Dr. Boyce Watkins Response to Bill O'Reilly's Attacks and Tirades Against Him and Syracuse University
Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.com
www.YourBlackWorld.com
Yes, I was on The O'Reilly Factor last night. Yes, he did the whole "That black man is crazy" routine. Yes, my inbox was full of email from people who are dumb enough to pay attention to anything this ridiculous psuedo-journalist has to say. Here is my standard response. I felt the need to protect the poor chancellor, for I hated seeing her getting chased around by the cameras. She is a good woman, and she didn't ask to have Boyce Watkins on her campus. Curing the disease of racism is a nasty, scary process, and not everyone is ready for the backlash from a country that remains ignorant and in denial.
O'reilly and others are nothing new to America. For the past 400 years, there have been those who fight against racism and those who work to oppress those individuals. Terms like "reverse racist" or "black racist" are designed to alleviate America of the guilt of what it has done to every black man woman and child for the past 400 years. Our country has not even apologized, nor taken personal responsibility for the damage done by slavery. 400 years of continued, terroristic destruction doesn't go away with 20 years of Affirmative action.
O'Reilly, Hannity and Limbaugh are in the same tradition as those who killed Dr. King and Malcolm X. Unfortunately, such individuals and those who support them are always on the wrong side of history. But it is safe to stand with them because they tend to have the most power. I don't expect that any piece of my contribution to Syracuse University will be recognized today. Rather, it will be acknowledged 30 years from today, the same as that of Jim Brown and the 8 black students who protested racism on the football field. The pattern is: punish now, ostracize now, and apologize when the person is old and gray. I accept that.
Do not hold Chancellor Cantor responsible for my words. I speak on my own behalf. The Chancellor is an amazing and capable human being who has brought wonderful intellectual light to the university and to this country. I even feel sorry for the headaches I cause her from my viewpoints. I cannot apologize however, because there are tens of thousands of voiceless Americans who agree with me.
I refuse to stand silent as Jeremiah Wright, an ex-Marine, scholar and accomplished human being, is reduced to a worthless hack by those who don't even have the guts to fight in the very same wars they promote.
Syracuse's business school, to my knowledge, has not tenured a black man in over 100 years, and I do not expect to be the first. So don't worry, I don't anticipate you're going to have to deal with me for much longer. But I am going to keep telling the truth, since someone has to make that sacrifice.
Be well,
Boyce Watkins
Video: Keith Olbermann Speaks on the Bill O'Reilly/Dr. Boyce Watkins Controversy
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