# Should longtime NPR analyst Juan Williams have been fired for comments he made on O'Reilly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 21, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887 "2010-10-21T14:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/221 "2010-10-22T14:06:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It is a fact that NPR is non-partisan. Any perceived “liberal bias” is completely imaginary. If you beg to differ, please bring cites. It is a fact that NPR has a liberal bias. (See how that works? :rolleyes:) Whether or not NPR is non-partisan is irrelevant. An organization can truthfully claim that it is non-partisan while still holding a liberal bias. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/222 "2010-10-22T14:10:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I think there is an important difference. Codrescu’s comment was made on “All Things Considered”, and is obviously subject to NPR editorial standards. Williams’ remark was not only nowhere near as offensive, but was not made on NPR’s air. But they didn’t fire Codrescu for something he said that was clearly made in his capacity as an NPR commentator, but they did fire Williams for something he said that was not. > > If NPR really fired Williams because he goes on Fox, then they are being dishonest, obviously. What they meant to say is “none of our employees can hold an un-PC thought or we will fire your ass”. They’re just not honest enough to say so. > > Besides, I thought black people couldn’t be racists, because the power structure in the US is white. > > Regards, > Shodan Excellent point. Why the extra PC-ness over Muslims? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/223 "2010-10-22T15:02:01Z")
Regardless of how you feel about what Juan Williams said, there’s no doubt that NPR handled this the wrong way and overreacted. If they really wanted to shitcan him, they would have been better off just not renewing contract when it expired and quietly letting him go. Instead they just created a firestorm and given the right another faux-outrage to bitch about. And between this and “The View,” O’Reilly is getting a shitload of attention, which he craves. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/224 "2010-10-22T15:22:14Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, I mean appearing on Fox, and exhibiting less than 100% support of Obama. NPR doesn’t appear to care about bigotry, or they would have fired Nina Totenberg for wishing that Jesse Helms’ grandchildren got AIDS or another commentator wishing that millions of Christians would vanish. > > But appearing on a rival news network that is not left-or-center is an unforgivable sin. No, none of his remarks were bigoted. Perhaps I have misunderstood what I have read about this but my understanding is Juan Williams has been on FOX numerous times. If so then NPR clearly does not see appearances on FOX as “unforgivable”. Do you realize that FOX employees are contractually prohibited from appearing on other networks? Period. They do, of course, appear on other networks at times (often when they are pushing a book they just wrote) but that only happens with the explicit blessing of FOX execs to get one pass at a time. As for Ms. Totenburg if one example is all you’ve got then I’d say you need more. Anyone can say something dumb once…particularly when your job is jabbering incessantly. I do not know how the incident played out and I certainly hope she was rebuked for it but without a pattern of this happening I think hanging her high goes too far. Supposedly Williams has been pissing off NPR execs in this fashion for awhile and they had talked with him about it in the past. If true then his ouster makes more sense. Looks bad to us if it was just this one thing but if there was a continuing pattern anyone would fire him. If you had an employee who kept doing stuff you told him not to how long would you keep him on the payroll? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/225 "2010-10-22T15:22:50Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Okay, how many are there? A few thousand at most, out of over a billion total Muslims. The kind of extremist that makes Juan Williams pee down his leg adds up to about one Muslim in 100,000 – about 1000th of 1 percent., which is probably roughly equivalent to the percentage of Christians who kill doctors or blow up gay bars. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/226 "2010-10-22T15:23:59Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Yeah, that’s the point. It doesn’t make sense, logically - of course they’d disguise themselves (if they even tried that attack again at all - I doubt it, they probably won’t fight the last war, knowing that the US is). > > But it was an honest response. The muslim kit _reminded_ him of what (a subset of) muslims do. The fact that he was fired for it is so over the top. Plus, I bet it will (further) fire up a conservative base in the coming election - protecting a poor liberal from the Political Correctness douchebags. But it was really dumb. Juan Williams didn’t say “Many Americans are afraid of people in Muslim garb.” That’s a simple fact, and no one would have been bothered by it. He said “I’m afraid of people in muslim garb.” This means he’s not smart enough to figure out that people dressed like that are not likely to blow up any planes. If you and I–mere message board posters–can figure this out surely Juan Williams–who’s paid to ponitificate and have smart opinions–can. If he can’t he should be fired for being unqualified. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/227 "2010-10-22T15:26:03Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Or THEY may precisely be counting on that. That we think nobody would commit a terrorist bombing in Muslim garb and BOOM that’s precisely what they do. You cant trust THEM. I’m having a Poe’s law problem with this post. It is a joke, right? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/228 "2010-10-22T15:27:34Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > It is a fact that NPR has a liberal bias. (See how that works? :rolleyes:) Whether or not NPR is non-partisan is irrelevant. An organization can truthfully claim that it is non-partisan while still holding a liberal bias. NPR is not such an example. NPR does not have a liberal bias or political agenda, and no one can show the slightest evidence that it does. Media Matters actually proved that it leans more right than left in its think tank sources. Right wingers just think that anything that isn’t overtly conservative must be liberal. Objectivity is an affront to them. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/229 "2010-10-22T15:37:37Z")
Williams admits nervousness, and then goes on to say that we can’t let that control our actions. People really should read the transcript, and read his comments (sadly now hosted by Fox). NPR screwed up big time on this, and they are being called out for it. LA Times: “NPR overreacted by firing news analyst Juan Williams after he admitted his own biases in the context of a cautionary statement. Such comments have a place in public discussion of uncomfortable subjects.” > **[NPR's overreaction](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-22-la-ed-williams-20101022-story.html)** > > NPR's overreaction Washington Post: "NPR management appears to have learned nothing from that rush to judgment. “Political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality,” Mr. Williams told Mr. O’Reilly. NPR, alas, has proved his point. " > **[NPR's hasty decision to fire pundit Juan Williams](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102103973.html?hpid=topnews)** > > IN A DEMOCRACY, the media must foster a free and robust political debate, even if such debate may, at times, offend some people. At the same time, they must uphold standards of civility, including an appropriate respect for the legitimate... If you can’t keep the LA Times and Washington Post on your side in a case like this, you might be screwing up. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/230 "2010-10-22T15:37:41Z")
Imagine Williams (remembering he is a black man) said: _“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Redneck garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Rednecks, I get worried. I get nervous.”_ What do you think the response from the right would have been? A black man has reason to fear rednecks afterall. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/231 "2010-10-22T15:40:54Z")
Saw a post on another board cracked me up, and no, I won’t link to it because its low-class and crude, but it rhymes with “edit”. How Fast Would Fox News Fire Juan Williams If He Said That Since Bernie Madoff, Every Time He Meets Someone Dressed Jewish, He Worries That Guy Will Steal His Money? More snark than truth, mayhap, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/232 "2010-10-22T15:44:17Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > NPR screwed up big time on this, and they are being called out for it. > > \ > > If you can’t keep the LA Times and Washington Post on your side in a case like this, you might be screwing up. Because they jump on the populist bandwagon news-du-jour? Go figure…media never does that. :rolleyes: I agree NPR stepped in a big stinking pile and I am surprised they were dumb enough to do so but that is more for missing the realities of the absurd media cycles we have now. However, what I think is getting lost is supposedly Williams had been pissing off NPR execs like this for awhile and they had talked to him about it on numerous occasions. This is no stepping on his 1st Amendment rights. If I worked for, say, Rush Limbaugh and then went on other shows and said how I think Obama is doing a great job would you be surprised or think it wrong if Limbaugh fired me? I have a right to say what I want. Limbaugh has a right to not pay me to say what I want. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/233 "2010-10-22T15:45:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, I mean appearing on Fox, and exhibiting less than 100% support of Obama. NPR doesn’t appear to care about bigotry, or they would have fired Nina Totenberg for wishing that Jesse Helms’ grandchildren got AIDS or another commentator wishing that millions of Christians would vanish. > > But appearing on a rival news network that is not left-or-center is an unforgivable sin. Yeah! Work that spin! If you keep repeating it, people will think it’s true! Cmon, put something in there about 911, or how it’s destroying America, really work the fear. Oh, and Nina Totenberg’s quote? [QUOTE=Nina Totenberg] “I think he ought to be worried about what’s going on in the Good Lord’s mind, because if there is retributive justice, he’ll get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will get it.” [/QUOTE] I’m not going to argue too hard, cuz I think it was over the top for a news commentator, but if you actually bother reading for comprehension she isn’t wishing AIDS on him. She saying that because he was wants to cut AIDS research, which is what prompted this quote, if the Lord was retributive he would get AIDS. She isn’t actually wishing it herself, just pointing out how ironic retribution would work. Given Jesse Helms outspoken bigotry against gays, [QUOTE=Jesse Helms] “There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be