Was Dr. Laura's Point Valid

I know it has been several weeks since I have done a show, and I make no excuses for that absence. I have a major project that required my focus at my full time job, and I have been working there to get it completed on the tight deadline we have been given. I would love to be able to do this full time, and do my real job when I have time, but that is not the path God has laid out for me at this time.

I know in many parts of the country that summer is over and kids are back in school. We have not gotten to that point yet. We are still a few weeks out. This summer has been a little bit different for us. 4 of the 5 kids are growing up, getting a social life, so spending time with Brunella and I seems has become a lower priority. I am not complaining. I just have to keep reminding myself that they are growing up so I have to give the the room to experience the events that go with that. We still plan things as a family, and we are all close enough that I don't see that changing as each of them continue to make their way into teenagers and young adults. 

I was going to wait another week before getting back to a normal broadcast schedule, but the current situation just begged for me to come back and allow some rational discussion of this topic. I know the TV guys have had their fun, and most radio hosts have stayed away from this for their own reasons. I am neither, and too many of my friends in and out of broadcasting have asked for my take on this to just sit on the sidelines and not talk about it. 

Now, let me start by saying Dr. Laura and I are not friends. We have met twice, and spoke briefly both times. The first time I was a complete smart-ass, at a New Orleans NAB convention at the reception in her honor. She walk up and introduced herself, so  I told her I didn't care who she was, I was there for the free boiled shrimp platters they were giving out. 

The second time, we met at another NAB convention, but this time my boss, who was a friend of hers, introduced us to each other. We talked about how I liked her approach because she doesn't play favorites. She treats all her callers the same, and tells them the way she sees it no matter if they like it or not. She explained that she feels, as I do, that talk radio listeners can smell BS a mile away, and that the only way to keep a loyal following is to speak your mind.

I have listened to the unedited audio from this broadcast. I have seen both the long form transcript of the entire call, and the edited, slanted, and biased transcript put out trying to make more of the situation than what really happened. I feel Dr. Laura chose her words poorly. There are several different ways she could have said the same thing without using the "N word" over 10 times. She got caught up in the conversation and was reacting to the situation, plus I am sure just a little frustrated with the caller who seemed to be a little dense, or perhaps a little miffed Dr. Laura disagreed with her point. No matter the reason, there were other options, and in hindsight, I am positive Dr. Laura wishes she had decided to use one of them.

The fact is, she used the word because at that moment, she felt she had to make the point that this one word has been put to one of the most extreme double standards known to man. I am not making excuses, but instead want to point out that she did not use this to describe a person, or to demean anyone. She instead was explaining what she hears when she listens to certain entertainers and programs geared to African Americans.

It should never be OK for anyone to use this word, ever. The history of how this word should make it something that no one wants to invoke no matter what the situation. It is a word that no matter how it is used means you are demeaning the person you are using it to describe. Doesn't matter the color of your skin, the heritage of your family, or the economic background you come from, this word is has a negative impact, and should be something that no one would want to have in their vocabulary.

Was her point valid? Is this word used repeatedly by African American entertainers? Why if this is such a bad word, would they want to demean themselves and others by uttering this devastating hate speech? I know it supposedly means something different when said by a black man, but the fact is, it doesn't. 

My father, and grandfather for that matter, always told me respect is earned. You get people to respect you by your actions. If you don't want people to demean you, your heritage, or your race in a certain fashion, it starts with you not doing it yourself. Excusing the bad behavior because it has always been that way is not an excuse. It has to be a conscious decision to take the stand that you won't do it, and you won't allow it in your presence from anyone you know. 

I speak from experience. My heritage is "Acadian American" as my friends back home dubbed it one time. I am a proud Cajun. For decades, Cajuns were referred to as the rear end of a raccoon by many people. As my grandfather explained to me as I became a teen, this was actually started as a Cajun French word for ignorant. Because it sounds similar was eventually changed by non-French speaking people to the rear end of a raccoon. Many Cajuns embraced this, to the point you can to this day find merchandise for Certified and Registered rear end of a racoon's decals, bumperstickers, hats, t-shirts, etc. from that era. I try hard not to use that word to describe our heritage anymore, but I slip up in a heated debate from time to time. But the first step is to make the conscious decision not to use that word anymore. 

Dr. Laura was also talking about the fact that some become hypersensitive and see racism and hatred where there is none. In the instance she was talking about, I feel she was right again. Some people have not been taught the social skills not to ask ignorant questions. In the case Dr. Laura was dealing with, Caucasian friends of the African American person she was talking to was asking the caller if black people really do this, or do that. That is someone being curious, and to be honest rude because of ignorance, of other people's culture. I would bet if she asked her friend if they realized that was rude, or hateful, the person asking the question would be completely upset she thought that way. 

