Is Sean Hannity a Blatant Racist?

[courtesy of Blog for America]

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.