Is Fred Barnes a racist?
Well, I can’t know for sure, but I know that I’ve disliked him since the late 80′s, when I attended something called “The National Young Leaders Conference” in Washington, DC, which gathered high-school students interested in politics from across the country.
Barnes and several other journalists spoke to our group at The National Press Club, and afterwards made themselves available for further discussion with any students who wanted to approach them.
I (a black h.s. senior) got on line to speak to Barnes, and while I was a little startled by how nastily he responded to an Arab-American kid in front of me who brought up Middle Eastern politics, lighting into him about how Palestinians had to civilize themselves before the world cared about their concerns, with a venomous tone that left the kid dazed and confused at how harshly this respected and much older journalist had spoken to him, I tried to put this unpleasantness aside and when it was my turn to speak to him, I approached with a grin.
I mentioned my love of The McLaughlin Group, which was very popular at the time and where Barnes was a regular panelist, and asked him something related to the show… he reacted with icy disdain, and answered with borderline hostility… it was such a strange reaction to a young person who had shown interest in part of his work, especially as he was presumably at this event because he wanted to interact with young people.
I most certainly wondered on that day if he exhibited such bizarre hostility to any young white fans who approached him, especially at an event like this where such an approach should logically be welcomed.
Oh, and if any of you are going to tell me that Barnes couldn’t possibly be a racist because he’s a fan of Thomas Sowell’s work, please save your breath… I’m sure that many white racists are big fans of Sowell’s work.
