O'Reilly and the Sylvia's Surprise

Over the past week a simmering bruhaha has been bubbling over comments made by Billy O'Reilly regarding the Harlem restaurant Sylvia's which he visited with Al Sharpton.

I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship... There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more iced tea."

Now, there's cluesless and then there's Fucking Clueless. Hey, look Black people eat with knives and forks, just like White People - and they chew with mouth's closed. Wow - Black People have manners and shit, just like White people. Motherfuck! Who knew?

This entire thing is getting play all over the place, Joe Scarborough has tried - with great difficulty - to talk about on his show Morning Joe.

BRZEZINSKI: Oh, my God.

SCARBOROUGH: He could not --

BRZEZINSKI: Wow.

SCARBOROUGH: -- get over the fact that -- his words -- he could not get over the fact that there was no difference between that black restaurant and any other restaurant despite the fact -- his words -- despite the fact it was run by black people --

BREZEZINSKI: Hmm.

SCARBOROUGH: -- and the primary patrons --

BREZEZINSKI: That's attractive.

SCARBOROUGH: -- were black people.

GEIST: Sounds like Bill doesn't get up to Harlem a whole lot.

SCARBOROUGH: I don't think he does.

BRZEZINSKI: It sounds like a lot of things are going on there, that I, I, I --

GEIST: Also using the term 'blacks." I don't think anybody's said that since like 1973.

SCARBOROUGH: Well, that, you know, it's just -- it's very surprising that, that Bill O'Reilly would be stunned that you could go to a restaurant that is run by African Americans, and that it would be, his words again, "I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between a black restaurant and a white restaurant."

GEIST: What, what was he expecting? You walk in, and they throw the food in the middle of the room and everybody just -- it's a free for all. What did he think was going to happen?

SCARBOROUGH: I don't know, he also was surprised that they were quote "tremendously respectful."

BRZEZINSKI: Oh great, here we go.

GEIST: Wow

BRZEZINSKI: I believe, whatever, it seems a little bit --

SCARBOROUGH: That's just strange. That's all I'm gonna say. Listen, O'Reilly is the king of cable, he's been number one for six years. That is fascinating, by the way, and I'm sure we're going to be hearing more about that throughout the day.

Needless to say the people that actually work and eat at Sylvio's were less than amused - and what's even worse they said so on The Today Show.

On NBC’s Today Show this morning, patrons of the famous Harlem restaurant Sylvia’s expressed their shock over recent comments by Fox News’ host Bill O’Reilly, who said on his radio show that he was surprised that the service at Sylvia’s was like that of “any other restaurant…even though it’s run by blacks.” “It wasn’t appropriate,” said one patron. “Does he expect anything different from black folk than from white folk?,” asked another. Watch it:

Responding to Bill O’Reilly’s complaint that he’s been taken out of context, Media Matters’ Paul Waldman said, “[I]f Bill O’Reilly got caught robbing a bank he would say he was taken out of context.

Though some have said this is a "Imus Level" event, I would argue that it's not nearly that serious. He didn't call the patrons of Sylvio's "Nappy Headed Ho's", but what he did do was damn them with the soft bigotry of low-expectations. It's the same as when Joe Biden called Barrack Obama "Clean and Articulate", neither he nor O'Reilly seem to realize how powerful the stereotype and expectation of black people being dirty, stupid and unruly actually is. It's something that's been cultivated for the past 500 years in this society as an after-the-fact justifiction for their economic exploitation first via Slavery, then via Open Jim Crow and now through the ongoing legacy of closet bigotry.

O'Reilly just accidently gave us a peak into his closet, and even though what he said was less directly insulting than Imus - it was far more revealing. And what it shows isn't at all pretty.

Vyan