I have seen this type of ignorance first hand. My brother in law, who happens to be African American has had this exact thing happen to him repeatedly over the years in my presence. Like I do when people ask me how a fat man like me can do something I've just accomplished, he usually just smiles, and answers their question. Admittedly, sometimes the answer is sarcastic. I've found it is easier to just answer the question and move on. Attempting to educate the ignorant is usually only causes the person asking the question to feel as though you are being paranoid, they don't see the issue.

I think what really got me about this whole situation is that Dr. Laura admitted she made a poor choice. She apologized for the lapse of judgement. There are people and groups out there that are acting as if she said this pointed at a person, or that just saying the word, no matter the context makes her racist. There are even people promoting that we should make the "N-word" the 8th deadly word regulated by the FCC. Well, please do. That way when they slap huge fines on guys like Dave Chappel, Kat Williams, and the dozens of African American entertainers out there using this word in the most negative way possible, the people attempting to exploit this faux pas by Dr. Laura will have no choice but to prove that Dr. Laura was actually right even if her choice of words was wrong. 

Coming up we'll talk about the latest in the Gulf of Mexico, and how BP is trying to limit their libality. We'll also have this week's News You Can Use, and of course we want to hear your opinion, call in right now, (646) 595-3426. This is The Joey Sanders Show on Blog Talk Radio.    

  

 

Tomorrow's show

Just wanted to remind everyone that The Joey Sanders Show airs tomorrow at 3PM on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/radiojs with the chat room opening at 2:45P Pacific Time.

A few of the things that have gotten my attention this week:
- Tropical Storm Bonnie
- Should celebrity split ups become such a circus?
- Is the heatwave across the USA a sign of global warming?

Plus News U Can Use and much more.

Joey
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

4th of July As I see it.

I hope you all enjoyed the festivities yesterday, and that you had the day off today.  I got stuck working, which wasn’t that bad, since it was a skeleton crew and I had a small problem that kept me occupied most of my shift. July 4^th is an important day to celebrate. Though none of us were here on July 4^th 1776, if those brave men had not made the tough choices, and decided that the ways things were needed to be changed, we all would live a much different life. Our founding fathers made decisions that not only set America out on its own path, but also that gave each citizen the opportunity to make their own choices, make their own destiny, and forge a path their parents would have not have had the ability to.

 

That has not changed in the over 224 years since. I have been able to work in a field, mastering equipment and techniques that just 2 decades ago were not even on the drawing board. My children do more work online and on computers for school in one semester than was possible in my entire high school career. There are entire fields of career choices available to people today that did not exist only 10 to 15 years before. Most of these changes are due to experimentation, exploration, and breakthroughs made possible by the free market system that is the mainstay of our American economy.

 

Men like John Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson spent months debating the choice of continuing to be a subject of royalty across a distant shore that treated this group of colonies as a depository of resources, or to forge out on their own, make their own republic, and govern themselves. Household names like George Washington, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock worked to turn a group of poorly trained, under equipped farmers, ranchers, and workers into the first American fighting force. There are a healthy debate on every issue, but when it was all done, they came together and acted as one group of American leaders.

 

If you have read about this time in our country, or viewed the numerous movies, and mini-series events related to this period, the one common thread is that none of these men wanted to be taking the actions they did, but became resolved that it was the only course of action that gave them a chance of a successful future for them, their children, and the generations of Americans to come after them. They knew if they did not act, the situation would only become more critical and all hope of freedom, of a bright future for the generations ahead would become a dim dream instead of a possible reality.

 

For me, each 4^th of July is a celebration that our founding fathers made the right choice. Every day I get up, get to work in a field I love, provide for my family, and can teach them the difference between what is right and what is just, I am just one of millions of examples that they were wise beyond their years. We celebrate the freedom many have bought for us, and we cherish the choices we are allowed to make of our own free will every day.

 

 

Freedom and why we should celebrate it!

First, I know I have been lax the last few weeks, but slowly attempting to get back into the swing of things. Thank you for all the kind words, the support, and encouragement. Seems like every time I convince myself this show is a waste of time, you all pop up out of nowhere to remind me why I do it. Thank you for that.

This week I feel it is only right to reflect on why this holiday is so important to proudly celebrate Independence Day. I could give you the history of how we became such a great republic, or why millions had shed blood, and more gladly sacrificed their lives to defend our way of life, but you already know that.

