Just finished a bizarre disconnected argument with someone on Twitter who refused to engage with the point of Fox News’s race-baiting over Ebola, and kept pretending it was simply rational.

I don’t think he was really excusing Fox’s racism, but he has a huge blind spot about it.

@Green_Footballs It’s not ‘racist” to ask if ppl from Ebola-stricken parts of W Africa might seek traditional med rather than hospitals

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@Green_Footballs heck I know plenty of people raised in the US who seek traditional medicine practices before going to the emergency room

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@marshray That’s not what Andrea Tantaros said. She said “a witch doctor practicing Santeria.” Racist right wing memes.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2014

@marshray If you don’t see why that’s a racist statement I don’t know what else to say to you.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2014

@marshray There are ways to express this that aren’t racist. And then there’s the “witch doctor” meme.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2014

@Green_Footballs Lack of western medicine and cultural practices in W. Africa are major factors in Ebola transmission cited in every report

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@Green_Footballs This is not a racist or political thing. The virus doesn’t care why. It’s just biology.

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@marshray Again, you’re missing the point.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2014

@marshray I agree it isn’t racist to note the cultural differences. It *is* racist however to rant about “witch doctors” and “Santeria.”

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2014

@Green_Footballs Well, maybe we just see things differently. At the end of the day, what we think will be small potatoes in this thing.

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@Green_Footballs Yeah, the terms http://t.co/B0G45u4Ad5 and http://t.co/nsGrODwIhs aren’t perfect. What would you suggest instead?

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 5, 2014

@marshray Again, you’re missing the point. Andrea Tantaros used those terms quite deliberately as intentional race-baiting.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@marshray And this is *far* from the first time she has engaged in this kind of racist nonsense.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs So you don’t actually have any better terms to describe the medical and cultural traditions of West Africa. I don’t either.

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

@marshray I suggest you research Andrea Tantaros’ history of inflammatory race-baiting before continuing to defend what she said.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs Friend, #Ebola is the most dangerous viral outbreak since 1918. Why would I waste energy looking for ways to hate Fox News?

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

@marshray You started this conversation by saying there was nothing racist about what Tantaros said. I’m responding to that.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs I guess it’s more important to me to understand the #ebola epidemic than to fit some irrelevant agenda around it.

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

@marshray It’s not “irrelevant” to point out that media companies like Fox News are engaging in race-baiting and fear-mongering over Ebola.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@marshray Irrational fear helps no one, and no one gains understanding by indulging it.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs OK, then please tell me how I should factor that into my personal #ebola risk analysis. What behavior should I change?

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

@marshray Again - you started this conversation by saying there was nothing racist about Tantaros’s statements. I disagree, strongly.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@marshray Now, instead of acknowledging that maybe you jumped the gun on that, you’re changing the subject.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@marshray I have no interest in dictating your behavior. I was responding to a point *you* raised.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs Concern that an #Ebola carrier will travel to US from W Africa and not go straight to the hospital is extremely rational

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

@marshray And *again* you are missing the point. There’s not much use in continuing this.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 6, 2014

@Green_Footballs I guess we just see things differently. Peace.

— Marsh Ray (@marshray) October 6, 2014

Weird.