O'Reilly doesn't like that act of progression because it's not "normal," he backs that up with statistics: gays are only 6% of the population, he notes. Bill O'Reilly cares about the children and apparently he wrote a book "for gay kids" teaching them how to protect themselves from getting bullied (can anybody confirm that his advice includes staying in the closet or choosing heterosexuality?) Bill seems awfully frustrated, not only is this couple not being bullied but they are actually being accepted into "normal" society. maybe Bill is afraid to realize that there will a day when he simply isn't the "normal" one.
Bill O'Reilly is loud and like every O'Reilly clip its much like watching a train wreck - it's so horrible you can't even turn away. I have pasted some the transcript into the post here so you can read part of this debate in your own head; try reading it before watching to maximize the absurdity.
BERMAN: They're not flaunting their sexuality any more or any less than a heterosexual couple might.
O'REILLY: Look, doctor, there's no reason why Brandy and Lupe had to declare themselves anything other than friends. They didn't have to do that. They chose to do that.
BERMAN: If they're in love, but they're due - they have the same right to do that as any heterosexual.
O'REILLY: It's not about - it's a matter of appropriateness. That's what it's a matter of. And see, look.
BERMAN: But you're passing - see where your stuck is you're passing judgment.
O'REILLY: You're dismissing all - look, I'm not - look, I don't want any kid to be bullied. I wrote "Kids are Americans, Too" for gay kids who are getting bullied. They should read the booK, know their rights. I don't want anything like that to happen.
BERMAN: Right.
O'REILLY: But you're dismissing a very legitimate point. This is inappropriate. You do not define yourself in a high school yearbook.
BERMAN: Only if you judge sexuality.
O'REILLY: .in a sexual way. Period. You don't do it.
BERMAN: These kids - these kids need support. And they need to know that it's OK to be who they are.
O'REILLY: Well, let them go to a support group run by you. It doesn't need to be.
BERMAN: Here I am.
O'REILLY: You know, you don't have to take out posters and put them on your front lawn.
BERMAN: Because they're supporting all the other kids that are stuck in hiding and now will feel safer.
O'REILLY: That is your extrapolation. Somebody else would say you're encouraging that kind of experimentation...
BERMAN: You can't encourage it.
O'REILLY: ...when you don't have to do it.
BERMAN: It happens anyway.
O'REILLY: All right, doctor, that's the old argument. Let's legalize drugs because it happens anyway. There's got to be boundaries.
BERMAN: Drugs are not the same. Homosexuality is not illegal.
O'REILLY: But it - you know what I'm talking about. (Finish that sentence Bill?)
BERMAN: And it shouldn't be illegal.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 3)
31. Bill O'Reilly is always an idiot! He is a racist, homophobic, and I believe, mentally unstable individual who needs professional help. It's amazing that he didn't disconnect the doctor since she was not really agreeing with him. Normally, he has a tantrum and just disconnects the person. Truly, this guy needs some meds. Oh, and if I were a gay kid and someone gave me his book, I'd blow my brains out.
Courtney at 8:04PM on Nov 12th 2007
32. Homosexuality is NOT normal, regardless of whether you like Bill O'Reilly or not. That is not the question. This country is in serious trouble.
The Constitutionalist at 8:06PM on Nov 12th 2007
33. This guy is insane! And this isn't the first case of same-sex "Cutest Couple" in high school. I'm a lesbian from South Jersey, and two girls I know who graduated a year or so after me were voted as "Cutest Couple". I understand people have their own opinions, but people also have to realize that the world is becoming more accepting of homosexuality today. And I agree with someone who commented before me that people homosexuals and heterosexuals alike should keep the pda to the limit while in public. I have a neice and nephew that I keep from knowing what I am because they're just too young to realize what is going on. You have to respect others just as much as you respect yourself when it comes to your sexual orientation. It's annoying seeing any type of couple in public with their tongues down one another's throats, there's just no need for it. But I'm glad that things like these are happening more and more because it's showing that people are starting to progress and the discrimination is becoming less. It is hard going through high school trying to figure out who you are, and when you figure it out, you're pushed around. It's the ignorance that people show because they are not educated about these things. But as I stated before, everyone has a right to their own opinion, but this guy just seems to be bashing everyone as of late, and I'm honestly surprised he's still on the air.
Dez at 8:06PM on Nov 12th 2007
34. Seriously, homosexuals should be assaulted. They should be beaten. They should be made to keep their perverse nature under wraps. Period.
