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CNN Live At Daybreak

'Talk of CNN'

Aired September 19, 2002 - 05:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So what is the talk around the country, here in the United States, other than here at CNN?
We want to check in with Jimmy Barrett, our friend at WRVA Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia.

Jimmy is on the phone with us right now.

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO HOST: Carol Costello, good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

BARRETT: How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm great. Boy, you've got a lot on your plate this morning.

BARRETT: Boy, we do. You know what? Maybe we should get you down here to mediate this next story. I saw you yesterday on "Talk Back Live" and you're used to dealing with combatants. So maybe you could lend a hand down here.

COSTELLO: I know, I felt like a referee. And you're specifically talking about this World Church of the Creator. What the heck is that?

BARRETT: Well, first of all, I have a real problem with the use of the creator and church as it relates to Matt Hale. He's a devout racist. His organization is filled with devout racists. He says he's sort of the white version of the NAACP. That has always been his position, that they aren't out to do anything other than to promote the white race.

But really what they're all about is wreaking havoc, Carol, wherever they go.

COSTELLO: And we're taking a look at his picture right now. And they're going to meet in a public library, which kind of surprises me.

BARRETT: Well, the public library is in Chesterfield. This thing has been debated back and forth. It's not because the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors wants them there. They don't want them there. The problem is is that organizations such as the ACLU are basically saying you have to have them there, that as long as they do not bar people from coming into the public library -- after all, it is a public meeting place -- that there's nothing they can do about it. The World Church of the Creator, Carol, says it's a educational meeting. But you know what kind of education they're going to try to dispense.

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, I suspect there will be a lot of protesters down there when they meet.

BARRETT: You know what? That's the problem. In my word, that is -- yes, and I'll tell you why it's the problem. First of all, you've got three different ingredients that are going to make this something that could very well incite some major, major problems. You have a group of racists and you also will have a group of protesters. And, in fact, we had the pastor of a local church on with a -- they have 2,500 members in their congregation and they're probably going to get as many of them down there as they can.

And then you know what's going to happen? They're going to have outside agitators. This happens wherever Matthew Hale and his organization goes. You put those three things together and you end up with people getting injured, people getting hurt and Matthew Hale gets exactly what it is that he wants to get, lots of...

COSTELLO: Publicity.

BARRETT: Lots of publicity.

COSTELLO: Yes, yes, yes.

BARRETT: So I've been working my moral dilemma here all this week. I've got tons of e-mails from people, you know, who I think are agreeing with the fact that really by talking about this -- and shame on me again for doing it this morning with you -- but by talking about this, all we're really doing is giving Matthew Hale exactly what he wants.

COSTELLO: Well, that certainly is food for thought.

Before I let you go, I want to get quickly into this next topic, because it's pretty interesting. A kid wears an NRA T-shirt to school and gets thrown out?

BARRETT: Well, he gets thrown out temporarily. This happened in Charlottesville, which is right down the road. By the way, the ancestral home, Monticello, of Thomas Jefferson, is in Charlottesville. So maybe there's an interesting little quirk on that particular aspect of it. But, yes, he wore an NRA T-shirt to school. It didn't depict, by the way, any sort of violence, but it did have NRA on it and it did have hunters pictured on it.

Now, the question is should a kid be allowed to ewer something that involves weapons or firearms, if you will, to school? And here, you want to hear my solution?

COSTELLO: I do, please.

BARRETT: You and I went to school at a time -- I don't mean to date either one of us, but we went to school at a time where you weren't even allowed to wear jeans sometimes in the schools.

COSTELLO: Definitely. We had to dress up and it had to be very conservative clothing, too.

BARRETT: Exactly right. So what is so unusual about that? You know, I'm beginning to long for school uniforms here. Let's put all the kids in a pair of khakis and a plain navy shirt and you know what? They won't have any competition with each other...

COSTELLO: Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy.

BARRETT: ... they won't be able to...

COSTELLO: That's a whole another argument.

BARRETT: I know.

COSTELLO: OK, Jimmy Barrett, we've got to let you go.

Thank you very much.

Our friend from Richmond, Virginia.

