Stupid is As Stupid Says
Friday, August 13, 2010 at 1:25PM 
Dr. Laura Schlessinger
I love it when people who have problems with race use the idea that others are overly sensitive about race to unveil their own bigoted tendencies. You've all heard the news about Dr. Laura Schlessinger dropping the n-bomb 11 times in a 5min conversation. Aside from the impressive rate of slurs per minute there are a few other points I think are worth touching on.
First, let's just get out of the way the obligatory acknowledgment that everyone who says something racist is not necessarily a racist. I know some of you don't want to hear it, but you know & I know it's true. Sometimes good people say stupid things. Sometimes good people say stupid things that reveal elements of bigotry within them. However you want to slice it, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that people can say reprehensible things, without necessarily being reprehensible people (ask anyone whose grandparents grew up under Jim Crow...whatever race they may be).
That said, "not being a racist" is no excuse for being an idiot. Just look at the "bad behaviour" of TV producer Mark Gordon who recently dropped the n-word multiple times at a reading. Fortunately his co-Executive Producer of "Grey's Anatomy" Shonda Rhimes, did the neighbourly thing and provided a black-person-said-I'm-not-racist card to get him out of jail mostly free. He's not a racist, she told a friend, he's "an idiot."
Idiots are a dime-a-dozen in America these days. And since we've elected our first Black president the idiots have been coming out in droves. Take Dr. Schlessinger for example. When asked by a Black caller for advice on how to deal with racist comments from her White husband's friends, Dr. Laura opens by asking the woman to define racism because "sometimes people are hypersensitive." It is the height of good fortune that we've got benevolent White folks like Dr. Laura around to help Black people know racism when we see it.
The conversation continues with the caller trying to give Dr. Laura examples of what's troubling her & Dr. Laura helpfully informing her that none of these things are racist. Dr. Laura even goes on to tell a story about her big, Black bodyguard who she wants on her basketball team because "white men can't jump." Apparently that's not racist...it's funny. Dr. Laura is an expert on comedy as well.
I won't regale you with the details of the rest of the interview, as you can get the full audio & transcript here. Let's just say that soon enough, Dr. Laura gets on her n-word roll, dropping lyrical bombs like a rhythmless MC, arguing that Black guys use it all the time and so why shouldn't she.
And here's the problem with stupidity. The argument that "you did it, why can't I" is the kind of moral reasoning that is typically left on the playground around the 5th grade, unless of course you find yourself in the unpleasant position of having to defend the indefensible. I've heard certain White people argue time & again that Black people use the n-word so why can't they and the question that always jumps to my mind is:
"Why would you want to?"
I don't walk around wishing I could freely use the kind of racial slurs Latinos or Asians, Jews or Italians use for each other. It hardly bothers me that gay people call each other words that I wouldn't feel comfortable using myself. But there appears to be a real anger among some White folks, that they've been left out of the n*gger party. Trouble is, like an alcoholic trying to convince the bartender that this next drink will be his last they neglect the obvious fact: "White people have been at this particular party for a loooong time...aren't you ready to go home yet??"
How long before you get tired of wishing you could do something that many people find patently offensive? Then again, I'm forgetting that the problem is not that they're offended. The problem is that you're offended that they're offended...right?
Clearly folks like Dr. Laura don't have enough Black friends to know that lots of Black people don't like the word no matter who uses it. Just look at the comments by renowned former "n*gger lover" Paul Mooney in the ABC article above. Maybe Dr. Laura uses that word all the time when she's kickin' it with her Black friends & bodyguards. But if it popped out of my mouth around my parents I might catch a closeup of the back of somebody's hand. Matter of fact Doc, you really should come over sometime...
I'd love to see Dr. Laura call her Black bodyguard a nigger. That would be a great way to prove her point. Lots of Black people are oversensitive about this stuff, but just look at this nigger that works for me - he loves it! Let's just drop all the euphemisms and the aster*sks and unveil the word in all its glory. It'll help niggers to be less sensitive & gosh-darn it, Dr. Laura's here to help.
The most offensive part of Dr. Laura's comments is not that she purports to know what's best for niggers. It's that she takes the woman's personal struggle and uses it to grind her own personal political axe. "We've got a black man as president, and we have more complaining about racism than ever. I mean, I think that's hilarious" she tells the caller (remember folks, Dr. Laura knows comedy). When the caller isn't buying what the good doc is so fervently selling, Miss Laura drops her and declares "if you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race." Great advice for all you future callers: don't come around here calling Dr. Laura with your "miscegenation woes," unless you're funny. Real funny.
Listen folks, unlike Dr. Laura I'm no expert on race or identity politics. I dropped out of my PhD program long before I got that kind of street cred. I wouldn't know where to start telling a Jew how he should feel about anti-semitism or a gay person how to stop worrying so damn much about homophobia and I'm waaay too "sensitive" to have the stomach to issue a phalanx of racial epithets along with the advice.
