Referring to black Americans, and the people who like them, as special interest groups, Dr. Laura Schlessenger told Larry King tonight she would not renew her radio show contract at the end of the year because, ahem, she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights.” This, from the woman who drops “nigger” 11 times in 10 minutes.
You see, Dr. Laura is tired of “some special interest group deciding this is the time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, attack sponsors. I’m sort of done with that.” After 30 years. And “angry hateful groups” have “usurped” her First Amendment rights who “don’t want to debate, they want to eliminate.” Catchy! (Also, untrue: The First Amendment protects her right to speak from government censors, not average citizens who call her advertisers to complain.)
But anyhow: Bye!
Not that Dr. Laura is going anywhere: She’ll still write books and get paid for speaking engagements, and I think she would be smart to start a podcast. (Does she already have one? I can’t bother to log on to her website.) But please, lady, don’t take any titling tips from Nas.
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whatever
Conservatives are so fucking stupid. This is not a First Amendment issue at all. There is no government action. This is the free market working. People aren’t listening to her show because it’s boring as stupid. And how is boycotting her and contacting sponsors any different than what O’Reilly and Beck urge their listerners to do against some liberal villain they don’t like?
Idiot whiner.
Mike L.
She’s a horrible stupid betch!
axos
Words have history. Since white people used nigger as a slur and still do, it’s insensitive for them to use it at all. Black people have done something that happens in all minority groups: They have reclaimed the bad word for themselves. It can be used both in a degrading and an endearing manner. Swedish parallel: The slur for male gays in Swedish used to be bög. (I can’t find a way to write that phonetically.) Decent people didn’t utter it. Then gay males embraced the word and now, not only can they use it, but everyone uses it. The shame has been washed out. It can still be said as a slur, but it’s pretty mainstream just describing gay males. It’s more common to say “he is bög” than “he is a homosexual”. Not yet something news anchors can say on the TV news, though.
Devon
And nothing of value was lost.
Vince
What she, and those like her, don’t realise is that the debate has already happened and they lost. Now it’s become a case of policing ppl like theses and removing their hurtfulness out of society.
Dave
Ding! Dong! The Wicked Old Witch is Dead!
Molly
[img]http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/8080/faceheh.png[/img]
Wonka
What Dr. Laura does not understand is that free speech comes with consequences,free speech only means you do not go to jail for speaking your mind,
Chuck
Oh yeah, honey, and Hitler was a victim of angry hateful groups who objected to his constitutional right to extinguish the Jewish race. Truly, people, conservatives must make God cry.
christopher di spirito
I didn’t know the First Amendment protected hate speech?
Perhaps, Laura Schlessinger could explain this further? The First Amendment protects the right of free expression but along with this right comes certain responsibilities.
You can’t can’t shout “fire” in a movie theater or “bomb” on a 747 flying at 38,000 feet.
This broad is a fucking nitwit and not terribly bright. In fact, the only people dumber are the morons who call into her radio show to be berated by her venomous fangs.
Samwise
@Wonka: Yeah, seriously. Conservatives seem to think that “Freedom of Speech” means, “No one’s allowed to criticize me when I say something idiotic.” She can exercise her right to free speech all she wants. And we can exercise OUR right to free speech by telling everyone she’s a hateful bigot. That’s the way this thing works, see. If you’re such a delicate little flower that you can’t handle any criticism, then don’t use the n-word 11 times on a nationally syndicated radio show.
Samwise
@christopher di spirito: It actually does protect hate speech. We’re not like Canada; we don’t have any laws against that. Our neo-Nazis and KKK members and such can legally spout all the hatred they like and not get in any trouble with the law – unless they harm, threaten, or incite violence against someone. Which, luckily, they’re dumb enough to do with some frequency.
Olivv
I don’t like her, but i completely agree with her about how annoying it is when “special interest groups” try to “wipe out” people by berating advertisers and investors to stop “helping” poeple. I think they’re more of a problem than the actual person who is saying the annoying things, in situations like this, where dr laura is practicaly harmless. She’s in no position of power, and by all these groups doing this, they are just giving her more attention.
Jeffree
Her ratings have been poor for a couple years. There’s no defense for what she said. She should have been fired.
That episode was her version of grabbing a couple beers & sliding down the emergency chute, or as Sarah Nigel here on Queerty, called it “shoot.”
Bye Dr. Laura. You won’t be missed.
