African American Friend Says Dr. Laura Not Racist Despite Dropping "N-Word" Bomb on Radio
Dr. Laura Schlessinger Defended by Prominent Black Businessman Against Charges of Racism
Dr. Laura used the "N-word" eleven times during a recent on-air discussion with an African American woman.
Jade, a black woman in a mixed-race marriage, had called in to say that she was fed up with the obsequiousness of her white husband in the face of what she deemed overt hostility and racism from his family and white friends. Dr. Laura thought she might be "hyper-sensitive" and used the N-word to prove that it had been mainstreamed by African American comics on TV.
Dr. Laura was engaging in a type of desensitization therapy on Jade. She soon found it didn't work.
Black Think
After taking a commercial break, when Dr. Laura came back on the air, Jade venomously objected to her use of the N-word and her characterization that it wasn't still a loaded term when used by whites.
Accusing Jade of being not only hyper-sensitive but humorless,. Schlessinger said Jade mischaracterized her use of the N-word.
"Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's O.K.," Dr. Laura told Jade. "I don't get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing. But when black people say it, it's affectionate."
When Jade continued to insist that Dr. Laura, as a white person, had no right to use a word she insisted was racially charged, an angry Dr. Laura told Jade "Don't N.A.A.C.P. me!", a reference to the venerable African American civil rights organization's charge that the Tea Party movement was racist. Dr. Schlessinger is renowned as a conservative.
Dr. Laura stated that Jade was a victim of "black think." She eventually cut her off after an exchange about Barack Obama.
Jade had voiced her belief that whites were afraid of Barack Obama and thus were being more overtly racist, an opinion Dr. Laura objected to. She pointed out to Jade that it was white people, not blacks that had elected Obama President. This exchange came on the heels of Dr. Laura accusing blacks of engaging in a kind of group-think by voting overwhelming for Obama.
Lamenting that there was a rise in black hostility towards whites since the election of Obama, Dr. Laura blamed black activists for the phenomenon. She turned Jade's contention that whites were being more racist since the 2008 Presidential election by insisting that black activists were being more racist since that time.
The blowback from the exchange was immediate and according to the New York Times, Dr. Laura apologized.
"I was attempting to make a philosophical point," the apology posted on her blog, "and I articulated the 'n' word all the way out - more than one time. And that was wrong. I'll say it again - that was wrong."
Friend
Mike Paul, the president of the New York public relations firm MGP & Associates, defended Laura Schlessinger in a conversation with San Francisco Chronicle blogger Zennie62.
"Dr Laura is not, has not been, and will never be a racist," he said.
Paul said that Dr. Laura is a close personal friend of his and claimed that she helped him through a very difficult and painful divorce.
MPG & Associates has done publicity work for Schlessinger in the past, but she is not currently a client.
Reputation
Ironically, MPG & Associates' trade-marked business slogan is, "Because Your Reputation Means Everything." Dr. Laura Schlessinger's reputation certainly has taken a further beating since dropping the N-Bomb so casually, then defending her faux pas in air.
Schlessinger has been publicly castigated for what has been characterized as homophobic comments in the past. While not mentioning this, Zennie62 of the Chronicle said that she has never used the N-word before or treated African Americans in a derogatory way.
Zennie 62 believes Mike Paul, saying that he would not have turned to his friend Dr. Laura for support had she been a racist.
Sources
San Francisco Chronicle, "Dr Laura N-word: Mike Paul says Dr. Laura not racist" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=70109
New York Times, Joseph Plambeck; "Dr. Laura Apologizes for On-Air Epithet"; http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/dr-laura-apologizes-for-on-air-epithet/
Published by Jon C. Hopwood
Jon C. Hopwood is a freelance journalist and editor living in the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area. He has written extensively on current events, history, politics and the cinema. View profile
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17 Comments
Post a CommentI believe even if blacks chose to use this word among themselves doesn't mean we all use this word to depict who we are? This word was meant to be nasty and belittling and blacks use it to somehow make it a positive. Let's be real people... Laura is supposed to be a Doctor... a professional... when she got angry by Ms. Jade; her truth came through... The way she lead into this matter was wrong I believe Laura was against gays and blacks. I stopped listening to her show because I felt strongly she was... The Bibles says what is done in the dark willl soon come to light? How does she like her light? She got to the point in her show where she felt she didn't need to respect anybody! She is another IMUS!!! She will pop up somewhere else like he has. When folks get RICH on our DIME they feel like they can dismiss YOU! Eye for a Eye! My tolerance for this kinda of things is at a all time ZERO! Trust me her apology was forced cause she knew her sponsor would have to deal with this... You didn
i keep hearing the term "African American" I'd be curious to know which part she's from. Is she an exchange student perhaps?
Sure there are some African Americans who use the word freely, which does not make any sense to me, I don't believe that anyone should use it, but when a white person says it, it reminds me of all of the bad things that happen to my mama, daddy, grandparents, aunts,uncles, cousins and friends. Things that white people can not understand, so that's the reason most African Americans get so upset about it.Because when it comes from white people they are using it in reference to backwood slavery days.
It doesn't make sense that people are so worked up about her use of the N-word. Dr. Laura was definitely rude and insensitive in the way that she dealt with the caller, but it doesn't make her racist. She seemed to espouse some politically conservative ideas, but that is her prerogative. We need to be more concerned about bigger issues, like actual hate crimes and bonafide instances of racism and discrimination. It reminds me of the time that this guy used the word "niggardly" in a speech and it caused a backlash. It's pure idiocy. Can’t we just all get along and get a life?
Just the whole 'n-word' thing is stupidity itself. Refusing to say 'nigger' when referring to the word (and I don't mean you, Jon, I mean society in general) gives the word even more power than it should have and allows racists to hide. I'd much rather hear somebody say 'nigger' than the 'n-word' because then at least I KNOW who the racist is and can avoid them. But, no, I don't think Dr. Laura is racist (and frankly, I can't stand the woman, but I don't think she's racist).
And for the record, many blacks are opposed to using the "N" word PERIOD, regardless of race. It can be offensive so I err on the side of caution and choose not to ever use it. But I will agree that some have turned the negative word into a positive for them and maybe that's how they cope.
But I also don't use the term "redneck" either because I'm sure some whites find it offensive even though some refer to themselves as such.
There are black puppets and black fools as with any other race (in reference to Mike Paul's comments). Dr. Laura is definitely a fool and an insensitive one at that!
I think Dr. Laura only thought she could get away with her behavior because of the climate of racial hate which is flooding the airways. If not for the standard being set by the Rush's and the Beck's she would have had not environment from which to spew her very hurtful behavior.
What worries me is that whites think that black people use the N-word because they somehow adopted it one day and thought it cool. The use of the word "nigger" was and is offensive no matter who uses it. Black people have learned to turn oppression around so that it at least amongst themselves has a different meaning, but to think that a whiter person can say the same words and have them mean the same thing is like thinking that the white guy trying to act black is somehow socially acceptable to all. It is not.
Dr. Laura, you should read the history of oppression of people around the planet and dedicate your life to healing wounds rather than making them.
well...guess we all know who the grand dragon is now....racist prude..
I heard the call live. The caller was totally in the wrong and has a HUGE chip on her shoulder. Dr. Laura was spot on in that many blacks use the "N" word but b/c a person is white that forbids a person from using the same word? Is that not what racism is? Denying a person something based solely on their color? White's can't use the "N" word so is that not racist?