The Firing of Juan Williams From NPR

[Flint]

Or? Where do you get or?

[spudcon]

Merc, you may have hit on something. Maybe they are racist.

[gvidas]

Well, sheesh. He gets worried when on airplanes with Muslims?

Commercial air is by far the safest way to travel in America. Was, too, in 2001, as far as I can tell. In a world of about 6.6 billion people, there are about 1.6 billion muslims, or about one in four.

He should be completely free to be nervous around Muslims, and particularly on airplanes -- but it's completely irrational, and kinda dumb.

Firing him was probably counter-productive in terms of helping educate him, or anybody else. It seems to have, somehow, validated his paranoia.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

This seems to be more of a final straw issue than a big thing in itself. They'd been modifying his title and their editorial rules to accomodate his FOX appearnces for a while; it's probably best that he finally move over to FOX full time.

The bottom line was he could have chosen between a news network and an entertainment network in the end he becomes an entertainer. NPR is lefty and does have a diversity problem but they are still a legit news outlet.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Legit news outlet? For you, but for half the population it's just left-wing bullshit, and Fox is the shining path to truth and light.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Flint

One possible devil's advocate position could be that feelings like "worried" and "nervous" are involuntary reactions. The crime isn't having a reaction or feeling, it is admitting it out loud. This squashes honest conversation, which, it could be argued, can't possibly foster a meaningful dialogue. It just pushes the things we don't want to think about further under the surface, under the radar, where they can fester unchecked and unexamined.

Meaningful dialogue is good, but don't...as we grow, learn about such things? Isn't meaningful dialogue dependent on having the dialogue with those who differ from us (i.e. not pointing and screaming and running away.) Reinforcing fear due to race or religion or appearance is not, in my humblest of opinions, a step toward enlightenment. We can say "I'm allowed to express my disdain of ferners heartily and loudly" but I don't see how that's fostering anything helpful. Yes, you're allowed. However, we live in a society...we have to live together. I wonder how he would feel if it were still acceptable to not allow black people in the same swimming pool as the whites, or to someone who verbalizes fear of those black people in the pool?

I'm afraid of spiders, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Unfortunately, it's not a fear I've been able to overcome because I've not had a meaningful dialogue with a spider. I've never sat down with a spider and discussed its hopes and dreams, where it came from, where it hopes to go.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

he was often a voice of reason on a majority conservative news program.

So you admit that conservative news programs are unreasonable.

Feelings cannot be helped - they are irrational. Acting on those feelings can be. Juan did not suggest that people in full muslim garb should not be allowed on planes, as a bigot would. I admit that seeing two men kissing or having sex makes me uncomfortable, but I don't think it should be illegal.

[Shawnee123]

Naked men have very few places to hide, like, bombs and stuff.

[Lamplighter]

NPR website

Fox News Gives Juan Williams $2 Million Contract

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

NPR website

"It is an act of total censorship," Gingrich said. "I think that the U.S. Congress should investigate NPR and consider cutting off their money."

Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin — themselves possible Republican presidential candidates with similar ties to Fox — chimed in with the same call, as did others in more of a position to do so, such as South Carolina Sen. Jim Demint and Ohio Rep. John Boehner.

Oh. My. Gawd. I cannot WAIT to cast my vote against Boehner...again.

Little dogs in the tall grass, always jumping up to see what all the other dogs are doing.

[Undertoad]

This is how deeply NPR stepped in it:

From the far right, Stephen Hayes demands that Nina Totenberg should be fired for making far more partisan remarks on Inside Washington;

From the far left, Eric Boehlert demands that Mara Liasson should be fired for appearing on Fox.

And Mr Williams notes that NPR now has zero black on-air talent. They demand 100% compliance with modern political correctness which values multiculturalism and diversity above all else. As a result they have developed a monoculture with no diversity. It simply couldn't be any more ironic.

[Undertoad]

Muslims speak out against NPR's political correctness

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told The Daily Caller that though Williams could have been more tactful, his ouster is symptomatic of the problems Americans continue to face when discussing Islam.

“As much as the way he said it was poorly chosen, the era we find ourselves — of political correctness — we are not able to address what this fear is,” Jasser said. “Anybody that starts talking about this fear gets shut down.”

Fatah agreed, saying that he did not believe that anything Williams’ said was terrible enough to lose his job. “I think it is another expression of political correctness. I didn’t find anything that he said that he deserved to be fired,” he told TheDC.

According to Jasser, the fact that the vast majority of national security threats emanate from the Muslim world makes Williams’ fear reasonable. Without open discussion, however, those concerns will never be conquered.

[Shawnee123]

And Mr Williams notes that NPR now has zero black on-air talent. They demand 100% compliance with modern political correctness which values multiculturalism and diversity above all else. As a result they have developed a monoculture with no diversity. It simply couldn't be any more ironic.

Indeed. It's almost as ironic as those who rail against "compliance" with diversity because in this compliance they may not actually be hiring the best person for the job.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Or he could just have been being honest...

But let's not give him the benefit of the doubt...

I mean he was the only black commentator on all of NPR.

Maybe they don't like black people.

Lots of NPR stations carry the Tavis Smiley show.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Isn't meaningful dialogue dependent on having the dialogue with those who differ from us (i.e. not pointing and screaming and running away.)

So then you agree it is counterproductive to point, scream, and run away from Juan Williams? Oh, wait, no that's not right. He's the one we're "supposed to" be upset with. Sorry, I got confused because I don't have my political correctness handbook with me. It gets pretty complicated when you have to carry around a list of what your opinions are "supposed to" be.