http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...illiams-firing
Fri Oct 22, 11:16 am ET Conservatives call to defund NPR after Williams’ firingBy Michael Calderone
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly continued to publicize the conservative crusade to defund NPR over the partly publicly funded radio network's controversial decision to fire Juan Williams for remarks made earlier in the week on "The O'Reilly Factor." NPR dismissed Williams, a longtime commentator who has written widely on civil rights issues, for confessing his personal skittishness over seeing fellow air travelers dressed in Muslim garb, on O'Reilly's show. "No tax payer dollars should be going to an outfit that abuses freedom of speech," O'Reilly said. The top-rated cable news host echoed the rising refrain among many conservative critics of the Williams firing: "No more money to NPR." You can watch O'Reilly interview Williams below:
There's this part of me that wonders what if? What if say, Rush Limbaugh got on T.V. and said, "Hey, I'm no bigot, but ... (Now I say, 99% of the time someone says this, it's because they are afraid of conveying the opposite-ie Hey, I'm no Hawking) -- refresh, Rush says, "Hey I'm no bigot, but when I see two blacks on the street in 'thug-hop' attire, I get nervous."
I wonder how many people would see how terribly stupid the remark is, and why a senior anylist shouldn't be saying it. Is he afraid of christians in "realtree-garb" around federal buildings? What about everyone else? The scenario of Rush doesn't change the situation all that much. Just trading one bigotry for another really.
The shocking thing to me, the fanatical reactions/calls for this and that. These type of people say inflamatory, stupid things and they know it. The first sign of the obvious,
"Hey, I'm no ________"
Hey, I'm no MLB-star, but (secretly I really think I am) I really love to play, the game."
"Hey, I'm no Freud/Plato, but what's the meaning of this?"