Should there be further consequences for Dr. Laura's on air rant?

I think the woman is an arrogant fruitloop.

She has some good advice, but more often than not, she is very rude and dismissive with her callers.

I have not listened to her in years, I don’t respect her.

I think she has crossed a line and the mere fact that she is calling another too sensitive shows her lack of credibility in the psychological help zone.

She is a blight to the profession IMO.

It amazes me about how much power we assign to words and how words evoke such emotion. They’re just words. As George Carlin said, “I can prick my finger, but I can’t finger my prick.”

I despise her and always have, so my response may be biased. She crossed the line. I think the world has heard enough from her already.

@Rarebear – Right on!

Yes, BUT…while words may be only words, the POINT is this woman is certainly not acting professional or sensitive herself. We can say that words are just words, but we can also say that words do impact others for better or for worse.

Catchy little comedic wisdoms don’t apply when one is talking about a ‘professionals’ conduct towards the masses.

So there…meh! lol

What else can we do? She was wrong but look how many people on fluther use the same excuse for their racist or sexist slurs or do the inevitable ‘geez, you’re so sensitive, lighten up’ – I don’t get why they think that’s a good line of defense, it is meaningless.

I so agree with @Coloma. I listen to her periodically just to be amazed by her rudeness. I think her repetitive use of the N word, even if she was trying to make what she felt was a valid point about racism, was in poor taste. There was a time when the FCC wouldn’t allow the use of the word “damn” on air. Boy, have things changed.

Such words don’t have an effect on me, but some people are just sensitive and if she’s in the medical field, she should be accomodating to each individual’s needs instead of giving them a blanket treatment, so yeah she was out of line.

I think she should be silenced.

@loser

I thought you wrote ‘she should be sliced’...haha

She does have an obnoxious voice on top of her abrasive personality.

This is the first time I have heard of her and heard her speak. I know nothing about her opinions on anything. Is she conservative? What’s her schtick? What kind of advice does she give?

It’s hard to believe she wasn’t more careful using the n-word, since it is a verboten word, these days. If you use it, you are automatically a racist. So you have to not use it in order to show how sensitive you are.

Of course that is a kind of hypocrisy when the people use the word themselves. Sometimes, I think, it’s supposed to be affectionate, sometimes a condescending attitude, and sometimes it’s a word of affinity.

There is a history of discriminated groups trying to reclaim words that have been used to insult them. The n-word for blacks, fag, queer, or dyke for gays and lesbians, and I’m sure there are others. Black pride. Gay pride, Crip pride. I wish there were a Crazy Pride movement. Nuts like us, or something.

So it gets confusing. How come the member of the group can use it with impunity, but if anyone outside says it, it’s wrong? Supposedly because when we call ourselves crazy, we know what it means, but when someone else does it, we have no idea what they know and we assume they probably don’t think of it as a good thing.

Still—the n-word? It feels ridiculous to keep writing “the n-word.” Yet I don’t want to risk the shit I might get if I do write it. But I understand that if someone who isn’t black says it, there is a suspicion of insensitivity or even racism. So I don’t say it to show my sensitivity and concern. Blacks say it because they can. I doubt if many people who use the word regularly understand the consequences—of how it affects their thinking.

Dr. Laura? I don’t think she needs any further official consequences. Publicity will take care of that for her. I understand her frustration, but I don’t know if there’s a fix for that. I am surprised that the caller didn’t address the issue of the double-standard head on. It’s about history. And Laura was right. It’s about power.

@wundayatta What’s about power? Do you feel powerless because you can’t say ‘nigger’ outright and not get questioned on it?

Yeah @Simone_De_Beauvoir. You can do it, and I can’t. That’s an expression of power, and you know it.

I don’t even see why anyone would want to say it when there are so many other words we can use to call someone an illiterate bastard lol. The word simply has a awkward and ugly past.

@wundayatta Okay, you make no sense. I can’t use the word ‘nigger’, I actually can not utter it…just like I can’t utter ‘faggot’ either. And what power do I have in comparison to you that you don’t?

NSFW pics of “Dr.” Laura being a little too liberal with her body, back before anyone knew or cared who she was.

@wundayatta seriously? You are made to feel powerless by the fact that you can’t use a racial slur without running the risk of being called out on it? That astounds me. I am extremely taken aback at the thought that being comfortable saying a nasty word without fear of repercussion might make you feel somehow empowered.

