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Juan williams fired from NPR

applecorped

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applecorped
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Mar 8, 2008
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101021...liams_fired_free_speech_vs_editorial_policy_1

"Juan Williams is the latest journalist to feel the ax for making comments not in line with editorial policy. National Public Radio (NPR) fired Williams from his position as senior http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101021...iams_fired_free_speech_vs_editorial_policy_1# not because of anything he said or did on NPR. He was fired because of anti-Muslim remarks he made while appearing on the "The O'Reilly Factor" this past Monday, according to The Washington Post. Juan Williams: Muslims Make Him Nervous
The comments which led to the firing of Williams revolved around his admitting to Bill O'Reilly that he gets "nervous" and "worried" when he boards a plane and sees "people in Muslim garb."
NPR Cuts Juan Williams Loose
NPR's official reason for firing Williams was because his comments "were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR." Because NPR attempts to be an objective source of news, although some claim the group has a liberal bias, it makes sense that NPR wants its staff to retain journalistic objectivity and not be perceived as biased."
 
applecorped said:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101021...liams_fired_free_speech_vs_editorial_policy_1

"Juan Williams is the latest journalist to feel the ax for making comments not in line with editorial policy. National Public Radio (NPR) fired Williams from his position as senior http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101021...iams_fired_free_speech_vs_editorial_policy_1# not because of anything he said or did on NPR. He was fired because of anti-Muslim remarks he made while appearing on the "The O'Reilly Factor" this past Monday, according to The Washington Post. Juan Williams: Muslims Make Him Nervous
The comments which led to the firing of Williams revolved around his admitting to Bill O'Reilly that he gets "nervous" and "worried" when he boards a plane and sees "people in Muslim garb."
NPR Cuts Juan Williams Loose
NPR's official reason for firing Williams was because his comments "were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR." Because NPR attempts to be an objective source of news, although some claim the group has a liberal bias, it makes sense that NPR wants its staff to retain journalistic objectivity and not be perceived as biased."
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I'm not a bigot, I just say bigoted things!

And if someone said 'Blacks make me nervous', do you think Mr. Williams would just let that slide?
 
Juan said, "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 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."

Being worried and nervous = bigot?
 
applecorped said:
Juan said, "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 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."

Being worried and nervous = bigot?
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No.

Being worried and nervous solely because he sees someone "in Muslim garb" (which, to him, can only mean that they are "identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims") = bigot.
 
I dunno why jews wear those things on their heads. It's like they're identifying them first and foremost as jews - not Americans.

I am suspicious their loyalty may be to another state.
 
Update at 3 p.m. ET. NPR Ombudsman: Williams Should Have Been Given Choice:
Rather than terminating news analyst Juan Williams' contract, "probably the better thing for NPR to have done is to have said 'Juan the situation is not working,' " NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepherd just said on Talk of the Nation.
Then, she continued, Williams could have been given a choice: If he wanted to stay at NPR, he would have to stop doing commentary on Fox News Channel. Or, if he preferred to continue with Fox, he and NPR could part ways.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...terminates-juan-williams-contract?ft=1&f=1003




So, was his firing about being a bigot or contributing to FOX News?
 
applecorped said:
Update at 3 p.m. ET. NPR Ombudsman: Williams Should Have Been Given Choice:
Rather than terminating news analyst Juan Williams' contract, "probably the better thing for NPR to have done is to have said 'Juan the situation is not working,' " NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepherd just said on Talk of the Nation.
Then, she continued, Williams could have been given a choice: If he wanted to stay at NPR, he would have to stop doing commentary on Fox News Channel. Or, if he preferred to continue with Fox, he and NPR could part ways.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...terminates-juan-williams-contract?ft=1&f=1003




So, was his firing about being a bigot or contributing to FOX News?
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I wouldn't doubt that whoever runs NPR wasn't displeased that Williams said what he said and gave them a plausible reason to dump him.
 
applecorped said:
So, was his firing about being a bigot or contributing to FOX News?
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Considering he'd been a FOX News contributor for a long time before he made this comment, and his firing came only after he made this comment, the implication is that his firing was about being a bigot and not because he was a contributor to FOX.

