Erick Erickson relates the story of NPR's firing of Juan Williams here. Williams made the mistake of confessing, on The O'Reilly factor no less, that he was uneasy in the presence of Muslims on planes. This did not set well with NPR executives, who terminated Williams' contract on the grounds that it did not meet their standards. Yet, Williams was not engaging in an Islamaphobic diatribe, he was just expressing a reality shared by millions of ordinary Americans, a basic human and quite understandable, natural reaction to what many under the right set of circumstances might view as a potential threat to their personal safety.
Given that he was in fact cautioning against giving in to ungrounded fear, and engaging in inflammatory rhetoric, it seems strange that he should have been terminated by NPR, and vastly unfair on top of that.
You can contact the ombudsman for NPR here, if you would like to weigh in with your opinion. If you do so, I advise a calm, moderate approach. Remember, these are liberal folks who, by the time they get around to reading your words, are likely to be either coming down from a pot high, or surrounded by a haze of pot smoke even as they read your words. You have to be gentle with them, but firm. Remember, there is also a better than passing chance they might be in the beginning stages of dementia, so a calm, soothing voice is of the utmost importance. And yes, I did say voice. It is the internet, so remember-they can probably hear you.
Following is the missive I sent them earlier. It might provide a basic guideline as to how best to approach them. You don't want to appear to angry. Yes, they can probably see you as well.
My e-mail to the ombudsman-
You not only need to rehire Juan Williams, you should issue an official, on the air apology to him. For the record, I am not afraid of Muslims when I see them on planes, for the simple fact I don't fly, in large part because of them (that and the airlines' lousy service, and policies).
Also, may I point out that Juan Williams was not promoting anti-Muslim bigotry or intolerance, (or whatever the irritating PC buzz-phrase of the day might be), he was merely reflecting a state of mind that is shared by millions of Americans. Trying to pretend it does not exist (or that it is held only by anti-Muslim "bigots") is not going to change the fact that it is a prevalent, if not a predominant, attitude.
Let's have a discussion of this issue, preferably with a minimum of condescension from the know-it-all elites who are oh so above all the rest of us.
Fire Andrea Mitchell has a bit of a different take on the matter. Although not in agreement with NPR's actions, they feel that, in reality, Juan Williams is part of the problem with the PC ethos that has pervaded and poisoned public discourse over the course of so many decades that it almost seems normal. As such, they feel that Williams got exactly what he deserved, and so "good riddance".
Which, come to think of it, finds the blog in a rare position of agreement with such stalwart leftist blogs as Talk Left and Andrew Sullivan, who describes Williams remarks as "the working definition of bigotry". In fact, this all seems to be the typical meme on the left, who all seem to concur that the firing of Juan Williams has been much too long in coming.
Professor William A. Jacobson of Legal Insurrection attributes this attitude on the left to Williams acknowledgment of the prevalence of negative stereotypes, while Riehl World View takes it a step further in positing that Williams is disliked by the left, and was ultimately fired because he is black.
No, Williams didn't go so far as to be a heretical black conservative, but perhaps even worse than that, he is a make-believe liberal who is just a little too cozy and comfortable with the rich white conservative establishment. I'm afraid that makes just a little too much sense to disregard in its entirety. Under this scenario, which I believe has a great deal of merit, Juan Williams is much worse than a mere "Uncle Tom". He's a minstrel show performer.
Here is NPR's explanation for their actions, which might better pass the smell test were it not for their continued support of a cartoon, by an NPR cartoonist, titled How To Speak Tea-Bag.
In other words, the Left has revealed itself to be, as we already knew, blatant hypocrites with one standard they apply to themselves, and quite another for everybody else who falls into that great "other"-we barbarians at the gates.
For what its worth, I think this might be the best thing that could have happened, given the timing in proximity to the coming elections now just under two weeks away.
This is the kind of atmosphere that is predominant when the left has a position of prominence. And, as we all know, the Left tends to vote Democrat (what ones don't go that extra mile and vote Socialist, Green, or Communist).
This might be one of hopefully many examples of an October Surprise to benefit the right, only one in this case which the left has gladly and arrogantly gift-wrapped and hand-delivered.
