Owner Of The Source Spars With Bill O’Reilly

The Source co-owner and founder Dave Mays, appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s "O’Reilly Factor" television show on Feb. 18., after the magazine criticized O’Reilly for his repeated commentaries on "thug rap," labeling him a "racist" and a "hypocrite" in the March issue of the magazine. "There are issues as far as what rap music’s impact is […]

The Source co-owner and founder Dave Mays, appeared

on Bill O’Reilly’s "O’Reilly Factor" television show on Feb. 18.,

after the magazine criticized O’Reilly

for his repeated commentaries on "thug rap," labeling him a "racist"

and a "hypocrite" in the March issue of the magazine.

"There are issues as far as what rap music’s

impact is that’s allow to get to kids that’s adult oriented music and adult

oriented material," Mays admitted. "Those

are some issues within the hip-hop community that we discuss."

O’Reilly said the only reason hip-hop attacks

O’him is because there is no other way to win the "argument, " which

mays disagreed with, labeling O’Reilly a racist, who promoted racist points

of views.

O’Reilly then interrupted Mays. "Just the

fact that you say that and you use that argument because I criticize this pernicious

industry, cheapens you. You’re not rebutting my argument based upon facts and

testimony, you’re saying that because I make the argument, I am a racist,"

O’Reilly said.

Mays continued, saying that O’Reilly represented

a powerful media, that promoted stereotypes and imagery that programs minds,

contributes to the notion of white supremacy and "middle America’s fear

of black people."

"If I were fabricating this stuff you’d

be right," O’Reilly shot back. "We know what the lyrics that Ludacris

put out are, we know what the lyrics Eminem put out are, we know the lyrics

that Jay-Z put out. They are down on paper. I couldn’t care less about their

lifestyle."

May interrupted, telling O’Reilly he was reducing

the rappers to a lyric on the page, which O’Reilly agreed to, saying that a

nine year-old kid who hears "these insidious lyrics," would adopt

them into their "presentation."

"Once they do that it hurts them and stigmatizes

them, and they cannot fight the battle that they need to succeed," O’Reilly

continued. "You cannot deny the stats,

you cannot the damage. You sell, mind poison. You’ve gotten rich off that! You

should be on my side!"

Mays disagreed, saying that he sold and promoted a culture that empowers people

and creates entrepreneurs.

"Hip-hop has created a generation of those

same nine year-olds that your thinking of, that now believe that they can build

business and overcome the way society programs them, the way people like you

who want to impose your point of view and your way of thinking, that paternalistic

way on everybody else," Mays said. "We’re supposed to listen to you,

because you think you know everything, and you haven’t spent a day in the hood."

O’Reilly disagreed, saying that he indeed spent

28 years reporting in the worst neighborhoods in America.

Mays said that hip-hop created a generation of

youth who had self esteem and that O’Reilly should respect the influence the

culture truly possesses.

"I’m down with that," O’Reilly said.

"But I am not down with the poison stuff."

"We should all be concerned about that and

focus on the few negative things," Mays concluded.