A&E Stops Production of Dog the Bounty Hunter TV Series

Are Racial Slurs in a Private Phone Conversation the Reason?

Vic Burrack
It has been alleged that Dwayne "Dog" Chapman was talking on the phone to his son and in a moment of anger he used the "N" word a number of times. He is in the spotlight for speaking his mind and uttering some racial profanities while in a phone conversation that was recorded. A&E has stopped production on his TV show. Now this conversation has been posted on the internet. Judge it for yourself.

The problem with this incident is to determine if Dog the Bounty Hunter is a raciest or just ignorant. Could it be that he is an individual unable to cope with situations needing emotional emphasis? Or if when he is faced with a need to express himself with some personal, emotional relevance he degenerates into using profanity? Or is he a real raciest? It falls upon each individual to make the personal judgment.

I personally think that using that kind of language is absolutely horrible but I do understand that people are humans and imperfect. The "N" word itself is a derogatory slur used occasionally by a number of individuals. To be politically and ethnically correct any emotionally mature individual should not use this word. But people are just human and often fallible. Others might say that these words he used indicate he is a terrible raciest person. I am sure there are probably hundreds of different varying opinions on the issue.

Our culture has become a court of public opinion not a court of law and prosecution. Others may say that there are exceptions because of the usage of the "N" word. In our current national climate of judging rights and wrongs immediately we have now degenerated down into taking one phone conversation and judging it as a measure of an individual. This was a private phone conversation between a father and son. Does one recorded conversation give us the true measure of any individual? Is someone's privacy one of the issues that should be considered? Granted this phone conversation was by a famous TV personality. And because the individual is famous seems to make this breech of privacy OK. Isn't it?

The TV channels after any "incident" are clogged with "news" about celebrities and their mistakes. And any "incident" is immediately on the "news" with well known people talking about the incident, expressing their opinions and wanting to convince you that they know the opinion you should have and what should be done. This could be a real time saver for you if you just accept their opinions, huh?

Dog the Bounty Hunter has now been taken off TV. An immediate reaction by the network that airs his TV program has been posted on the A&E web site. It says that "A&E has learned of the story released by the National Enquirer concerning Duane Dog Chapman. We take this matter very seriously. Pending an investigation, we have suspended production on the series. When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action".

Published by Vic Burrack

I write on diverse topics which have been provided by my professional associates. Some of these articles can be seen here or at the Examiner online, http://www.examiner.com/user-vicburrack and Pinellas Scene...  View profile

56 Comments

Post a Comment
  • john2/12/2009

    Wow they spelled racist wrong... wrote raciest... wow this is a real professional report.

  • Donald Paul7/14/2008

    Bring back the Dog. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone ! You fricken hypocrites ! Black people can do and SAY
    just about ANYTHING they want and that seems to be OK. Oh, they had a bad upbringing. My favorite, "Oh, they were thinking
    in a gang mentality, and couldn't control their own actions!" That's why they couldn't help it when they dragged Reginald Denning
    out of his truck, kicked him while he layed on the ground, AND threw cement blocks or bricks at his head !

  • j_m_b11/30/2007

    first off racism is here and probably will always be. to say that racism does not exist is ignorance. and to say that it happened all those years ago guess what 50 years ago is not that long ago... my grandparents yours, his and everyone else's were around when segregation was at its peak so to say its was so many years ago is plain stupidity. as far as the situation with dog its sad that a man in the spot light like himself and that does so much good for the community can be out casted so quickly. i think that someone who has done so much for his community deserves to be forgiven one time after that its his fault for not changing.i loved watching dog and hope that comes back on. i felt that his apologize was sincere and that he will never make that mistake again. FREE DOG!!!

  • MsBasque11/23/2007

    (continued from below) question their behavior when it is exposed because our society has not yet evolved past the necessity to assume guilt by association so I do see some logic in A&E's action to remove the show from it's roster. Maybe some day after enough of these incidents happen instead of just penalizing the one individual for an isolated action someone will take the initiative to address the larger problem of racism and how it keeps society at large from progressing forward by maintaining separatism through ingrained social paradigms. But that's a little much to hope for.

