Ellison: Juan Williams ‘dishonored his legacy’ with remark about Muslims
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 6:30 am
- 6 Comments
Rep. Keith Ellison weighed in late last week on the controversy surrounding the firing of National Public Radio’s Juan Williams after he told Fox’s Bill O’Reilly that he gets “worried” and “nervous” when he sees people in Muslim garb get on an airplane. Williams dishonored his own legacy, especially his work on the “Eyes on the Prize” documentary on the civil rights era, Ellison said, calling Williams’ remarks “ugly” and “bigoted.”
On The O’Reilly Factor last Monday, Williams said, “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.”
NPR terminated Williams contract, stating that his remarks on O’Reilly’s show were “inconsistent with [NPR's] editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”
“Sadly, Juan Williams has taken a bat to all the work he did around civil rights,” Ellison said, discussing the topic on MSNBC’s The Ed Show. “I feel like taking all that stuff off my shelf and putting it in the garbage, because I just really feel he has dishonored his legacy to that extent.”
“The people who got on that airline on 9/11, they made sure they didn’t have any so-called ‘Muslim garb’ — whatever that is,” he said. “They made sure they were as mainstream-looking as they possibly could, because they were trying to harm our country.”
Ellison added, “The people who are just practicing their faith or their culture, more likely, these people aren’t any danger to our country. These folks are just minding their own business.”
“I think it’s un-American what Juan Williams said.”
Ellison said Williams should apologize “profusely” to Americans. Williams was given a $2 million, three-year contract to host The O’Reilly Factor within 24 hours of his firing from NPR.
Here’s the video of the exchange:
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Comment posted October 25, 2010 @ 9:08 am
Juan Williams should never have been hired by anyone, not after he was caught sexually harassing 50-odd female Washington Post employees back in 1991 — even as he was looking up Exorcist references and bending himself into a pretzel to defend Clarence Thomas against Anita Hill’s charges of sexual harassment:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/10/21/ST2010102102028.html
Comment posted October 25, 2010 @ 6:38 pm
as a long time financial supporter of MPR, i ofter wondered what Juan Williams, and, Mara Liasson were doing on Fox News. I thought they both should have been fired long ago, not to mention Cokie Roberts, with her insider links to the Washignton extablishment. These folks, are talented, but, they have no place on a nuetral news source like MPR or NPR. my only problem with the Williams firing was the timing and method. NPR was very clumsy in the way they did that. If these folks insist on legitimazing FOX or any other corporate media, they should go. I wonder however, how many conservatives would be coming to William”s defense, if he had made comments condemming white raciscts while working for MSNBC, i suspect, they would be the ones calling for him to be fired by NPR.
Comment posted October 25, 2010 @ 11:22 pm
Free speech for everyoner except FOX NEWS.
America is grateful to FOX NEWS that insists the first amendment be protected by allowing all voices , Even racist keith Ellison.
To all of the political correct progressive enablers of terrorism.
If you get on a plane with 6 muslims babbling in Arabic, passing notes, whispering back and forth wearing muslim garb with allah hackbar beards, You would not have the same thoughts of Juan williams and everyone in America??? Don’t lie now
and don’t tell us the every socialist at NPR would stay on the plane? Hypocrits !
Comment posted October 26, 2010 @ 6:49 pm
Fox News Sucks, People calling Keith Ellison a racist? How bout Glen Beck and his other tea party hacks? Their is more racism on Fox than any other news source out there.
Comment posted October 26, 2010 @ 7:51 pm
The point that the real terrorists try to blend in is well taken. They have spent the last few years trying to recruit people of northern European extract to get around the focus on mid-east appearances. This amateurish ethnic profiling just feeds fear and terrorist propaganda.
We used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Now too many are in thrall to their fears and prejudices.
@Archie
I would think of the six Muslim clerics, minding their own business, who were thrown off a plane and later sued for damages.
http://wcco.com/national/Imams.US.Airways.2.281849.html
http://www.startribune.com/local/11585901.html
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