Well it seems that someone has fallen victim in the aftermath of the comments made by Bill O'Reilly on The View last week. O'Reilly gathered with invited political analysts to discuss his appearance on The View. Juan Williams, a popular news analyst, with an extensive background in civil rights reporting, made an unfavorable statement about Muslims. Williams stated, "I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the Civil Rights movement in this country," Williams said. "But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous." Read the article here.
I would like to pose these questions: Should Mr. Williams have been terminated for his statement? Is he just voicing the sentiments felt by most Americans?
12 comments:
I think it's more likely that he was fired because O'Reilly said "you live in the liberal precincts. You actually work for NPR, OK?"
NPR hates having its name associated with Fox "news"
Williams was pandering to his FOX audience of racists and bigots. Unfortunate yes, but FOX has rewarded him, so good for him and his raise. NPR is better off in my opinion for letting this Fox person go, not that I don't like Juan, I enjoy his leftist viewpoints on Fox Noise Sunday. NPR has every right to fire if the person does not follow their rules.
What a stupid move by NPR.
I like Juan. He's a stand-up guy, not fitting into the box American PC culture wants him to fit into.
He told his personal truth, a truth shared by millions of Americans.
If that's bigoted, then so be it.
I'd have a hard time buying anyone who could tell me they wouldn't feel differently in a situation Juan described - that they could be there and not have to somehow, some way reconcile it within themselves.
I'm not the type to preemptively claim people are lying. But natural emotion being bigoted? Oh, ffs. The far-left has really revealed itself as whacko on this one!
But forget personal feelings on this.
Logically, this is the worst thing NPR could have done.
An already middling organization receiving taxpayer funding in part through its main and shell corporations cannot be a progressive station with ONE viewpoint.
Inevitably, they're going to lose funding after they've lost their remaining credibility, and when forced to compete in a free market they will evaporate. Soros cannot fund them all.
They turned Juan into a hero and signed their death warrant.
And forgot to add:
Where is NPR's "diversity" now?
If NPR were fringe right instead of fringe left, we all know it would be called racist to fire the only black guy working there due to stating a personal feeling.
I know DI deals with racial issues, so it's remiss not to touch on the fact that, as "progressive" as NPR holds itself up to be, it is, as Chris Matthews would say about a Palin book signing, monochromatic. (But, then again, so it Matthews' network.)
You should have put his entire comment up and not that one section. He went out of his way to say that we cannot discrimate based on religion, and that we need to stop being so politically correct that we can't have a discussion about this issue.
Nothing he said makes him a bigot. The reality remains that the majoirty of terrorism in the world is committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. Refusing to talk about it won't change the facts.
Let's have the debate about what we do about it, and the moderate Muslims of the world need to be more vocal about what they believe and what they are willing to accept in the name of their faith.
We also should have the discussion about the other analysts that espouse liberal viewpoints on other networks besides Fox that are against conservatives. They have proven themselves to be hypocrits. I personally don't care what they say when they are on other shows, to be honest, I would rather that they show their colors so I can decide if reading/watching/listening to that reporting is worth my time.
Nah, Williams was sacrificed to the gods of political correctness.
1.It's a rare instance where O'Reilly was right (did I just say that?) when he pointed out that Juan did not give an opinion, he was just describing his emotional state. If he said we "should" feel nervous... that would be another issue.
2. How many 9-11 terrorists were actually wearing "Muslim garb"? Or Richard Reid? Or the Xmas Eve bomber? The problem with Williams' statement is that it's a stupid emotion to have.
3. Mara Liasson has the highest job security in the world today.
4. Joan Walsh nailed it in her column today.
Hi Nameless Cynic: You are probably right...lol.
Hi Sue: I like him too Sue. I just think that sometimes we should think before we speak. Impressionable people are listening.
Hi Josh: You responded to the question I asked. I am certain many Americans feel exactly as Juan does and I find that frightening. One of my best friends is a Muslim and it bothers me to think that she could be a target of hate, prejudice, and quite frankly violence by virtue of the way she worships.
I do not think Mr. Williams should have lost his position because of what he said, but he should be mindful and aware of his tone. We can say and think what we want at home, but in the public forum public figures should have a certain level of awareness.
