Dr. Laura's "N word" Rant

[Sky Dancer]

"A couple years ago, Chuck—my partner of 22 years—and I were invited to speak to a health class at a local high school. We were participating in a program that sends LGBT folks into middle and high school classrooms to promote tolerance by telling their stories of what it was like growing up.

The room was noisy as the students settled in. And then we heard it over the hubbub. “Don’t be such a faggot,” one teen lobbed at another. The word sent a cold flash through my arms and legs. That was a fighting word. But it hadn’t been directed at us, or even said in the context of the class. I had no idea how, or whether, to respond.

Not Chuck, who had plenty of experience as a teacher. He stood, took a step forward, and shot his voice like a particle beam through the din. “Hey … Hey!” The kid looked over, startled to be confronted by someone he didn’t even recognize. “I resemble that remark,” Chuck said. His eyes were locked on the boy. The room quieted.

The boy shrugged, embarrassed to be in the spotlight. He said, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“So if someone in here used the N-word on you, or someone else, how would you react?” Chuck asked him as the class looked on.

“I’d be all in his face about it.”

“Why?” Chuck asked.

“I’m not going to let anyone get away with that. No one talks to me that way.”

“Something wrong with the word?”

“Well, yeah!”

“So what if the kid says to you, ‘But I didn’t mean anything by it’—what do you do?”

He still wasn’t getting the point, but lots of other kids in the class were. He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. The guy said it. It’s asking for a fight. It’s, well, it’s in-my-face dissing me.”

Chuck nodded. “I agree with you. But just to be clear. I’m gay. And what you said was up-in-my-face dissing me. And I agree with you. It doesn’t matter that you meant nothing by it. You don’t get to say it.”

Finally, the point landed. “I’m sorry,” the boy said—but not sheepishly, and not reflexively. He was standing up, shoulders square. He looked Chuck in the eye and nodded.

Chuck said, “Cool. You want to stay for this? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay.”

Then Chuck addressed the class:

“But hey, lots of you use that kind of language. Lots of you hear it, and don’t do anything about it. Many of you don’t care. You don’t think it’s a big deal. You’re wrong. All around you are gay kids who are hiding, who are hurting, who are scared. They hear those words and they take a hit.”

It had been an impressive teaching moment, and Chuck nailed it. It showed a fiercely firm yet respectful way to call someone on a slur. And if there were LGBT kids in that classroom, I hope it showed them that their elders were out and on watch, that they were not alone and that they didn’t need to swallow their self-respect.
F-Words And N-Words | Teaching Tolerance

 

[Ravi]

But did she do that? Or was her intent to express that the woman was giving the slur more power than it merited? She was illustrating that black people don't give the word any power at all when it is used by black people. So if the same attitude was used when the word was used by white people, one rises above the pettiness and ugliness that anybody using that word as a racial slur intends and removes its power to hurt. You (generic you) become too strong to be intimidated or controlled by hateful comments by others.

I think it is a legitimate debate to have, and I honestly believe that was Dr. Laura's intent.

Anyhow I guess it's going to be pretty moot, because I saw this morning that Dr. Laura is hanging it up and quitting the business.

Her call wasn't just about the word ******. It was about continued racial slurs from the woman's husband's friends and family.

Substitute the word **** for ****** and make the slurs sexual instead of racial. Would the advice have been the same? I doubt it sincerely.

Why exactly should anyone be expected to put up with bad treatment from relatives and spousal friends? Would you? Would you respect your husband if he didn't tell them to stop it?

Okay here's the clip. The only example she gave was that a neighbor was asking "what do black people say about this or that." Admittedly it is a stupid comment. But racist? Sufficiently offensive to embarrass a guest in one's home and alienate a neighbor who probably otherwise is an okay neighbor? I have friends who are of other races, friends who are gay though we are heterosexual, and every now then an awkward comment is made, but everybody pretty much lets it slide and changes the subject. Much better than adding a toxic element to an otherwise pleasant gathering.

It's tougher sometimes when you mix rabid liberals with rabid conservatives , but a skilled host can generally handle that in a way to avoid full blown confrontations in a social setting too.

Just listening to the clip, I tended to agree with Dr. Laura that the woman was unnecessarily sensitive and did have a chip on her shoulder. She chose to take offense rather than shrug it off as the stupidity that it is. There are feminist and certain religious people and environmentalists and tall people and short people and fat people and young people etc. etc. etc. who take personal offense at the slightest thing rather than seeing comments for the unintentionally stupid comments they are.

