Don Roach: Megyn Kelly Needs a Serious Reality Check
Don Roach, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Don Roach: Megyn Kelly Needs a Serious Reality Check
It all started with a writer who was concerned that our traditional depiction of Santa Claus as an old, bearded, white man alienated people who were not white…she didn’t mention anything about people who weren’t bearded or old to my knowledge as being potentially offended by ol’ Saint Nick as portrayed (singing) “everywhere you turn”.
Megyn Kelly
The anchor, Megyn Kelly, had a conversation about this where she emphatically stated that Santa just is white…he just is. She also mentioned that Jesus is white too. What’s interesting to me is how quickly times change. Fifty years ago if you suggested that Santa or Jesus was anything but white, you’d have faced more criticism than what Kelly faced in Jon Stewart wondering what kind of kid would be watching a Fox News program. But, times change, morals change, and in the case of Santa and Jesus historical accuracy changes.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTYou see, Saint Nikólaos, whom Santa Claus is based was a Greek man. Just Google “Greek Man” and you’ll find that what we know as Santa doesn’t quite fit neatly into people who come from Greece. With respect to Jesus, Kelly was even more off-base, as he was a Jew from what we today call “the Middle East”. Again, do a quick Google search and find that many depictions of Jesus simply do not meet with reality.
And still with all of this information readily available Kelly felt emboldened to say Jesus and Santa Claus were ‘white’. Stepping back a minute, does white today only refer to people coming from Western Europe? Correct me if I am wrong but I did think that people from who originate from Greece, Italy, Turkey, and even parts of Russia were considered “white”. I get the skin complexion differences, but aren’t they “white”? I do believe Kelly’s white referred to the Caucasoid version of white but I’ve just spent 350 words talking about the race of a (non) fictional character, Santa Claus.
Nonetheless, the issue is how easily Kelly referred to these characters as something they do not appear to be and that when she was called on it, she called those criticizing her “race baiters”. Problem is she invited criticism by being factually inaccurate in her depictions of Santa and Jesus. That’s not race baiting, that’s just correcting an error. And by playing the victim she did not apologize for being in error or being open to a view that was different from her own.
Folks – I don’t have time for people who make claims, have them proven false, and are unwilling to even consider the possibility that they had the issue wrong. Unfortunately, that’s what Kelly is doing here and what got lost is the conversation around non-white Santas. I’m disappointed because Kelly has a voice in the public sphere and is ignorant enough to not be aware she was wrong about Santa and Jesus and refused to make a full retraction.
None of us are perfect and I’m not expecting anyone to not make a mistake, but you learn about someone’s character when they make mistakes. Do they run and hide? Do they deny, deny? Or do they say, “Oops, my bad”? Kelly has chosen to answer in such a way that shows us that in this instance she refuses to look beyond her own tradition.
Nelson Mandela
We lost Nelson Mandela two weeks ago and it inspired a few conversations about terrorism. Mandela was on the US terror list until 2008 , well over a decade after his release from prison and his stint as South African president.
Referring to the previous news from last week, if we believed as Kelly…Mandela is a terrorist he just is. I’m just kind of joking as I have seen more than a few people call Mandela a terrorist. Mandela, at one point, did believe in the armed resistance of apartheid, Malcolm X once believed the same thing about the oppression facing blacks in this country as well. It’s easy for the oppressors to call the oppressed terrorists and I find it a bit insane that some people have chosen to smear Mandela’s legacy with such…nonsense.
Mandela was the figure who led South Africa away from Apartheid. South Africa is not perfect today, but it is in a far better position today than when Mandela was fighting for his people’s freedom.
John Depetro
Lastly, a few words on all of this Depetro bruhaha? GoLocal reported that he’s been suspended until January and if he does return to the airwaves and you don’t believe he should, tune to another radio station.
If enough people join you, you won’t have to petition his advertisers to leave him, engage in Facebook fights with him and those that do like him, and probably be more effective at getting him off the air for good.
That’s my rant for the week folks. Next week it’s Christmas, happy shopping!
Don can be reached at [email protected] . Don is also on twitter - @donroach34.
New England Communities With the Most Political Clout 2013
25. Merrimack County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $9.86
Total contributions: $1,447,713
Merrimack County is named after the Merrimack River and is home to the states capital, Concord. Merrimack County has a total area of 956 square miles and a population of 146,761.
24. Cheshire County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $9.88
Total contributions: $759,209
Cheshire is one of the five original counties in New Hampshire and was founded in 1771. The highest point in Cheshire County is located at the top of Mount Monadnock, which was made famous by the poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
23. Rockingham County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $9.96
Total contributions: $2,965,530
Rockingham has 37 communities and has a population of 297,820. Rockingham County also was home to the famous poet, Robert Frost
22. Belknap County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $10.02
Total contributions: $604,512
Belknap County is one of the ten counties in New Hampshire and has a population of 60,327. It is located in the center of New Hampshire and the largest city is Laconia.
