I have linked to the now well known “walk-off” on “The View.” Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off like the children they are.
Michael Stone, Portland, Ore., Humanist Examiner posted the walk-off on his Examiner.com site.
The guest on “The View” was Bill O’Reilly. Now, I’m a conservative, but Bill has been getting more and more confrontational when he really (or Reilly) doesn’t have to. (Pretty clever, eh?)
Initially, the topic was why Obama was losing his approval rating. And O’Reilly, accurately in my opinion, said that people feel there is a gulf between them and him. Look, Obama has just done whatever he wants with little explanation. Of course the “View Girls,” who I admit I have no respect for, save Barbara Walters, are always looking to cause confrontation because that is the signature of the show.
The “discussion” moved to the mosque being built near the 9/11 sites. When O’Reilly said it shouldn’t be built, the crowd went nuts with approval applause. He said 70 percent of Americans don’t want the mosque there. He then went on to say it was Muslims who killed us. That prompted the walk-out by Goldberg and Behar.
The main problem was that they felt he should have said “Muslim extremists.” And that is true; that is who it was. Still, can you blame people for feeling anger toward the building of a mosque there? Where is the consideration? Wouldn’t a considerate group understand the way it would make people feel? Yes, they understand, which is why it smacks as a form of “attack.”
However, the purpose of this article is to laud Barbara Walters.
After Behar and Goldberg walked off, Walters calmly said that she had respect for her colleagues but what had happened should not happen — people should be able to disagree without being explosive. She talked to O’Reilly about the fact that it was Muslim extremists, and he adjusted his language. Whoopi and Joy returned.
The fact that “The View” is so popular is a sad illustration about our values right now.
However, Barbara Walters has always been an effective seeker of information, a good communicator and it was this skill that took several personalities who thrive on silly confrontation and made the show somewhat cerebral.
Kids see this stuff and think that is the way to behave.
It was embarrassing to watch even just the video.
References:
Examiner.Com Website, Michael Stone, “Bill O’Reilly’s Islamophobia on The View sparks walk off by Behar, Goldberg”