raced in origin to sodomy.” [/QUOTE] this would in fact be ironic retribution. It all works a little better in context, as opposed to all those 18 second clips out there that all try to claim she’s maliciously wishing it on him. > [@](#): > > No, none of his remarks were bigoted. You should probably try to read his statement then, it cuz it actually is. Expressing fear that every person he thinks is a Muslim is a terrorist shows blatant prejudice against Muslims. Not certain Muslims, all of them. He is making a judgment about them based solely on his interpretation of Muslims, and not any actual evidence he has. He is an anti-Muslim bigot. And a stupid one, cuz as has been pointed out, an actual terrorist wouldn’t be obviously dressed as a Muslim. > [@](#): > > Are you going to falsify another quote to show that he is a pedophile? Oh? I’m falsifying quotes now? Actually, if you would have bothered to read, you would have seen that I had pointed out in both cases that I was changing the quotes I posted. I have never posted a deliberately altered quote claiming that it was genuine. So go ahead, call me a liar again. This time, try making sure it’s not just more bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/234 "2010-10-22T15:48:07Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > NPR is not such an example. NPR does not have a liberal bias or political agenda, and no one can show the slightest evidence that it does. No, NPR’s left-wing slant is an established fact. I don’t need to produce a cite; it is absolutely true because I say so. You are making a non-factual statement, that’s all there is to it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/235 "2010-10-22T15:49:49Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Imagine Williams (remembering he is a black man) said: > > _“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Redneck garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Rednecks, I get worried. I get nervous.”_ > > What do you think the response from the right would have been? > > A black man has reason to fear rednecks afterall. The more proper comparison would be if he was talking about being nervous seeing rednecks while in some area that had seen lynchings within the last few years, _and was doing so in the context of saying that nonetheless, one shouldn’t let one’s natural fears get the best of them and overreact and stereotype all rednecks._ If he said that, no, I don’t think there’d be much outcry on the right, except among the looking-to-be-offended assholes. To be fair, there’s not much outcry on the left over what he did say, except among the looking-to-be-offended assholes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/236 "2010-10-22T15:50:31Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m happy to see that you are apparently so concerned about the lives and well-being of Iraqi Muslims (I assume you are speaking of Iraqi Muslims. I wouldn’t think even you would condemn our battle with the Taliban.) So with that in mind, how’s about you listen to [this little clip](http://fora.tv/2009/07/09/Axis_of_Evil_Christopher_Hitchens#chapter_03), entitled \*“Iraq: The Republic of Fear”\*\*, in which Christopher Hitchens describes life in Iraq based upon his firsthand experiences having been there, and then try to tell me that in a big-picture sense Iraqi Muslims have suffered and died in greater numbers, and are otherwise worse off than they would have been, had Hussein and his sons been left in power? > > \*The first ten minutes or so describe the occasion of Hussein’s murderous, sadistic and Machiavellian seizure of power. Hitchens’ descriptions of the average citizen’s daily life in Iraq begins at roughly 9:50 into the video. And it isn’t pretty. Dead people don’t get liberated, **Starving** , they just stay dead. Its all they are, and all they will ever be. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/237 "2010-10-22T15:51:05Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Because they jump on the populist bandwagon news-du-jour? Go figure…media never does that. :rolleyes: > > I agree NPR stepped in a big stinking pile and I am surprised they were dumb enough to do so but that is more for missing the realities of the absurd media cycles we have now. > > However, what I think is getting lost is supposedly Williams had been pissing off NPR execs like this for awhile and they had talked to him about it on numerous occasions. > > This is no stepping on his 1st Amendment rights. If I worked for, say, Rush Limbaugh and then went on other shows and said how I think Obama is doing a great job would you be surprised or think it wrong if Limbaugh fired me? > > I have a right to say what I want. Limbaugh has a right to not pay me to say what I want. I 100% agree that this is NOT a First Amendment case. There is no government coercion going on here, regardless of NPR’s receipt of some funds and (possibly preferential?) license. I do think that the editorial pages of the Washington Post and LA Times are decent bellwethers for left-leaning informed commentary. If NPR can’t keep their support, that is a bad sign. I don’t think they jump on the bandwagon - rather they help DRIVE the bandwagon. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/238 "2010-10-22T15:51:11Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > How Fast Would Fox News Fire Juan Williams If He Said That Since Bernie Madoff, Every Time He Meets Someone Dressed Jewish, He Worries That Guy Will Steal His Money? > > More snark than truth, mayhap, but still… More truth than snark actually: > [@](#): > > Helen Thomas was forced into retirement in June after she said that the Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home.” CNN forced out Octavia Nasr in July for tweeting her condolences when a spiritual leader of Hezbollah died. And Rick Sanchez was let go from CNN in October after calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and suggesting that CNN is run by the Jews. > > \ > > \*n June, Beck said on his radio show: “The old hatreds are reappearing. Now, how Helen Thomas has a job today is beyond me.” He added: “You know, may I tell you this Jewish run media, really, they’re really bad at running the media, if they are indeed Jewish. You know what I mean? The Zionist masters really suck at being Zionist masters. If you still have Helen Thomas sitting in the front row after saying go back to Germany, go back to Poland.” > > Pamela Geller wrote today: “No one is safe, not even liberals, from islamic supremacism and the assault on free speech. I am no fan of Juan Williams, but I will defend to my death his right to speak his mind.” > > The day Nasr stepped down, she was thrilled: “Today the Nazi lover resigned. In a word, GOOD!” > > And on the Sanchez firing, Geller said: “In another Jew-hating gaffe, a well known CNN anchor has been terminated over outrageous, hateful remarks about Jews.” She added: “This is systemic. And it should be raising red flags in media corporate offices. You have a problem. And so does Jon Stewart; he shills for these goons and their ideology.” > > \ > > Rove said of Helen Thomas’s comments in June: This was a “typical, bile-filled remark that she has increasingly tended to in recent decades. I think the Hearst papers did the right thing by cashiering her.” > > \ > > As for Helen Thomas, May wrote a letter to Hearst calling for the news organization to “cut all ties with her as quickly as possible” because her “outburst of unbridled anti-Semitism makes it clear that she sides with those who see a second Holocaust as a ‘final solution.’” > > \ > > Back in July, Morrissey said of Nasr: “After having outed herself as a Hezbollah sympathizer, which is certainly the rational conclusion of Nasr’s Twitter message and subsequent explanation, doesn’t CNN owe its viewers and readers a complete accounting of their coverage in the Middle East and a complete explanation of Nasr’s role in it?” > > \ > > But on Thomas, [Brent Bozell] wrote: "Helen Thomas is leaving the White House with all the hate she’s been bringing to the grounds for decades. Despite their ill-advised adoration, the White House press corps has been improved by her retirement. " And on Nasr, he said: “CNN has finally taken a step in the right direction in removing a terrorist sympathizer from their ranks.” > > SOURCE: [http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/dont-cross-the-jews-do-cross-the-muslims-the-juan-williams-story.php](http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/dont-cross-the-jews-do-cross-the-muslims-the-juan-williams-story.php) ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/239 "2010-10-22T15:56:20Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Imagine Williams (remembering he is a black man) said: > > _“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Redneck garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Rednecks, I get worried. I get nervous.”_ > > What do you think the response from the right would have been? > > A black man has reason to fear rednecks afterall. Try your best to think just a little. Here…I’ll help you. First, Williams didn’t call they ragheads. Second, a redneck on a plane is not perceived as a threat by anybody…not even a black person. If Williams said he was nervous walking at night in known Klan areas when he happened upon a group of southern white males on a dark street in a rural area then he would have a point. I certainly wouldn’t find it racist or offensive in the least. Nice try though. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/240 "2010-10-22T15:59:21Z")
> [@Sandwich](#): > > Thinking about islamic terrorism when you see a moslem when you are on a plane is a rational reaction. > > Fearing moslems in general when you see one on a plane or otherwise is an irrational fear, but hard for some to avoid in the circumstances (thousands of moslems murdering innocent people at random for the hell (paradise?) of it). > > Talking about your irrational fear in private may help you conquer it. > > Talking about your irrational fear in public might help you conquer it, but you should be aware that your integrity may be questioned by bystanders who won’t necessarily want to spend much time analysing your motives. > > Talking about your irrational fear in public in a stupid way which could easily suggest you are a bigot will lead to some bystanders thinking you are a bigot. > > Talking about your irrational fear in public in a stupid way when you are attempting to present yourself as an articulate media-savvy professional who can be trusted to present investigations on sensitive issues in the national and international media is a sure way to get fired. > > He’s been fired for stupidity and professional incompetence, not for being a bigot (which is not yet resolved either way). If he said I fear when black people get on a plane ,would that have been racist? Why if he says it is people who look like muslims ,is it suddenly not bigotry? Would he quake in fear if Muhammed Ali got on a plane? Like I said, I see people dressed in muslim garb all the time, nearly everywhere i go. I don’t even notice. I go to political functions and there are burkhas all over. I have neighbors who dress in burkhas. It tells you nothing about what kind of person they are or anything about their politics. It is bigotry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887.md?page=13)