Posted by Tina
Talk radio and the net are all abuzzzzz over the firing of Juan Williams by NPR for remarks he made on FOX expressing his own personal experience when he encounters Muslims dressed in traditional garb in airports:
“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.”
Williams has been a regular contributor to both NPR and FOX News. His opinions generally favor the left although he does his best to be even handed. Juan strikes me as a fairly reasonable mild mannered guy who can usually be counted on to admit the obvious even when it goes against the politically left message.
Willliams was on FOX News this morning to talk about this somewhat shocking state of affairs:
You can find the statement on his firing made by NPR in the article, NPR Ends Williams Contract After Muslim Remarks
Late Wednesday night, NPR issued a statement praising Williams as a valuable contributor but saying it had given him notice that it is severing his contract. “His remarks on The O’Reilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR,” the statement read. Williams’ presence on the largely conservative and often contentious prime-time talk shows of Fox News has long been a sore point with NPR News executives. His status was earlier shifted from staff correspondent to analyst after he took clear-cut positions about public policy on television and in newspaper opinion pieces.
So maybe the real problem is FOX. apparently they have also had contentious things to say about Mara Liasson’s work on FOX.
What is it with the left (yes NPR, though government sponsored, represents the left)…they seem to be determined to stifle speech!
What are they afraid of?
Maybe this will wake old Juan up as to just what kind of a- holes liberals really are. I find it really funny when liberals shaft one of their own.
Oh Gawd, I have been all over this since early this morning.
To be honest I am not surprised at all. The, hand wringing, politically correct, freedom of speech hating, Islamo-fascist-crybaby suck ups of the left run NPR and this is what you get.
Williams went — AT LENGTH — out of his way to explain that all Muslims, many Muslims, most Muslims, cannot be condemned for the actions of a few, yet when he TRUTHFULLY expresses that he has nervous moments —
“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.”
The left wing dorks who run NPR fire him.
So far, it is ONLY conservatives who have come out to defend him!!! In the media, in the blog-o-sphere, and in internet news/political forums (I review a lot of both, left and right, from time to time) it is conservatives defending him, NOT THE LEFT!
The left wing doofus-o-sphere has spoken, but they will soon be trying to recover and spin (= nuance) this blunder. (Certainly NPR won’t, some folks simply cannot admit to a moral, ethical, or intellectual error, least of all the nausea inducing left wing libs who run NPR or PBS.) But the NYT and the Puffington Host will no doubt try to show some equanimity while trying not to violate political correctness and miss a good suck up to Muslims.
Where is President Obama???
Holy moly, he must be conflicted on this issue! Obama sure was quick and eager to expose his own deep seated prejudice and bigotry when he injected himself into the Cambridge police affair. Now what???
Evidently chosing between well known left wing white liberals and a left wing black liberal must require a little more “nuance” (= spin, see above) above and beyond merely declaring, “NPR is stupid”.
Maybe he thinks Juan Williams is stupid.
Inquiring minds want to know, Mr. President!
Who is the stupid, eh?
Maybe they can work it out over some saki and sushi on the White House lawn.
I said it before, all the pandering to Muslims in my opinion, is out of fear.
Juan Williams did not say anything outrageous, but CAIR calls NPR and thats it. I hope the supporters of NPR stop sending them money, they get enough from the taxpayers.
Let me make sure I have this right. A liberal journalist expressing his liberal views on a Fox TV show is fired by a public and extreme left-wing supported company. And then hired by Fox so he can continue to freely express his liberal views.
Hummm, makes me wonder where we should be going to get the truth to be informed on opposing views to make up our own minds.
So you don’t believe that a company should be able to fire an employee? Is that what you are saying? People get fired from Radio and TV all the time, that is the nature of this business. I bet if I went around my current job saying unpopular political things I’d get fired too, and I’m not on the radio.
By the way Fox news also receives government money in the form of advertising.
Jim, you missed the point if you think this was ONLY about a companies right to fire an employee. It was for the reason given for the firing that has shocked an outraged Americans who still care about fairness and our 1st ammendment.. Put yourself in Mr. Williams shoes. He has only expressed a feeling that a huge majority of Americans share, some won’t admit but probably a would feel. I feel that way. .
Pie Guevara:
“Where is President Obama???”
What? President Obama has nothing to do with this issue. Why would he get involved in this private dispute? Do you think the president should tell a news network who they can and cannot fire?
“Holy moly, he must be conflicted on this issue! Obama sure was quick and eager to expose his own deep seated prejudice and bigotry when he injected himself into the Cambridge police affair. Now what???”
Right. Because getting fired from a news organization is just like being arrested in your home.
Pie, are you high?
Jack: “It was for the reason given for the firing that has shocked an outraged Americans who still care about fairness and our 1st ammendment.”
