As Glenn Greenwald has documented in the past, the media has had a double standard on anti-Muslim bigotry. Bill O’Reilly caused Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg to walk off of the View by saying that all terrorists are Muslim. NPR’s Juan Williams has long walked a fine line by being Fox’s supposedly liberal black friend but went a bridge too far for NPR and lost his job:
The move came after Mr. Williams, who is also a Fox News political analyst, appeared on the “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday. On the show, the host, Bill O’Reilly, asked him to respond to the notion that the United States was facing a “Muslim dilemma.” Mr. O’Reilly said, “The cold truth is that in the world today jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”
Mr. Williams said he concurred with Mr. O’Reilly.
He continued: “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.
Note to everyone: If you ever start a sentence “I’m not a bigot but…” it’s probably best not to keep talking. So, how do you feel about this move, especially considering the recent incidents with Helen Thomas and Rick Sanchez?