The Long Criminal Record of Mister Michael Berry · 3:29am Jun 12th, 2015
I present to you now a thread in two parts. One was written by Daniel Angster at Media Matters. The other was written by me and teaches A MOST IMPORTANT LESSON.
Texas radio host Michael Berry has a long history of making sexist, homophobic, anti-Muslim, and anti-African-American comments on his radio show. He also has posted several racially-tinged videos to his show's YouTube channel that criticize African-Americans, and posted racially insensitive comments on social media like Facebook.
Berry Called Teens Detained By Police In McKinney, Texas "Jungle Animals." On his June 8 radio show, Berry called the teenagers who were detained by police trying to break up a pool party in McKinney, Texas "jungle animals" and mocked how they spoke. [The Michael Berry Show, 6/8/15, via Media Matters]
Berry: "The Dirty Little Secret Is, Black People Don't Believe Black Lives Matter." On his March 12 show, while discussing a video that showed an African-American girl being attacked and beaten in a McDonald's restaurant, Berry declared that "black people don't believe that black lives matter:"
You know why white lives matter? Because that's what white people believe. The dirty little secret is, black people don't believe that black lives matter.
[...]
Chris Rock has made very clear there are different types of black people. And the general manager at your company who's black and a super-nice guy doesn't want to live amongst that, either.
But we can't deny the influence that this subculture is having on our society. You can go and hide behind your gates. Y'all can hire a guard at night. But eventually, a Trayvon Martin's going to come walking through your yard, at night, on suspension from school. Because his dad has a good job and he lives there. And he lives in a world of thuggery, and his dad doesn't. That's actually -- that was the case there. But he was a thug, who went to school with other thugs.
[The Michael Berry Show, 3/12/15, via Media Matters]
Berry: "What If The Election Of Barack Obama Prompted The Poorest, Most Violent Segment Of Blacks In America" To Violently Challenge Police? On the June 1 broadcast of his show, Berry discussed the protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and hypothesized that the election of Barack Obama might have "prompted the poorest, most violent segment" of black Americans to challenge police authority. [The Michael Berry Show, 6/01/15]
Berry: Black UCLA Students Are "Pack Animals" Who Need To "Get The F Over Themselves." On his February 27, 2014 show, Berry mentioned that African-American students at UCLA had called on the school to improve diversity on campus, and then proceeded to call them "pack animals" who should "get the F over themselves." [The Michael Berry Show, 2/27/14]
Berry Has Often Brought Blackface Comedian "Shirley Q. Liquor" On His Show. Chuck Knupp, a white comedian who appears in blackface under the stage name, "Shirley Q. Liquour," has frequently appeared on The Michael Berry Show and told jokes based on racial and religious stereotypes. Berry also appeared with Knupp in blackface on a promotional billboard for the radio station in Orange, Texas. [The Austin Chronicle, 12/6/13; The Michael Berry Show, 9/14/12; The Michael Berry Show, 11/26/12; The Michael Berry Show, 9/24/12]
Berry Was Criticized For Posting Racially-Charged Tweets During A Speech By Michelle Obama. During First Lady Michelle Obama's speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, violence broke out in a separate part of the city. Berry reacted by tweeting about how black-on-black violence had happened "while Michelle was speaking" and using the phrase "#knuckadeads" - a hashtag many people interpreted as a racial slur and criticized him for using. [KRIV, 9/5/12]
Berry Mocked The Mayor Of Houston's Sexuality. On his May 28 show, Berry played a scripted parody segment about the flooding situation in Houston that mocked Mayor Annise Parker's (D) sexual orientation and disparagingly nicknamed her partner, "Hot Pocket." [The Michael Berry Show, 5/28/15]
While Defending L.A. Lakers Owner Donald Sterling, Berry Referred To His Girlfriend As, "That Whore He Bought." On his June 6 show, Berry defended Donald Sterling's controversial comments about black people and referred to Sterling's girlfriend as "that whore he bought." He added that Sterling "didn't have anything against black people," he just didn't want his girlfriend "whoring around with the black guys she kept coming up there with." [The Michael Berry Show, 6/5/15]
Berry On Proposed New Mosque In New York: "I Hope Somebody Blows it Up." According to Think Progress, during a discussion concerning a proposed plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, Berry said, "I hope somebody blows it up." [Think Progress, 5/28/10]
