantly espouse their brand of ditortions of truth, hatred and racism, perhaps people will begin to open their eyes to what the Republican Party stands for and whom in the media is their mouthpiece. Thanks for showing us your true colors Sean Hannity--in your lingo, your true color is: 'a Red'...or is it 'Pink-o'?