MSNBC Features 9/11 Truther to Mock 'Dangerous,' 'Paternalistic' Bill Cosby
MSNBC on Monday featured 9/11 truther and network analyst Toure to slam
the "paternalistic" Bill Cosby for suggesting the Trayvon Martin
shooting is more about guns than it is about race. Toure derided this
"dangerous sentiment" as "not at all true" and implied that the popular
comedian is dumb: "But in terms of nuanced political thinking, [Cosby] has not shown himself to be a big fan of that."
Toure used Cosby's recent comments as a jumping off point to scold the
former sitcom star: "And he has quite often said things that put him
into the category of, with friends like these, who needs enemies?"
Specifically, Toure bashed Cosby for talking about "a lack of morality in the black community." News Nation host Tamron Hall was so taken aback, she sputtered, "But Bill Cosby is not anti-black. What are you saying?" [MP3 audio here.]
Toure huffed, "I'm saying that he has on several occasions said things
that are extremely negative, paternalistic and rather misguided about
the black community..."
Toure is a regular on MSNBC, appearing to give his wisdom and thoughts on issues of the day. However, he's also a 9/11 truther.
Past tweets include:
Van Jones was forced to resign partly bc questions the truth of 9/11 but that Pentagon attack is really fishy... [Link to tweet]
How could a plane crash into the Pentagon? And not appear on video cameras?? And leave little wreckage??? #Don'tbuyitfiremenow. [Link to tweet]
This fascinating video raises questions about the Pentagon attack: 757 or missle? http://bit.ly/12AOlN [Link to tweet]
See here for more on Toure. The question must be asked, again, why is MSNBC employing a 9/11 truther?
BILL COSBY: It's about the gun. It is about this gun. Guns in our
country. I know that when you have a gun, you may not realize it, but
you put on it your person and you mean to pull this and kill somebody.
Because you have this power and you have this thing on you. It- it
heightens what you're supposed to be looking for.
TAMRON HALL: Joining me to talk about this, MSNBC contributor Toure. I
should point out that Bill Cosby says he once owned a gun but no longer
does. He says there is a need to get guns off the streets and people
should be taught to use every possible alternative before shooting
someone, taking one's life. What's your take on it?
TOURE:
Absolutely. I agree all that and I appreciate the brother probably has a
different perspective than many of us because he lost his son to gun
violence. So, we must be respectful to him, important person in the
community, in America for a long time. Respectful of our elders. But
this is a very dangerous sentiment and it's not at all true. Yes, it is a
gun situation but it is absolutely a racial situation in that Trayvon
Martin was clearly profiled as a criminal black man, as if those two
things are synonymous in America by George Zimmerman. That's why he
pulled his gun and used it on Trayvon. And when a person of Bill Cosby's
stature comes out publicly and says it's not a racial issue, it's a gun
issue, it gives fuel to all those who misunderstand the situation. It
is not about race and I and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are making it
about race when it's not. He's giving fuel to those people who say,
"See, look. Even Bill Cosby agrees with us" and that's not correct.
HALL: Why can't Bill Cosby have his own opinion? Not all black people think the same.
TOURE: Surely he can have his own opinion. But to say that it's not-
HALL: But you said that it was dangerous.
TOURE: I think it is dangerous. He can have his own opinion and have a
dangerous opinion. It not correct to say we can drain race out of the
situation. It's just a person with a gun shooting another human being.
HALL: But that's his perspective.
TOURE: I'm not disagree with that and I'm allowing him to have his
perspective. And his perspective is dangerous in saying that it's not
about race is clearly incorrect. That we don't have a rash of people
profiling innocent young white men walking down street, talking to their
girlfriends on the phone and then attacking them and shooting them.
That's not happening. That is happening black men.
HALL: I can't speak for Bill Cosby, but I can say, what if he
looks at you and says you're dangerous because you have now said that
George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin, which is to be determined in a
court of law now that he's been arrested and charged. And according to
prosecutors, they say he did profile Trayvon Martin, but this is all to
be determined by a jury of his peers and we're going to watch this play
out. So, Bill Cosby, he could say the same thing about you.
TOURE: We hear the profiling. So, that's not conjecture. He sees
somebody in the distance who is doing nothing more than down the street
on a cell phone. And he decides this person is on drugs. This person is a
criminal. This person is threatening and to be feared.
HALL: Those are the charges.
TOURE: Well, that's what George Zimmerman said. So, that is
profiling. There is- He is not going to see a white person. We don't
have an epidemic of people seeing young white men and assuming they're
criminals. We do have an epidemic of the world seeing black maleness as
synonymous with criminality and that's not true.
HALL: Let me ask this, why then are some turning this into an
adversarial thing with Bill Cosby, when, for example, the New Yorker
points out that the United States has the highest rate of citizen gun
ownership in the world. The second highest is Yemen. Why be contrarian
with him and say wait a minute. There can be dual conversations here.
Why does he have be to dangerous or wrong? Why can't we applaud that and
applaud that? Let me finish. Wayne LaPierre, who is the executive vice
president of NRA, did not mention Trayvon Martin by name but he is
criticizing news organizations for what he says is singling out one
killing and ignoring many other violent crimes that happen in the United
States every day. Maybe Bill Cosby wants to highlight those without
diminishing the serious and notable questions that we have not ignored
regarding Trayvon Martin.
TOURE: Bill Cosby is an extraordinary American. He's extraordinarily
talented. He's had an amazing effect on my life, on many lives. But
in terms of nuanced political thinking, he has not shown himself to be a
big fan of that. And he has quite often said things that put him into
the category of, with friends like these, who needs enemies? I mean,
like, he's repeatedly talked about a lack of morality in the black
community, as if we don't teach our children morality, as if we want to
go to prison, as if that's some badge of honor. That is not the way
things are in the black community.
HALL: But Bill Cosby is not anti-black. What are you saying?
TOURE: I'm saying that he has on several occasions said
things that are extremely negative, paternalistic and rather misguided
about the black community, As if we want to go to prison.
That's a badge of honor. That is a great mark of shame for many, many
people. It is nothing that we want to do. When he talks about parents
not teaching their children, black children morality. That is just
simply not the case. I don't know what community he is talking about.
And then we come to this situation where it's not about race, it is just
about guns. It is about both. And surely this does not happen if this
individual does not see a black person and pour stereotypes into him as
if he is a criminal black man.