I also thought Dr. Laura cut her off too quickly when she was initially stating her complaint.

And just wading in on this topic, I know I'm probably already hip deep in shit and will probably regret it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lWRxuU9_JM"]YouTube - Dr. Laura's Racist Rant? ****** Comments![/ame]

SCHLESSINGER: Hi.
CALLER: I'm having an issue with my husband where I'm starting to grow very resentful of him. I'm black, and he's white. We've been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I'm not there or if I'm not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like --
SCHLESSINGER: Well, can you give me an example of a racist comment? 'Cause sometimes people are hypersensitive. So tell me what's -- give me two good examples of racist comments.
CALLER: OK. Last night -- good example -- we had a neighbor come over, and this neighbor -- when every time he comes over, it's always a black comment. It's, "Oh, well, how do you black people like doing this?" And, "Do black people really like doing that?" And for a long time, I would ignore it. But last night, I got to the point where it --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist.


It goes on from there...the woman was immediately pegged as overly sensitive and was told black people voted for Obama because he was black.


Then she was able to mention that the n-word was thrown around and Dr. L went off on her ridiculous rant that since people say ****** on HBO it is somehow acceptable behavior for people to say it in the presence of this woman.


Does this mean that women that might be offended by sexual remarks from husband's family and friends and hearing the word **** thrown around are also overly sensitive?

I don't understand why you all want to go there.

 

[jillian]

"They"?

Who are "they"?

You know.....THEM.

yes.... the elusive 'them' who are always waiting to victimize wingnuts of any given stripe.

 

[jillian]

Her call wasn't just about the word ******. It was about continued racial slurs from the woman's husband's friends and family.

Substitute the word **** for ****** and make the slurs sexual instead of racial. Would the advice have been the same? I doubt it sincerely.

Why exactly should anyone be expected to put up with bad treatment from relatives and spousal friends? Would you? Would you respect your husband if he didn't tell them to stop it?

Okay here's the clip. The only example she gave was that a neighbor was asking "what do black people say about this or that." Admittedly it is a stupid comment. But racist? Sufficiently offensive to embarrass a guest in one's home and alienate a neighbor who probably otherwise is an okay neighbor? I have friends who are of other races, friends who are gay though we are heterosexual, and every now then an awkward comment is made, but everybody pretty much lets it slide and changes the subject. Much better than adding a toxic element to an otherwise pleasant gathering.

It's tougher sometimes when you mix rabid liberals with rabid conservatives , but a skilled host can generally handle that in a way to avoid full blown confrontations in a social setting too.

Just listening to the clip, I tended to agree with Dr. Laura that the woman was unnecessarily sensitive and did have a chip on her shoulder. She chose to take offense rather than shrug it off as the stupidity that it is. There are feminist and certain religious people and environmentalists and tall people and short people and fat people and young people etc. etc. etc. who take personal offense at the slightest thing rather than seeing comments for the unintentionally stupid comments they are.

I also thought Dr. Laura cut her off too quickly when she was initially stating her complaint.

And just wading in on this topic, I know I'm probably already hip deep in shit and will probably regret it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lWRxuU9_JM"]YouTube - Dr. Laura's Racist Rant? ****** Comments![/ame]

SCHLESSINGER: Hi.
CALLER: I'm having an issue with my husband where I'm starting to grow very resentful of him. I'm black, and he's white. We've been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I'm not there or if I'm not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like --
SCHLESSINGER: Well, can you give me an example of a racist comment? 'Cause sometimes people are hypersensitive. So tell me what's -- give me two good examples of racist comments.
CALLER: OK. Last night -- good example -- we had a neighbor come over, and this neighbor -- when every time he comes over, it's always a black comment. It's, "Oh, well, how do you black people like doing this?" And, "Do black people really like doing that?" And for a long time, I would ignore it. But last night, I got to the point where it --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist.


It goes on from there...the woman was immediately pegged as overly sensitive and was told black people voted for Obama because he was black.


Then she was able to mention that the n-word was thrown around and Dr. L went off on her ridiculous rant that since people say ****** on HBO it is somehow acceptable behavior for people to say it in the presence of this woman.


Does this mean that women that might be offended by sexual remarks from husband's family and friends and hearing the word **** thrown around are also overly sensitive?

