When I once said that most right-minded Americans (especially blacks) should be afraid of black males on some level, I caught a lot of grief from some folks (here). But saying it on my blog and in the context of black male violence statistics is not the same as saying it on Bill O’Reilly’s rag of a show. On my blog, I can create a context for my boldness to be understood, as well as challenged. Juan afforded his comments about Muslims no such opportunity and this is what got him rightly fired.Saying that fellow passengers, dressed as Muslims, give you boarding concerns, because of 9/11, right in the middle context of the polarizing Bill O’Reilly Show, is a whole other kettle of fish. Juan was throwing rabid-dog O’Reilly a ‘profiling’ bone with some special meat on it, to keep the right-wing masses stoked and clamoring for Muslim blood. O’Reilly does not care what Williams might have meant, and Juan should act like he knows this, or stay off his damn side-show.
Williams has been playing with fire for a while, as a recurring ‘liberal’ guest of O’Reilly’s. In this case, he got burned trying to straddle the line between being liberal, and pitching fat, juicy softballs to Bill. In truth, NPR has probably been impatiently waiting for Juan to get both feet out of bounds at the same time. His appearances on the Fox show were not in alignment with the journalistic image NPR seeks to portray. Juan should have known this. Look for him full-time on Fox.
As for Muslims on aircraft, they have every right to the same treatment as all the other passengers – no more or less. They should neither be exempt from intrusion, nor should they be singled out because of the 9/11 extremists. Juan needs to act like he understands that he could very easily be on the receiving end of a profiling-gone-bad, wherein he would be screaming that authorities not assume things about him, not in evidence.
On the other hand, all Muslims must recognize, just as black males should, that behaviors of members of the group will inevitably show up in how they as individuals, in certain context, are perceived and received. Whenever I see some Timothy McVeigh-looking white dude with a glazed out-of-place look, I keep at least one eye on him. I'm not saying it's right, but he better understand.
James C. Collier
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Technorati Tags: NPR Fires Juan Williams Over Muslim Comments on Bill O’Reilly Show, Fox News, Profiling, 9/11, Acting Black, Acting White
13 comments:
I am shocked.
You are so far off base with this it is unbelievable.
Juan gave a personal account of how it makes him feel, not that it was right or wrong or saying others should do the same.
He actually said directly after, agreeing with O'Reilly, that yes there are good Muslims and we cannot condemn all Muslims the same way we can't condemn all Christians for what some far out things people do like abortion clinic bombings.
Your comments really make me wonder about how you glean information from the news without verifying the facts of articles such as this.
I am appalled.........
But of course radically left leaning liberal George Soros handing over 1.8 billion to NPR doesn't bother you.
As Juan said it took NPR 36 hours to talk to him and likely because NPR got heat from someone.
Just more evidence of PC madness gone wild and how the rich left wants to get their finger in the pie of journalism and censure speech they don't agree with.
NPR gets 2% of it's funding from US and has the gall to fire someone for honestly talking about how the issue makes him feel????
Like I said, you are seriously and disturbingly off base.
I may have to re-think visiting this "rag" of a blog........
Anon 6:37, unbelievable indeed! I detect a hint of the foam about somebody's smoocher. Disturbing? This is high-journal-drama at its best/worst. Williams got just what he wanted, ratings and a big $ contract from Fox. Your indignation, save it.
Have to say, as much as I'm generally an antagonist on your blog, you're absolutely right here.
Juan always shone through to me as an honest person, but it was obvious that his role on FOX was to represent the weakest points of the Democrats argument. If he's now exclusively a FOX personality, it will be hard to take him seriously at all. I guess the best we can hope for is that FOX will promote him to a regular opposition viewpoint instead of the punching bag presence he's been so far.
I had lost much respect for Juan once he started appearing on Faux News. Your post is right-on!!
Williams got what he wanted?
And you know this how?
And I mean KNOW it.
You know nothing but assume much.
The vast majority of the thousands of people commenting on this issue on the NPR site disagree with your views.