  • MsBasque11/23/2007

    As an African American I'm very conflicted about this incident. On one hand I feel that a person should not be persecuted for the context and tone of a private conversation especially when it premieres a word that has yet to be deemed as completely illegal within the society that bore it's existence. On the other hand I have to question the integrity of a man who would call into question the morality of another and feel that it was necessary to draw a parallel to their behavior by the use of a derogatory word exclusively created to humiliate and denigrate members of their specific ethnicity. As for the posts of others I would disagree that racism doesn't exist: For african americans and for other darker skinned ethnicities racism is all too real and ever present. I am constantly made aware of my ethnicity by it's subtle pervasiveness in every day expressions. While I am not a proponent of exposing the personal lives of entertainment figures I do think it is necessary to call into ques

  • MARISA11/10/2007

    I THINK ITS UNBELIEVABLE THAT YOU TOOK A TV SHOW OFF THE AIR BECAUSE A MAN, IN A PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH HIS SON SAID THE 'N' WORD! I SAY IT TO MY DAUGHTER. I'M DISAPPOINTED ABOUT HER CHOICES. I LIKE BLACKS BUT AM ENTITLED TO MY OPINION ON WHO SHE DATES AND DUANE CHAPMAN SHOULD HAVE THAT SAME RIGHT. I'M SO SICK THAT WHITES HAVE TO BE FEARFULL OF WHAT THEY SAY WHILE BLACKS SAY AND DO WHATEVER THEY WANT WHERE IS OUR AL SHARPTAN? IT'S ONE SIDED. WE HAVE TO GINGERLY WATCH HOW WE TALK? AND BY REMOVING DOGS SHOW, YOU ARE CONDONING THIS.

  • Pastor Burt11/9/2007

    I do not watch this Dog the Bounty Hunter show but I have been a Protestant minister for 30 years, and I am writing you as a minister of God. I believe it would be a mistake to take Duane "Dog" Chapman off the air.

    It is apparent to me that this A&E employee was set up and quite apparently he responded in a totally unacceptable manner. However, I have heard him apologize and express his sincere regret on a number of news shows. This man is completely broken and crushed by his own foolish behavior. A&E as his superior has an obligation to their servant to stand by him in his hour of trouble and not to abandon him. We need character as much from A&E management as much as from their employees.

    We have a God of second chances. Anyone listening to this man, including God, has forgiven him and it is appropriate for the A&E channel to do so as well. Moses, King David, even the Apostle Paul were murderers and yet God considered these flawed individuals His precious children.

  • Sheryl11/8/2007

    I don't like Dog and I could care less if his show in on or not BUT it is NOT right to cancel it because of conversation he was having in his own home. He was angry and talking to someone he actually loves and he made a mistake! To decide he is a racist or hates black people by just one incident is being extremely judgemental. I am sick and tired of hearing that black people can use the "N" word but that a caucasian cannot. Do words have different colors as they come out of a mouth? If it's bad coming out of a white person's mouth then ditto coming out of a black person's mouth. I ask my black co-worker if I could say the word and she said No that it would be a racial slur if I said it...I wonder why because I am Native American so I don't see how my history or even my ancestor's history makes the meaning of the word hateful. The same co-worker told me that she was tired of white people "stealing" her people's culture by wearing braids.

  • Historian11/8/2007

    Subject Matter: The "N" word. Just remember,when you beligerently direct the "N" word to any person, you
    are calling him/her "BLACK SLAVE" who they're forefather's has sacrificed their precious lives
    for the absolute reckless and disrespect ohter's
    and in clear violation of the Civil Rights Act of
    1964. Mr. Chapman's statement's was salvaged by the
    freedom of speech but will be liable for discrimination
    of race under the Act. In the court of law, you must present factual findings in support of the preponderence
    of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Duane has affirmed
    that he was wrong. So it's been said, and so it shall
    be history.

  • Historian11/8/2007

    No one on this god forbidden earth are allowed or has the audacity to say the "N" word or even think of it
    on grounds of it's historical track record leading to
    ludicrous killings during the Civil War day's for the
    preservation of Black Slavery. The "N" word were born
    from the whites killing the whites. The South battling
    the North.

Displaying Comments
Next »

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.