BARRETT: Always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 19, 2002 - 05:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So what is the talk around the country, here in the United States, other than here at CNN?
We want to check in with Jimmy Barrett, our friend at WRVA Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia.

Jimmy is on the phone with us right now.

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO HOST: Carol Costello, good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

BARRETT: How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm great. Boy, you've got a lot on your plate this morning.

BARRETT: Boy, we do. You know what? Maybe we should get you down here to mediate this next story. I saw you yesterday on "Talk Back Live" and you're used to dealing with combatants. So maybe you could lend a hand down here.

COSTELLO: I know, I felt like a referee. And you're specifically talking about this World Church of the Creator. What the heck is that?

BARRETT: Well, first of all, I have a real problem with the use of the creator and church as it relates to Matt Hale. He's a devout racist. His organization is filled with devout racists. He says he's sort of the white version of the NAACP. That has always been his position, that they aren't out to do anything other than to promote the white race.

But really what they're all about is wreaking havoc, Carol, wherever they go.

COSTELLO: And we're taking a look at his picture right now. And they're going to meet in a public library, which kind of surprises me.

BARRETT: Well, the public library is in Chesterfield. This thing has been debated back and forth. It's not because the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors wants them there. They don't want them there. The problem is is that organizations such as the ACLU are basically saying you have to have them there, that as long as they do not bar people from coming into the public library -- after all, it is a public meeting place -- that there's nothing they can do about it. The World Church of the Creator, Carol, says it's a educational meeting. But you know what kind of education they're going to try to dispense.

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, I suspect there will be a lot of protesters down there when they meet.

BARRETT: You know what? That's the problem. In my word, that is -- yes, and I'll tell you why it's the problem. First of all, you've got three different ingredients that are going to make this something that could very well incite some major, major problems. You have a group of racists and you also will have a group of protesters. And, in fact, we had the pastor of a local church on with a -- they have 2,500 members in their congregation and they're probably going to get as many of them down there as they can.

And then you know what's going to happen? They're going to have outside agitators. This happens wherever Matthew Hale and his organization goes. You put those three things together and you end up with people getting injured, people getting hurt and Matthew Hale gets exactly what it is that he wants to get, lots of...

COSTELLO: Publicity.

BARRETT: Lots of publicity.

COSTELLO: Yes, yes, yes.

BARRETT: So I've been working my moral dilemma here all this week. I've got tons of e-mails from people, you know, who I think are agreeing with the fact that really by talking about this -- and shame on me again for doing it this morning with you -- but by talking about this, all we're really doing is giving Matthew Hale exactly what he wants.

COSTELLO: Well, that certainly is food for thought.

Before I let you go, I want to get quickly into this next topic, because it's pretty interesting. A kid wears an NRA T-shirt to school and gets thrown out?

BARRETT: Well, he gets thrown out temporarily. This happened in Charlottesville, which is right down the road. By the way, the ancestral home, Monticello, of Thomas Jefferson, is in Charlottesville. So maybe there's an interesting little quirk on that particular aspect of it. But, yes, he wore an NRA T-shirt to school. It didn't depict, by the way, any sort of violence, but it did have NRA on it and it did have hunters pictured on it.

Now, the question is should a kid be allowed to ewer something that involves weapons or firearms, if you will, to school? And here, you want to hear my solution?

COSTELLO: I do, please.

BARRETT: You and I went to school at a time -- I don't mean to date either one of us, but we went to school at a time where you weren't even allowed to wear jeans sometimes in the schools.

COSTELLO: Definitely. We had to dress up and it had to be very conservative clothing, too.

BARRETT: Exactly right. So what is so unusual about that? You know, I'm beginning to long for school uniforms here. Let's put all the kids in a pair of khakis and a plain navy shirt and you know what? They won't have any competition with each other...

COSTELLO: Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy.

BARRETT: ... they won't be able to...

COSTELLO: That's a whole another argument.

BARRETT: I know.

COSTELLO: OK, Jimmy Barrett, we've got to let you go.

Thank you very much.

Our friend from Richmond, Virginia.

BARRETT: Always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com