UnNews:NPR fires Juan Williams for racism

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21 October 2010

He doesn't look like a racist, does he? And I can tell, just by looking at them.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- National Public Radio commentator Juan Williams has been fired after going on an anti-Muslim rant on the Bill O'Reilly Show.

The firing comes almost three weeks to the day after CNN cashiered Rick Sanchez for suggesting that Jews not only run the media but claim to be an ethnic group.

Mr. Williams had agreed with Mr. O'Reilly, Wednesday on Fox News, that it's intimidating being on an airplane with Muslims. "If I see people who are in Muslim garb and are identifying themselves as Muslims, I get nervous," Mr. Williams had said.

Moments before the firing, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said such slurs should not be tolerated. "Muslims, especially when we whisper in Arabic, point to various parts of the passenger cabin, all stand up at once and move to the same place, and then sway and chant loudly, are a welcome part of a multi-cultural America," said Executive Director Jihad Awad. "We call on jetway screeners to give more scrutiny to Swedish grandmothers."

NPR was established in 1970 for the benefit of Americans returning from overseas, who wanted a government-owned radio service to tell them, in lilting British voices, how to feel about the day's events. Spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm said, "Juan has been a valuable contributor. Too bad he turned out to be a racist." NPR recently took $1.8 million from patriot George Soros, but under his strict insistence that the donation not affect NPR's editorial or personnel policy.

Conservative bloggers sided with Mr. Williams. The Red Meat State blog wrote, "They make me itchy too! Fire me first!" The blogger's appeals, however, were ignored, as he does not work for NPR.

Mr. Williams, for his part, denied the charges of racism. "Some of my best friends are colored people," he said.

Sources

• Brett Zongker "NPR fires news analyst after remarks about Muslims" Associated Press, October 21, 2010