Ahhh...hatred is such a great feeling! I LOVE it!
Who can i assault next? Blacks? Jews? Illegal Aliens? Asians? Bi-Sexuals? Trasngenders? Bestailists? Pedophiles?
Any among you feel any anger in particular with any of the above groups? Just trying to get a sense of what society, as of today, has a problem with and doesn't have a problem with. Have a problem with incest? if so, why incest and not lesbians? Have a problem with Pedo's? If so, why pedo's and not transgenders? Or what's the magic age a kid can screw a teacher? Is screwing a teacher ok? If so, is it then ok for sex with a priest?
I hate this planet....
markyMark at 8:31PM on Nov 12th 2007
35. I do hate to burst your bubble, constitutionalist, but most people aren't normal. There are more than a few that are really out on the fringes of the demographic, but you're never going to find normal.
Let me make it simple. When you talk about people being normal or abnormal you are really talking about putting people in two categories.
Normal: people who are or do things that you don't consider threatening, strange, or unusual.
Not Normal: People who you do consider threatening, strange, or unusual.
And since you yourself are your standard for normalacy, your opinion is the very essense of subjectivity. Thus you can not conclude anything on the subject of normalacy beyond your own opinion.
Just a heads up.
Somber at 8:31PM on Nov 12th 2007
36. From psycho Markymark: "Have a problem with incest? if so, why incest and not lesbians? Have a problem with Pedo's? If so, why pedo's and not transgenders? "
Consenting adults. Key phrase to consider in both of the above...
brandon at 9:48PM on Nov 12th 2007
37. The world just does not dismiss gay,lesbian etc life styles and move on with their lives. Gays in most countries are not accepted, period. In Iran, your gay, off with your head. That is how gays are treated to the extreme, but not unusual. It is USA that is laughed at by the world for glamorizing gays.
ORielly's thing is they are minor and school is not the proper place for expressing one's sexuality. That is his view and he had a woman on the show who debated him.
But many writers on this blog think sexual expression in schools is ok. Would that be ok for teachers to show their sexual choice with minor boys and girls students?
robert okane at 10:54PM on Nov 12th 2007
38. I am young and I agree with O'Reily.
These Dykes and Fags are getting annoying.
Tom at 12:35AM on Nov 13th 2007
39. Mr. Okane: Although his ratings are high (thanks mostly due to seniors), Bill O'Reilly (note the correct spelling) is NOT news - he's a hotheaded opinionated loudmouth who rarely reports any real news. Although he invites people whose views oppose his to "debate" him on his show, he rarely lets them completely present their view by constantly interrupting them, then cutting them off before they've made their point. This clip is a rare example during which Bill managed to stay relatively levelheaded.
I do agree with you that CNN and MSNBC aren't much better than Fox "News," but YouTube has never promoted itself as a news station - it is a video sharing site where we are allowed to exercise (at least for the time being) our FREEDOM OF SPEECH, regardless of how much it pisses anyone off. Unfortunately, at this point in history, it is virtually impossible to find unbiased news or journalists with professional integrity who can "be trusted to present the news in an honest way" (including O'Reilly), since they are all controlled by major corporations and encouraged, by their sponsors, to place more importance on ratings than truth.
O'Reilly is also a hypocrite: he himself admitted that he would be okay with a heterosexual couple being voted "cutest," which is contrary to his supposed belief that sexuality should be absent from schools. If he truly felt this way, he would have condemned the school yearbook for encouraging any coupling between students.
Elaine at 12:42AM on Nov 13th 2007
40. I don't know why people keep talking about these girls and public displays of affection. I don't recall reading anything about them gettin' it on in gym class or making out in study hall. People found out they were together and they didn't deny it. I think it's very brave of them. An act of courage (Yes, it takes courage to admit something like that) should never be looked down on, regardless of your beliefs.
But no, being proud of these girls for not just trying to hide their relationship and fit in would be too much for your small minds. You should be ashamed of yourselves for making some of these comments I've read.
I read one comment that said that America is being destroyed. I'll agree you with. But it's not homosexuals doing it. It's bigots such as yourself who spread hatred.
I want you all to remember that the first step to attrocities is dehumanizing others that aren't exactly like you. Nazis did it to the Jewish people. Racists in america did it (and still do) to the black people. Crusaders did it to the Muslims and vice versa. Each and every event in history where a group was dehumanized, it lead to one of the lowest points in human history where man showed how cruel and twisted they can be to their fellow man. I really hope you people remember that.