I don't understand why you all want to go there.

i bet they'd be perfectly all right if the issue was that her husband's friends called her a 'jesus freak'? (ya, sure!)

or if its only blacks, jews, gays and any other group they don't like who are 'overly sensitive'.

i wonder, too, what they'd be saying if the husband called saying the wife's friends called him 'cracker'.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Dr Laura wants the First Amendment rights to call people ******* on the air?

 

[jillian]

Dr Laura wants the First Amendment rights to call people ******* on the air?

yeah, well, Pacifica Corp wanted the right to play george carlin's 7 words you can't say on TV over the airwaves.

that didn't work out so good for them either.

 

[Sky Dancer]

We ought to share stories about what slurs we've been called in our lifetime.

 

[Ravi]

Okay here's the clip. The only example she gave was that a neighbor was asking "what do black people say about this or that." Admittedly it is a stupid comment. But racist? Sufficiently offensive to embarrass a guest in one's home and alienate a neighbor who probably otherwise is an okay neighbor? I have friends who are of other races, friends who are gay though we are heterosexual, and every now then an awkward comment is made, but everybody pretty much lets it slide and changes the subject. Much better than adding a toxic element to an otherwise pleasant gathering.

It's tougher sometimes when you mix rabid liberals with rabid conservatives , but a skilled host can generally handle that in a way to avoid full blown confrontations in a social setting too.

Just listening to the clip, I tended to agree with Dr. Laura that the woman was unnecessarily sensitive and did have a chip on her shoulder. She chose to take offense rather than shrug it off as the stupidity that it is. There are feminist and certain religious people and environmentalists and tall people and short people and fat people and young people etc. etc. etc. who take personal offense at the slightest thing rather than seeing comments for the unintentionally stupid comments they are.

I also thought Dr. Laura cut her off too quickly when she was initially stating her complaint.

And just wading in on this topic, I know I'm probably already hip deep in shit and will probably regret it.

YouTube - Dr. Laura's Racist Rant? ****** Comments!

SCHLESSINGER: Hi.
CALLER: I'm having an issue with my husband where I'm starting to grow very resentful of him. I'm black, and he's white. We've been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I'm not there or if I'm not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like --
SCHLESSINGER: Well, can you give me an example of a racist comment? 'Cause sometimes people are hypersensitive. So tell me what's -- give me two good examples of racist comments.
CALLER: OK. Last night -- good example -- we had a neighbor come over, and this neighbor -- when every time he comes over, it's always a black comment. It's, "Oh, well, how do you black people like doing this?" And, "Do black people really like doing that?" And for a long time, I would ignore it. But last night, I got to the point where it --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist.


It goes on from there...the woman was immediately pegged as overly sensitive and was told black people voted for Obama because he was black.


Then she was able to mention that the n-word was thrown around and Dr. L went off on her ridiculous rant that since people say ****** on HBO it is somehow acceptable behavior for people to say it in the presence of this woman.


Does this mean that women that might be offended by sexual remarks from husband's family and friends and hearing the word **** thrown around are also overly sensitive?

I don't understand why you all want to go there.

i bet they'd be perfectly all right if the issue was that her husband's friends called her a 'jesus freak'? (ya, sure!)

or if its only blacks, jews, gays and any other group they don't like who are 'overly sensitive'.

i wonder, too, what they'd be saying if the husband called saying the wife's friends called him 'cracker'.

You know, I actually do recall Dr. L criticizing someone for the term Jesus freak.

 

[Sky Dancer]

SCHLESSINGER: Hi.
CALLER: I'm having an issue with my husband where I'm starting to grow very resentful of him. I'm black, and he's white. We've been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I'm not there or if I'm not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like --
SCHLESSINGER: Well, can you give me an example of a racist comment? 'Cause sometimes people are hypersensitive. So tell me what's -- give me two good examples of racist comments.
CALLER: OK. Last night -- good example -- we had a neighbor come over, and this neighbor -- when every time he comes over, it's always a black comment. It's, "Oh, well, how do you black people like doing this?" And, "Do black people really like doing that?" And for a long time, I would ignore it. But last night, I got to the point where it --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist.


It goes on from there...the woman was immediately pegged as overly sensitive and was told black people voted for Obama because he was black.


Then she was able to mention that the n-word was thrown around and Dr. L went off on her ridiculous rant that since people say ****** on HBO it is somehow acceptable behavior for people to say it in the presence of this woman.