21. Hampshire County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $10.41
Total contributions: $1,664,077
Hampshire County has a total area of 545 square miles and is located in the middle of Massachusetts. Hampshire County is also the only county to be surrounded in all directions by other Massachusetts counties.
20. Barnstable County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $10.90
Total contributions: $2,348,541
Barnstable County was founded in 1685 and has three national protected areas. Cape Cod National Seashore is the most famous protected area within Barnstable County and brings in a high amount of tourists every year.
19. Berkshire County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $12.49
Total contributions: $1,624,400
Berkshire County is located on the western side of Massachusetts and borders three different neighboring states. Originally the Mahican Native American Tribe inhabited Berkshire County up until the English settlers arrived and bought the land in 1724.
18. Essex County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $13.22
Total contributions: $9,991,201
Essex is located in the northeastern part of Massachusetts and contains towns such as Salem, Lynn, and Andover. Essex was founded in 1643 and because of Essex historical background, the whole county has been designated as the Essex National Heritage Area.
17. Chittendon County, VT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $13.86
Total contributions: $2,196,107
Chittenden has a population of 158,504, making it Vermont’s most populated county. Chittenden’s largest city is Burlington, which has about one third of Vermont’s total population.
16. Lamoille County, VT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $14.82
Total contributions: $369,854
Lamoille County was founded in 1835 and has a population of 24,958. The county has 464 square miles, of which 461 of them are land.
15. Addison County, VT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $15.49
Total contributions: $569,299
Located on the west side of Vermont, Addison County has a total area of 808 square miles. Addison's largest town is Middlebury, where the Community College of Vermont and Middlebury College are located.
14. Newport County, RI
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $16.02
Total contributions: $1,214,26
Newport County is one of the five Rhode Island Counties and was founded in 1703. Just like Connecticut, none of Rhode Island counties have an any governmental functions.
13. Cumberland County, ME
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $18.33
Total contributions: $5,205,507
Cumberland County has a population of 283,921 and is Maine’s most populated county. The county was named after the William, Duke of Cumberland, a son of King George II.
12. Windsor County, VT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $20.57
Total contributions: $1,156,149
Windsor County is the largest county in Vermont and consists of 971 square miles of land and 5 square miles of water.
11. Bristol County, RI
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $20.91
Total contributions: $1,027,472
Bristol County has a population of 49,144 and is the third smallest county in the United States. Bristol County was originally apart of Massachusetts, but was transferred to Rhode Island in 1746.
10. Grafton County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012 :$20.95
Total contributions: $1,868,739
With a population of 89,181, Grafton County is the second largest county in New Hampshire. Home of New Hampshire’s only national forest, White Mountain National Forest takes up about half of Grafton’s total area
9. Carrol County, NH
Contributions, per capita, 2012: 2012: $22.81
Total contributions: $1,012,10
Created in 1840, Carroll County has a population of 47,567. Carroll County was also named after Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
8. LItchfield County, CT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $22.86
Total contributions: $4,286,143
Although it is Connecticut’s largest county, Litchfield has the lowest population density in all of Connecticut. Since 1960 all Connecticut counties have no county government.
7. Middlesex County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $32.81
Total contributions: $50,432,154
Middlesex County has a population of 1,503,085 and has been ranked as the most populous county in New England. The county government was abolished in 1997, but the county boundaries still exists for court jurisdictions and other administrative purposes.
6. Nantucket County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $33.41
Total contributions: $344,021
Nantucket County consists of a couple of small islands and is a major tourist destination in Massachusetts. Normally Nantucket has a population of 10,298, but during the summer months the population can reach up to 50,000.
5. Norfolk County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $35.87
Total contributions: $24,459,854
Named after a county from England, Norfolk County is the wealthiest county in Massachusetts. As of 2011, Norfolk was ranked the 32nd highest income county in the United States.
4. Dukes County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $36.32
Total contributions: $618,960
Consisting of Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands, Dukes County is one of Massachusetts’ top vacation spots. Originally Dukes County was apart New York, however it was transferred to Massachusetts on October 7, 1691.
3. Suffolk County, MA
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $40.73
Total contributions: $30,323,537
Suffolk County has a population of 744,426 and contains Massachusetts’s largest city, Boston. Although Suffolk’s county government was abolished in the late 1900’s, it still remains as a geographic area.
2. Knox County, ME
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $45.89
Total contributions: $1,820,410
Knox County was established on April 1st, 1860 and was named after American Revolutionary War General Henry Knox. The county has a population of 39,668 and is the home of the Union Fair.
1. Fairfield County, CT
Contributions, per capita, 2012: $55.65.
Total contributions: $51,970,701
In a population of 933,835, Fairfield County is the most densely populated county in Connecticut, and contains four of the state's largest cities -- Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury.
