British comedian Russell Brand took to his online series The Trews to criticize Bill O\u2019Reilly of Fox News for insisting that protesters angry over the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson are not letting justice take its course.<\/p>\n
On the latest episode of The Trews, Brand performed running commentary of a recent O\u2019Reilly segment where the Fox News host begins by saying the death of Brown, 18, at the hands of a police officer\u00a0\u201cis now being investigated by state and local authorities, but that hasn\u2019t stopped rioting and looting in the area.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI like that immediate implication,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Brand said, mimicking police:\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re investigating! You can stop rioting and looting!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe police shot and killed an unarmed teenager, what\u2019s there\u2019s to investigate?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Brand added, comparing the killing of Brown to the slaying of Trayvon Martin, both African American teens who have become emblems of\u00a0\u201clarger social unrest.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe situation speaks for itself. He was a teenager, he was unarmed, there just isn\u2019t a need for further inquiry – the inquiry itself is going to be sufficient.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In his own segment, O\u2019Reilly and guest Dr. Ben Carson agreed that,\u00a0\u201cin this case,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0they have complete confidence in US Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black.<\/p>\n Brand took the opportunity to mock O\u2019Reilly:\u00a0\u201cIn this case – but I wouldn\u2019t normally trust a black attorney general, not with my car keys, I wouldn\u2019t let him feed my fish. I don\u2019t like black people! Sorry!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYour racism, Bill, it comes bubbling out all the time,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Brand added, before he cut back to O\u2019Reilly, who condemned the looting in Ferguson that happened in the wake of the killing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost, Bill,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Brand then said,\u00a0\u201cas if you\u2019re living in a really unequal, unfair society that hasn\u2019t recovered from the massive wounds of slavery and the continued subjugation of the non-white population. Eventually, inevitably, there will be flare ups.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot more of this happening as society becomes more and more unequal,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Brand added, going on to cite the militarization of police forces in the US.\u00a0\u201cThe question will become, \u2018Should we have a more equal society?\u2019 or \u2018Should we bolster our means of oppressing people?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Later, guest Carson is shown saying,\u00a0\u201cwe feel their pain, but what we have to remember is that police are individuals too, they have feelings, also.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Brand responded saying the likes of Fox News does not give equal quarter to angered residents in Ferguson and elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s worth pointing out at this juncture that if an unarmed policeman was shot by a black teenager, I can\u2019t imagine Fox News giving voice to someone to say, \u2018You\u2019ve got to remember, black teenagers are people too.\u2019 They\u2019d be all, \u2018This is unacceptable! This is an indication of a society in decline!\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Brand ended with an attempt to sum up the cognitive dissonance present within Fox News\u2019 agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ironic thing is that the values that Fox News purports, like unity, like America, \u2018this is a great country\u2019 \u2013 they\u2019re constantly at odds with that, because they really believe in oppression and exploitation, and the minimization of the suffering of the people who need the most support.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n