Jon Stewart welcomed Bill O’Reilly to Wednesday night’s “The Daily Show” for a debate on “white privilege.”
Stewart started the conversation by requesting that O’Reilly just “admit that there is such a thing as white privilege.” In response, O’Reilly declared that if white privilege exists, then the existence of “Asian privilege” must also be acknowledged.
“You’re missing the point,” Stewart said. “The Asian immigrant experience is very different from the black experience so it’s really, they’re not equivalent. And either way white people, males, set the system.”
“Sure, that was then. This is now,” O’Reilly responded. “Maybe you haven’t figured out that there is no more slavery. No more Jim Crow. And the most powerful man in the world is a black American. And the most powerful woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey, is black.”
Stewart sighed “oh boy” throughout O’Reilly’s rant before interjecting that “being able to give people a free car does not make you the most powerful woman in the world.”
He then took a different tack to try to get a concession out of O’Reilly.
“You are carrying more of a burden as a black person in this country than a white person in this country,” Stewart said.
He provided an example of how black people are “ghettoized” through real estate and have been throughout history. That got O’Reilly to concede — almost.
“If you want to say it’s white privilege because whites didn’t have it as bad as blacks,” O’Reilly said. “Fine.”
“That’s it!” Stewart exclaimed.
“No, it’s not,” O’Reilly shouted.
“You know what I’ll call it?” Stewart said. “I’ll call it this, and it’s a word I think you’ll understand. A factor. It’s a factor.”
“It’s a factor,” O’Reilly said. “I’ll give you the factor.”
Stewart declared triumphantly that O’Reilly’s humility had moved him.
“You, Bill O’Reilly, can lead the flock of the Fox fearful to a better place,” Stewart said. “I believe in you.”
Watch the video below, courtesy of Comedy Central:
Why does Stewart bother with this clown? Are the ratings for their tete-a-tetes really all that good?
Hmmmmm…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoOB9w0tF4I really don’t think Stewart does these interviews as some sort of ratings ploy. I do believe that Stewart is genuinely interested in having an open, honest discussion with those on the right like O’Reilly. I think Stewart is enough of a realist to know that he’s not going to change their minds, but I do think Stewart believes in the idea (or ideal) of civil, intellectually honest debate - even with the most vitriolic on the right. Just my take on it.
I enjoy Stewart vs. O’Really debates, but I don’t see this issue as something that’s going to go very far in this type of forum. White privilege exists and I’m pretty sure O’Reilly knows it, but his whole schtick is to perpetually keep the wool over his audience’s eyes. So you just end up with him constantly moving goal posts and positing totally false equivalencies. He’s just burning down the clock. And Stewart needs to go into this type of thing better armed. Imagine if Stewart cut the discussion short and just played the video two posts up, then asked to explain how his statements there fit the context of the current debate. O’Reilly is a dishonest propagandist - and should be treated as such.
That’s my take as well—I’m guessing it’s a genuine form of obsession with him to get one of these people, just once, to admit they’re being illogical and wrong. In general I don’t think you can get anywhere near Stewart’s level as a comedian without being fascinated with the ways people’s minds work.