Clive Bundy press conference alienates potential supporters

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Apr 24, 2014 at 7:17 pm

Clive Bundy appears at press conference on April 24, 2014.

Clive Bundy speaks at a press conference on April 24, 2014. (Screenshot)

Clive Bundy press conference detrimental to his cause

BUNKERVILLE, Nev — Clive Bundy held a press conference this afternoon to answer media questions about past comments that he made that many consider racist and to speak for “the people”.

Bundy has been involved in a dispute with the BLM for more than 20 years over his failure to pay cattle grazing fees to the BLM. They say he owes them more than $1 million dollars and also claim that nearly another million dollars was spent in the BLM standoff with Bundy earlier in the month.

Bundy stopped paying the grazing fees in 1994. He claims that the grazing fees in question are closer to $300,000 but says that the does not owe the BLM any money because the BLM land near his property is not BLM land. He claims it’s, “Nevada land,” and he does not recognize the BLM as his landlord.

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A tense situation developed when armed federal agents surrounded the Bundy Ranch and began rounding up the cattle. Supports of Clive Bundy, many of them armed, flocked to the Bundy Ranch.

Support for the long time elderly Nevada rancher grew especially amid speculation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. was behind the decision to storm the Bundy Ranch.

At that point Clive Bundy truly had a good amount of support from mainstream American Citizens who were rooting for him and were outraged at the treatment that protesters at the Bundy Ranch received.

When the BLM aborted their efforts and retreated many around the country let out a collective cheer after he won the latest round in his battle with the federal government .

High profile officials weighed in on the situation including Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval who had harsh words for the BLM and the way they carried out their mission trampling upon the First Amendment rights of supporters and protestors.

Clive Bundy addressed the media at a press confence, April 24, 2014, at the Bundy Ranch.

CLive Bundy speaks at a press conference at the Bundy Ranch on April 24, 2014. (Press Conference Screenshot)

Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore criticized the federal government for sending men with guns to collect a debt. She even visited the ranch and helped care for one of the injured cattle.

Clive Bundy loses support after racist remarks

And then Bundy opened his mouth to the mainstream media.

He vowed to hold a daily news conference. His recent comments about “negroes”, slavery and abortion published by the New York Times offended many when he said,

They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom

By his own admission he may not have a grandiose vocabulary and in a news conference held Thursday he attempted to clarify and soften his remarks.

He told a story about how he was protected by black men when he was leaving the scene of the Watts Riots, and he also said that he believes that choices should be extended to all people.

His comments, though, rang thin as he tried to portray himself as the voice of, “the people,” and many of his once strong supporters have distanced themselves from Bundy and issued statements denouncing his recent comments.

Some, like Assemblywoman Fiore, have managed to separate the issues and not do an about-face due to the controversy. Fiore denounced the racist remarks but has not backed off from her position that the raid to collect a debt was simply wrong.

In all fairness to Bundy he grew up in a completely different generation. The sad truth is that, unfortunately, there are others like him of all races that share what modern day society considers to be racist views. That is how they were raised and that is all they know.

His family contends that Clive Bundy is not a racist and is a good man and many echo their sentiments.

Bundy remains at his ranch secluded from modern day thinkers. Clive Bundy is surrounded by a younger generation in which many of them share white supremacist views and he and his family are guarded by armed civilian militia.

To put it in a better context, there are black men of Bundy’s age who share racist views about white people. Some express out and out hatred and do not want their son’s, daughter’s and grandchildren to have anything to with people of the Caucasian race. While some outwardly express their hate, others do not, but they do exist.

One of the most appalling racist comments by a well-known powerful figure in modern day society is Oprah Winfrey. In a BBC interview Oprah said,

There are still generations of people, older people, who were born and bred and marinated in it — in that prejudice and racism — and they just have to die!

Watching and listening to the interview it is painfully clear that her comments were meant for white people. She also believes that when people, and again she means white people, disagree with President Obama it is because he’s black and because the white people are racist.

Oprah has a powerful influence on society and if people like her continue to spew racist comments and persuade other to buy into her beliefs racism will never cease to exist.

It’s clear that Clive Bundy did himself no favors during his most recent press conference.

Potentially damaging information revealed about Harry Reid’s involvement in the decision to storm the Bundy Ranch, for example, has been overshadowed by issues that have nothing to do with grazing rights and the dispute over the debt that the federal government believes they are owed.

Additional comments made by Clive Bundy about his beliefs that the government would not attempt a raid for at least a few years will undoubtedly further spur the government into planning a raid on the Bundy Ranch and the result could end up being the next Waco.