I like the idea of marginalized groups co-opting what are supposed to be epithets and making them their own. IMO it helps to diffuse the negative power the word might have and points to the ignorance of those who tried to infuse it with that negativity. I am not the least bit offended that I am left out, as I have no desire to use such demeaning words.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I was horrified by Dr. Laura’s dismissal of this woman’s actual concerns saying she is too sensitive. That is just ridiculous.

I’m with @Simone_De_Beauvoir

I can’t even utter those words.

I know someone that mentioned how they needed help around their house and said that they were going to ’ find some mexicans.’

Needless to say I lost all interest in getting to know them better.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir You just uttered it. Twice. Writing it down is no different from speaking it. In fact, it’s much, much worse in terms of the offence. The written word stays and stays. The spoken word is gone (unless recorded).

@SuperMouse Seriously? You don’t allow yourself to say a word, and you feel empowered? That makes no sense to me. Empowerment is the ability to do something. If you are a slave master and you can make the slave do anything—that’s empowerment for the slave master.

Empowerment with words is when someone takes the word back, stripped of it’s derogatory connotations. Blacks can now use a word that whites can’t (at least, not without being politically incorrect—i.e., offensive).

Now whites who don’t use it are voluntarily giving up their access to that meme as a gesture of solidarity. Make no mistake, though. That’s not empowering. That’s disempowering to whites. It’s like George Carlin’s seven proscribed words. We lacked freedom to use those words. Now we lack freedom to use the n-word. Last time I looked, losing freedom was not empowerment. But perhaps your world is different?

@wundayatta whites do not need to be able to utilize racial slurs to feel/be empowered. I tend to think of those who do need to hurl insults in order to feel empowered as being racist or at the least having a rather large chip on their shoulder.

I do allow myself to feel empowered by saying certain words. I am empowered when I tell my boyfriend I love him or when I use words of encouragement to help my children feel empowered. Swear words, put downs, and racial slurs don’t make me feel empowered at all. They make me feel small, intolerant, and less than capable of expressing myself clearly without demeaning myself.

I do not feel any loss of freedom because of my choice not to use these words. It reminds me of something my dad used to say when talking about burning the American flag. He used to say that of course anyone has the right to burn an American flag, and he has the right to punch them in the face if they do. Frighteningly enough, my old man probably would. I obviously have the right to say mean things, but others have as much right to call me on it.

@wundayatta That is certainly a matter of opinion and I don’t agree with yours. Writing it to you, here, in this context is not the same as uttering it to a black person in a hateful way – if you can’t grasp that, I can’t help you.

I can’t stand Dr. Laura. I totally disagree with everything she says. I deal with this by NOT LISTENING TO HER SHOW.

She shouldn’t have to apologize for exercising her right to speak freely. You all need to let the dipshits that listen to her continue to listen to her while you all change the channel. If enough folks do that, the advertisers pull out and she’s done.

If we started doing shit this way we wouldn’t all run around like a bunch of chicken little fascists every time we heard something we didn’t agree with.

dr laura, a former jew turned christian , is a pompous butt. Few people feel more superior to others than laura.
I guess the heat got me.

Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. Criticism of the government and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy, such as racism, sexism, and other hate speech are generally permitted. This being clear, Dr. Laura was justified in what she said and in no way needs to apologize for anything.

Isn’t she a christian turned jewish? I listened years ago and found her so arrogant. I’d love to hear that she had been brought down a peg. Nothing terrible but I hope this issue does not go away.

@Void – I agree with the beginning of your statement but she was not justified, imo because although we can say anything doesn’t mean we should say anything.

@faye No. She said on the radio that when her world blew up after her ex BF published nude pics of her on a bed over the internet, the group that came to her defense were the Christians. She said her Jewish friends were not sympathetic. So she turned Christian.
So much for keeping your faith.

What about her husband and her son? She always said family first, etc.

I took it for granted she was single when her BF took the pictures?It was decades ago! She also said, “oh, I was an atheist then.” So the atheists jumped all over her.
You guys were in strollers when this happened.

If I’m understanding the situation properly, she wasn’t using it derogatorily. It might not be language suitable for radio, but eh.

@Aster I don’t know why her naked photos matter, at this point.

@Blondesjon there you go again inserting common sense into the discussion. I would like to go on record as saying that I cannot stand Dr. Laura myself and do my part every weekday to get her ass off the air: I do not listen to her show. I am by no means suggesting that Dr. Laura be censored, I for one advocate the “give her enough rope to hang herself” approach.

