Just in case I wasn’t crystal clear this morning, I want to double down on my view that NPR shouldn’t have fired Vivian Schiller over James O’Keefe’s latest video sting operation. First, though, here’s a quick summary reminder of what Ron Schiller (no relation) said:
The two actors clearly goad Schiller into making observations, most of which are made after Schiller explicitly takes off his “NPR hat” to give his personal opinion. For example, Schiller says there aren’t enough “educated, so-called elite” Americans, adding that public opinion is driven by “this very large uneducated part of the population.”
Of tea partyers, he adds: “I mean, basically they … believe in sort of white, middle-America, gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.”
Here’s what I’d like to hear from more people: there was nothing wrong with Schiller saying this. Period. He’s a fundraiser, not a reporter. He’s allowed to have personal views. He’s allowed to express those views, even if they’re obnoxious or intemperate, and even if he’s doing it across the table from a potential donor. He did nothing wrong, and neither did his boss. He deserved, at most, a mild talking-to over this.
I can’t begin to tell you how tired I am of all the faux fainting couch nonsense we have to put up with these days from both left and right. People say stuff. They despise certain groups and certain people. They get passionate. If you cross a genuine line, that’s one thing. But I’m really weary of fairly ordinary political invective being routinely turned into a firing offense. It’s time for all of us to grow thicker skins and knock off this nonsense.
