Political Correctness Going Too Far?

[c.d.]

NPR has fired veteran analyst Juan Williams over remarks he made about Muslims on the Fox News Channel program, "The O’Reilly Factor."

The national radio network said in a statement Wednesday that the remarks, in which Williams said he gets nervous flying with people in Muslim garb, were “inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

.... He (Williams)(who is black) added, "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."

Any comments?

c.d.

[Errata]

NPR has fired veteran analyst Juan Williams over remarks he made about Muslims on the Fox News Channel program, "The O’Reilly Factor."

The national radio network said in a statement Wednesday that the remarks, in which Williams said he gets nervous flying with people in Muslim garb, were “inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

.... He (Williams)(who is black) added, "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."

Any comments?

c.d.

It always amazes me that people think that if they wrote a book on civil rights, or marched, or demonstrated, or fought some injustice or another that somehow it makes them immune from bigotry. You can totally be a civil rights supporter and be a bigot. It's not somehow magically mutually exclusive.

[Abby Normal]

It always amazes me that people think that if they wrote a book on civil rights, or marched, or demonstrated, or fought some injustice or another that somehow it makes them immune from bigotry. You can totally be a civil rights supporter and be a bigot. It's not somehow magically mutually exclusive.

HI
So are you saying he is a bigot because he said he gets nervous when flying with someone who looks Muslim?

[c.d.]

He (Williams) also said, amid a heated debate with O'Reilly, that people shouldn’t blame Muslims for “extremists,” same as Christians couldn’t be blamed for the Oklahoma City bombing.

It certainly seems like he is preaching tolerance.

c.d.

[c.d.]

Hypocrisy seems to be running wild with regard to this. The conservatives are ripping NPR (which is very liberal) for firing Williams saying that liberals say they defend the first amendment but will fire you if you exercise it. Fair enough, but now those same conservatives say they want the funding for NPR cut or eliminated. I guess they don't like the fact that NPR has a view that they don't agree with.

c.d.

[protohistorian]

Logic is not a conservative strong point. Dave

[Robert]

Is NPR the national radio network, i.e. is it publicly funded? If so, it gives me a queasy feeling - the State owning a radio channel.

[c.d.]

Hi Robert,

NPR (National Public Radio) receives a small part of its budget through federal funding. The majority comes from listener donations.

c.d.

[Robert]

Thanks CD. Nice if it was totally funded by donations, but there you go.

Personally, I don't think it's bigoted to be wary of Moslems on planes. But on a news level, if this guy is a newsreader or journalist, then he should keep all his political opinions private, because people have to be able to trust newsreaders and journalists to be objective, and once their own opinions become known that becomes harder. Or shall we say, the people who agree with his opinion will think he's objective, but those who don't, won't.

[c.d.]

I personally have no problem with what he said particulary since he went on to preach tolerance. I think it is simply a view that probably 99% of his fellow Americans share myself included. I think NPR overreacted.

c.d.

[Chris]

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 think it's rather a strange mindset.

If I see a man wearing a kilt, I don't think "that man is identifying himself first and foremost as a Scotsman." I think "Oh, there's a man in a kilt."

[Abby Normal]

I think it's rather a strange mindset.

If I see a man wearing a kilt, I don't think "that man is identifying himself first and foremost as a Scotsman." I think "Oh, there's a man in a kilt."

Hi Chris
i think he was basically just saying if he see's a someone who looks muslim on the plane, he gets worried.

If I see a man wearing a kilt, I don't think "that man is identifying himself first and foremost as a Scotsman." I think "Oh, there's a man in a kilt.

But if a radical group of Scots men, who wore kilts, had been blowing up things and killing alot of people over the past 10 years would you think
"oh, theres a man in a kilt." or would you think "Uh-oh, there's a man in a kilt." Be honest.

[c.d.]

If I am walking down the street and I see a person with a pit bull, I am much more wary than if he had a Golden Retriever. I think that it is just human nature.

c.d.

[Chris]

But if a radical group of Scots men, who wore kilts, had been blowing up things and killing alot of people over the past 10 years would you think "oh, theres a man in a kilt." or would you think "Uh-oh, there's a man in a kilt." Be honest.

I don't think so - any more than I used to be alarmed by anyone who "looked Irish" back in the heyday of the Provisional IRA.

[Robert]

A radical group of Scotsmen? You mean, singing "Mullah Kintyre"?