That being said, I do disagree with @Void that having her own radio show makes everything she says justifiable. A syndicated radio show is not what is required to empower someone to throw around disrespectful demeaning words. She of course can throw them around, but she should also be called to account for doing so – by listeners opting to tune; out which let’s face it, is ultimately the best way to get her particular brand of lunacy off the air.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I realize fully that to you they wouldn’t matter one bit. Not then OR now.
For me, I would probably have jumped off a building. And not just because they were super crude. in my prudish opinion

@Aster No, no, this isn’t about whether I care or not (and you’re right, I wouldn’t) but whether or not her having those photos matters to the issue we’re discussing right now.

I must be off-topic. I’ll leave the thread.

@Aster Nah, we both are.

Listened to it: Laura is correct. She should be more cautious with the N word – as it can be taken out of context (as it was here) becase she is a radio celebrity, but I pretty much agree with what she said.

Rant? That’s no rant, just common sense.

I do, however, see an arrogant fruitloop here who has hijacked the thread, as usual.

@zenele Why would we want people to ‘be cautious with the n word’ – why can’t it just not be a part of our vocabulary?

What other words should not be part of our vocabulary? Should we also burn the books they appear in? It’s a dangerous thing, censorship: and my family are Holocaust survivors on both sides.

@zenele No, no, you know I’m against censorship or banning words…but, in my life, the word has no place…yet I don’t feel censored…what’s the point of ever using it?

I didn’t say there’s a point in saying it; but if someone does, then can it never be quoted – even just to prove a point that it was wrong to do so? It doesn’t exist? One could never journalistically cover KKK events – so as not to use the racial slurs they said. Doesn’t make sense.

Nuff said. I know where I stand and I’m comfortable with it. I think I know where you stand too.

Me posting naked dr laura pics = FUI (Fluthering while Under the Influence)

@zenele Well, yes it can be quoted…obviously…but you said she should use it with caution..all I want to know is why advise that, to anyone

@zenele

“hijacked’....how do you figure?——There’s that sparkling wit of yours bubbling up like a geyser of acid.

I refuse to say “the n word”. I think it’s ridiculous. How can you seriously discuss the topic when everyone is so afraid of saying the topic of discussion?

P.S. Dr. Laura is a horrible human with an even worse show, but her point is valid, regardless of her delivery.

@GladysMensch

I don’t think it’s about being afraid, I think it is about not wanting to disrespect the nature of the evolution of such a derogatory word.

@Coloma
I’m not saying that you should respect or otherwise justify the word, but one should be able to say it while having a discussion regarding it’s use. Tiptoeing around it seems juvenile. “Oh no, he said the “F-word”.

@GladysMensch

I get what you’re saying, I never have occasion to even think about the word, let alone determine if I am going to abbrieviate it. lol

@GladysMensch It is pretty funny to see big, powerful personalities talking about the “En-word” on TV.

I am reminded of the fable of The Boy and the Nettles,” abridged, no doubt, below:
A boy was stung by a nettle. He ran home and told his Mother, saying, “Although it hurts me very much, I only touched it gently.” “That was just why it stung you,” said his Mother. “The next time you touch a Nettle, grasp it boldly, and it will be soft as silk to your hand, and not in the least hurt you.”

Just send her this.

I can’t believe she’s still on the air. Her one book I read once years ago was terrible and judgemental and she writes in a hectoring tone. I suppose if one’s a masochist and needs to be talked down to like a 3 year old, they might get something out of it.

I thought it was pretty obnoxious. I have not sat through a “Dr.” Laura show before and this was annoying. First, she… took her… speaking style… from… William Shatner… unless she is jumping in to outtalk the other person.

Second, it did not sound to me like she gave the woman on the phone a chance to respond to her “queries” before telling her to shut up. It sounded like the caller tried to discuss the eternal “why are blacks allowed to say nigger” thing but was shut down each time she tried.

Third, yes, she made some valid points. However, her delivery of such points leaves much to be desired.

Fourth: She kept using the “you are too sensitive” thing to derail the discussion. The “chip on the shoulder” thing is also classic derailment.

Fifth, the following was uncalled for:
SCHLESSINGER: Don’t take things out of context. Don’t double N—NAACP me. Tape the—

That being said, radio broadcasts come with the option of turning them off. I think “Dr” Laura is an ass. I have heard of her before and that she is an ass, this being no different.

However, nobody forces anyone to listen to her.

She certainly isn’t anyone I would want as a therapist. She’s a TV “therapist” with a tongue like Joan Rivers. Anyone who is foolish enough to seek advice from her on a public media platform [or appear in front of Judge Judy in a civil case] deserves to be embarrassed.

