View co-host Rosie O'Donnell on Thursday broadened the non-indictment in the Eric Garner case as proof of "systemic racism in the United States." While the other co-hosts focused on the case, O'Donnell generalized that racism is "prevalent in America and we need to look at ourselves."
She continued, "The conversation about systemic racism in the United States needs to be opened up for all of us in a dialogue not just when atrocities like this happen." [MP3 audio here [1].]
On November 25, [2] an MSNBC panelist said that the problem with the Ferguson decision is that people are not dealing with the inherent "racism" and "white supremacy" of America. Nation blogger Mychal Denzel Smith "appeared on The Reid Report to praise the protests as a way to make "the people in these privileged and powerful positions uncomfortable with all of the death that we are facing, the terrorization that we are facing as a community."
A partial transcript of the December 4 segment is below:
[On the Garner case]
ROSIE O'DONNELL: As I was sitting on the couch with my godson and my daughter watching, I just started to cry and my 12-year-old asked me, "mommy, why are people racist?" And I didn't really have an answer for her. I didn't really.
11:07
O'DONNELL: There needs to be a bigger conversation.
NICOLLE WALLACE: I think he will be indicted. There needs to be a federal investigation.
O'DONNELL: But it shouldn't have to go to that, right?
WALLACE: I agree. It's inexplicable.
O'DONNELL: The conversation about systemic racism in the United States needs to be opened up for all of us in a dialogue not just when atrocities like this happen. But all the time because it's prevalent in America and we need to look at ourselves.
WALLACE: It's a broader conversation though. I think it's also about what are our police officers being taught to do.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter. [3]