Popular radio station host
Juan Williams was recently
fired from his job for making
what has been labeled a
racist remark on live television.
Williams was a senior
news analyst for National
Public Radio (NPR) for 10
years. He was also a paid
contributor to Fox News.
Williams’s contract with
NPR was terminated two
days after one of his
appearances on “The
O’Reilly Factor,” a Fox
News program.
“.When I get on a plane,
I gotta tell you, iff I see
people who are in Muslim
garb and I think, you know,
they are identifying themselves
first and foremost as
Muslims, I get worried, I
get nervous.” These are the
words that cost Williams
his job.
In the days following his
appearance there was
uproar among both liberals
and conservatives.
The Council of American-
Islamic Relations released
a statement saying “NPR
should address the fact that
one of its news analysts
seems to believe that all
airline passengers who are
perceived to be Muslim
can legitimately be viewed
as security threats.”
It was NPR’s president
and CEO, Vivian Shiller,
who made the final decision
to can Williams.
In a letter to affiliate managers,
Shiller wrote “I
regret that we did not take
the time to prepare the station
community and provide
you with the tools to
cope with the fallout from
this episode.”
This letter was written as
an apology to the managers
for her handling of the
incident.
The fact that NPR is funded
in p art by American tax
dollars has added fuel to
the fire.
Bill O’Reilly was enraged
about the incident and proposed
on his show the
“immediate suspension of
every taxpayer dollar going
into the National Public
Radio outfit. We’re going
to get legislation. We’re
going to freeze it down, so
they don’t get any more
money. This is outrageous.”
A non-scientific poll of 25
Bucks students found
found that 18 believed it
was unfair to fire Williams.
The other six students
found his statement to be
very offensive and racist.
They agreed that his termination
was necessary.