Hi Just a Conservative Girl: I thought it was enough that I posted the video that detailed exactly what you stated. Seriously I was posting the comment that supposedly got Mr. Williams dismissed. He may not be a bigot, but the statement was very bigoted. I am in no way saying that he should have been let go from his duties by the NPR, but as I mentioned before, we have to be mindful about what we put out in the universe. Thanks for visiting.
Hi Tony: I do not disagree with you, I think Juan was a sacrifies. The 9ll terrorists had on Western garb, not tradition clothing. Thanks for sharing the Joan Walsh link. I hope everyone who visits here checks it out.
Juan was trying to encourage an open discussion, you know, the way we used to be encouraged to have in the US. He was talking about how unhealthy it is to hold our fears in, so they fester. How wrong it is to stereotype. What's more, that it doesn't help truly moderate Muslims to allow radical Islamists to steam roll over our rights to free speech and expression.
That is truly giving in to fear. I'll wager that those on the left are the one's guilty of fear of Muslims. Reading the comments of the leftists on twitter crowing over what they perceive as a victory in Williams' firing, you see the hatefulness and intolerance. It really brings home how mean spirited and inherently cruel socialists are.
Jenny (my "identity" is anonymous, because I don't have a blogger account)
It is still important to note that Juan did make a distinction, both before and after the "nervous" part of the statement, in which he talked about a Muslim identifying first as a Muslim - i.e. the traditional garb that you'd find.
That's just visceral; and if you're going to be kneejerk at any time, I think putting it within the extremely well structured frame it was in makes it credible and worthy of dialogue rather than denouncement (as in the way NPR threw him under the bus).
What's ironic is that a terrorist of any sort is most likely going to assimilate. But it's the image.
It might be unfair. But that is truly the fault of radical mujahideen whose blatant disrespect of Islam and disregard for human life has caused irreparable damage to the entire world.
Juan's truthfulness is, in my opinion, to be admired by all people.
He pointed out something a lot of people, especially some involved with organizations like CAIR, go out of their way to avoid - and that is that there is a big problem in the world today. And while some of it may be visceral and sometimes bigoted feelings toward Muslims, many Muslims in the world are outright lunatics with the way they oppress, degrade, discriminate and kill.
Juan gets a reprimand from CAIR. Did CAIR reprimand the radical professor saying all Muslims must rise up against Zionism? (I haven't heard that they did yet.)
My point: we need to be open and honest about everything across the entire board. There's a time to hold your tongue. Unfortunately, many hold their tongues about the wrong things.
With the way NPR handled Mr. Williams, this is the message I'm getting - "We want to pretend that problems don't exist. Show deference to Muslims if you work for us. We don't care if you don't hold your tongue about Fox or the Tea Party or Christians, but anything resembling Muslim discrimination is a no-no."
Odd. In fact, I could have just wrote "odd" and called it a day! lol But I love to type too much. :)
Although NPR was within their rights to do so, I think they made a mistake in letting Juan go. As messed up as his feelings may be, he was being honest. However, even if his sentiments are shared by millions of Americans (and I'm not saying they are), that doesn't make them any less wrong headed. One thing that has been lost by some is NPR President/CEO Vivian Schiller’s statement that Juan’s comments represented "the latest in a series of deeply troubling incidents" — and that Williams had previously been warned that the things he had said violated NPR standards. I’m wondering what exactly those “deeply troubling incidents” are.
I doubt if many on the right even really care about Juan Williams. Instead, they want to see NPR shut down and this recent controversy plays right into their hands. Bill O’Reilly in particular has an axe to grind (I think he’s still pissed about that 2003 interview he did with Terry Gross on her program “Fresh Air“).
Although Juan can be interesting when giving analysis on Fox, he is the prototypical “Fox liberal”. If Fox had on more strong liberals/progressives like Joe Madison and Cenk Uygur, they’d come closer to embodying their slogan of being “fair and balanced”.
Jenny (aka Anonymous): Welcome to Diversity Ink. You said:
“I'll wager that those on the left are the one's guilty of fear of Muslims. Reading the comments of the leftists on twitter crowing over what they perceive as a victory in Williams' firing, you see the hatefulness and intolerance. It really brings home how mean spirited and inherently cruel socialists are.”