Does this mean that women that might be offended by sexual remarks from husband's family and friends and hearing the word **** thrown around are also overly sensitive?

I don't understand why you all want to go there.

i bet they'd be perfectly all right if the issue was that her husband's friends called her a 'jesus freak'? (ya, sure!)

or if its only blacks, jews, gays and any other group they don't like who are 'overly sensitive'.

i wonder, too, what they'd be saying if the husband called saying the wife's friends called him 'cracker'.

You know, I actually do recall Dr. L criticizing someone for the term Jesus freak.

Wow. Dr Laura's course on teaching tolerance is a bit skewed.

 

[jillian]

so is it the same when they call you white guys "HONKY?".....or are they allowed to do that?....

No, it's not okay. What is wrong with you people, and "dr" Laura?

The caller has some hope of civility in her own home and among her own family and friends and she isn't getting it. What fault of hers is it that people on HBO say ******?

How incredibly nasty of "dr" Laura to blame this woman and all black people for being sensitive to the word. There is no doubt in my mind that if the word in question being thrown about was honky "dr" Laura would be singing a different tune.

I wonder how 'Dr' Laura would feel about the word "****" being thrown around in her home, and on her show? Didn't she used to be Jewish before she changed her mind?

some of the most messed up people i've ever known are psychologists:

Schlessinger was non-religious until she and her son began practicing Conservative Judaism in 1996.[4] In 1998, Schlessinger, Bishop, and their son converted to Orthodox Judaism,[55] and began instruction under Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of Ottawa, Ontario. During this time, Schlessinger sometimes used Jewish law and examples to resolve the moral dilemmas of her callers. She occasionally clarified ethical and moral issues with her local Orthodox Rabbi Moshe D. Bryski, before mentioning them on the air. She was embraced by many in the politically conservative segment of Orthodox Judaism for bringing more awareness of Orthodoxy to her radio show. Some of her expressed views were explicitly religious, and are referenced her 1999 book The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life. Although her other books have stressed the importance of morality, they are more secular in nature.

In July 2003, Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew.[61] In a series of monologues following that announcement, she explained that she did not feel a connection with God, and felt frustrated by the effort she had put into following the religion. Her religious approach on the show lessened substantially after this announcement.[citation needed] In December 2006, she stated that she was outraged that a Rabbi was demanding that a menorah be put in the Seattle International airport adjacent to a Christian holiday display, and that she would be putting a Christmas tree up in her own house

Laura Schlessinger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Sky Dancer]

" Schlessinger shows a poor grasp of what the First Amendment does. It protects us from government abridging our speech rights; it doesn't protect us from other Americans deciding we're racially divisive idiots when we use the word "******" 11 times in a a single exchange with one caller. Schlessinger can study up on our Constitution while she's taking a break from radio, and if she decides to be a do-gooder (it can happen after a brush with infamy; look at Chuck Colson) she can hold Constitution study groups with the under-educated Republicans who want to shut down mosques and deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S.

Then there's the claim she can't be "helpful and useful" under the current circumstances – which seems to indicate she can only be "helpful and useful" if she can use the word "******" 11 times in one of her rants without being criticized. Schlessinger has gotten away with being "helpful and useful" in all her homophobic, sexist, right-wing glory for almost three decades. It's amazing this single run-in with American decency has finally made her retreat.

To me, the worst thing about listening to Schlessinger that day wasn't the use of the N-word (OK, I used the actual word above because I hate the euphemism – she didn't say the N-word, she said "******," with all its hateful sting -- but I can't use it any more without feeling ill), but her hateful hectoring of a black woman with a white husband who was clearly looking for wisdom about how to handle the at best awkward, at worst racist situations she kept encountering with clueless white folks, including her husband's family. The caller stayed calm throughout, putting up with the N-word with only mild protest, continuing to engage, hoping for helpful advice from Schlessinger. God bless her, I hope she finds it somewhere."
Dr. Laura's pity party - Joan Walsh - Salon.com

 

[JakeStarkey]

She was dead wrong about the word and every sane person knows it.

You dont use racial slur words and pretend they mean nothing.

A Jewish person can call themselves a **** and not be an antisemite.

A woman can call herself a bitch but you cant.

You want black people to accept what you dont expect other humans to accept.

No, a Jew cannot without further demeaning the horror of Nazi Germany.

