News Gripes: NPR Out of Touch with Reality

I came across this news article about NPR’s firing of journalist, Juan Williams, and I was shocked at what I read. The article basically states that Williams was fired for a comment that he made about his feelings toward Muslims while appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor”. In rehashing Bill O’Reilly’s comment during his appearance on “ The View” and the drama it stirred up, Williams admitted:

“...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.”

While not the best thing he could have admitted to, I understand where he is coming from, especially in light of 9/11 where Islamic extremists used airplanes as weapons of mass destruction and caused enduring and irreparable damage. I saw this as a very real and honest response; NPR saw it as a reason to give Williams his walking paper. I watched the clips and I don't see a valid reason for why he was fired. He expressed his feelings, something many people can relate to, and while some of us saw complete honesty in an arena where this is rare, NPR saw a case for bigotry. When people are punished for expressing their personal opinions, no matter how unpopular it may be, it’s no wonder we live in such a guarded society where those in the know feed us drivel instead of telling us the unvarnished truth.

From time to time, G. sends me NPR articles that she thinks I might find interesting and I’ve even signed in to log my opinion on the rare occasion. But I am not a regular NPR subscriber. If I were I would have to think twice about tuning in, in light of how they handled the Juan Williams situation. In a country that purports, or rather, expresses free speech and readily provides a platform for radical types to spout extreme and often nonsensical viewpoints, it's hypocritical that someone can be fired for expressing his or her honest opinion. It’s a real shame when we have to guard our words because we are afraid of what the consequences will be.

Black & Beauty

Usually when I hear the acronyms NPR, words like boring and stuffy automatically come to mind. I formed my opinion of NPR solely on my memories of being subjected to boring talk radio as a passenger in other people’s cars. I know, our memories are faulty and I can admit that I might have been wrong to form an opinion based on so little. The NPR that exists in reality is far from the one I carry in my memory bank. And, on the occasions when G sends me crazy links like this one, I think that it might be worth my time to check out the site more often and maybe even listen to some of the podcasts. If it produces articles that really makes me think then it can’t be all that boring, right?

No doubt, some of us have discussed the idea of what is considered beautiful, especially in black communities. And it is a known fact that women, especially, modify their appearance to fit an ideal of what is considered beautiful. So it really is no surprise that women in Jamaica (and other parts of the world) use skin bleach to try and lighten their appearances. I’m guessing those days where “black is beautiful” was the slogan that many lived by are far behind us. I personally believe that the many shades that we come in is part of what makes black so beautiful. Does any other race struggle as much as blacks do with the color of their skin? I sincerely doubt that. Unquestionably, some of this is shrouded in history where light was right and dark skin was likened to ugliness and all things bad. But we’ve made great strides since then. So why are we regressing?

The situation in Jamaica highlights just how willing some of us are to be lead. Back when a curvaceous figure was the thing, women were popping chicken pills despite the danger from poisoning attached to them. And now that that's changed, they're scrambling to remodel themselves. They cause damage to their skin in their attempts to be on the “right” side of color. They inject their faces to get that fresh look, and cut themselves apart to achieve the youthful figure that is supposed to be attractive to men. Just how far are we willing to go? Many of these beatification tactics list death as a potential side effect and still we continue. Is there nothing that we won’t do to meet someone else’s standard of beauty?

Pure Ignorance

So, G has been sending me links to NPR articles that clearly indicate that the world is filled with more ignorant people that I could ever have imagined.
First, there's the wife of the evangelist who writes a tell-all book explaining why she chose to stay with her husband after he cheated on her. I would be hard-pressed to follow her example if I were in her position and my husband cheated on me with another woman but I'm sure I would be able to understand where she was coming from. But another man? It's no longer just an infidelity issue. Clearly, her husband is gay and they are both in denial of that fact. So while she can forgive him for cheating, she has to let him go so he is free to be who he is. As G pointed out, homosexuality is not something that needs to be forgiven. It is what it is.
Next, there's the guy who wants to create an all-white basketball league. I could list a bunch of reasons why this would be a bad idea from a financial standpoint, regardless of the social aspect but I'll refrain. I don't see any way for this idea to even get off the ground floor but I have learned not to underestimate the strength of the ignorant people who make up a great part of this world.