Beck does it again: insults Jamaica and Usain Bolt

December 17, 2009 11:17 am ET by John V. Santore

On December 10, Media Matters for America highlighted an unprovoked and xenophobic series of insults Glenn Beck lobbed at India, the Indian people, and Indian-Americans. After showing the testimony of an American woman who had received health care in India because it was cheaper than in the U.S., Beck implied that there are no quality medical schools in India; that medical care in India is a shoddy imitation of real health care; that the entire nation is an undeveloped backwater without indoor plumbing; and said that the Ganges River "sounds like a disease."

On December 15, the U.S. India Political Action Committee condemned the statements, saying in a press release that "recent remarks by popular TV Commentator Glenn Beck about India, its religious heritage, and Indian physicians" were "offensive and in poor taste."

The next day, Beck offered an extremely curt apology:

But earlier in the same program, Beck again chose to dismiss an entire country, Jamaica, as well as Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who is currently the world's fastest sprinter and an Olympic record holder several times over. "Not only do I not know who this guy is," Beck said while looking at a picture of Bolt holding the Jamaican flag, "I don't even know what flag that is. It's like a vacation country. Is that Jamaica? Does anybody know? Jamaica. Apparently he runs fast." Here's the video: