Category: Let's talk
The wench was talking about "wanting her First Amendment rights back." ?!?! The controversy is about her use of the word "nigger" when a black female caller had a problem with her white husband's friends using racial slurs in the couple's home & with neighbors' and others generalizations, like "What do black people think about this?" as if every single one thought alike.
Dr. Whora launches into, "Nope nope nope everyone is too sensitive about race. Nigger nigger nigger black comics use it in their routines all of the time. If you're so sensitive about race you shouldn't have married outside your own", as if there was no racism within races, for example, pejorative attitudes towards darker complected blacks among those with lighter complexions.
Her Dr Laura monologue didn't address certain variables, like are there children in this couple's household? If so should they really be learning that the term "nigger" is appropriate for their mom? Or maybe this man married outside his culture to find he didn't like the culture he married into, in which case separation might be called for?
I am happy this religious conservative hypocrite is off the air. Try to find the call on www.mediawatch.org, it should still be there. Read Vicki Bane's unauthorized biography of her. I used to accept her message, heck, I think some of it is still relavant, like hey if you are going to father kids you should also be PARENTING them, but I have grown more compassionate towards divorced parents, and don't think every relationship should result in marriage, or that marriage & one or more kids necessarily make someone a better person. She talks so much about "adultery wrecking families", well her husband was married with three kids of his own when she started pursuing him. She talks about moms staying at home, at least with babies & toddlers, yet she taught a university class as well as machine knitting when she had her son, advises adoption for terrified single moms, yet didn't consider adoption when she failed to conceive, when the infertility treatment route. She keeps Kosher yet is thoroughly unpleasant to people who have taken the time to hear her message, even mocking them on the air. I am happy she quit and don't plan on reading any more of her books!
I disagree with you. Dr Laura wasn't using the word nigger to abuse her caller. Her point was that it seems okay for black people to say nigger, but it is offensive for white people to say nigger. She is entitled to that opinion, and having or expressing that opinion is not racist. Dr Laura should not have suffered any consequences for this.
Though she responded to the caller's problem with her opinion on the use of the word nigger instead of with advice, I'm sure this isn't the first time she has digressed.
This is another case of advocates chatting about words and jumping on bandwagons instead of sorting out real problems. Advocates who do that are selfish opportunists who are more concerned about their reputations and careers than they are about the people they claim to speak for.
I've never really understood the ridiculousness of it all. but why is it if you use that term and your a gangbanger or a rap artist it all of a sudden becomes a term of endearment. If you ever herd it used in a country song.... well you can imagine. Just got to love double standards!
lol nigger country music is actually funny.
Did people call that show just to be nagged?
My wife listened for a stretch maybe a few months. And once I was in the car with it on.
So here's what happens:
'Hello Dr. Laura, longtime listener first time caller ... love your show ... listen to everything you say ...'
Then, what have we, but said person start off confessing all sorts of stuff they *know* Dr. Laura doesn't like.
I don't get it. I can't imagine a kid sticking their hand in the cookie jar, and shouting "Mom, here I go, I just took two!" knowing full well the result would be several smacks on the ass.
From the tiny bit that I know of her, I would usually say that don't like her. But I agree with her here and don't think that she should've been pulled off the air for this. She wasn't insighting violence or anything. She just said the word nigger and she's right that people are way overly sensitive to the point where not only that word, which could be argued against in some cases, but other words are slowly being phased out so that people are afraid to talk. If this is a democracy, a republic or whatever it calls itself these days, then so long as people aren't threatening anyone, they should have the right to speak their minds.
I agree that no one should become a father or mother unless they're also willing to be a parent, unless it's a very special circumstance like being a serigot or agreeing before hand to adopt the child to a relative/friend etc. Marriage certainly doesn't make a person better, though it certainly changes one's life. But I think it would be foolish to assume that every sexual encounter or even romantic relationship without sex should lead to marriage. Likewise, I think that those people who have honestly tried everything else and who simply can't get along, who have other loves or who just really fell out of love with their spouses should get divorced. Being rude is never a good idea. Sure, we've all done it, but to make a habbit of it is shameful, especially with those who actually took the time to listen to you.
Thank you, Senior, for your enlightened post. Texas Shawn, I agree with you as well. It's the do as I say not as I do attitude, only here it's don't say what I say or I'll bully you. They talk about whites having cliques, not allowing blacks to do certain things and so on and yet they're doing the same thing! I hate hypocrits of any race, gender or creed. LeoGuardian: As I said, I never listened to the show but that sounds really stupid. Why call her with things that would upset her unless it's some kind of confession? But even so, she's not a priestess or a goddess. What do they expect her to do except get angry?
I tend to agree with Senior, but this isn't a freedom of speech issue, as that relates to legal issues. Broadcasting networks are private companies sponsored by advertisers so, like it or not, there's no "mainstream media," Fox News or otherwise aside, there's no "media takeover" or "media driven values,"
it's the values of the listening, viewing and most importantly buying, public. Advertisers pay money to broadcast companies because having their adds on the air during certain shows generates sales. Superbowl anyone?
People consume content, via listening, watching or reading, and view the ads as a consequence. Thus advertisers want to be where most of the sales will be coming from.
There is no media elite controlling what is said. It is, and always has been, a market. Unfortunately Dr. Laura's brand of products probably is an out for some, but because of the martyr / hero mentalities of some, my betting money were I an investor would be to keep her. That particular group is usually moneyed and it was probably a grave business error to remove her.
That said, she may as well host an Internet-based program, support it with banner ads, and be done with it. No FCC (which she didn't violate anyway) and hell, the studio's cheaper.
On the flip side, I don't buy any of the apology bs, because she never apologized to Eric what's-his-name the blind mountain climber for saying he was unnecessarily putting his family at risk being blind and being a leader of an expedition of that type.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I was offended: put off, yes. More to the point, she lacked the capacity to Google, apparently, as I knowing nothing of being a mountain climber was able at the time to find enough information from other sources online that This guy was well respected in his field *long before* any of the rest of us mountain-climbing-ignoramouses knew anything about him.
Shaking over the N word? Nah, I don't buy it. She overtly trashed a skilled mountaineer and all that over his missing vision hardware, irrespective of his professional reputation.
But then again, that's why people listen to this type of shock radio, be it Dr. Laura, Lush Rimbaugh, Allan Colmes, Tom Leykis or G. Gordon Liddy.
They are there to be larger-than-life personalities, and if they weren't, the same people who complain about them wouldn't bother listening. It's all just stories, people. It was the politically correct thing to do to apologize for the n word. Not so politically correct to worry about claiming to be shaking over one's direct statements about another's profession based on his vision hardware or lack thereof.
And really, think about it. What better marketing stunt could you have? America loves the come back kid. So leave, Dr. Laura, but don't get any ideas about staying away, cause in six months all you need to do is come back, come with a story or something and if you can't think of one, just copy someone else's and replace the variables. We could even write you a java script to do that.
What would a year in shock radio be without something like this? But make no mistake about it, there was no real apology. I read hers, though I'm really no judge since I haven't listened to this foolery since my early twenties, save the hour or so with my wife in the car a couple times, most of that with the callers practically begging to get smacked around some. Maybe she's just sick of 'em. Could you last more than, say, maybe two minutes?
Ah yes. You refer to Erik Weihenmayer. I don't know. Dr. Laura always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason, so I, like Spongebob am glad she's off the air, especially after she tried to jump down Weihenmayer's throat for doing what he loved. It's not as though he went out there unprepared with no equipment and whatnot. That might have been another matter, but I seem to recall he trained extensively before every expedition and always made sure he had plenty of whatever supplies he would need for a given trip and safety precautions in place in case something did happen. So I think she definitely had no place to say anything on that issue. And on top of that her voice just gets on my nerves.
Maybe the punishment for a DUI is to have to listen to Dr. Laura while on a hangover. Man, the thought of that almost makes me hurl
LOL. THat would be a novel punishment. Sort of like punishing a would-be car thief by forcing him to live in a broken-down car with no radio or air conditioning for the next three months. Oh, and the car would have to be sufficiently broken down that it wouldn't run. LOL.
I get DR. Laura's point about double standards but she's notorious for calling people out for their stupidity. She must've known she would get really bad publicity for that but went ahead and did it anyway. I don't see how her rights to freedom of speech were violated; she can and always says whatever the hell she wanted no matter what people felt so why run from the criticism now? Makes me wonder if someone else influenced her decision.
Call me old school, but crying 'freedom of speech' in an incident like this is just being a baby. part of all freedoms is the freedom to experience the consequences of one's behavior. I have the freedom to do a lot of things, meaning the choices I make have consequences only I will reap.
So I know they have lots of new words for this stuff, but ... call it whatever, ... she's just being a big baby.
I think that sums it up. But see, a lot of people seem to share the same attitude. I find many people believe freedom of speech means they can say anything they wish to whom they wish and civility be damned as long as they're expressing themselves. Anyone who dare disagree, oppose, or want to inflict consequences had better just keep quiet and stay out of it. This is wrong and a very selfish attitude. Dr. Laura's attitude also smells like another ploy of the conservative wingnuts, the persecuted majority syndrome. The big bad other people who don't share their values/beliefs are out to stomp all over their game of marbles and take their power away and start some hippie commie Satanic socialist Harry-Potter-worshipping mind control dictatorship, or something along those lines, and oh what a horrible state of affairs it would be. LOL!
several years ago, i was a dr. laura fan. now she has become more and more strident and mean. i am sorry but why is it that so many conservatives are mean spirited? what happened to tolerance? what about respect? Often she shows a marked lack of both.
I think it's the sex appeal: You can be mean, get your hate on, and still do it with an air of righteous indignation or something. Anger, rage, getting your hate on, has all the same appeal that free love did in the 1960s.
I think just being mean and strident is more likely to get people to tune in and take in advertising. Respect doesn't sell beers and Buicks. I honestly should not lump all conservatives in the same category, but the talk show clowns make conservatives look like the "I've got mine, screw you" sort of people.
years ago, I had a serious question, can't remember what it was now, that I wanted Dr. Laur'as opinion about. I called the show and her very officious and nasty producer stated that i was "too nice" to be on the show. She said they needed people who were more "amped up" and "controversiall."
I agree. Freedom of Speech is almost if not already a cliche. As for Turricane, I'm a little surprised you even got through to a producer given how many people probably called into that show.
just dumb luck. i was persistent.
Look, people have the freedom to speek there peace be it on t.V, on the radio, or walking down the street.
That may be so, but there are going to be consequences. Personally I feel freedom of speech is a cliche anymore. And that doesn't change the attitudes of those who, like me, are glad Dr. Laura's off the radio. I don't care, she always just rubbed me the wrong way.
Basically if they own the station, they have that freedom yes. However, if you work for someone else, you are subject to what it is they want on their station. Freedom of Speech only means that the government will not impinge on the rights of the individual or group to assemble or speak. It doesn't mean anyone has the right to say what they want on someone else's radio show. And, from a business standpoint, her show belonged to the network(s).
That's true. But we've twisted Freedom of Speech to mean we can say whatever the hell we want about anyone or anything and that there can't be any consequences.
i disagree. all this politically correct stuff can stifle a person. lots of folks have feelings that are so easily hurt. i am affraid to talk to them.
I am not a racist or a biggot. However, I must remember the correct thing to call peoople etc, I must be sensitive to their choices, I must not tell a joke which might possibly hurt them. It gives me a huge headache.
I agree, only most of the time, I don't give a damn. People need to grow up today and political correctness makes me sick. People want freedom and yet, as has been said, they get offended at jokes, keep changing what they want to be called and cry racist/biggot whenever their demands aren't met.
Is PC still such a huge problem? I could hav sworn it failed and got laughed at and was swept under the rug by about 1996.
Uhm, no? That's partly why some sighted and even a very few blind people still strive to avoid using the word Blind. And there are plenty of other instances not involving blind or otherwise handicapped people. So in no way is political correctness dead, more's the pity.
Doctor Laura didn't choose to go off radio. I think her head execs got cold feet and yanked her off as quick as they could. Her apology was a joke. So is she. She's a construct just like Limbaw Hanidy and the rest of them. She definitely wasn't in helping mode. How did people take her seriously? I wonder how quick the segment would have been pulled if someone called her a sniping yapping kosher cunt on radio? Oh how I'd love to do that. I'd rip her to shreds. I hate hypocrits.