Well, actually, I hate to say this to you because I don’t want to get your ego going. But I think you’re right. I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality. I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if 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.
It’s easy, fashionable…and wrong…to ascribe racism solely to ignorant White Folks. The reality, though it’s never addressed as such, is that hatred of those who are “different” is a uniquely human condition. This is not a new nor particular interesting phenomenon, except for the fact that the Mainstream Media mindset seems to be that you can’t be racist is you’re not White.
For the sake of this argument, I submit Juan Williams for your consideration. Never the brightest star in the media firmament under the best of circumstances, Williams has found a home at Fox Noise Channel as what can only be described as the network’s token African-American Conservative. With Williams on board, FNC can blissfully claim to be colorblind…all why they continue teaching their drooling, brain-dead acolytes viewers through the clever use of code words that Darkies want to kill Whitey and take their women Black Is Bad. Except that for Williams, Muslim is the new Black. Williams can’t very well inveigh against Blacks…because self-loathing is another topic for another time.
While no one should blame Williams for voicing what has long been the official (if unstated) position of FNC, what I find particularly offensive is Williams using imagery employed against his own race for so many generations. Talk about fear of Black Men…and you’re a racist. Talk about fear of Those Who Travel While Obviously Muslim ©…and you’re simply expressing appropriate caution in our post-9.11 world.
What amazes me is that there are those (on the Left, no less) who argue that Williams isn’t a bigot and that he shouldn’t have been fired from his second job at NPR. If one can’t voice controversial opinions in our democracy, do we even HAVE a democracy? Well, there’s a (not so subtle) difference between controversy and overt racism. If you can’t grasp that simple reality…well, there’s nothing I’m going to be able to do in this space to be of any assistance to you.
As any reasonable person would expect, there’s been wave upon wave of self-righteous, foaming-at-the-mouth outrage washing over the airwaves from voices on the Right. These folks seem more than willing to wax philosophic over the “injustice” done to Juan Williams. None seem willing to address the hateful, racist tinge of his words.
Sorry, y;all; but if a White person had voiced similar sentiments on national television about Blacks, that talking head’s career would have ended before the producer cut to commercial. There shouldn’t be a double standard here. Racism is racism, regardless of the color of the head from which the words escape. Juan Williams committed career suicide, and he loaded the gun, put it to his head, and pulled the trigger. When given the opportunity to perhaps soften his stand, Williams declined.
Why should Williams back off? He’s been surrounded by those who not only encourage his brand of racism, but enable it. In the aftermath of his “foot-in-mouth” moment, FNC gave Williams a significant raise ($2 million) and a contract extension (three years). It shouldn’t take a Ph.D. to decipher what sort of message is being sent here, eh?
Nice work if you can get it….
