NPR Chief’s ‘Psychiatrist’ Remark on Juan Williams Breaks the Law
Posted on October 29, 2010 by Floyd Brown by Floyd and Mary Beth Brown
With the public firing of Juan Williams, a fatal blow was stuck to the meticulously cultivated brand image of National Public Radio (NPR), but that’s just the beginning of their problems. The firing itself takes a back seat in this sordid tale. The campaign of vindictive and libelous accusations against Williams is the most reveling actions taken during the controversy. NPR was a brand which while liberal, was renowned for thoughtfulness and tolerance.
But not now—that’s been blown—NPR’s been tarnished and irrevocably damaged.
Ironically, Williams personified the brand. Williams was predictably on the left, but he wasn’t dogmatic or arrogant. Unlike many pundits he was courteous and circumspect in his comments. He was thoughtful and tolerant. He was everything NPR claims to be.
This incident has permanently tarnished the brand, and for the first time since its creation the Corporation for Public Broadcasting faces being reformed, defunded, or maybe even abolished. If a Republican Congress returns to Washington, expect hearings on the issue.
The campaign against Williams was so vicious even The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has commented warning National Public Radio (NPR) that a remark made by NPR’s CEO Vivian Schiller in the firing of Juan Williams violated the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
After firing Williams for talking about Muslims during a Fox TV News program, Schiller told news media that Williams’ personal feelings should have been kept between himself and his “psychiatrist or publicist — take your pick.” Williams responded that he did not have a psychiatrist.
In this week’s NAMI Blog , Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick shares the text of a letter sent to NPR president and CEO Vivian Schiller, calling on NPR to adopt a plan no later than its board meeting scheduled in November to “educate and reassure” managers and employees about ADA protections in the workplace for people with mental health concerns.
“An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans age 18 and older-about one in four adults-suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year…this translates to 57.7 million people,” reports the government’s National Institute of Mental Health. As a family that has experienced mental illness amongst our ranks, we know that remarks such as Shiller’s do serious damage to already hurting people. America has made great strides in the treatment and healing of many mental disorders, and the progress should be celebrated not used as a club to publicly flog an employee.
We believe it is imperative that Schiller be dismissed for her libelous remark, and we hope that Juan Williams will vindicate his rights and the rights of millions of other Americans and seek legal recourse against NPR and Shiller.
Liberals always parade around being self-righteous about their tolerance and compassion. But if you scratch just under the surface, we contend you often find mean and dysfunctional souls. They are expert name callers, just ask the families hurt by Obama’s then Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel when he shouted out “F—ing retarded,” in a political strategy session.
In response former governor Sarah Palin posted a scathing critique of Emanuel’s comments on her Facebook page and rightly called for President Obama to fire him. A call Obama ignored. Palin wrote: “Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the ‘N-word’ or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people who love them — is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.” Palin’s son, Trig, was born with Down Syndrome.
Let’s hope the calls to fire NPR’s Vivian Schiller are not equally ignored.
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