But I've been around long enough to know stupid when I see it. And there's been a whole lot of stupid going around ever since we elected a Black president. You Lefties kept saying GW was dumb. Wait'll you see the nation he left behind...
Full audio of Dr. Laura's Interview with a Nigger below.
Reader Comments (11)
Great post Derrick. My favorite quote from her rant:
"Of course there isn't a one-think per se. But in general there's 'think.'"
I guess she's proving the exception to that rule.
grt article...BUT in my opinion it's not people being stupid
they are not stupid...they know exactly what they're saying...been waiting to say it, just needed the opportune moment. Stupid people are folks who don't know any better....Dr Laura is a grown woman with degrees and such. She knows better....she just in that moment, felt like she finally had her moment. Someone else brought it up, not her and that to her equaled that perfect moment. You and me, we know better and would NEVER allow certain things ever out of our mouths...no matter what...it's that good home training :-)
Emerald-Jane, I hereby declare my love for you! Great comments all around. It is called good home training. And when you listen to the stream, you could just here a split second pause because she ran that woman over. Nonetheless, this is a great post!
@Jascha see if she would actually embrace that word "think" and do a little of it...but then again, we wouldn't have this opportunity to "joyfully appreciate" her reasoning now would we? ;)
@Jane lol I agree with you and @myrna that clearly this woman is lacking some home-training (or maybe this IS how she was trained at home). But you may be slightly missing my point on the "stupid" thing. That thread within the article may mean more to you if you don't take it at face value...
I'm sure there'll be a lot more "stupid" coming 'down the pike so long as Obama's president.
I did this the other day and I'm regretting it so badly now. I made a joke (hah hah) about my Jewish sister-in-law. It wasn't in her company. I was sober. And I can't believe it came out of my mouth. It wasn't in the league of Dr. Laura here... but nonetheless it came from me.
A frank discussion of race and culture is long overdue. And even a self-proclaimed "non-racist" (like me) could stand to learn a lot. It's time to talk.
@Nelda I appreciate your candor. When I think of my close friends I feel like I've heard almost all of them say something that could be considered offensive or insensitive according to race, gender, culture etc. The thing is I think most people actually want to get along w/ eachother. But some folks have a deeper axe to grind.
In Dr. Laura's case she outed herself not only in the number of times she used the word, but also in the unsolicited aggression & condescension she displayed towards the caller as well as the ridiculous non-sequiturs about the NAACP & the President. Some people have real problems w/ race, but they are typically the last to want a real conversation about it...
as long as black people call each other "nigger", then black people cannot criticize others for saying it.
I personally don't get offended if people use the N word around me.May be its because i'm African with no connection to America.i think,if people realize what offends you,they get much power over you.No matter,the word one uses,i personally feel,inferior people easily take to offending people especially racial slurs, to make them feel good.i live in Austria,have met people use such words but i shrug it off.i think if we allow others to have control over our emotions,they get the better part of us and telling people what offends you make it even worse.Time to Dialogue!
I'm a international schools teacher of 27 years (am 54) from Boston, living in Europe for half my life, with connex all across the spectrum, internally and externally. Seen and heard a lot of people of all ages. Didn't need to see the "private person" in question to hear the obvious: Dr. Laura is arrogant and disrespectful, which gives her two of the characteristics of the type of person commonly referred to as "racist". There was absolutely no humor in her tone, no comedy whatsoever. She did not even allow Jade to finish presenting her scenario because - just like a provoked bull in a bullfight - she saw red and she attacked. While I appreciate your differentiating as civilized, balanced people tend to do, I think it wouldn't be terribly controversial to conclude that the idiot in question, Dr. Laura, is probably a practicing racist based on the observation that she behaved as if she were superior to her sincere caller, Jade. My heart goes out to the caller, btw, who seems to be living in a rather uncomfortable home environment. I hope she finds someone less haughty to chat with soon...
@Nik,i agrre with you on the attitude of Dr. Laura,my point is often people get offended by these words.It makes life unbearable for people to be around you.I agree,not all words should be uttered...but others intentionally use it,just to get the better part of us...i just finished watching Jay Zee on Oprah's show, it was shot last year.And this issue came up.i personally like what Jay-Z said about rappers use for the N-word.To take the power out of it..i also do agree,that those who went through that period have a different mindset to it...currently,some Afro-American kids even don't know,why it must not be used.
My generation totally disconnects with it.when my friends use it,its just a fun words,may be its because i 'm in my early 20's.
I think,Dr. laura and his colleagues should come out for a dialogue on racism.The baby-boomers generation still want to carry some chaff to the current generation.We'll spew it out.Thank you!
Derrick- I heard your show on the topic on XM radio Sunday and was impressed by your intelligence and compassion. Your arguments made perfect sense and articulated the feelings I had experienced but was unable to put into words. Dr. Laura's comments angered, offended, and saddened me. I am so tired of the venom spewed on the radio and internet. Thank you for offering a glimmer of light in the darkness.