Until the ombudsman makes that blog post going into more detail, though, we can't be sure, since her words definitely imply that it was the FOX News part that was the issue.
 
Wow. Just, "Wow."

The only real surprise in any of this is Juan Williams' declaration that "he's not a racist." I'm stumped: Had the situation been someone saying "Blacks make me nervous," as cited above, hell, yes, that would have been called racist, and rightfully so. This was a stupid, cruel remark to make on national television, much less anywhere else.

Yes, people in traditional Muslim garb make me nervous, too, but I take that as a cue for me to step forward, extend my hand, and talk with them. It's an opportunity for me to learn something about a culture I know little about. Given I share the road with many of these people, it only makes sense.

I can well recall meeting a driver at a drop who was carrying a rolled up rug. I introduced myself, and we talked for several minutes, but the one thing that came out of it was that he was terrified to tell me that the rolled up parcel in his hands was his prayer rug. In order to pray, he had to go behind a dumpster, surrounded by garbage, kneeling in the filth. And the only reason he had to do so was because he was frightened for his life; he'd already been threatened on a number of occasions at truck stops, and at drop locations.

This was not a man who sought harm for his adopted country. Quite the opposite: His son was serving in the military, and proudly so for both father and son. That someone would choose to terrorize this man simply because of his beliefs is bad enough, but that they're doing so to someone who votes, who serves, who honors this nation -- by his declaration because of his beliefs -- is tragically ironic.

Sorry, I don't feel any sympathy for Juan Williams. Rather than settle in comfortably with my bigotry, I'd rather confront my hatred, and be rid of it. I would rather view a person in light of their character, instead of my lack of one.
 
I didn't know Juan Williams still worked for NPR. I don't think I've heard him on the air in months, yet I see him on TV pretty often. I assumed he'd already left.

I wonder if this wasn't just a convenient way to break ties that had already been pretty much broken?
 
ANTPogo said:
No.

Being worried and nervous solely because he sees someone "in Muslim garb" (which, to him, can only mean that they are "identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims") = bigot.
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I'm reminded on another quote similar to what Williams got fired for:

"I hate to admit it, but I have reached a stage in my life that if I am walking down a dark street late at night and I see that the person behind me is white, I subconsciously feel relieved."

Any guess as to the bigot who said this?
 
Ziggurat said:
I'm reminded on another quote similar to what Williams got fired for:

"I hate to admit it, but I have reached a stage in my life that if I am walking down a dark street late at night and I see that the person behind me is white, I subconsciously feel relieved."

Any guess as to the bigot who said this?
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Jesse Jackson?
 
applecorped said:
So, was his firing about being a bigot or contributing to FOX News?
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And PBS and ABC. Obviously, none of us know the terms of his contract, but I think you're onto something. As I mentioned, he wasn't doing much for NPR lately anyway. If NPR was paying him for whatever contribution he made in his spare time, they may have been looking for any reason to terminate his contract.

He wasn't currently hosting any regular program on NPR was he?

ETA: I think NPR is within their rights to dissociate themselves from being identified with a position they don't support. Apparently, when he was on these various TV shows, he was still being identified as an NPR host.
 
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Roadtoad said:
The only real surprise in any of this is Juan Williams' declaration that "he's not a racist." I'm stumped: Had the situation been someone saying "Blacks make me nervous," as cited above, hell, yes, that would have been called racist, and rightfully so.
Click to expand...

That turns out to depend very much on who says it (see my previous post). Which should give you some indication about how little the outrage typically has to do with the actual content of what was said.

Yes, people in traditional Muslim garb make me nervous, too
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So what's wrong with admitting that? Why are you doing it now, and why was it verboten for Williams to have said essentially the same thing that you just said?
 
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