Juan Williams Fired

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel

I've found this commentary from salon.com about Juan Williams being fired, and how there was no similar outcry for other firings rather interesting. Specifically it mentions other journalists who were fired, but their firing wasn't questioned, and also acknowledging the double standard for things said about Muslims as opposed to other groups.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/gl...10/21/williams

One of the 'Shop guys on NPR's Tell Me More was absolutely outraged that basically you can get paid to be an Islamophobe. (And they've been discussing it on the NPR shows pretty neutrally IMO.)

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel

I'm not going to apply the term bigot to all people who have thoughts/feelings/opinions about a group of people, but I'd like for someone to say "Yes, I have these thoughts and a fear, I admit it." Then I'd like them to do some introspection into why they have these thoughts or ideas, where it came from, and is it rational or based in fact. There isn't anyone who can say they've never had a thought pop into their head that was inappropriate, but it is what we do once the thought is there that makes a difference.

The label sounds extreme, but it is prejudice on its face. Where is the line between prejudice and bigotry? I'm not sure there is one. He didn't have a random inappropriate thought, he stated that he feels fear whenever he sees 'Muslim-garbed' people at the airport. And that he assumes said people are 'Muslims first and foremost.' Those are irrational and prejudicial beliefs. And it goes beyond the "what pops into his head" when he comments on the first and foremost part. People who present themselves in such garb (and unless it's the dress of someone on the hajj, I'm not sure there's any such thing as Muslim garb, Arab, Persian, Indian, Sikh maybe, but not really 'Muslim garb') are not more Muslim than they are American in reality, but in his mind they are.

Second to that I'd also like people to learn the difference between factual news and infotainment/opinion. I'm not sure if this is being taught in school but K-12 and higher education needs to put into curriculums how to do research and find sources, and that being skeptical is a good thing.

Co-sign this.