Does that mean anything other than your thinking is out of line with most others except obviously left leaners?
I guess not but up until now I had no idea how far left you leaned.
But then again you don't care to discuss the facts of what Juan said, and how NPR will blatantly allow liberal commentary and worse, that is aligned with it's views, but then other opinions shouldn't be voiced.
Sort of brings us full circle back to the days of suppressing black Americans rights doesn't it?
Anon 3:27, Only an idiot could missed Juan Williams's liberal-foil role on the O'Reilly's show. It was Williams alone who decided to join this political-theater, while 'pimping' his prior journalistic integrity. Nothing doing. He had to choose, and he let his words speak for him, not so much by what he said, but where, and to whom he chose to say them. I say he knew exactly what he was doing and what the result would be. That $2mil Fox contract was already signed when he set himself on final blaze the other night, and he is a bigger fool if it wasn't.
As for my leaning, I lean (obviously) which ever way the hell I please, thank you very much.
Sigh....
So, Juan is only "keepable" if he bends to the the leftist agenda?
Commenters here are only "right" if they bed to yours?
How about we persecute the people who say "no Muslims should be allowed on planes," or "We should kill abortion doctors."
Time to persecute the people who make threats, not people like Juan - who fights for civil rights and fairness in our society. He has feelings, I have feelings, he didn't say to HURT people, he said, "Let's have a discussion."
But you can't discuss with people who have a far-left OR far-right agenda.
I'm SO DISAPPOINTED to learn about YOUR agenda, Mr. Collier.
Juan Williams should know a "liberal" point of view will always be shot down on O'Rielly and it tarnishes his credibility as a journalist that he would appear as a regular commentator on that show. What next? Glen Beck?
That said, I think Mr. Williams simply acknowledged his gut level reaction to seeing overt Muslim dress on an airplane. I had the very same reaction last week at Sky Harbor when I saw a completely veiled woman and her husband. I still tear up at images of the falling Twin Towers. As a unapologetic feminist, I am completely taken aback by the sight on a veiled woman in a public place. My overriding question is how far do we go to accommodate religion and overt public displays of relgions, any religion in a secular society. What further stumps me is that I question just how secular American society truly is. Certainly, it is not as secular as I would like it to be as I am constantly hearing that this country was founded on Christian principles (except for that whole slavery thing of course).
In the end, I'd have to agree that no matter who you are, if you present yourself as someone outside the cultural norm you might be greeted with suspicion or distrust. I think that is just how we humans are built.
His airing his feeling that he felt nervous as many do when seeing obvious muslims on planes is human reaction, reaction that is neither right or wrong but honestly human.
NPR can't and won't accept honest human feelings when it goes against their agenda but O'Reilly at least sees the human side of the issues.
NPR is way off base and the thousands of comments on the NPR site about this issue show that they are out of touch elitists and think themselves to be above the cultural norm.
But then to them this is more about NPR's politics than right, wrong, or humanity.
Interesting take. I disagree though. He was just voicing what he felt. He made no blanket statement. Was this all somehow premeditated? I have no idea.
I grew up all over the middle east and speak passable arabic. My dad worked over there for ten years. I'm probably one of the few people who don't have a knee jerk reaction to people of middle eastern ethnicity when I see them on a flight. I can understand why people do however.
Mr. Williams certainly has a right to express his "feelings". However, he should have had the professional/personal integrity to understand the difference between expressing those feelings (based in fear and anxiety) in a public forum and expressing such feelings in the midst of friends.
As a black person, I am disappointed that he would have made such a statement about muslims. How many white folks have said the same thing about black people (based in fear and anxiety)? I would expect more from a public figure particularly one connected to the media. Tsk, tsk!
Juan knew what he was getting himself into. It was only a matter of time before his racy comments were gonna be in contention with his network(NPR). My thing is aint NPR kinda controversial too. Bill O-reilly is who he is so as u say when Juan threw that bone with "special meat" and Texas Pete...it definitely was a start for a fiery debate(and quick exodus).
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