Americans who care bout the first amendment know that this issue has nothing whatsoever to do with the first amendment. The first amendment does not guarantee a person the right not to be fired for expressing a form of speech. Freedom of speech does not = freedom from consequences. Conservatives embarrass themselves whenever they try to turn instances such as this and the Dr. Laura debacle into free speech issues. It reveals a complete misunderstanding of both the constitution and the free market, two principles that conservatives are supposed to see as nearly sacred.
Jim, as an employer I can assure you he wasn’t fired for saying unpopular political things “around the job”. He was fired for saying something that NPR believes should never be said by one of their paid employees, even when it is said somewhere else. This is what the NPR CEO said:
Would your employer fire you for expressing your personal experience on a radio show? I don’t think so.
It is troubling that NPR takes a politically correct approach to its employees, wishing to stifle their expression as contributors even on opinion segments on other news shows.
“By the way Fox news also receives government money in the form of advertising.”
Receiving funds for advertising is not the same as a government subsidy. When you purchase advertising you get something in exchange for the money; it’s a business transaction.
The subsidy for NPR comes to it indirectly and represents only about 2% of the funding they receive. NPR also receives another 1% of funding from government from its affiliate stations around the country (3% total) according to Judge Napalitano on FOX this morning.
Sourcewatch expresses their funding sources as follows:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Public_Radio#Sponsorship_And_Advertising
Corporations are a major source for all funding to all news organizations, including through the taxes they pay to the government!
Juan’s contract was up for renewal in about a year. NPR blew it when they fired him over this. If they wanted to terminate thay could have done it then. One thing is clear, NPR cannot be counted on to name the people who want to blow us off the map whether by violent or nonviolent means.
Companies can fire employees for ANY reason, heck they don’t even need to give a reason.
Let me say it again, if I expressed unpopular political views at work, I would expect to get fired.
There is NO 1st Amendment right in the workplace. Those of us who have jobs know this.
That said, NPR should not have fired Juan Williams. Tim Wise explains it better than I can:
http://www.timwise.org/2010/10/bikini-liberalism-juan-williams-implicit-bias-and-the-trouble-with-npr/
“Yet what had Williams done, exactly? He acknowledged his own biases, and then explained the fallacy embedded therein. He was being honest, and in so doing, demonstrating an important fact that the nice white liberals who predominate at NPR try to deny, especially for themselves. Namely, that even the best of us can be taken in by racism, by religious bias, by ethnic chauvinism, by prejudice. No matter our liberal bona fides, the bottom line is this: advertising works, whether for selling toothpaste, tennis shoes, or stereotypes.
Putting aside for a moment the irony after all, much of the most crass anti-Muslim invective has been provided by the very people at FOX who pay Williamss bills the point remains: no one can completely avoid ingesting some of that to which were subjected when it comes to racial or religious others. Years of research bears out this fact, indicating that wide majorities of us have internalized implicit biases against all types of people: African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, women, LGBT folks, persons with disabilities, and others. Not because we are bad people, let alone bigots, but because were imperfect beings who despite being pretty decent, nonetheless can find ourselves stuck in the cognitive traps laid for us by the larger culture.
The only difference between Juan Williams and the people who fired him is this: Williams is honest enough to admit his own damage. And importantly, what the research on this subject tells us is that it is precisely those persons who are able to see and acknowledge their biases who are the most likely to challenge themselves, and try valiantly not to act on them. In other words, it is the Juan Williamss of the world whose self-awareness in this regard will minimize the likelihood of discriminatory behavior.”
Jim, of course I believe a company has the right to fire you for doing something derogatory to the company while you are working for the company. But, I dont think they have that right when you express your opinions on your own time or while working for another company.
Apparently Mr. Williams was being paid by Fox and not NPR during his appearance on Monday, and the District of Columbia has specific laws preventing them from doing what they did.
Mr. Williams has several law suit options open to him.
A company receiving tax dollars and denying an individual their first amendment rights in a whole other issue.
Peggy: “Let me make sure I have this right. A liberal journalist expressing his liberal views on a Fox TV show is fired by a public and extreme left-wing supported company. And then hired by Fox so he can continue to freely express his liberal views.”
Yes, and that is healthy for America! Juan Williams has been a contributor on FOX for a number of years…they just increased his contract. I think Bill O’Reilly had something to do with it since Juan will be working with Bill. I appreciate FOX because they don’t try to stifle speech and they do feature spokemen from across a wide spectrum of political thought. You and I then have the opportunity to decide for ourselves.
“Hummm, makes me wonder where we should be going to get the truth to be informed on opposing views to make up our own minds.”
I recommend FOX over other main stream television news outlets because they do seek to represent various opinions and thoughts. I also think they are dedicated to find factual information as a service to the viewers. Of course we are all wise to seek information from many sources, as I’m sure you do.
