I agree with Dr Laura.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago when Tony Williams was Mayor of DC, one of his White aides said, when referring to budget cuts, that they would have to be "niggardly." He was called a racist and his resignation was called for. This was ignorance on the part of the African Americans who accused this man of using the "n" word. Tony Williams even said that "perhaps his aide should have used another word." Why? Ignorance is pathetic and that is what Tony Williams and other Americans (of whatever race) should have been concerned about.

You are wrong. The man took it upon himself to resign. Williams did not know the details of the case and accepted his resignation.
I have said this before, it is fine to use the word "bitch" when you are talking with other breeders, but I would not ask my daughter to let her friends play with her bitch.
A doctor would call a miscarriage a spontaneous abortion, but to his patients, he says miscarriage.
Nothing wrong with the words abortion or bitch, sometimes.
That is such an awkward word to use, that I always thought that guy was just out to provoke some ignorant coworkers. Keep in mind, tons of people who heard him use the word, knew what niggardly meant, they took the SATs too.

I think the word because it was correct in the context in which it was used. I don't recall any of these tons of people coming to his rescue. I knew that he ultimately quit but I thought it was a few months later. Doesn't matter because there should not have been any controversy over the fact that he used a legitimate word to discuss the budget cuts.

He did not have too many friends

[Anonymous]

as long as people use the "race card" they will never be treated equally, because they don't want to be treated equally. equally does not mean special treatment it means equal treatment. if you want to be treated equal in america then don't identify yourself as AA. just be an american and stop always asking for special treatment. to be equal you must be responsible and pull your own weight

[Anonymous]

Stop assuming we don't pull our own weight. We want to just be Americans to everyone else and after more than four centuries on this continent we would be if others did not insist on classifying us phenotypically and, in some cases, treating us badly as a result. For the record, I call myself a black American. Let me share with you some of the special treatment I have enjoyed in Washington: being stopped by security while escorting two black VIPs to a meeting in my building and not waved in automatically as people wearing the special pass I wore routinely are; getting on the metro and seeing older white men look at me and remain seated and then offer their seats to the first white woman who enters the train; having people assume I got my job through affirmative action and could not pass the test required, as I did on the first try.

I have worked hard for everything that I have and the only things given to me were good parents and good brains. You and Dr. Laura and other black people are free to use whatever vulgarities you please and I am free to disagree and disapprove and shun your company all I wish. Good old American freedom -- I love it!

[Anonymous]

From what I've read about the incident:

1. Caller calls in and says her husband's friends and family use racial slurs around her, slurs that refer to the group the caller is a part of.
2. Dr. Laura then going on a rant about how blacks are too thin-skinned and then says a certain word eight times in a row, apparently believing it's not that bad since black comedians use the word.

Her point is at least debatable. We can't have the "n-word" be some sort of special slur, unprintable and unusable, if blacks use it. It's on the level of say, 'kike,' 'wop,' 'fag,' and 'polack' then.

On the other hand, Dr. Laura going on this rant was just strange. I'm sorry, if the caller's in-laws and husband's friends are using racial slurs around the caller, that's just wrong. I don't care what Chris Rock says in his routine or what rapper of the month is saying in his song.

Had Dr. Laura really been interested in giving advice, she'd have asked more about the situation, asked what the caller does in response, what the husband does, and the such. Instead, in this case, Dr. Laura decided she wanted to get on her soapbox.

[Anonymous]

In addition:

I think both the civil rights narrative and the oppressed white people narrative are correct.

1. In most cases, it is probably slightly to somewhat harder for a minority to get a job than an equally qualified white person. There's too many studies, too many anecdotes, to deny this is the case.
2. Affirmative action comes down occasionally, striking at random, permitting a few lucky minorities to get in to the front of the line in maybe 20-30% of the cases (probably more common in government and megacorps).
3. Once on the job, it is harder to remove an under-performing minority, both due to managers who are too lazy to document, lawyers who are lawsuit-averse, and minority employees who have learned to game the system.
4. But, much like affirmative action helps random minorities, luck of the draw means a few unlucky minorities get low-level harassment from racist managers/co-workers (e.g. an Arab co-worker got some flak from another manager not in his chain of command after 9/11) or even fired through un-justified means.

I've less problems with affirmative action in college admissions, although:

1) What's the point of having 25 percent minorities in your incoming class if your graduating class is 95% Asian and white?
2) Why should the white son of a semi-employed coal miner in Wise County get a disadvantage compared to the son of a Black lawyer in McLean?

[Anonymous]

It's not hard for me to get work. I have been mistaken for my children's nanny more than once and even asked if I had any nanny friends who were looking for work.

[Anonymous]

I wish that people would understand that blacks do not accuse all whites of being racist. As a matter of fact in my experience, it is the minority of whites that are ever accused of such. If you asked 100 black people at my job who the most racists people were, the list would be similar (partly because of gossip, but partly because of personal experience). Some whites just seem to have a talent for saying subtle or overt "dumb" things. Then after a while everyone puts two and two together.