Robert in NYC
The vast majority of the African-American community do not condone the use of the ‘n’ word, not even among themselves. Those who use it are in a very small minority, so Schlessinger is dead wrong about an acceptable use of the word in certain contexts. How would she feel I wonder if non-Jews resorted to using the ‘k’ word to describe Jews? Its wrong, derogatory and offensive.
As for her tirades against gay people whom she describes as deviants and her disapproval of same-sex marriage (she considers civil marriage a sacrament), she should look in the mirror. Here’s a woman who married a dentist at the age of 25, had two extra-marital affairs which led to her divorce and is now living in connubial bliss with another man. So much for family values. What a hypocrite and a bigot!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
This vile crunt has been pontificating for decades about morality and how one should live a live adhering to conserative values……..
Yet if you use the googles and plug in “dr laura nude” you will see she seemed to forget those values when she suddenly decided to be a pinup slut………or that her son is an absolute certified wack job………
[img]http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/Aimages/SBkidpics/SBkidpic.gif[/img]
Good riddance you miserable witch……..
Michael C
I hope she supports my first amendment right to call her a shriveled, bigoted, old cunt.
Queer Supremacist
Good riddance to bad breeders.
Fitz
CLASSIC move for a bully to claim victim status when they get called out.
Chitown Kev
@axos:
Be real careful about claiming what “black people” (you seem to have an implied all in front of that phrase).
There are a number of black people who think that there should be severe consequences for any person of whatever ethnicity saying “nigger” regardless of the spelling variants.
That whole reclaimation of the word in the black community falls along age and class alignments.
In fact, there are a couple of posts at huffington by black people who essentially agree with Dr. Laura (as I do!)
David Ehrenstein
@Chitown Kev: You agree with her/ You think you’re a “biological error”? What are you going to do to “correct” that “error” dear? Pills or a 45?
hephaestion
Another hypocritical bigot bites the dust.
Jaroslaw
just like the politicians who quit to “spend more time with their families” as opposed to telling the truth that they wouldn’t get re-elected.
I’m going to google it, but she’s actually defended herself using the “N” word? What exactly did she say and when? I’ve listened to her show a few times, just to get the flavor and she is definitely moralistic, condescending etc. But I never heard that word.
christopher di spirito
@Olivv: You mean the “special interest” category Schlessinger dumped African Americans into?
Talk about taking away the humanity of an entire group of people.
Chitown Kev
@David Ehrenstein:
Girl, take a chill pill, where in my post did I ever refer to Dr. Laura’s “biological error” comments?
I made a very specific reference to her recent “n-word” comments; don’t take what I said out of its’ very specific context.
You’re attemptng to start a fight here where there really isn’t one; anger for the sake of anger really doesn’t become old bittys like Dr. Laura or yourself.
Kieran
Meanwhile, filthy, rabid dogs like Michael Savage are allowed to spew seething, murderous hatred against “homosexuals” every day of the week over the public airwaves and nobody thinks a thing about it. But let Michael try to stir up that kind of hatred towards Jews and see how long he’d have a radio platform.
Chitown Kev
Now what I gather from Dr. Laura’s comments here is that what she really want is the freedom to use “the n-word” without the consequences.
Sam
I had Dr. Laura as a teacher in the mid-70s at USC. She was completely different then-ran around in a wife-beater with no bra and had affairs with several students. But she was very sharp, funny and liberal.
I wonder what happened to her?
Drake
Dr Whore-a (see her beaver shots all over the web) has lost her sponsors, and had become rightfully radioactive to many stations. She has been dropped all over the country, originally for her anti-gay rants. Her TV show also bombed. There is hope in America !!!
Jaroslaw
#28 MONEY is what happened. There is more money in conservative causes than liberal…..
axos
@Chitown Kev: I know – but aha, so that’s where all my red arrows came from. I thought that what you just said goes without saying. I wrote “white people” and “black people” without all the necessary reservations, sorry about that, but it’s a bit tiresome to always have to cover your back under all circumstances. I don’t want to be considered guilty until proven innocent. But thanks for pointing it out – I was wondering why so many seemed to hate linguistics.
OK, so now I know. Of course many many black people abhor the use of the word nigger and want EVERYONE to just stop. I was referring to the group that does not feel that way – not only standup comedians who seem to love it, but also for instance one interviewed woman in Chris Rock’s film Good Hair who said about someone she would like to date: “You’re my nigga´.” She was perfectly nice, well-dressed and educated, and said that world half jokingly, half endearing.
So that was what I meant, and I compared it to the Swedish word bög, which used to be a very bad slur. It was about defusing words – or, sometimes, not.
