Wednesday, August 18, 2010

"N-word" Politics

I was asked by a former teacher to weigh in on the Dr. Laura controversy from last week when she used the "n-word" during the course of a call with a black listener. I offered a quick opinion on the matter and then moved on since my thoughts were that (a) she hadn't done her job in offering the caller any tangible advice about her dilemma; (b) use of this word is always offensive; and (c) black folks who complain about the use of this word by whites are not crying foul only when the offender is white.

Since then, Dr. Laura has decided to end her talk show and has cited the abridgment of her First Amendment rights as her reason. Whatever. Don't let the door hit you on the way out lady!

So here are my fully thought out reasons for taking offense to Dr. Laura and her attempt at educating black folks about our special brand of 'reverse' racism under the guise of offering advice:

a. You are a radio commentator. I don't know or care how many people listen to your show, but your show is on a public frequency supported by my tax dollars. Therefore, when you use language that I find offensive, you better believe I am going to exercise my right to complain. Sure, I can choose not to listen also, and given that I had never cared about your show before and don't give a crap now, you can assume that I am not and never will be a fan.

b. The caller asked for your help, not for "Dr. Laura's opinion on race relations in America."

c. Why she called is beyond me, but I am going to assume that she was a fan of your show. On your show, your job is to offer advice. And this is where you failed since you did not help her, but ended up attacking her for being too sensitive when YOU changed the subject to Barack Obama and HBO comedians.

d. I am still unclear why legitimate questions about inter-personal relationships must become "teachable moments". But then again, I have no idea why people turn to media personalities to get answers to their real-life problems.

e. OK, my befuddlement about advice columns/call-in shows/TV talk shows aside, why do non-black people feel disenfranchised by not getting to say the n-word in public? Is it really that important to you?

f. To reiterate a point that I have lived by for some time now--just because someone else says it (does it, smokes it, drinks it, etc.), that doesn't mean you should too. I think that is one of those things we all learned in kindergarten.

g. If the caller suggested that she was uncomfortable about the use of that word in her presence, then why repeat it? Did you think that she needed to just hear you say it so that it might lose its sting?

h. And what does Barack Obama being the president have to do with why this woman was uncomfortable around her husband's friends?

i. Did I miss the memo, but when did the election of a black president mean that racism ended? Oh yeah, I forgot about that post-racial narrative some folks have been trying to sell...well, nope, not buying it.

j. I don't have HBO so I have no idea if what you said is true about black comedians and their gratuitous use of the n-word in recent years. I seem to recall that the last time this word was an issue, it was because Michael Richards, a white comedian, was caught on tape shouting it at some black patrons who had heckled him at a comedy club...

k. Yes, there have been black comedians who have used the word since Michael Richards. The most prominent would be Dave Chappelle. But he was on Comedy Central (which bleeped the word whenever he used it in its primetime airings).

l. No, that doesn't excuse Dave Chappelle. When he quit HIS show and walked away from millions of dollars, he later told Oprah that he felt his brand of comedy was socially irresponsible. At least he became aware of its destructive power.

m. Most of the other black folks on TV do not use the word. And there certainly are not a lot of black folks on talk radio that use that word either. The Don Imus excuse is lame.

n. Oh snap, Dr. Laura is a fan of rap music. Who knew?

o. OK, but I don't really listen to rap anymore, so whenever I happen upon a video on MTV or a song on the radio, I hear more bleeps than beats. How could I possibly know what they are saying?

p. And just so that you know, most mature folks don't listen to rap music anymore either. So I am guessing that a married woman who listens to talk radio probably isn't much of a fan.

q. When the caller expressed her shock at your use of language, notice that she invoked the euphemism, which suggests that she probably does not use that word herself and unlike you, understood that she was speaking over the public airways AND had the foresight to see that its use would be problematic.

r. The caller was not looking to have a race discussion; YOU wanted to have a race discussion.

s. Well, now that you started it, why are you backing down? If you really want to educate the rest of us on how to be less hypersensitive, why not stay on the radio? As far as I know, no one is picketing your syndicate or burning you in effigy. Who is forcing you off the air? Name names!

t. I want to address the "don't NAACP me" aspect of your tirade. I would like to think that the nation's oldest civil rights organization has better things to do than to worry about what you have to say.

u. When did the NAACP become a verb?

v. When you finally offered some advice, the caller was off the air. And your advice sucked.

w. In your statement to Larry King about quitting your show, you suggested that you want the freedom to say what you want without having to hold your tongue. So should I assume that you want to go on saying the n-word with impunity?

x. If so, then you really did not mean what you said when you apologized for having "done the wrong thing"?

y. Well, that is actually kind of ironic since the reason why I knew anything about this incident was your apology. So the truth is, you are sorry that you had to apologize but not so much that you said anything offensive. Wow.

z. Then I guess I am back to my original point...good riddance and don't let the door hit you on the way out lady!

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