INGA BARKS: Dr. Laura was hurtful, but she shouldn't have quit
| Wednesday, Aug 18 2010 05:40 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Aug 18 2010 06:27 PM
What do Dr. Laura, a controversial Manhattan mosque and lying about being a medal of honor recipient have in common? In the U.S. you are free to do things that offend and hurt people, but that doesn't mean you should.
After decades of giving advice to millions on her daily national radio show, Dr. Laura Schlessinger is hanging up her headphones after fierce criticism for using the "n" word on air. Not once, mind you. She really went for it, using the infamous word 10 times in five minutes.
Despite this, I don't think Dr. Laura should end her radio show over the gaffe.
Her decades-long body of work shows she's not racist. She's just honest, often brutally so. And her listeners and callers know this, which is why she has more listeners than callers.
In my baby-making days I sat at Dr. Laura's feet every day. In fact, the reason I took my first job in radio wasn't for dreams of glory but because Dr. Laura encouraged me to do something that enabled me to be with my children as many hours as possible. Since being in radio, I've interviewed Laura a few times and found her delightful, empathetic and well-spoken, even when I disagreed with her.
In her defense, all radio hosts have occasional bad days.
When you speak multiple hours every day, you're inevitably going to offend someone. I can't tell you how many people who've called or written me after they turned on the radio to hear just part of what I said. Or folks who take passing comments as a statement against their religion or disability or favorite college football team.
If talk show hosts apologized to every one-legged man offended by a one-legged man joke, the show would be over before we got to the subject of the day! Besides, it's the job of the host to rattle your cage and make you think. But a smart person knows that there are certain comments that hurt or anger people in a destructive way rather than inspiring them to think.
We can talk all day about the hypocrisy that allows black people to use that word without recourse, or about Dr. Laura's context and intentions, but it doesn't matter. Everyone knows the meaning and effect of that word. It hurts, angers and offends people, with very rare exceptions.
So, why say it? What made Dr. Laura think that SHE could cross a racial line in the sand that Imus, Howard Cossell and Jimmy the Greek couldn't cross? And they didn't even use the "n" word! With other options to hurting and offending people, why use the approach that you know WILL hurt or offend?
Even if you think the whole "n" word taboo is silly, it's not about you. That's where I think Dr. Laura blew it when she used the "n" word repeatedly with a black caller. Sometimes in practicing our freedom to speak, we all unwittingly offend. But sometimes we know exactly what's going to happen as a result of our actions, and if we do it anyway, it's on us. But I still don't think Dr. Laura should resign. Why?
As I previously said, many people resent the double standard that allows a black person to use the same word that offends them if it comes from the mouth of a white person. I personally don't want dispensation to use the "n" word so I'll leave that debate to others. The hypocrisy that should trouble us is the one that calls for the head of a conservative or a supporter of traditional values while excusing racist rants and acts by liberals.
The recently deceased U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd had not only been a ranking member of the KKK who once said he'd prefer to lose a war than fight alongside a black man, who a few years ago dropped the "n" word on national television, he was also hailed as a champion of civil rights!
Don't believe for a moment that Dr. Laura fell prey to people who were truly offended on racial grounds. If they were, her apology would have sufficed. She's had a target on her for 20 years by feminists, gay rights activists and leftists who hated her views and were looking for an excuse. Which is why she shouldn't have given them one.
-- Inga Barks hosts a talk show on KMJ AM 580. These are the opinions of Barks, not necessarily The Californian. You can e-mail her at ibarks@bakersfield.com.
