In an article written for FoxNews.com, Fox News contributor, and member of the network’s so-called Medical A-Team, Dr. Keith Ablow stated that the psychology of the residents of Ferguson is suspect because the population “presumes the moral depravity of whites.” He also seemed to go out of his way to justify the actions of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who shot 18-year-old Mike Brown at least six times on August 9th. The community of Ferguson has seen protests take place on a daily basis since the tragedy.
Ablow is just the latest member of Fox News to wade into the discussion surrounding the events in Ferguson and give the kind of racially superior view that only a white man sitting in comfort hundreds of miles away can give. Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly have used their broadcasts to whitesplain to the black community on what they should do and how they should act. Ablow decided just to go ahead and call the angry citizens of Ferguson crazy racist people who just want to go out and destroy whitey.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Early in his article, Ablow makes sure we all know that Wilson is a stand-up guy.
We don’t know enough about Wilson to determine whether he harbors ill will toward blacks. He has no history of disciplinary action by the police department in Ferguson, and no one has come forward to claim that he accosted or harassed anyone in the past, ever.
The good doctor then opines about the psychological condition of the town. He says that police officers may have been on edge due to the underlying rage existing in Ferguson. With long-standing resentment towards white law enforcement occurring in Ferguson, Ablow feels that police officers in the town were likely on edge. Essentially, he is giving Wilson a pass regardless of what truly happened during the shooting of Brown. He’s already declared Wilson innocent of any true wrongdoing.
Ablow then goes ahead and says that the psychology of the residents of Ferguson, who have protested the shooting death of Brown is “suspect.” He feels that it shows that it is really the black people in the community who are the racist ones, not white police officers or the local government that keeps institutional racism against blacks in place in the community.
The psychology of those who rioted and committed other lawless acts in Ferguson is as suspect at this moment as the psychology of Darren Wilson, because their psychology presumes the moral depravity of whites – at least those in authority.
There seems to be an underlying willingness – in Ferguson, and, perhaps, around the country – to judge any questionable police use of force against a minority individual as indicating racial prejudice, when that may not be the case at all.
…
If a black officer had shot and killed Michael Brown, chances are there would be no protests at all. Perhaps there would be a civil suit. Perhaps there would be criminal charges against the officer involved. But there would be no unrest.
Finally, the Fox News psychiatrist plainly states that there is something wrong with the overall psyche of the community. Yes, there is, Dr. Ablow. It is the fact that they have been dealt another serving of out-and-out injustice and they are sick of it all. Take your couch-sitting analysis somewhere else!
Of course, this is the same man (sporting a nice beer gut) who said Michelle Obama shouldn’t talk about eating healthy food because she is fat. Rather than apologize for his insensitive and sexist remark, he doubled down on it. Considering Ablow is a man who called an unbelievably fit 50-year-old black woman overweight only because she doesn’t look like the Barbie clones Fox hires, I feel his ‘professional’ opinion is the one that’s suspect.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
