Juan Williams: I'm not a bigot. NPR: Yes you are

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:but I do strongly disagree with the view, espoused by so many, that Islam is strictly irrelevant to the threats we face from countries like Iran or Pakistan or from transnational terrorist groups. It seems to me to make a difference to the intentions of such nations and groups, and we should not pretend otherwise.

Red herring alert!

I challenge you to identify one person who believes that Islam is strictly irrelevant, let along "many" such people. The idea that I have challenged is that Islam is the only factor or even the most important factor. O'Reilly and Williams talked about "Muslims" as in the "Muslim problem". I have pointed out that such a description is not accurate. The entire concept of "Muslim" is amorphous. If Muslims can not even agree on who is a Muslim, how can anyone speak of a "Muslim problem"? There is a problem in Pakistan. Islam plays a role in that problem. There is also a problem in Iran and Islam plays a role in that problem. But, the "Islam" in question is not the same Islam and the role is completely different. In fact, the role of Islam is multifaceted in both countries so you actually have to speak of "roles" rather than "role". Trying to discuss both countries as if the the only relevant issue is the national religion is useless.

To put this in another context, there is a debt problem in Greece. There is also a debt problem in Spain. Both countries are primarily Christian. Never mind that one is Orthodox and one is Catholic and that there is a history of conflict between the two. We can simply posit that Christianity leads to national debt. That Christians inherently can't balance a budget. There is, in fact, a "Christian problem". This is absurd, but no less absurd then the idea that Iran and Pakistan represent a "Muslim problem".

[Anonymous]

I'm beginning to wonder if some people have even seen the entire clip or read the entire transcript. I can't believe this got him fired. Or perhaps it was just NPRs convenient excuse. Especially now that they're going to get 100 new reporters courtesy of George Soros.

Joining us from Washington FOX analysts Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams.

So, Juan, I got to tell everybody, own up to this, that talking points memo was really written by Alan Colmes.

So, where am I going wrong there, Juan.

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, actually, I hate to say this to you because I don’t want to get your ego going. But I think you’re right. I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.

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.

Now, I remember also that when the Times Square bomber was at court, I think this was just last week. 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.

But I think there are people who want to somehow remind us all as President Bush did after 9/11, it’s not a war against Islam. President Bush went to a mosque –

O’REILLY: Well, there isn’t any theology involved in this at all from my perspective, Juan. But you live in the liberal precincts. You actually work for NPR, OK?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

O’REILLY: And it’s not about — it’s about politics as I said. But — my analysis is that this Israel thing and that liberals feel that United states is somehow guilty in the world, of exploitation and backing the wrong side, and it makes it easier for them to come up with this kind of crazy stuff that, well, you can’t really say the Muslims attacked us on 9/11.

WILLIAMS: No, but what Barbara Walters said to you –

O’REILLY: Were they Norwegians? I mean, come on.

WILLIAMS: Wait a second though, wait, hold on, because if you said Timothy McVeigh, the Atlanta bomber, these people who are protesting against homosexuality at military funerals, very obnoxious, you don’t say first and foremost, we got a problem with Christians. That’s crazy.

O’REILLY: But it’s not at that level. It doesn’t rise near to that level.

WILLIAMS: Correct. That’s — and when you said in the talking points memo a moment ago that there are good Muslims, I think that’s a point, you know?

O’REILLY: But everybody knows that, Juan. I mean, what are, in 3rd grade here or what?

WILLIAMS: No, you don’t — but you got to be — this is what Barbara Walters was saying –

O’REILLY: I got to be careful, you just said it. I got to be careful. I have got to qualify everything 50 times. You know what, Juan? I’m not doing it anymore. I’m not doing that anymore.

WILLIAMS: OK. So, be yourself. Take responsibility.

O’REILLY: But I’m not going to say, oh, it’s only a few. It’s only a tiny bit. It’s not, Juan. It’s whole nations, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, whole nations.

Go ahead, Mary Katharine. You want to get in here. Go.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I'm beginning to wonder if some people have even seen the entire clip or read the entire transcript. I can't believe this got him fired. Or perhaps it was just NPRs convenient excuse. Especially now that they're going to get 100 new reporters courtesy of George Soros.

Yes, many of us have read the entire transcript or seen the entire clip. BTW, your post leaves out the entire segment where O'Reilly was ranting about the "Muslim problem". That's to what Williams was referring when he said, "I think you’re right".

