So it's no secret that I have a bit of a political bias…OK, more than a bit. Despite my ideology, however, there is a reason that I feel disconnected from the Democratic Party, the same reason I believe the Democratic Party is struggling to reach the American public.
You see, American Liberalism has lost its course. I don't know when or how this happened (I'll leave the historical profile for smarter scholars and better writers), but somehow being a Liberal has become synonymous with being a ridiculously politically correct douchebag. And you know what? I don't want to be associated with this shit anymore.
While PC police are nothing new, a story from last week highlights my point. It seems that a St. Louis radio DJ was discussing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the successor to outgoing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. KTRS's Dave Lenihan thought that Rice would be a great choice and rambled through some of the impressive reasons why before making a fateful slip of the tongue:
She's been chancellor of Stanford. She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that.
Now I didn't just read about this story, I actually heard the full clip of Lenihan on the air. He IMMEDIATELY realized that he said the wrong word and IMMEDIATELY issued a clear and genuine apology. I mean, this was no shock jock trying to grab headlines; Lenihan hosts a sports call-in show. His sincerity was obvious when he dropped the fast-talking (and hacky) DJ voice and issued his mea culpa.
(Lenihan would later comment that he was trying to say "a big coo". To me, it sounded like he combined the words "coo" and "boon", both of which would have been appropriate and contextually in-line with the rest of his rant).
No story, right? I mean, for a guy who makes his living talking, Lenihan should be better trained not to make such verbal slips, but this was an honest mistake, right?
Wrong. Twenty minutes later – that's right, TWENTY MINUTES LATER – station CEO Tim Dorsey went on the air to announce that Lenihan had been fired:
"It was a most unfortunate racial slur. There can be no excuse for what was said. Dave Lenihan has been let go. ... There is enough hate. We certainly are not going to fan those flames. That is not what we're about."
"There is enough hate"? Really? Was Lenihan all that hateful? Because to me, highlighting a black woman's tremendous achievements and advocating for her to assume one of the sports world's most visible and respected positions sure doesn't sound hateful to me. Hell, he called her an "African American" instead of a half a dozen less-PC terms that our society still finds acceptable.
Of course, because my fellow Liberals have to overreact, the NAACP got involved. In what had to be a first for them, Fox News reached out to the civil rights organization for comment:
NAACP chapter president Harold Crumpton called Dorsey at the station for an explanation and learned Lenihan had been fired. He said he accepted Dorsey's apology and commended him for his swift action.
He said Dorsey took the right action, adding it should send a message to other stations to do a better job of judging the character of on-air personalities.
Does anybody else remember when the NAACP used to be involved in real issues of racism and discrimination? Now they have to knee-jerk react to a non-story? I mean, isn't the fall-out more than a bit silly? St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist (and African American) Sylvester Brown, Jr. thinks so:
The…tragedy is that this issue may delegitimize real racial issues in the future. In a town that desperately needs to confront its racial hang-ups, Lenihan's verbal boo-boo provides a counterproductive distraction.
Are we clamoring for more serious racial dialogue? Are we challenging radio stations to provide serious forums for diverse voices? No, we're hot and bothered, blogging and debating the ramifications of a misspoken word.
Brown hits the nail on the head. America faces some serious race problems, and language (despite that I personally advocate the "sticks and stones" theory) plays a part. But by making Lenihan's blunder an issue – and that's what it was, a simple blunder – we ignore the larger problem. The black community is smart enough to decide for itself whether Lenihan is a racist and doesn't need any person or group to make a stink. Going overboard with political correctness is insulting to everyone's intelligence – black, white, red, brown, yellow and all hues in between. When someone tells me that something or someone is inappropriate, aren't they really telling me I can't think for myself?
Now that's what I find offensive.
No comments:
Post a Comment