NPR Correct To Fire Juan Williams Over Anti-Muslim Comment
There is no room for those who portray themselves as intelligent ‘talking heads’ to utter the type of comment as was heard this past week on FAUX News. Juan Williams is too smart, and too well-reasoned, or so I thought, to hold the view about Muslims that he spoke of to Bill O’Reilly. That Williams was not smart enough to hold his tongue is really surprising to me.
NPR was right to remove Juan Williams from their programming. There is no way that anyone can spout these words and then put on the hat of an objective news analyst.
NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.
NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.
The move came after Mr. Williams, who is also a Fox News political analyst, appeared on the “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday. On the show, the host, Bill O’Reilly, asked him to respond to the notion that the United States was facing a “Muslim dilemma.” Mr. O’Reilly said, “The cold truth is that in the world today jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”
Mr. Williams said he concurred with Mr. O’Reilly.
He continued: “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. But when I get on the 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.”
Mr. Williams also made reference to the Pakistani immigrant who pleaded guilty this month to trying to plant a car bomb in Times Square. “He said the war with Muslims, America’s war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don’t think there’s any way to get away from these facts,” Mr. Williams said.
NPR said in its statement that the remarks “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”
The irony is that he said, “I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality” and then he gets fired.
Two quick points.
First, NPR IS a serious news operation. And a very respected one.
Second, I think you missed the irony in Juan making the anti-Muslim comment in that he has written books and articles on the civil rights movement….so for him to lob some of the same type of sterotypes to another group is just plain rich.
I was enjoying the reads here and thought nice balance and then this “But NPR is a serious news operation” and it all went out the window. To your question at the end “There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life,” Jesse Jackson said several years ago, “than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery—and then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.” But hey he is a Reverend so I guess he is allowed to get away with such bigotry.
I very much liked Williams on NPR. Saw him once in person at a women’s luncheon. Was a date to an older lady that afternoon. He was wonderful. Insightful.
But NPR is a serious news operation and lets be honest, FOX News is a PR arm of the GOP. SO there has always been tension with what Juan did on NPR vs. TV.
The role of an analyst is to provide perspective on an issue. Not to interject personal opinion. There is no way not to see that Juan did what he was not supposed to have done. Again.
After he crossed the bridge NPR really had no other option.
The question I would ask of Juan, given his comment is should I be wary of every black man who looks ‘black’ when I walk down the street. If not how is that different from his views on how Muslims are dressed?
This is the second time I’ve seen the liberal yo-yos take off on Juan Williams when he has “overstepped” his bounds and spoken a truth that was against the “party line”.
I have said more than once in the past that a government run co-opted media is but one step towards the Soviet style dictatorship that we witnessed with the old USSR. This is beyond Big Brother. This is not only the squashing of Free Speech, but is in fact taking away one of our most sacred rights. And he wasn’t even on an NPR show!
This Political Correctness, which is nothing more than a Gestapo style propaganda issue has to stop!
I for one do not agree with some of Mr. Williams stands. however, he has never been afraid to call it as he sees it and in this case he was correct! To be fired for relating the truth is beyond everything we hold sacred in this country.
Kudos to Mr. Williams for daring to stand up to the kind of censorship that is so warmly welcome by leftist Soviet and NAZI style governments!
Political correctness run amok. I guess Juan should have added he was worried if they were “extremists” and not just any Muslim in order to have been correct and kept his job. The reality may be that NPR has been looking to fire him since their listeners complained that he was introduced on Fox News as a contributor. It got so petty that they decided it was okay to say it on some shows, but not others such as Hannity. What thin skin those NPR listeners have.
He will be heard by infinitely more without NPR, will sell more books without NPR, will get the Dem talking points as well as his own thoughts across to open minds without NPR. Except for pay, if much, what did he loose? For me, he is one of a few Dem pundits who I can listen to regularly. Even when he is only regurgitating talking points and not adding his own interpretation or insight, he is not shrill or offensive like so many others (Carville, Begala, etc.). Juan and Donna Brazille are about all that is left that can be reasoned with AND reasonable in my view.