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| Juan Williams: Shouldn't have had the job in the first place. |
National Public Radio (NPR) has fired political "analyst" Juan Williams. Let the storm in the wrong tea cup begin.
Among other things, Williams works for NPR and the FOX network.
Already there is much huffing and puffing about so-called "liberals" being too touchy and "conservatives" being too insensitive. And if you see someone on a plane in "full Muslim garb," as Williams put it on that disgusting freak-fest called The O'Reilly Factor on FOX, well, of course you're going to be nervous!
The mass media love to miss the point, keep us all arguing and getting upset, and maintain the status quo, rather than getting any real information and demanding true democracy. Here's my take.
PEOPLE WITH COMMON SENSE NEED NOT APPLY
Williams did not scream "Fire!" in a crowded theater -- or "Bomb!" on a crowded airplane -- and so he has a First Amendment right to say pretty much as he pleases. HOWEVER, it is way past time that we insisted on having journalists who really are ANALYSTS and don't spout simplistic crap and get well paid for it.
And that's a long line of so-called journalists we're talking about.
Mr. Williams argument that, hey, lot's of people think the same thing when they see a Muslim on a plane is a schoolyard-level argument.
To begin with, he's making an ASSERTION, not providing evidence -- unless he can prove he's psychic. But let's run with his assertion for now.
Even if some folks do feel some concern about seeing a Muslim in full "garb" on a plane because they've been brainwashed by a mass media machine that doesn't educate us as it blusters along in a bid to win advertisers, at least they have the sense not to say it out loud. Something in them recognizes that it is an irrational fear.
They know that "Muslim" rarely means "terrorist." That people have freedom of religion in this country. And, to make even the crudest of arguments, they know that terrorists usually just wear plain clothes when doing what they do.
As several other commentators have now pointed out, Williams' Muslim assertion has direct parallels with our stereotyping of blacks in this country. You simply cannot cite particular incidents to generalize about an entire race, creed, religion, etc. -- and we have to start insisting on that. Ask a college student: They teach the limitations of generalization in Logic 101 and statistics classes.
If other nations were to do that, guess what, NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHTS MINDS WOULD WANT TO BE AROUND AMERICANS! I mean, our government/corporations have invaded more nations than Britney Spears. But you and I didn't give the order. See what I mean?
IT'S UP TO US
Really, we need to look at ourselves. Our government, our media, our education system. And we as individual citizens need to speak out. The French put us to shame in this regard: which is why our government/corporations want us to hate them.
We get too much of our "education" from biased media talking heads who don't bother to explain what Islam is and the diversity within it -- among many other things they don't explain in their rush to be conservative, keep things as they are, and to win advertisers.
If you want to throw fuel on the extremist fire, just keep insulting religions.
Why don't we get the best minds in the country interviewed on FOX (and not cut them off every 30 seconds) and elsewhere? And yes, I'm talking about people like Noam Chomsky who I have mentioned in this blog before.
At day's end, the real issue is not whether Juan Williams had a right to say what he did. The real issue is whether we want simpletons and people with cynical agendas holding positions where their views are heard by millions of people.
I vote "no" on that one.
Take care,
Adrian Zupp
FOOTNOTE: I didn't want to make this post about NPR but I will say that I am not a complete fan. They have corporate connections that have biased their reporting at times and they are less "open" than many people think. Noam Chomsky talks about that fact in this YouTube clip.
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