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"The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals. That is where the compelling argument is. We're Americans, we just want to be treated like everybody else. That's a compelling argument, and to deny that you've got to have a very strong argument on the other side. And the other side hasn't been able to do anything but thump the Bible."
-- Bill O'Reilly, pretty much speaking out on behalf of gay marriage. I think anyone deserves huge credit for finally seeing the light and making a complete reversal of a previously-held draconian opinion. And I do give that credit to Mr. O'Reilly. But it just makes his previous statements on the subject all the more pathetic. After all, it wasn't that Bill O'Reilly had previously just been against gay marriage and made some reasoned, well-thought out comments. No, what Bill O'Reilly had said before were things like -- "You would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can." I'm not quite sure how you get from A to B, but Bill O'Reilly got there. I do admire his turnaround. I'd just admire it more if he included why he now doesn't think gay marriage is the equivalent of bestiality that will let people (as he's also said) marry ducks, goats and dolphins. What changed for him? It might help others change their minds, too, if he was willing to explain not just that he was wrong, but why. But it also points up another issue, considering how his opinion now is so-180% different from before. It just intensifies the regular perception of him bullying, which is bad enough, but mindless bullying may be worse. But further, it makes you wonder how much he really believed what he said before, and therefore how much he believes whatever he says, or if it's just spouting off things he thinks he should be slamming just because it's on the "other side. Or if he just likes belittling people and being the bully against the under-protected. Again, I do mean it when I say my hat's off to his turn-around. But in some ways, without an explanation, it just makes all the rest of his pontificating seem even worse. How in the world do you get from A to B -- and not address the seismic shift...?
2 Comments
3/27/2013 05:53:23 pm
Sadly, like Portman before him, Bill's touching about-face has less to do with a reevaluation of deeply held principals, and more to do with the latest polls, which show that a) public opinion has overwhelmingly shifted toward equality, and b) the GOP doesn't stand a chance of winning another election as long as they're still perceived as the party of intolerant old white guys. The GOP establishment, while publicly defending DOMA, are privately hoping SCOTUS will strike it down, because that'll give the Republicans a graceful way out of this no-win issue with their base. Let's just hope the public isn't snowed by this commendable but transparent "change of heart."
Robert Elisberg
3/27/2013 11:41:28 pm
While I don't completely agree about Sen. Portman, I think there's a lot of validity to this with Bill O'Reilly. But there are plenty of issues that are widely supported by the public that he hasn't supported. To be clear, I do think his "turnaround" has a lot of disingenuosity to it (especially for such a huge change) -- but I always think it's not to give people a warm hug when they Do The Right Thing, even if it's for self-serving reasons, since it might make them open to doing it again. Leave a Reply. |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting.    
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