For me, celebrating Independence Day is important because we live in a country where we each can choose to work in a field we love, in my case, over the past two decades, I have been in, on, and keeping radio stations on the air. As one of my best friends reminded me recently, I am lucky that I have been able to stay in radio, and be successful in so many aspects of this profession. Many of the people I look up to, and was lucky enough to be taken under their wing to be shown the ropes, have been forced to change careers, or just retire.

We live in a place where you can print a story about one of the highest ranking officers in our country, even if it is the truth, mouthing off about his boss, and live to make it onto the news cycle to talk about it. There are many places on this planet, you would be found dead with your tongue ripped out. There are others you would never be seen or heard from again.

We live in a place where we freely debate just about any topic, can speak our mind, debate the pros and cons of every issue, then agree to disagree without anyone getting beat up, injured or killed. The only possible exception is if you are crazy enough to do this drunk, high, or otherwise wasted, or debate a drunk, junkie, or addict while wasted.

We should all be proud that we live in a place where you can freely tell the government they are screwing up, tell them how we want it fixed, and we have a means to affect the course correction we asked for if not followed. This process has been used for decades to get us things some take for granted today, like civil rights, the right for women, slaves, and the everyday person to vote. The voting booth has power, and we have a right to exercise that power to get America on the correct path again. I predict this November, the last laugh will be on the people that made the choice to belittle, mock, tease, and attempt to dismiss the call for course correction that has been called the TEA PARTY MOVEMENT. It has become clear that the wrong choice was made by the people trying to dismiss this growing nationwide furor as a fluke, and instead of making it go away, it has only grown stronger with every Madcow utterance of "teabaggers" with that smug I am so smart you'll never get that smirk.

We all have reasons to celebrate this Sunday, and if you can't find one, I'll give you a couple of generic ones to tide you by. Celebrate this Sunday in honor of the veterans and active duty military that have bled, been disabled, and yes, gave their life do you can sit in that lounger, look up in the sky, and see those beautiful fireworks overhead this Sunday Night. Take time to be grateful that we are in this great country where we are free to speak our mind, live as we see fit, and work in the professions we choose. Finally, celebrate the fact you have a choice to be who you are, and the resources to help you be whoever you decide to become because you live here, in the United Sates of America.

God bless you, your family, and may your holiday be a great one. Hope you will join us either live Sunday on Blog Talk Radio, or catch the show on demand.

Joey

I've got to tell you

First, some good news. Our oldest daughter is one week from graduating high school. It is mind blowing to realize it has been almost 18 years that she has been on this planet, and I still remember when she would fall asleep on my chest when she was a baby like it was yesterday. She had to do her final major project presentation for school today, and since it is about her band, Dear Audience, I am sure she dazzled them with her musical abilities.  

 

The bad part is the more I want to forget what is happening in along the southern shorelines back home, but I can’t. Not because it is dominating the headlines, not because of the horrible images I continue to see on a daily basis, or even because I hear the people I work with constantly trashing the current administration for their lack of leadership in getting something done. My kids are even concerned about it now, so I am having to sit down with them and explain that the damage being done now can screw up the way of life for the family we have back home for generations to come. I don’t want people to forget about what’s happening down there, and more importantly, like most people from the that area, I want them to get it back to what it should be before they leave.

 

For me, this is just like Katrina. God had a purpose for me being out of the area. I took in my Godchild, we were able to allow him to have a somewhat normal routine for the couple of months that the area around New Orleans was patched up so they could do things like open schools, stores, hospitals, and churches again. I wanted desperately to go down and help. I had the training to help on several fronts, but we could not get things setup for me to take the time off to do it. Then my sister asked me to take her son while things got sorted out, which we were happy to do.

 

I guess this time, I am up here on the west coast, and all I can do is keep reminding everyone in any way I can that the spill is still happening. I can keep pushing with my blog, and my show for someone to grow a pair and take charge (seems LA Governor Bobby Jindal has become that person!), and stop waiting for a decision from the idiots hat don’t care about what’s happening and get to saving what can be saved before there is nothing left! We want the politics to stop, and the action to begin.

 

Saw some of Eric Asher from WIST-AM/New Orleans, LA on C-Span and I understand he was on MSNBC for a few too. Had some of the Executive Producers of the shows at work asking who he was since they hadn’t heard of him before. C-Span could have picked a better choice, but at least they gave the oil spill some coverage. Someone tell Eric the trick to TV is to look like you care what the guest is talking about, and next time, don’t check the blackberry while on camera doing an interview. Nice try, Bubba!