She was rude and insensitive and not very funny either but I think tiptoeing around “the N word” forever is absurd. What other word can’t even be uttered? [Discounting Yahweh’s real name]

@Aster i’m gonna check out her nekkid pix now. lol.

people still listen to radio? wow.

@cprevite Oh yeah. It’s popular among commuters.

I think if someone is utterly desperate to use that word – or any similar word, one should pause and question one’s motives for doing so. Truth? Kindness? Necessity?

That word, and a few others in particular, were preludes to violence, rape, murder and savagery; power trips and lording over “inferior” peoples are the base of it. I mean, c’mon, most people like Schlesinger who want to use that word also want to believe they’re better than “those” people. They have some feelings of their own inferiority to discharge (that pesky “shadow” thing) and calling someone that word is like taking a quick hit of “ego crack”.

OTOH, I can’t stop someone from calling me a nigger. I mean, how could I? I’ve been called one plenty of times. No one can make me feel inferior without my consent. I don’t feel bad about names someone calls me unless deep down I believe that name to be true about myself. It’s as if someone would tell me that I was an awful singer. I’d laugh because that’s patently untrue. So call me whatever you want. I don’t give a shit.

If anyone thinks that by using that word, though, I’m going to walk away from the exchange feeling terrible about myself, giving that person power over my self-esteem or otherwise thinking, “Damn, you know? (S)He’s right! I am a low -down, horrible, dirty nigger and that other person is a way superior being to me. Guess I’ll go shoot myself now,” they’re wrong.

@aprilsimnel I think that Schlesinger wasn’t intending anything unkind. Coming from near her side of the issue, I see the term more silly than outright offensive, and the aversion likewise comical. Sort of like an atheist in the face of superstition.
I also find the double-standard regarding its use both amusing and somewhat troubling.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, _”I agree with the beginning of your statement but she was not justified, imo because although we can say anything doesn’t mean we should say anything.

Why shouldn’t we say anything when we want too? Refer below as I answer @SuperMouse

@SuperMouse, _”She of course can throw them around, but she should also be called to account for doing so

Excuse me, but freedom of speech is not conditional. It doesn’t say you can say “X” on the conditon that only if it doesn’t hurt someones feelings. As I wrote in regards to freedom of speech law, “Criticism of the government and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy, such as racism, sexism, and other hate speech are permitted. Key words are in bold. Therefore, when you say ”she should also be called to account for doing so”, is wrong. She doesn’t need to apologize or give a damn about anyone’s feelings. In fact, the only reason she apologized is because every listener is a potential client for her to make $$$. She didn’t do it out of remorse, I assure you. Plenty of others out there that speak freely and don’t apologize or care for other peoples feelings because they have plenty of supporters that fund them. If Dr. Laura wasn’t so greedy, she wouldn’t apologize.

@Void I don’t disagree with you. My point is that anyone who wants to can call her out on her behavior. Should she be fired? No. Should she be censored? No. Should people – including the media – be able to comment on what she said? Absolutely. This reminds me of something my dad used to say about flag burning. Of course one has the right to burn the flag, but one also has the right to punch them in the face for doing so.

@Void Of by all means do it, but I will reserve the right to think of you poorly.

The wisdom of George Carlin [and it’s funny too]
There’s a different group to get pissed off at you in this country for everything your not supposed to say. Can’t say Nigger, Boogie, Jig, Jigaboo, Skinhead, Moolimoolinyon, Schvatzit, Junglebunny. Greaser, Greaseball, Dago, Guinea, Wop, Ginzo, Kike, Zebe, Heeb, Yid, Mockie, Hymie, Mick, Donkey, Turkey, Limey, Frog. Zip, Zipperhead, Squarehead, Crout, Hiney, Jerry, Hun, Slope, Slopehead, Chink, Gook. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those words in and of themselves. Their only words. It’s the context that counts. It’s the user. It’s the intention behind the words that makes them good or bad. The words are completely neutral. The words are innocent. I get tired of people talking about bad words and bad language. Bullshit! It’s the context that makes them good or bad. The context. That makes them good or bad. For instance, you take the word “Nigger.” There is absolutely nothing wrong with the word “Nigger” in and of itself. It’s the racist asshole who’s using it that you ought to be concerned about. We don’t mind when Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy say it. Why? Because we know they’re not racist. They’re Niggers! Context. Context. We don’t mind their context because we know they’re black. Hey, I know I’m whitey, the blue-eyed devil, paddy, ofay, gray boy, honkie, motherfucker myself. Don’t bother my ass. They’re only words. You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth, even if it’s an unpleasant truth, like the fact that there’s a bigot and a racist in every living room on every street corner in this country.