Obviously, NPR is not going to get even one new reporter courtesy of George Soros. Interesting that on the one hand you suggest that many of us are misinformed and you are eager to educate us, but on the other hand you are spreading lies.

BTW, can your tell me how you reacted when Octavia Nasr was fired by CNN? How about when Helen Thomas was forced into retirement. And, how did you react when Rick Sanchez was also fired by CNN?

[Anonymous]

What lies would those be? Open Society didn't just grant NPR $1.8 million?

[Anonymous]

I wonder who is gonna get blamed when the 1st terrorist nuke goes of in NYC?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:What lies would those be? Open Society didn't just grant NPR $1.8 million?

Open Society did do that. It just won't result in any new NPR reporters.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder who is gonna get blamed when the 1st terrorist nuke goes of in NYC?

I imagine that who ever sets it off will be blamed. But, how often do you have this fantasy?

[jsteele]

Wow, being a bigot pays well. Williams just got handed a $2 million contract by Fox:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-juan-williams-20101022,0,4294425.story

[Anonymous]

NPR will have nobody, not even a fellow liberal who dares not tote its doctrine in its entirety.

Classic liberal censorship. The first amendment only applies to strippers and pornographers in their playbook.

[Anonymous]

It's helpful to see the whole discussion so I thank the pp for posting it. However, it just proves that Williams is a "soft" bigot. Instead of admitting that he is irrational for fearing a woman wearing hijab on an airplane, he says that it is correct to fear Muslims in traditional dress because a handful of Muslims have been involved in terrorism.

Everyday I walk through the streets of DC and I see lots of young black men with loose jeans hanging down around their asses. As a white middle class woman, is it unusual of me to feel a little anxiety about them? Maybe not, given our racial history. But is it rational to be anxious? No. Not one of those young men has harmed me. Because I know that, I don't talk in such a way that endorses the profiling of people based on the clothes they wear.

But Juan Williams has endorsed ethnic profiling of millions of people because of the actions of a handful. No, he is not some vicious hater who would abolish Islam -- but he is still a bigot, even when he is all dressed up in his "nice person" clothes. I thought he was smarter than that.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Classic liberal censorship. The first amendment only applies to strippers and pornographers in their playbook.

Are you familiar with the first amendment? If so, you will understand that it has absolutely no application in this instance. The 1st Amendment restricts the Congress from making certain laws. As far as I know, Congress did not pass a law that resulted in Williams being fired.

What do you have to say about CNN firing Octavia Nasr and Rick Sanchez? Was it censorship when Helen Thomas was forced into retirement?

[Anonymous]

Is this bigotry? He didn't say he got nervous in a restaurant if he saw a group dressed in Muslim dress. I get nervous, too, when there's group of Muslims on a plane. Then I talk myself out of it. Maybe Williams does, too. If he were really a bigot, he'd get off and take another flight.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Is this bigotry? He didn't say he got nervous in a restaurant if he saw a group dressed in Muslim dress. I get nervous, too, when there's group of Muslims on a plane. Then I talk myself out of it. Maybe Williams does, too. If he were really a bigot, he'd get off and take another flight.

Where does he say he talks himself out of it? He certainly didn't say that on O'Reilly. To the contrary, he said there were facts you couldn't ignore and justified his fear. He had a second chance today when he had the opportunity to clarify his remarks. He didn't say that he talked himself out of it then either:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/juan_williams_wont_say_he_was.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Williams didn't just apologetically admit his fear of Muslims, he provided a justification for it.

I believe it is fairer to state that he admitted his uneasiness with Muslims who wear traditional Muslim dress (self identifying as Muslim) on an airplane. You get fired for admitting you think something these days? No actions - he didn't DO anything, encourage anyone else the DO anything, he simply had a thought. This was in the context of OReilly's Muslim comment on the View. While it is true that not all Muslims are terrorists, it is equally true that all 911 terrorists who hijacked and ran planes full of our family, neighbors, coworkers and friends into buildings were Muslim.

Yes, and all Oklahomians should be fearful of white christan males. All jews should be fearful of all catholics. the entire african population should be fearful of christian missionaries. Your ability to lump a religion that is practiced on almost every continent, of varying races, cultures and ethnicities is dumbfounding.

PP what part of the bolded sentence did you not understand?

[Anonymous]

Washington Post Editorial for Friday October 22 titled:

NPR's hasty decision to fire pundit Juan Williams


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102103973.html?hpid=topnews