Yesterday as I was catching up on facebook, a friend of mine sent me a link and asked the following; "Amy...what is your take on this?" The link was a story about Dr. Laura using the "N" word multiple times on her talk show and then later apologizing for it. You can read the story below:
LOS ANGELES – Talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger has issued an apology for saying the N-word several times in an on-air conversation with a caller that she said was "hypersensitive" to racism.
Schlessinger said on her website Wednesday that she was wrong in using the word for what she called an attempt to make a philosophical point.
"I articulated the N-word all the way out — more than one time," Schlessinger said in comments from the opening of her radio show that she posted on her site. "And that was wrong. I'll say it again — that was wrong."
She said she "realized I had made a horrible mistake, and was so upset, I could not finish the show."
Schlessinger said she pulled herself off the air at the end of the hour.
During the exchange on Tuesday's show, Schlessinger said the woman who called herself Jade was too sensitive for complaining that her husband's friends made racist comments about her in their home.
When the woman asked if the N-word was offensive, Dr. Laura said "black guys say it all the time," then went on to repeat it several times.
Schlessinger did not direct the epithet at the woman, but said she used it to suggest how often she hears it, and that it should not automatically be cause for offense.
When the caller objected, Schlessinger replied: "Oh, then I guess you don't watch HBO or listen to any black comedians."
Schlessinger also said that if the caller did not have a sense of humor about race, she shouldn't have entered into an interracial marriage.
After I read the story, I sat there with my eyes popping out of my head, and my jaw on the ground. I re-grouped, put my eyes back in, picked my jaw up off the floor, and re-read the story to make sure I was reading it correctly, because I just "knew" that I must have read it wrong. Sadly I hadn't.
First of all I have to say I have never been a fan of Dr. Laura. I have many friends that are, and that's great, ya know, free country and all, but I think she is very condescending and cruel to her callers. I remember having a conversation with a friend years and years ago about Dr. Laura. We had recently listened to one of her shows and the subject was daycare. Dr. Laura basically stated that if you put your child in daycare you were a terrible parent. She said you must at all costs figure out a way to stay home with your child otherwise the child will suffer. Reality check Dr. L...not everyone can do that. From that moment on I realized she had lost touch, and the things she had said about parents that use daycare were down right cruel. Never again was I a fan. So that being said, when I read yesterday's story I was shocked but not totally surprised.
I feel so bad for the woman that called Dr. L for advice. This woman obviously needed help and all Dr. Laura did was apparently make her feel worse. For Dr. L to use the "N" word at all was her first mistake, to make light of it was her second, and to compare her usage of it to black men using it, was her third. Let me clarify for the record I don't think anyone should use the word at all. I've said it before and I'll say it again...it's a hateful word and I don't think it's cute, cool, or necessary. However when Dr. L stated that if the caller didn't have a sense of humor about race she shouldn't have entered into an interracial marriage, that is what really got to me. Really Dr. Laura?! There is a BIG difference regarding having a sense of humor about race vs. spewing racial slurs. A sense of humor is me calling my hubby a "big sexy hunk o' chocolate," a racial slur would be me using the "N" word at all. I have been with him for 18 years and that word has never come out of my mouth. Ever!
Dr. L, when your husband gets handcuffed due to the color of his skin, or gets pulled over because of the color of his skin, or your child gets called the very "N" word that you used....then you can come and talk to me about having a sense of humor regarding race.
The very reason I write this blog is to show people that interracial marriage is just like any other marriage. However based on the call from a woman who just wants her home to be like any other, we clearly have a long way to go. I hope Dr. Laura takes a step back and realizes that when people call her they are reaching out and truly need help. She needs to realize she doesn't have ALL the answers. If she would just listen, and show some respect and kindness to her callers, then she would already be on the way to helping them. It's fascinating to me that she would even attempt to give advice regarding interracial marriage when she is married to a white man. She should have sympathized with her caller's problem and told her that she didn't understand fully what she was going through because she has never been in an interracial marriage. It's okay to not have all the answers, but it's not okay to profess that you do and have no basis for it.....what was she thinking!? The "N" word?! Really!!?!
