I then had the opportunity of seeing and hearing on a CNN clip the radio interview for which Dr. Laura was being denounced. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.
Dr. Laura did indeed show a lack of sensitivity to the caller, an African American woman married to a white man. In my opinion, the black lady had a valid gripe. She complained that her husband's friends, whenever they stopped by the house, would ask her questions, such as, "What do black people think about such and such?" And, in my opinion, the woman's complaint over such dimwitted questions was a valid one.
But, Dr. Laura never picked up on that. Instead, she went off on a tangent and suggested that perhaps the woman was being too sensitive. She pointed out that black people often called one another, "N ... N ... N." So what was the big deal if white people used the N word.
Was Dr. Laura wrong? Was she stupid? Of course, but not in the manner in which she had used the N word. She was wrong in not understanding the undercurrent of racism that the caller was trying to describe. She was entirely obtuse in grasping the caller's dilemma.
Dr. Laura tried to make a point -- a misguided one -- by referring to how the N word was used by blacks and that, therefore, if a white used it, it was okay. She was wrong. But the manner in which she used the N word should never have been the issue.
Dr. Laura deserved to have been castigated for her insensitivity to the woman who called in for advice. But should she have been driven out of CNN for this? Maybe. I'm not sure. Over time, most every talking head makes of fool of themselves. But, her crime was not in how she used the N word.
The way in which the networks attacked Dr. Laura is, for me, very troubling. They pull her use of the N word out of context and then punish her for it. That doesn't mean she is innocent. But, it's not for how she used the N word of which she is guilty. It's for being insensitive to a person with real problems. That happens to be quite important since that's what she's there for; to help people. If they want to punish her for that, I have no objection. But, to use the N word, in the manner in which she used it, to justify giving her a scarlet letter demeans her critics.
It reminds me of how we warn writers not to use the word "niggardly" because, while it means nothing more than being cheap, it offends people who are illiterate.
