Alternet: Juan Williams Must be Shocked to Be in Hot Water Over Muslim-Bashing

[Turborama]

I won’t shed a tear over Juan Williams’ involuntary departure from NPR any more than I mourned journalism’s loss when CNN shit-canned Rick Sanchez. Williams should have lost his job long ago for his lazy analysis, and it always amazed me that Sanchez got that gig in the first place (despite having a few good moments).

I certainly don’t think either should have lost their jobs over what seemed to me rather indirect expressions of petty-but-all-too-common bigotries. But the larger point, for me, is that if we’re going to have a culture of rigidly enforced political correctness in our media, it has to apply evenly.

The same week that Rick Sanchez lost his gig at CNN after saying, obliquely, that the network was run by Jews, This Week dedicated an entire show to the weighty question, “http://moonshinepatriot.blogspot.com/2010/10/this-week-with-christiane-amanpour.html">Should Americans Fear Islam?” It featured such intellectual powerhouses as Robert Spencer — Pam Geller’s co-conspirator stirring up the Park51 brouhaha — and perennial wingnut Gary Bauer.

It was a telling disconnect. It was like Meet the Press doing a full show on whether Jews controlled the media and the international finance system. And it highlighted the fact that in the U.S. today, you can basically peddle any crap you want about Muslims without fear of professional repercussions. Geller herself got a fawning profile from the New York Times, and people like Frank Gaffney go on national television to push ridiculous conspiracy theories about some sort of plot to impose “Sharia law” in Greenwich Village (note that David Duke doesn’t get similar opportunities). And they get away with it. Or at least that was the reality until NPR sacked Juan Williams. (http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/dont-cross-the-jews-do-cross-the-muslims-the-juan-williams-story.php?ref=tn">TPM has a whole run-down of this double-standard as it appears on the right.)

Full article: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/22/juan-williams-must-be-shocked-to-be-in-hot-water-over-muslim-bashing/