# 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:** 4
**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 21, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/61 "2010-10-21T16:50:43Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > He was getting paid for his appearance? I assume he was getting paid by Fox, but if you’re trying to say thathe was “off the clock” from his NPR gig, I would say that it doesn’t matter. His credibility as a commentator on NPR has been undermined regardless. I would guess that he’s even had some language in his NPR contract regarding public appearances outside of NPR. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/62 "2010-10-21T16:53:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That’s not why he was fired. Cite? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/63 "2010-10-21T16:55:31Z")
Um… actually, their statement makes it sound like that’s exactly why he was fired. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. > [@](#): > > NPR News has terminated the contract of longtime news analyst Juan Williams after remarks he made on the Fox News Channel about Muslims. > > … > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/64 "2010-10-21T17:02:54Z")
Contrary opinions are not tolerated in the liberal fascist society ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/65 "2010-10-21T17:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Williams’ remark was not only nowhere near as offensive Williams remark was far more offensive. Codrescu didn’t even say anything objectionable, in my opinion. He made a remark specifically about a subset of fundamentalists, and basically just said the world would be better if those kinds of morons were to disappear (which it would be). If Williams had said he wished Islamic extremsist would disappear, there would have been no problem. Plus it was 15 years ago, so it’s not really applicable in this century. Nice try, though. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/66 "2010-10-21T17:05:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Cite? NPR’s own statement. He wasn’t fired for “bias,” he was fired for wrecking his personal credibility by publicly making racist statements. Political bias doesn’t play into it. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/67 "2010-10-21T17:08:32Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > Contrary opinions are not tolerated in the liberal fascist society What the fuck is a “liberal fascist society,” and who’s stopping Juan Williams from spewing whatever puke he wants? I don’t see anybody shutting down talk radio or Fox News, so who’s enforcing this “intolerance?” If contrary opiniosn aren’t tolerated (contray to WHAT, by the way?), then the forces of anti-toleration aren’t doinga very good job at stopping it. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/68 "2010-10-21T17:12:40Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The attitude he expressed was bigoted and destroyed his journalistic credibility (not that he’s had much left for the past several years since he became a shoeshine boy for Fox News). That’s a racist comment and you should be fired from your job. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/69 "2010-10-21T17:13:15Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > Contrary opinions are not tolerated in the liberal fascist society Wait, wait, I thought liberals were socialists. What day is it today? \ Oh, sorry, it’s liberal-fascist day today. Carry on. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/70 "2010-10-21T17:14:39Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > That’s a racist comment and you should be fired from your job. It’s not a racist comment. That is exactly how Fox News employs him. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/71 "2010-10-21T17:14:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How would you have felt if it was a white guy saying that he felt nervous being alone on the subway and have a few young black men get on his car? Would it make any difference if he added that not all young black men are thugs? Are you calling Jessie Jackson a racist? That’s very similar to a comment he made some time back. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/72 "2010-10-21T17:18:06Z")
Jesse Jackson admitted he felt shame for those feelings, and in context, that was the point of what he was saying. He was confssing it as a feeling he didn’t like. Juan Williams did not say he felt any shame for his feelings or indicate that he thought there was anything wrong with them. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/73 "2010-10-21T17:20:12Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s not a racist comment. That is exactly how Fox News employs him. I didn’t see “shoeshine boy” in his Fox bio. Your statement is racist…plain and simple. Care to call him an uncle tom while you are at it? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/74 "2010-10-21T17:20:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > NPR’s own statement. He wasn’t fired for “bias,” he was fired for wrecking his personal credibility by publicly making racist statements. Political bias doesn’t play into it. He didn’t make a racist statement. He said, and here’s the comment: > [@](#): > > 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. “People who are in Muslim garb” aren’t a race. It’s not even necessarily an anti-Muslim statement, because there are plenty of Muslims who don’t wear “Muslim garb”, but its certainly not racist. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/75 "2010-10-21T17:21:55Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Jesse Jackson admitted he felt shame for those feelings, and in context, that was the point of what he was saying. He was confssing it as a feeling he didn’t like. Juan Williams did not say he felt any shame for his feelings or indicate that he thought there was anything wrong with them. Yeah, he felt shame because he knew his statement was true. That’s what bothered him. Williams didn’t exactly say he was proud of his feeling. What he was expressing is human nature. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/76 "2010-10-21T17:24:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This wasn’t a political comment. You acknowledged that a few posts ago. Obviously I was referring to the reasons why they were looking to axe him. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/77 "2010-10-21T17:26:41Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > I didn’t see “shoeshine boy” in his Fox bio. Your statement is racist…plain and simple. Care to call him an uncle tom while you are at it? My statement is not at all racist. I am calling Fox News racist in how it employs him. he plays a classically racist role. And yes, he is an Unce Tom. I have called him that before on this board, and that is also not racist. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/78 "2010-10-21T17:28:02Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > He didn’t make a racist statement. He said, and here’s the comment: > > “People who are in Muslim garb” aren’t a race. It’s not even necessarily an anti-Muslim statement, because there are plenty of Muslims who don’t wear “Muslim garb”, but its certainly not racist. He’s mostly talking about Arabs, but OK, it wasn’t technically racist, just religiously and ethnically bigoted. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/79 "2010-10-21T17:28:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The government funds research at universities. Should someone who doesn’t get tenure start blaming the government? If they can show that some government agency disagreed with the research and caused the lack of tenure? Sure. My point was, do you have absolute evidence that the government had nothing to do with it? Obviously, I’m asking our dear mod to prove a negative, which ain’t gonna happen (about as ridiculous as that asshole Axelrod talking about Obama’s unfortunate comments wrt the Chamber getting foreign money: “Can you prove they haven’t!?!”) But I don’t like people barking at me in absolutes when they have absolutely no fact or data to back it up, no absolute proof. Unless you were in the lefty pinko commie we-hate-America conference room 😃 when they were having the discussion about Juan’s career path at NPR, nobody here can say for sure. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-longtime-npr-analyst-juan-williams-have-been-fired-for-comments-he-made-on-oreilly/557887/80 "2010-10-21T17:29:04Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Yeah, he felt shame because he knew his statement was true. Cite? [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=3) [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=5)