No More Racial House Calls for the Dr

Looks like there is one less doctor in the house. Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger has announced she will not renew her radio contract after an on air incident which had the good doctor use the "N" word eleven times on the air. The caller wanted advice on how to deal with her husband. The caller was Black, her husband is White and from what the caller described, her husband has friends who use the word in her presence along with other racial pejoratives. This could have been an opportunity to have a frank discussion about any number of topics such as inter-racial dating, the use of the "N" word, or dealing with issues of difference. Instead Dr. Laura took time out of what must have been a very boring schedule and went on a rant. She berated the woman for being too sensitive and then proceeded to try and toughen her up a bit by using the racial epithet 11 times within the span of 8 minutes. One can only surmise what the good Dr. (and I use that term loosely) was thinking. Then again I am not sure why anyone would want or take therapeutic advice from someone who is not a licensed therapist. If my house caught on fire I would not call a plumber. When my drain is clogged I don't text the neighborhood dog catcher, so I am a bit perplexed as to why someone in need of a therapist would call upon someone with a degree in physiology and a doctorial thesis on the effects of insulin on rats. Maybe that's a topic for another opinion piece. Since I myself am not a licensed therapist, I would like to throw my hat into the therapy ring and offer Dr. Laura a bit of advice and a few steps when it comes to dealing with issues of race. Step 1; make sure you have TiVo.

You see if you have TiVo then you can record the episode of South Park I recently saw. You see South Park had an entire episode dedicated to the use of the word nigger. On the surface the episode was over the top, but once you really started to listen to the characters voice their concerns and confusion about the word and once the only African American cartoon character voiced his feelings (on the show by the way, the African American character is named Token -- well done Matt and TreyïŠ.) you start to realize that maybe the makers of South Park have a little more insight on this issue than they have been given credit for. They at least have proven they are light years ahead of the aforementioned Dr. You see there was no insight into the ranting of Schlessinger. She went from talking about a double standard when it comes to using the "N" word (which there is), to saying that Blacks voted for President Obama only because he was half Black and that the caller needs to just deal with the racial slights her husband's friends are throwing at her. That's one heck of a bedside manner. Personally, I have no problem debating the issue of this particular racial epithet. It truly is (in my opinion) one of the most vile words in the English language but conversely, a good number of African Americans use it as a term of endearment, it is pervasive in much hip-hop music and it has become a greeting of sorts adopted by Latinos, Asians and young Whites who worship at the feet of hip-hop culture so yes, a salient debate on the use of this word is understandable. Sadly, that didn't happen and it wasn't going to happen on her show. Dr. Laura copped the attitude of "Hey how come you get to say this and I don't! I want to say it too," and she coupled those feelings with an un-healthy dose of, "Get over your husband's friends "sista" they are just joking!" It truly gets tougher and tougher to watch America take a few steps backward when it comes to issues of difference and same. Whether it's the immigration debate in Arizona, a place of worship being built in New York City or a radio talk show host with a license to ill, we seem to be forgetting that by respecting our differences we can come together and celebrate the ties that bind us together as Americans. Having an informed discussion/debate on race and racial issues is a good thing. It was happening during the 2008 election. Yelling a racial epithet on a radio show gets us nowhere and it might have you looking for sponsors and a new radio contract. Again, I can't be that surprised. This is a woman who referred to being gay as a biological error and to gay adoption as pedophilia! In the grander scheme of things, I'd say we got off lucky!

Dr. Laura has announced she will not renew her contract but that she will instead, return to the airwaves in a capacity where her 1st amendment rights will not be taken away from her by special interest groups. There is no doubt in my mind the good Dr. will find a place to do her "shock jock" styled therapy sessions and her patients/fans will rejoice. As Americans we have selective memory so I have to assume all will be forgotten in about 5-6 months. In the meantime I have a bit of advice for folks since Doc Laura may be a bit gun shy to let dispense her brand of wisdom and all knowing; If you are in an interracial relationship where your partner and your partner's friends are constantly denigrating your race, heritage or culture you may want to think about ending the relationship as soon as possible. If you have a question or concern about a racial epithet that is used in our society, find a book or article on the subject or have an intelligent conversation about it (the operative word in that last statement was intelligent) and if you honestly do need to talk to a therapist/psychologist about an important issue in your life but for some reason you have a yearning to call Dr, Laura Schlessinger, watch two episodes of South Park and call me in the morning. Trust me, you will be much better off in the long run.