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MSNBC host Joe Scarborough is scorching the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and their coverage by American news agencies – including his own – as “B.S.”
“I have sat here quietly and listened to B.S. being spewed all over this network and all over other networks. I can’t take it anymore,” a frustrated Scarborough said on Monday’s “Morning Joe” program.
Ferguson has been Ground Zero for racially charged protests since August when Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. The city erupted in violence, fires and looting again last week when a grand jury said it was not going to indict the white police officer for any crime in connection with the black teen’s death.
While Scarborough said the U.S. justice system racially discriminates against young black men, he said the Brown case is a very poor example, noting Brown had allegedly robbed a convenience store moments before he was shot.
“There are so many great people to embrace as heroes in the black community that deciding you’re going to embrace a guy that knocked over a convenience store, and then according to grand-jury testimony, acted in ways that would get my children shot … that’s your hero? That’s the reason you want to burn down black businesses?” Scarborough asked.
The former Republican congressman also blasted the St. Louis Rams football players who expressed solidarity with the protesters in Ferguson by raising their hands as they entered the field for their game Sunday.
“I’m sorry, this Ram thing, this was the final straw for me,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough criticized some of his program’s guests for privately agreeing with him but then refusing to state their opinions on air.
“You know what pisses me off too is I have people around this set all the time. They let me say what I say on set and they sit and stare at me, slack-jawed,” he said.
“They’re afraid to say anything on the air, even though they know it’s B.S. People [are] saying one thing when the camera’s on and then saying something completely different when the camera gets turned off, because they’re somehow afraid they’ll be called racist if they tell the truth.”
Scarborough also dismissed any criticism he might receive on the subject.
“If I’ve offended anybody by saying what I’ve said, trust me, 95 percent of America thinks just like me. Just because there are cowards that won’t say that on TV – that’s your problem, it’s not mine,” he said.
