Yesterday, Fox News reported that President Obama’s daughter, Malia, had elected to attend Harvard University after taking a year off from school. It seemed an innocuous enough story, but readers of Fox News proved nothing is off-limits when attacking a black president, his wife, and his children.

Fox News was forced to close the comment section when their readers began displaying their horrific racism for all the world to see. Addicting Info, however, caught screenshots.

None of these people commenting seemed to consider that a black child, who fluently speaks a foreign language, may just be intelligent enough to qualify for admission to the prestigious university. Also, none of them note that white students who are considered part of a “legacy” because their family members attended Ivy League schools are more likely to be accepted than first-generation students, regardless of grades or test scores, and have been for years.

These racists commenting that Malia’s acceptance into Harvard has to be based on her race also fail to consider that her mother holds two Ivy League degrees from Harvard and Princeton. Perhaps Malia inherited those brains from her mother? No, these racists can’t accept that Michelle Obama is a brilliant and accomplished woman. They can’t even accept that she’s a woman!

Harvard is one university that does proportionately admit students of color. African Americans comprise 12.1% of the United States population and 11.6% of Harvard University admissions. Black applicants are not, therefore, admitted at a higher rate than white students. They’re simply admitted proportionately. That’s not “black privilege,” it’s called equality.

Insisting that any accomplishment made by a person of color, an immigrant, or a female must be based solely on their race or gender is, at its core, a racist and sexist assumption. White males are not inherently more capable or intelligent as a group. No one is “taking” their opportunities away, as those opportunities should never have belonged solely to white males.

Shutting down the comments on this story doesn’t erase the racism behind the comments. It still exists and has been fostered and encouraged by the likes of Fox News. Manufactured rage over the “race card” is part of their daily schedule. For just one small example of this, see the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xDWcx-rUeQ

Featured image via Getty/Joshua Lott