Michael at 1:24AM on Nov 13th 2007
41. #40 Michael. You may want to sit down, because this is going to floor you; but there are a 'helluvalotta' people out there who disagree with you. Not "neocons," "neonazis," "homophobes," or people who are "supressing their homosexual inclinations," but rather individuals who feel that the gay/lesbian lifestyle is completely self-serving, self-limiting, CHOSEN way of life.
The argument that individuals are "born" gay, can simply be refuted by observation of the animal world. Humans (homo-sapiens) are advanced animals capable of high-order thought and reasonable deduction, yet no where else in the animal kingdom has there ever been a true documented case of homosexuality in which an animal seeks out the companionship and sexual gratification from the same gender. And please don't bore me with the; "being gay/lesbian isn't about sex," lecture.
Also, try exposing a child to witnessing, for the first time, say two gay men kissing in public. Their jaw is going to hit the ground out of pure primordial instinct that this conduct is an anomoly.
That being said, I have nothing against gays/lesbians per se. You know the doctrine; even though many may try some revisionist tactics on scripture. What you do behind closed doors, is your own gig. I just resent the fact that I'm being told that I MUST accept your lifestyle, or risk being labeled a "bigot, discriminator, hater, etc.,etc." Not to mention the rediculous legislative attempts at labeling one's verbal disapproval of the gay/lesbian lifestyle, as "hate speech" or "hate crimes," as if homosexuals are protected under some "endangered species act." --Flame on.
lizard at 7:12PM on Nov 13th 2007
42. 38. I am young and I agree with O'Reily.
These Dykes and Fags are getting annoying.
Tom at 12:35AM on Nov 13th 2007
****************************************************
Tom just how young are you??? Maybe just maybe there is hope for you! Man, someone once said. "Youth is wasted on the young"... they forgot to add "Young and Stupid".
Patty at 7:15PM on Nov 13th 2007
43. I have a question for all you homophobes...Why would someone choose to be hated?? My younger brother is gay and when he came out and started being honest with himself, not one person that knows him was the least bit surprised...it's not a choice people, its who they are...and if it doesn't hurt you, what the frick do you care??
Mikel at 8:41PM on Nov 13th 2007
44. I would like to agree with #41 on being tired of being labeled because one does not agree with a homosexual lifestyle. Every class period, I have to stand-up for myself because I hold mostly conservative values, because I’m a Christian, and because I am an American. I find that a great deal of intolerance is aimed towards people that disagree with the homosexual lifestyle.
Also, we all need to learn the difference between transgender, transvestite, and transsexual. All very different, and they don’t necessarily mean that the person is a homosexual. I’m sure that homosexuals and heterosexuals would like to feel that they have some type of control over their sexual preference. I’ve never seen or heard of any person that said that they were biologically forced to have a sexual preference.
Also, #40, what does “the black people” mean. Do you mean “black people?” There’s a very distinct difference here. Just curious.
Mary G at 10:53PM on Nov 13th 2007
45. #41: how about you actually check your "facts"
homosexuality is common in non human animals, the level of homosexuality increases with the population stress on the mother during pregnancy, more overcrowding -> more gay offspring. It's a rather elegant evolutionary solution, can't turn off the sex drive, so simply redirect some of it until population drops.
As for "pure primordial instinct that this conduct is an anomoly", no child raised in San Francisco will ever have this socialized reaction. Infants will not respond at all. Anybody old enough to realize that those moving things are other people has already been heavily socialized and will respond how their society expects. Your hypothetical absurd proposition is simply not true.
All you have left when we discard your absurd fabrications is that you think it is a choice, well eating, or breeding are choices, that really has no bearing on weather they are "wrong".
You are a bigot, like it or not. You are entitled to you opinion, that's fine. To imply that others have a responsibility to honor it is where you go too far.
For example I am of the opinion that breeding "is completely self-serving, self-limiting, CHOSEN way of life.", but I'm not going to tell you not to take your children out in public, or try to ban the sale of baby dolls to children. I think that breeders are "wrong" but that does not entitle me to oppress them by legally denying them rights non-breeders have, or trying to silence them into hiding their nasty little behavior, that would be bigotry. It's more reasonable to treat them like human beings and express my opinion in a manner which does not presuppose their invalidity or non-existence.
dgandhi at 11:37AM on Nov 15th 2007