As an avid listener of NPR, I (like the rest of America) was saddened to see Juan Williams, a long time correspondent for National Public Radio, fired for his statement made on the O’Reilly factor this past week. I respect NPR’s decision, and I was shocked that a man with Williams’ experience working with the media would not think before he said such an outright blunt and shameful statement.
“What I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," he said. "But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
This remark by Williams reminds me of a similar comment made by Jesse Jackson’s blunt (and controversial at the time) observation that
“There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved….”
Jesse Jackson’s comment was a personal confession from someone who admitted what many were thinking at the time. The comment Williams made is similar—and it could be interpreted that he made it in the hopeful mindset that social changes in America will make his fears irrelevant in the future. However, his comment as an employee and representive of the National Public Radio was out of line and therefore questioned his credibility as an analyst.
Williams, a liberal African American commentator who had written extensively on civil rights in America, previously got in trouble with NPR for comments he made while appearing on "The O'Reilly Factor" in February 2009. At that time, he described first lady Michelle Obama as having a "Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress thing going." It is interesting to be aware of that after the Carmichael quote, Williams' position at NPR was changed from staff correspondent to national analyst.
What shocked me the most about Williams’ remark was that his comment was based on the appearance of muslims. It was not related to any terrorists groups, whom they stood for or what they stood for --just appearance. Last month in class we spoke about different cultures and the social norms for appearance. Mr. Williams’ comment in relation to the way different social groups dress was nothing short of ignorant. What fueled my frustration about his comment was his discrimination and “fear” based off of the appearance of the Muslim community.
Many of the counter remarks to the firing of Williams have been his first amendment right to free speech. Nonetheless, I stand next to NPR’s decision for Williams removal. Unlike Jesse Jackson, Williams’ statement was in my opinion more direct and hurtful to the Muslim community. As a leading figure in American journalism, his comment represented a significant misrepresentation to the American values and ideals.
Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/10/22/juan.williams.controversy/
No comments:
Post a Comment