Fox News reporter Johnny Belisario got more than he bargained for when he didn't get the answers he was searching for after Seattle residents openly mocked him over his claims about crime.
A video shared by Kat Abu, a media analyst with the progressive watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMA), shows Belisario encountering varying perspectives on the matter, with some residents challenging Fox News' fictional portrayal of crime in their city.
One Seattleite adamantly asserted that he has never witnessed any criminal activity in Seattle, offering an alternative narrative to the prevailing discourse on the right-wing network:
“I’ve never seen any crime in Seattle. I’ve seen fun and laughter and laughter and fun."
Another resident framed crime as a "social issue" that could be effectively addressed through the provision of "basic needs" but perhaps the most memorable encounter occurred when a woman in a green jacket vehemently rejected Belisario's claims about street crime
They said:
“I’ve never heard of anyone getting robbed. People just don’t come up and try to rob people on the street.”
You can see what happened in the video below.
The segment quickly went viral, prompting many to mock Bolisario and the network's coverage.
That the segment had failed to provide Fox News with its regular talking points about crime in liberal cities stunned host Jeanine Pirro, who pointed to the recent closure of two Target stores in Seattle, which the company attributed to "theft and organized retail crime."
Speaking to fellow host Jesse Watters—who'd sent Bolisario to Seattle for the segment—Pirro said:
“The arrogance and the ignorance of Seattle residents that Johnny interviewed is shocking. I mean, how could they be clueless?"
Watters responded that it's "understandable" that Seattleites are "clueless" because of the city's "demographics," which he said support the view that addressing crime is "racist":
"It’s a very highly educated city—very white, very LGBTQ, very secular. And they all believe in the same thing, which is [that] criminalizing crime is racist."
Oddly, Watters also remarked on the distinctive appearance of some Seattle residents, mentioning that many have vibrant, purple-colored hair, wear masks, and exhibit a fashion style reminiscent of 1990s grunge music enthusiasts—a genre that originated in the Seattle area.
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