Earlier you said that Juan was talking about how wrong it is to stereotype. Based on what you said about the left, I guess his comments didn’t make an impression on you.
Again Jenny, welcome to Diversity Ink. I look forward to your input on any future topics we cover here. Even if I disagree, I have no issue with people presenting opposing viewpoints in a respectful manner over here.
Wow. That's just an impossible standard, Malcolm.
Alan Colmes, Ellis Henican, Bob Beckel, Marc Lamont Hill - just to name a few "liberals" falling more into the "progressive" category, that you seem to be talking about, that regularly contribute to the network.
Not to mention Shep, Greta and Geraldo with their own shows.
Out of all the Fox digs, the "prototypical liberal" stuff is the weakest.
I'm not aware of another network with a lineup even close to that in terms of political diversity.
More right-wing opinions than left? Yes. And they're the ONLY network around that isn't primarily liberal. The only one.
But is that really the beef with Fox News, and the rest of it is just the rest of it? Talk about tolerance.
If by prototypical liberal you mean someone who's actually illiberal and will get up and walk out, attempt to get someone fired, or do anything else but actually debate on issues, then you're probably right.
I think people would do well to watch more than YouTube clips or read their Media Matters and HuffPo email alerts.
Of course, there are a few schmucks on the network I could definitely do without. But nowhere else in cable or print media have I been able to find all sides of a story. Nowhere.
And on the "wrong headed" stuff: read up on fight-flight, identifiers and other stress-related biological factors of the human brain.
These things are played on for most race-related "studies" and actually held as gospel when they work with purpose to implant an image before calling up a reaction.
Muslim garb = an identifier. Would they be terrorists? Maybe not. Irrational? It's deduction on an instinctive level.
Some guy sits down beside you with a Confederate flag t-shirt = racist? Maybe it's a Dukes of Hazzard fan or someone wearing it for a fashion statement like Che t-shirts.
The flag has history; it's an identifier. So does traditional Muslim garb by worldly images we see of oppression and murder.
The parallel is more accurate in context than many will admit in terms of what stands out in our brains (i.e. the Muslims peacefully living or the Muslims stoning or beheading someone; the General Lee or slavery).
Human beings judge. You have to work to be "fair"; you have to rationalize it. Part of survival of the fittest is recognizing possible danger. It's a person's natural defense mechanism, and if one doesn't have it, that means they don't have it and have reconciled--mapped their brain--past it.
It's part of the reason we have survived in the world. We are NOT programmed to automatically accept what is "different," especially when that something different identifies itself as something we already know of to possibly be dangerous.
This is basic middle school stuff, I thought. How it gets twisted into PC hogwash is beyond me.
Being honest about it is a huge step in the right direction and helps us to change it.
Dismissing it and firing someone to shut that type of conversation down is how problems continue to thrive, and on that point I'm sure we can find common ground.
Josh: That's awesome! I love it how you jump to the defense of Fox.
Your rebuttal would have been a good one. However, you seem to be under the assumption that I said no strong progressives appear on Fox. What I said is if they had more strong progressives, they'd be closer to being fair and balanced. If it's an impossible standard as you say, Fox should drop the bogus slogan "fair and balanced". The funny thing is, if Fox was as fair and balanced as they claim, many of its supporters wouldn't watch it nearly as much. I would go into more detail as to why your argument for Fox is weak, but that isn't the point of this post so we'll table that for another day.
As for your advice that people not form opinions on Fox based on You Tube clips, HuffPo, or Media Matters, you should know by now that I do watch the network. It isn’t always easy, but I think it’s important to get more than one perspective. I wonder if you may want to take your own advice. It might prevent you from accusing people like Rachel Maddow of being habitual promoters of hate speech. :-)
What makes Juan Williams comments wrongheaded in my opinion is the fact that the 9/11 terrorists didn’t wear religious garb when they attacked us, making it easier for them to blend in with everyone else. When Juan said what he did, I wish Bill O'Reilly had followed up by pointing out this fact because there is a dialogue to be had about our fears and how we can work to overcome them.
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