# WTF? Bill O'Reilly just called Mexicans "wetbacks!" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370 "2003-02-07T03:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/21 "2003-02-07T04:50:55Z")
God I hate that fucker’s smirk God I hate that fucker’s smirk God I hate that fucker’s smirk… Yea, not the first time time heard him use that charming term either. Butt nut. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/22 "2003-02-07T04:51:54Z")
But I thought “mule” was generally used to refer to people who had drugs planted on them by traffickers to enable them (the drugs) to pass through Customs undetected. Hardly likely that they traffickers would choose people that the Border patrol is LOOKING for, is it? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/23 "2003-02-07T04:55:08Z")
O’Reilly is really a disgusting human being, without a doubt. But what is even more disconcerting is the amount of viewers in the USA that agree with with the _pendejo_ and his pathetic rhetoric. They are the ones that allow him to remain on the air. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/24 "2003-02-07T04:55:16Z")
Fucking asshat. Sic George Clooney on him again. Ha! _sigh_ George Clooney…_swoon_ ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/25 "2003-02-07T05:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > I’ve heard a lot O’Reilly’s rants…\ **WHY?** ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/26 "2003-02-07T05:03:53Z")
Could it be _gasp_ that many Americans (and people from around the world) _agree_ with all/most of what O’Reilly has to say? No! Of course not! Why, just look at how Donahue is manhandling him in the ratings…oh ya. Well, I’m sure O’Reilly appreciates that he gets viewers from across the spectrum. Higher ratings equals greater advertising revenue equals more money in Bill’s pockets. And good for him. And ‘wetback’ is **not** a magic word. Nobodies head exploded when he uttered it. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/27 "2003-02-07T05:05:38Z")
**Brutus** , how hard is it for you to understand that it is a RACIAL SLUR on par with “nigger”??? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/28 "2003-02-07T05:06:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\* > > And ‘wetback’ is **not** a magic word. Nobodies head exploded when he uttered it. Get over it. \*\* Chinga tu puta madre. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/29 "2003-02-07T05:15:11Z")
Dude, CBE, I’m sorry, but that just sounds sad. Like a junior high kid trying to show off the foreign-language curse words that the TEACHER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND! 😃 😃 \<- Happy face to show I am just teasin’ ya. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/30 "2003-02-07T05:23:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Dude, CBE, I’m sorry, but that just sounds sad. Like a junior high kid trying to show off the foreign-language curse words that the TEACHER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND! 😃 > > 😃 \<- Happy face to show I am just teasin’ ya. \*\* So I can’t express myself in the language of Brutus’ wetbacks? The language that I speak 95% of the time? Isn’t this the pit? How about… Hey Brutus go fuck yourself with a nice habanero chile? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/31 "2003-02-07T05:30:32Z")
**CBescapee** En espanol, como se dice “buttmunch?” Uno mas pregunta: es Sr. O’Reilly un "pendejo"o un “chupacabra”? Y porque? Su companero, elucidator-o ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/32 "2003-02-07T05:31:45Z")
Oh, yeah, I never did find out…what exactly is a “pendejo”? Same as a “maricon”? Or is it an insult? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/33 "2003-02-07T05:36:24Z")
Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/34 "2003-02-07T05:45:41Z")
I was even more astounded by this exchange, courtesy of Tom Tomorrow’s 'blog ([www.thismodernworld.com](http://www.thismodernworld.com)). O’Reilly’s guest was Jeremy Glick, who signed the Not In Our Name ad and whose father was killed on 9/11. > [@](#): > > O’REILLY: You are mouthing a far left position that is a marginal position in this society, which you’re entitled to. > > GLICK: It’s marginal – right. > > O’REILLY: You’re entitled to it, all right, but you’re – you see, even --I’m sure your beliefs are sincere, but what upsets me is I don’t think your father would be approving of this. > > GLICK: Well, actually, my father thought that Bush’s presidency was illegitimate. > > O’REILLY: Maybe he did, but… > > GLICK: I also didn’t think that Bush… > > O’REILLY: … I don’t think he’d be equating this country as a terrorist nation as you are. > > GLICK: Well, I wasn’t saying that it was necessarily like that. > > O’REILLY: Yes, you are. You signed… > > GLICK: What I’m saying is… > > O’REILLY: … this, and that absolutely said that. > > GLICK: … is that in – six months before the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, starting in the Carter administration and continuing and escalating while Bush’s father was head of the CIA, we recruited a hundred thousand radical mujahadeens to combat a democratic government in Afghanistan, the Turaki government. > > O’REILLY: All right. I don’t want to… > > GLICK: Maybe… > > O’REILLY: I don’t want to debate world politics with you. > > GLICK: Well, why not? This is about world politics. > > O’REILLY: Because, No. 1, I don’t really care what you think. > > GLICK: Well, OK. > > O’REILLY: You’re – I want to… > > GLICK: But you do care because you… > > O’REILLY: No, no. Look… > > GLICK: The reason why you care is because you evoke 9/11… > > O’REILLY: Here’s why I care. > > GLICK: … to rationalize… > > O’REILLY: Here’s why I care… > > GLICK: Let me finish. You evoke 9/11 to rationalize everything from domestic plunder to imperialistic aggression worldwide. > > O’REILLY: OK. That’s a bunch… > > GLICK: You evoke sympathy with the 9/11 families. > > O’REILLY: That’s a bunch of crap. I’ve done more for the 9/11 families by their own admission – I’ve done more for them than you will ever hope to do. > > GLICK: OK. > > O’REILLY: So you keep your mouth shut when you sit here exploiting those people. > > GLICK: Well, you’re not representing me. You’re not representing me. > > O’REILLY: And I’d never represent you. You know why? > > GLICK: Why? > > O’REILLY: Because you have a warped view of this world and a warped view of this country. > > GLICK: Well, explain that. Let me give you an example of a parallel… > > O’REILLY: No, I’m not going to debate this with you, all right. > > GLICK: Well, let me give you an example of parallel experience. On September 14… > > O’REILLY: No, no. Here’s – here’s the… > > GLICK: On September 14… > > O’REILLY: Here’s the record. > > GLICK: OK. > > O’REILLY: All right. You didn’t support the action against Afghanistan to remove the Taliban. You were against it, OK. > > GLICK: Why would I want to brutalize and further punish the people in Afghanistan… > > O’REILLY: Who killed your father! > > GLICK: The people in Afghanistan… > > O’REILLY: Who killed your father. > > GLICK: … didn’t kill my father. > > O’REILLY: Sure they did. The al Qaeda people were trained there. > > GLICK: The al Qaeda people? What about the Afghan people? > > O’REILLY: See, I’m more angry about it than you are! > > GLICK: So what about George Bush? > > O’REILLY: What about George Bush? He had nothing to do with it. > > GLICK: The director – senior as director of the CIA. > > O’REILLY: He had nothing to do with it. > > GLICK: So the people that trained a hundred thousand Mujahadeen who were… > > O’REILLY: Man, I hope your mom isn’t watching this. > > GLICK: Well, I hope she is. > > O’REILLY: I hope your mother is not watching this because you – that’s it. I’m not going to say anymore. > > GLICK: OK. > > O’REILLY: In respect for your father… > > GLICK: On September 14, do you want to know what I’m doing? > > O’REILLY: Shut up! Shut up! > > GLICK: Oh, please don’t tell me to shut up. > > O’REILLY: As respect – as respect – in respect for your father, who was a Port Authority worker, a fine American, who got killed unnecessarily by barbarians… > > GLICK: By radical extremists who were trained by this government… > > O’REILLY: Out of respect for him… > > GLICK: … not the people of America. > > O’REILLY: … I’m not going to… > > GLICK: … The people of the ruling class, the small minority. > > O’REILLY: Cut his mic. I’m not going to dress you down anymore, out of respect for your father. > > We will be back in a moment with more of THE FACTOR. > > GLICK: That means we’re done? > > O’REILLY: We’re done. I don’t understand why anybody who doesn’t agree with O’Reilly ever goes on his show. They know up front that they won’t get a word in edgewise, and if the above is any indication, if they get too insistent they’ll simply be told to shut up and cut off. What a poor excuse for a “discussion” show. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/35 "2003-02-07T05:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Asshole. \*\* Well, gee, **Guinn** , if its something I said… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/36 "2003-02-07T05:54:06Z")
You said it, not me. 😉 😛 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/37 "2003-02-07T05:54:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > Could it be _gasp_ that many Americans (and people from around the world) _agree_ with all/most of what O’Reilly has to say? No! Of course not! Why, just look at how Donahue is manhandling him in the ratings…oh ya. Or maybe they tune in to hear what string of bullshit he’s going to spin next…ever think that peopel tune in to something for amusement, not because they agree with/buy into someone’s beliefs? ---
**Author:** ![SLASH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SLASH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLASH)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/38 "2003-02-07T06:07:38Z")
Where I grew up, I always heard that word when referring to illegal immigrants. From everybody, including Mexican kids. I knew it wasn’t exactly nice, but I’ve never thought it to be on the same level of forbiddeness as “nigger”. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/39 "2003-02-07T06:22:52Z")
A woman with a Mexican husband once told me, the same sort of slang is used amongst Mexican immigrants - " ¿Eres mojado?" - literally, “are you wet?” - meaning are you recently (and maybe illegally) immigrated here to the US? Doesn’t make it OK for a “gringo” to use it, though. It’s the intention behind the word that counts, as with the “n” word. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370/40 "2003-02-07T06:24:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t understand why anybody who doesn’t agree with O’Reilly ever goes on his show. They know up front that they won’t get a word in edgewise, and if the above is any indication, if they get too insistent they’ll simply be told to shut up and cut off. What a poor excuse for a “discussion” show. Exactly. It is is overwhelming need to talk over all his guests that makes his show unwatchable. I used to watch and scream at him. It scared the animals, so I had to stop watching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-bill-oreilly-just-called-mexicans-wetbacks/153370.md?page=3)