crimethink - To even consider any thought not in line with the principles of Ingsoc. Doubting any of the principles of Ingsoc. All crimes begin with a thought. So, if you control thought, you can control crime. "Thoughtcrime is death. Thoughtcrime does not entail death, Thoughtcrime is death.... The essential crime that contains all others in itself."
Juan Williams is a well respected Liberal commentator at NPR, taxpayer supported National Public Radio. He also is a Fox News contributor, placing himself in (intellectual) harm's way by sitting on panels with the likes of Charles Krauthammer, Bill Krystal, and Brit Hume. He has gotten himself into trouble in the past with the PC thought police at NPR for comments at Fox which deviated from the party line, but has now stepped too far over the line and been fired. According to the New York Times, his egregious transgression involved comments about Muslims:
NPR Fires Analyst Over Comments on Muslims
NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.
NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.
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.”
Mr. Williams also made reference to the Pakistani immigrant who pleaded guilty this month to trying to plant a car bomb in Times Square. “He said the war with Muslims, America’s war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don’t think there’s any way to get away from these facts,” Mr. Williams said.
This is my favorite part, combining newspeak and superior moral affectation while accusing Juan Williams of crimethink:
NPR said in its statement that the remarks “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”
This is an almost perfect expression of the kind of behavior that leads, paradoxically, to reinforcing the opposite belief from what the powerful intend. Clearly, NPR is in thrall to the same belief that much of the liberal elite adheres to, that is that Islam is a Religion of Peace and any expression of concern about Islam is therefore bigoted. What this does is to reinforce the notion that Muslims are particularly hypersensitive and that the powers that be are so terrified of offending Islam that they have convinced themselves that all Muslims and Islam itself must be treated with kid gloves and special protective rules.
The episode most reminds me of Jesse Jackson's comment that if he were out at night and saw a group of young black men he would be more worried than if he saw a group of young white men.
There are certain unfortunate bits of reality that are so obvious that everyone who has not been blinded by Political Correctness can not avoid noticing. Young black men are more likely to commit violent crimes than young white men; Muslims, especially those who announce via their dress their connection to Sharia Islam, are more likely to try to blow up an airplane than white Grandmothers. This is not rocket science. However, the PC Thought Police have decreed that any recognition of unacceptable reality is a Thoughtcrime; Juan Williams must be made an example so that no other Reporters will ever notice the unmistakable connection between Islam and terrorism.
I listen to NPR everyday. For many years I listened primarily because their news stories had more detail and more depth than the news reported on other stations. As time went on my listening changed; now I listen to NPR for the same reason I read the New York Times everyday, to see what the day's liberal conventional wisdom is from the mouth of the Ministry of Truth itself (and, in answer to the unasked question, I believe this is not yet a completely accurate statement; it is meant as hyperbole.)
We do not yet have a Ministry of Truth but when NPR censors common sense statements in thrall to its "editorial standards and practices", we are approaching a dangerous point in which the elect cognoscenti live in and report on a fantasy universe that no longer has any intersection with the world that the rest of us live in; this cannot end well.
The old chestnut has it that when there are problems in a Democracy, the people choose new leaders, while when there are problems in a Communist State, the rulers choose new people. NPR is a reflection of the affectations and weltanschauung of our liberal elites, among whom must be numbered our Confabulator in Chief. They will not give up their status, position, and power easily.
There is much more from Ed Morrissey and Big Journalism, with lots of excellent links.
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