It is very common for journalists to be told that they must keep up an appearance of objectivity and avoid making controversial statements in public. Journalists are expected to represent their employers at all times. Apparently Williams was warned numerous times before this incident about his conduct. Again, I don’t think he said anything wrong; he was acknowledging his own prejudice, like we all should. It’s unfortunate that many conservatives will look at his statements as somehow justifying anti-Muslim bias, because Williams intended the exact opposite, and a careful reading of his statements in full context shows that he was in fact critiquing his own irrational reaction. NPR seems not to get this, either. But they did not break the law, and they did not violate his free speech rights.
Tina, we are in total agreement. I was being sarcastic because of the unbelievable events that took place concerning Mr. Williams firing by NPR and the irony of his being allowed to express his liberal views on a network that the president and Soros are trying to shut down.
I have relied on Fox since before the presidential election when I was trying to figure out the whole story about each of the candidates. I was shocked at the biased slants and even the flat out omission of the pertinent information by every network except Fox. This is when Colmes was still on Hannity and he could really present his argument for or against whatever.
I do a drive-by every so often just to hear what the other networks say to see if they are coming around to presenting the unbiased facts. And then I turn back to Fox until the urge comes over me again to see if theyve wised up to the fact we are not as dumb as they believe.
Chris as far as I’m concerned NPR should look in the mirror…they aren’t exactly a shining example of journalistic objectivity and in addition, Williams wasn’t making a controversial statement.
Williams is apparently a free lance journalist working on contract to both NPR and as a FOX contributor. They didn’t fire him so much as terminate his contract…I don’t know what the legal ramifications are but I doubt he will do anything about it in any case.
I think there’s a chance that this really represents a bias and resentment toward FOX News. They have become number one. NPR is apparently also considering taking the same action against Mara Liasson who is also both an NPR and FOX contributor. (And leftist think FOX is biased and all conservative!)
“It’s unfortunate that many conservatives will look at his statements as somehow justifying anti-Muslim bias…”
That sounds like a bias to me.
Acknowledging discomfort is healthy. We should all be free to express such thoughts without the fear of being fired or shunned. NOT being able to express fears and discomfort shuts down dialogue that might make things better for Muslims. Shutting down dialogue also plays into the hands of the radicals waging war all over the world. Since it was Muslims that attacked our country, that continue to plot and kill people all over the world including fellow Muslims, and since they have stated it is their intention to establish a worldwide caliphate under sharia, it is not only appropriate but important to be able to discuss such things openly.
Besides, expressing fears about an ethnic group or religion is not unusual or unheard of in this free country of ours. Others have done so without backlash. President Obama spoke about his grandmother’s fears when she saw black people in the street. Jesse Jackson said that when he was on a dark street at night and he heard footsteps behind him he’d look back and feel relief when he saw the people were white. People on NPR have expressed anti-Israel or anti-Christian sentiment:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/21/brief-history-nprs-intolerance-imbalance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+(Internal+-+Politics+-+Text)
NPR did issue apologies for some of the incidences mentioned. I dont believe anyone was fired for these controversial statements”, however. Juan Williams is a gentleman and has never made statements as controversial as these examples. There is something else going on here.
I agree that journalists have a responsibility to keep a civil tongue and professional demeanor. When reporting they need to stay objective but when they are on an opinion oriented show free expression should be allowed, especially the kind of remarks often made by Williams.
Jim you are right about the private sector workplace, although, if I found myself working for someone who fired employees unfairly I’d be looking for another job!
On the other hand, those who work in unions or for the government are nearly impossible to fire!
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/emp08.htm
I don’t think Juan williams deserved this; I do think he’s better off working for FOX if NPR is going to be so unreasonably perverse!
Peggy…got it! And good for you…gotta keep an eye on them critters!
Tina, thanks for reminding us about some of those other comments that apparently NPR didn’t feel “cross the line” as Schiller said about Juan’s. This is all part of the new liberal facism, where they are quick to sanction anyone who deviates from their version of political correctness. Pointing out those past nasty comments clearly illustrates a double standard…so good job! This situation reminds me of another double standard, those people who criticize us for saying things like Juan said and turn right around and give a free pass to zealots like Schiller and others. If they are going to have any sense of fairness and integrity then they have to criticize their side too, but they rarely do. We should all strive to have the integrity to call em as we see em, I know I feel much cleaner when I do. (Jack)
I just watch, for the first time, Kundon produced by Scorcese in 1997. Very eerie the commonality of Tibets struggles against communist/socialist Chinas take over and our current struggles with socialism and communism of today. If you havent seen it, or havent in a long time I highly recommend it.
I just read an excellent article that anyone interested in “reality” should read:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/26/moderate-muslims-share-fears/
The splendidly savage irony arising from the substantial proportion of Rupert’s Rubes who are made uncomfortable by Mr. Williams’s presence on their airplane is … splendidly savage.