Berry Played A Parody Video That Mocked Muslims And Joked About "Forced Genital Mutilation." In a parody video meant to show that people who criticize conservatives for "the war on women" are hypocrites if they also support "Islamic culture," Berry played a segment about a Muslim woman who does not want to undergo "forced genital mutilation" until her husband removes the pictures of "goats" from their bedroom ceiling. The video ends with the husband saying the goats remind him of his wife and the woman agreeing to undergo "forced genital mutilation" while multiple people scream, "Allah Akhbar." [Michael Berry Show, 6/5/15]
Berry Has Posted Several Videos That Personally Attack Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX). Berry has posted several videos to his show's YouTube page criticizing how Jackson Lee speaks, her hair, and her outfits. In addition, Berry posted a parody video of a fake app called the "Sheila Jackson Lee Hurricane Translator App" that changes the names of hurricanes from white or Hispanic names to names that are "down for the struggle." [YouTube, 3/4/11; YouTube, 10/29/10; YouTube, 7/9/13]
Berry Posted A Mock Re-enactment Of Michael Brown's Shooting. Berry posted a video to his show's YouTube page titled, "Michael Brown: The Musical," which mocks the protests that followed the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO. The words, "Hands up, don't shoot" are heard before the sound of a gunshot, followed by the sound of a body collapsing. [YouTube, 10/6/14]
Berry Consistently Shares Racially Insensitive Content On Social Media. Berry often posts racially charged memes and pictures to social media sites like Facebook:
[Facebook, 3/19/15]
[Facebook, 4/28/15]
[Facebook, 2/26/15]
[Burnt Orange Report, 2/12/14]
[Burnt Orange Report, 2/12/14]
EPILOGUE by JESSE COFFEY
To Michael Berry, if he happens to be the one reading this:
You are a conservative radio host. That I can understand. You are also one of the most horrifyingly racist and bigoted cretins to ever grace Planet Earth. Your track record of criminal offenses is almost close to that of Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, and much, much higher than that of Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin. You have said things that would make fellow bigot/racist Ted Nugent flat out blush. And for doing so, I'm surprised only Media Matters has punished you. With a criminal record like that (all for hate crimes, nothing else) you deserve to have your whole FCC license revoked, your honors taken away, and your reputation - whatever the hell it was - put into ruins.
And, if that were not disgusting enough, you have displayed no remorse, guilt, or even regret for anything you have said. You have not done anything to deserve your redemption as a man. If I were you, I'd leave the air almost immediately after looking at the comments presented by your radio show over the years. These comments are not the work of a legitimate news presenter. They are the work of a convicted felon whom - surprise! - radio stations across the country were bribed into transmitting over the airwaves.
I rule you guilty of the obvious hate crimes presented above the epilogue. The lesson learned is: If you get a radio show, sexist, homophobic, anti-Muslim, and anti-African-American comments must never run rampant. Because you, Michael Berry, have violated this very rule many, MANY times, you are, to quote many of the "grounded" videos flying across YouTube these days, grounded, grounded, grounded for an infinite number of years. Until you've learned this lesson, that's what you will remain.
Are you aware that "hate crimes," in the sense of speech which you or some government official considers "hateful," are not illegal in the United States of America? And could not be made so without violating the FIrst Amendment?
3141037 I posted this to a group called "Political Ponies", where I was greeted by a woman named Alsvid, whom I subsequently followed, and who had these to say:
These words are moving and I quite agree with her.
3141722
I have no literally no idea what your response means. Seriously, I don't know what point you're trying to make, nor how you're trying to make it -- your response is all semi-attributed quotes, out of context.
However, I will point out to you that, if "hate speech" was illegal, you would rather quickly find it meaning nothing more than "speech disagreeing with the authority who enforces that law." And you might find yourself on the business end of that law, for saying something that you did not consider "hate speech."
Oh boo hoo, the mean man said mean things.