Thursday, January 27, 2011
What's the difference
What do you think? Are these two cases similar and there was an overreaction against Williams? Or are they different cases that called for different reactions?
In 1996, Jesse Jackson made the following comment and stimulated debate and soul searching in the United States, particularly among Blacks:
On October 18, 2010, Juan Williams made the following comments on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox TV. He was fired by NPR for these comments and there was little debate just accusations of racism and defense against these accusations:
In 1996, Jesse Jackson made the following comment and stimulated debate and soul searching in the United States, particularly among Blacks:
There is nothing more painful to me ... than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved (Reverend Jesse Jackson, as quoted in US News, 3/10/96).
On October 18, 2010, Juan Williams made the following comments on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox TV. He was fired by NPR for these comments and there was little debate just accusations of racism and defense against these accusations:
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.Williams also warned O'Reilly against blaming all Muslims for "extremists," saying Christians shouldn't be blamed for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Labels: What's the difference?
# posted by Against Prejudice @ 1:40 PM 
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What we have here is one black man who says he’s afraid of people who look black in a particular context and another black man who says he’s afraid of people who look Muslim in a particular context.
Both are admitting to being afraid. That’s an honest emotion that needs to be heard. As a society we need to take people’s fears very seriously, because if we don’t fear become hatred and hatred leads to dark places.
In this case, both men said how they felt. I have no reason to believe that either of them has ever advocated violence.
As scary as dealing with real emotions can be, a failure to acknowledge them can only lead to marginalization and radicalization.
Instead of rushing to discredit either of these men, I say we do something really radical: Ask ourselves how we can change the world by removing people’s fears and honour them at the same time. Calling people names isn’t really a solution.
Both are admitting to being afraid. That’s an honest emotion that needs to be heard. As a society we need to take people’s fears very seriously, because if we don’t fear become hatred and hatred leads to dark places.
In this case, both men said how they felt. I have no reason to believe that either of them has ever advocated violence.
As scary as dealing with real emotions can be, a failure to acknowledge them can only lead to marginalization and radicalization.
Instead of rushing to discredit either of these men, I say we do something really radical: Ask ourselves how we can change the world by removing people’s fears and honour them at the same time. Calling people names isn’t really a solution.
Here is what I learned:
Calling people names is not a solution but belonging to one minority group does not give one a free pass in commenting about others.
We need ways to be able share our fears without being condemned for simply expressing them.
Calling people names is not a solution but belonging to one minority group does not give one a free pass in commenting about others.
We need ways to be able share our fears without being condemned for simply expressing them.
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