There’s been a lot of wrangling here on the In Box about Juan Williams’ firing by NPR.<\/p>\n
As I’ve said, it’s a legitimate debate, one that raises important questions about about journalism and analysis, about public broadcasting, and about the way our culture talks about tough, complicated issues.<\/p>\n
But I think rhetoric about this being a case comparable to the Shirley Sherrod incident — in which a government official’s comments were deliberately edited to conceal the intent of her words — is way overblown.<\/p>\n
It’s important to respond honestly to exactly what it was that Williams said on the Fox News program; and it’s also true that context matters.<\/p>\n
So setting aside the “fire-don’t-fire” question, here’s my take on Williams’ argument and ideas.<\/p>\n
First, it’s important to note that Williams didn’t just offer an emotional or unguarded opinion about his personal anxieties about seeing people “in Muslim garb” on airplanes.<\/p>\n
His views were offered after Fox host Bill O’Reilly laid out his own detailed argument that Islam is the primary global threat to peace and security and that “moderate Muslims have not stepped up in a visible way to help combat the Jihadists.”<\/p>\n
In fact, far more Muslims have died fighting against terrorists since 9\/11 than have Americans.<\/p>\n
Setting aside civilian “collateral” deaths, government officials, aid workers, and Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani soldiers have suffered appalling casualties.<\/p>\n
What’s more, American Muslims are currently serving with distinction in our owned Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n
But O’Reilly and the Fox network have articulated a very specific view that Islam itself (as opposed to Islamic terrorism) is a threat to America’s way of life.<\/p>\n
They have embraced narratives about the danger that Islamic Sharia law might at some point be enacted in America.<\/p>\n
On this particular program, O’Reilly spoke at length about “the Muslim dilemma” and once again condemned the “Ground Zero” mosque in New York City, despite the fact that it has been proposed by a completely non-violent congregation.<\/p>\n
O’Reilly argued that “folks are fed up with politically correct nonsense. There is no question there is a Muslim problem in the world…” and he claimed that “…most Americans are uneasy with the Muslim world in general…”<\/p>\n
At the end of his lengthy introduction, in which he laid out these ideas, O’Reilly turned to Williams and had this exchange:<\/p>\n
BILL O’REILLY:\u00a0 So, where am I going wrong there, Juan.<\/p>\n
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, actually, I hate to say this to you because I don\u2019t want to get your ego going. But I think you\u2019re right. I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don\u2019t address reality.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The “reality” that Williams is agreeing with is clearly O’Reilly’s broad narrative about Islam. Williams then shares his own much-quoted anxieties about seeing Muslims on a plane.<\/p>\n
Rather than acknowledging that his own fears may be irrational or merely a personal gut-level response, Williams goes one further, suggesting that his concerns about people wearing traditional garb are justified.<\/p>\n
WILLIAMS:\u00a0 Now, I remember also that when the Times Square bomber was at court, I think this was just last week. He said the war with Muslims, America\u2019s war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way to get away from these facts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Williams goes on to offer a series of caveats and hedges that are important to note.<\/p>\n
I think there are people who want to somehow remind us all as President Bush did after 9\/11, it\u2019s not a war against Islam. President Bush went to a mosque \u2013<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When O’Reilly suggests that even non-violent Muslims living in Germany are problematic for that society, Williams pushes back, insisting that “extremists” are the main concern.<\/p>\n
Williams offers a series of warnings against over-broad statements about all Muslims, and points to instances of racism against Muslims in America.<\/p>\n
In the end, frankly, his points are contradictory and incoherent, which I think accounts for much of the confusion here.<\/p>\n
He first agrees point-blank with O’Reilly’s assertion that Islam writ large is problematic, a religious culture that people have legitimate reasons to fear.<\/p>\n
He shares that fear, he says, argues that his own fear is justified, and suggests that people who don’t share these views are blinded by “political correctness.”<\/p>\n
But he then casts fairly harsh judgment on his own and O’Reilly’s views, suggesting that it’s unwise and unproductive to fear Muslims as a whole.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m saying, we don\u2019t want in America, people to have their rights violated to be attacked on the street because they heard a rhetoric from Bill O\u2019Reilly and they act crazy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It’s worth noting that Williams clearly felt some anxiety about how his own arguments.\u00a0 He was the first to raise the b-word, telling O’Reilly during the segment, “I’m not a bigot.”<\/p>\n
Fair enough.\u00a0 But his muddled and fact-challenged analysis makes it almost impossible to decipher what Williams does actually think about the hundreds of thousands of American Muslims who live peacefully in our society.<\/p>\n
Your thoughts welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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