No, a woman cannot without further demeaning the efforts of all the feminists who have fought for women's rights.

No, a black cannot without further demeaning 350 years of racial terror.

No.

Your heart is in the right place but reality isnt with you.

We are not talking about just YOUR feelings, we are talking about the feelings of the people involved.

Some blacks find the word use a breaking of the power that kept them down, they steal the power of the word from their oppressors.

I often joke about being rased white trash, the right LOVES the redneck bit.

What the rigbht does when they insist that they can use the word because black people use it is they are trying to tell these black people "you cant own the word, you have to share it with us".

They are telling a black people they cant even have the respect for them to allow them to work through the painful residue of slavery that is STILL left in this country.

Its a power thing.

No one can own a demeaning word without demeaning him or herself. It's like playing with manure: it stinks and it will stick to you. Your owning it does not take away the smell, the touch, or the disease it carries.

 

[CurveLight]

Exactly, John. Dr. Laura went from being a profit center to a liability in one 5 minute rant. The competitive market works!

How do you know she didn't mean it as a raciial slur? What white woman gets away with telling a black woman to get over being called a ******? Dr Laura put her foot in her arrogant mouth. She was advising the calller to take verbal abuse and shurt up about it.

That isn't what dr l said at all......try reading the call transcript.

 

[sitarro]

" Schlessinger shows a poor grasp of what the First Amendment does. It protects us from government abridging our speech rights; it doesn't protect us from other Americans deciding we're racially divisive idiots when we use the word "******" 11 times in a a single exchange with one caller. Schlessinger can study up on our Constitution while she's taking a break from radio, and if she decides to be a do-gooder (it can happen after a brush with infamy; look at Chuck Colson) she can hold Constitution study groups with the under-educated Republicans who want to shut down mosques and deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S.

Then there's the claim she can't be "helpful and useful" under the current circumstances – which seems to indicate she can only be "helpful and useful" if she can use the word "******" 11 times in one of her rants without being criticized. Schlessinger has gotten away with being "helpful and useful" in all her homophobic, sexist, right-wing glory for almost three decades. It's amazing this single run-in with American decency has finally made her retreat.

To me, the worst thing about listening to Schlessinger that day wasn't the use of the N-word (OK, I used the actual word above because I hate the euphemism – she didn't say the N-word, she said "******," with all its hateful sting -- but I can't use it any more without feeling ill), but her hateful hectoring of a black woman with a white husband who was clearly looking for wisdom about how to handle the at best awkward, at worst racist situations she kept encountering with clueless white folks, including her husband's family. The caller stayed calm throughout, putting up with the N-word with only mild protest, continuing to engage, hoping for helpful advice from Schlessinger. God bless her, I hope she finds it somewhere."
Dr. Laura's pity party - Joan Walsh - Salon.com

The more you speak, the more you sound like a whiny fag.Don't let anyone call you a dumb ass because you aren't one........ really.

 

[jillian]

No one can own a demeaning word without demeaning him or herself. It's like playing with manure: it stinks and it will stick to you. Your owning it does not take away the smell, the touch, or the disease it carries.

you know, i agree with you. but not everyone else does. i think some people see it more like family... we can say whatever we want to about our blood, but if anyone else does, we're outraged.

me? i don't think anyone should demean themselves. but like i said... everyone's different. i think the one thing we should all be able to agree upon is there is something ugly in the NEED of some people to call others the vilest things.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Dr Laura says '******' eleven times in one rant.

 

[CurveLight]

Exactly, John. Dr. Laura went from being a profit center to a liability in one 5 minute rant. The competitive market works!

How do you know she didn't mean it as a raciial slur? What white woman gets away with telling a black woman to get over being called a ******? Dr Laura put her foot in her arrogant mouth. She was advising the calller to take verbal abuse and shurt up about it.

That isn't what dr l said at all......try reading the call transcript.

 

[CurveLight]

Dr Laura says '******' eleven times in one rant.

.......and 11,000 out-of-context PC Police posters have to buy new underwear. (Or change the seat cushion for the commando fans......)

 

[Sky Dancer]

Dr Laura is off the air for saying the n word eleven times.

Di you hear her say "don't you NAACP me!"

 

[CurveLight]

Dr Laura says '******' eleven times in one rant.

Dr Laura is off the air for saying the n word eleven times.

Di you hear her say "don't you NAACP me!"

She's off the air because of pc whiny crybabies.