On the other hand, there are some whites who are never accused of such a thing. They are either very smart, or they have a clean conscience. Some are just more trustworthy and comfortable around a variety of people.

Then there are the people who might not be racists, but when placed in a competitive position, they will use anything to there advantage. If that happens to be race, then so be it, they will use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago when Tony Williams was Mayor of DC, one of his White aides said, when referring to budget cuts, that they would have to be "niggardly." He was called a racist and his resignation was called for. This was ignorance on the part of the African Americans who accused this man of using the "n" word. Tony Williams even said that "perhaps his aide should have used another word." Why? Ignorance is pathetic and that is what Tony Williams and other Americans (of whatever race) should have been concerned about.

Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind. That's naïve, especially for a white person, because a white person can't afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An African American does."[1]

Above is a statement made by Mr. Howard.

[Anonymous]

All you high SAT scorers surely understand the difference between using the word as an epithet and using it in quotes to talk about the word itself.

Snarky intro aside, there's something to this. The word isn't a magic incantation, capable of causing harm merely by uttering it. While it's never acceptanle to use it as an epithet, it should be OK to say it when discussing the sociological implications of the words itself. (And yet in a few sentences, I've used "the word" and "it" as code because I'm uncomfortable even typing the very word we're discussing.) It's sad that race relations have become so polarized that even a discusson of racial slurs has to take place in code. A little nuance and perspective could go a long way.

And FWIW, Dr. Laura did NOT engage in a discussion of "the word itself." She went on a mini rant about how over-sensitive some minorities are, and used the word to illustrate her point. That, to me, is closer to epithet than intellectual discussion. Although intellectual discussion and Dr. Laura seem to be mutually exclusive . . . but I digress.

[Anonymous]

No, there is not. People are not genuinely upset about academic discussion of the word. Dr. Laura suggested that the caller should ignore its use as an epithet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition:

I think both the civil rights narrative and the oppressed white people narrative are correct.

1. In most cases, it is probably slightly to somewhat harder for a minority to get a job than an equally qualified white person. There's too many studies, too many anecdotes, to deny this is the case.
2. Affirmative action comes down occasionally, striking at random, permitting a few lucky minorities to get in to the front of the line in maybe 20-30% of the cases (probably more common in government and megacorps).
3. Once on the job, it is harder to remove an under-performing minority, both due to managers who are too lazy to document, lawyers who are lawsuit-averse, and minority employees who have learned to game the system.
4. But, much like affirmative action helps random minorities, luck of the draw means a few unlucky minorities get low-level harassment from racist managers/co-workers (e.g. an Arab co-worker got some flak from another manager not in his chain of command after 9/11) or even fired through un-justified means.

I've less problems with affirmative action in college admissions, although:

1) What's the point of having 25 percent minorities in your incoming class if your graduating class is 95% Asian and white?
2) Why should the white son of a semi-employed coal miner in Wise County get a disadvantage compared to the son of a Black lawyer in McLean?

Because Affirmative Action is to help those who do not have the resources to attend college. A black lawyer, practicing in this area, ain't poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, there is not. People are not genuinely upset about academic discussion of the word. Dr. Laura suggested that the caller should ignore its use as an epithet.

Blacks refer to Caucasions as "whitey," "honky," (sp) and "the Man." These terms are equally insulting to me as a Caucasion but no one has a fit about their use. There is a double standard and I'm tired of walking on egg shells not to offend blacks or other minorities. As another PP said, you want to be equal then stop asking for special treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blacks refer to Caucasions as "whitey," "honky," (sp) and "the Man." These terms are equally insulting to me as a Caucasion but no one has a fit about their use.

But wait...here you are crying about it on an anonymous forum. Clearly it makes *some* throw tantrums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blacks refer to Caucasions as "whitey," "honky," (sp) and "the Man." These terms are equally insulting to me as a Caucasion but no one has a fit about their use.

But wait...here you are crying about it on an anonymous forum. Clearly it makes *some* throw tantrums.

This is a tantrum on DCUM? This doesn't even come close to a rant on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago when Tony Williams was Mayor of DC, one of his White aides said, when referring to budget cuts, that they would have to be "niggardly." He was called a racist and his resignation was called for. This was ignorance on the part of the African Americans who accused this man of using the "n" word. Tony Williams even said that "perhaps his aide should have used another word." Why? Ignorance is pathetic and that is what Tony Williams and other Americans (of whatever race) should have been concerned about.

Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind. That's naïve, especially for a white person, because a white person can't afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An African American does."[1]

Above is a statement made by Mr. Howard.

As I posted earlier the tragedy of this situation was the ignorance of those who thought this word was a variation of the "n" word. Ignorance is not bliss.