Am I off the hook, or do I still have a target on by back?
Rich
Bye CUNT.. Don’t let the door hit your racist, homophobic ass on the way out!!!
axos
PS. I’d also like to make it perfectly clear that this was the FIRST ever – and probably ONLY – time I said or wrote the n-word myself. I have no need for it, and I’m no friend of it.
Nor am I a friend of using the words w*ore or c*nt about people I don’t like. It’s sexist. I rather call them dumb, mean, calculating or whatever they might be.
Jaroslaw
Did anyone read the actual transcript of what “Dr.” Laura said? A Black caller wanted to complain about the use of the N word and DL said that the word is used all the time on HBO, Black Comedians use it all the time. The caller said “but you’re not Black” to which DL responded -so the use of the word is restricted by the race of the speaker?
Nowhere did I get the impression “Dr.” Laura thought it was just a wonderful word, nor did she use it in a disrespectful way towards a caller or a specific person.
This “defense” does not mean I like her (I don’t) but we have to be truthful. If we don’t like Gay things being taken out of context then we have to afford even our enemies the same principle.
Baxter
@Jaroslaw: These are the same PC police that want to ban To Kill a Mockingbird and Huck Finn from libraries. Context doesn’t matter to them.
Jaroslaw
#35 I agree, but my main point was let’s please just read what actually happened instead of just reacting. Headlines like this are baiting and most fell for it.
whatever
@Baxter: The context makes it much WORSE than her saying the n-word, which is really the least of the problem. The black woman who called in was upset that her husband was making racially derogatory jokes with the n-word.
“Dr.” Laura said that she probably shouldn’t have gotten into an interracial relationship if she can’t take racial jokes (WTF?), and that she was basically hyper-sensitive and irrational at being upset over her husband making racial jokes.
A woman called Laura for advice, which was kind of silly, to begin with, but whatever. And she got a lecture that she should excuse her husband’s racism/racial insensitivity.
That is the real heart of the matter, not the use of the n-word repeatedly.
A conservative’s freedom of speech is violated when people call them out/criticize them for the stupid shit they say.
whatever
@Jaroslaw: Did YOU read the transcript? Because the woman was not complaining about the use of the n-word in general. Her own white husband was using it, and the caller was upset by it. Dr. Laura basically told the caller to get over it!
Robert in NYC
Whether you agree or disagree with the interpretation of Schlessinger’s comments regarding the ‘n’ word, the woman is still a foe of the LGBT community, among others. While still married to her first husband (she was ostensibly a marriage therapist, ironic), Schlessinger met and began another extramarital affair with Lewis G. Bishop, a professor of neuro-physiology and married father of three. They lived together for nine years after divorcing their spouses, and have been married since 1985. This woman is nothing more than a hypocrite and a bigot, especially when it comes to marriage equality. Why do any of your make excuses for her, she’s a disgusting piece of right wing garbage.
Jaroslaw
#38 yes, I did read it. “complain” was the wrong word – I do respond to these things quickly, while my computer is searching, or I’m on break….so I often have to be quick.
I agree, she could have been more empathetic and helpful, but this headline and the general tone of these comments are insinuating that she is some hateful racist person. She may be, but NOT because she pointed out there is a double standard as to who may use the N word and who may not AND that many Black comedians are applauded and get very well paid for often using that word.
Chitown Kev
@Robert in NYC:
Who’s making excuses for Dr. Laura?
There are quite a few racists here at Queerty, for example, but if I agree with something specfic that these (known) gay racists are saying at a point in time, I have no problem in saying that “I agree with you” and stating why.
I think Dr. Laura is a homophobe and, as this incident points out, a racist but that doesn’t mean that I think she’s wrong about this very specific thing.
mark
Schlessinger doesn’t TELL us, when she gets her racist ass off public airwaves…we tell her.
don’t pull an NAACP
PULL A SPONSOR
Chitown Kev
And you know, there’s something else here too.
Now one of the things that Dr. Laura does preach and I agree with her to an extent is that you need to know a prospective spouse’s family because…well, you are about to become a part of that family.
I find it difficult to believe that the caller’s in-laws all of a sudden became open racists after the marriage took place.
The time for the open racism from the in-laws to have changed would have been before the nuptuials had ever taken place.
Too bad DL didn’t ask what I suppose any normal therapist would ask is that did this behavior exist before the marriage.
HG
Seriously?
Have we learned nothing from Don Imus, Sarah Palin, Levi Johnston, Jake Pavelka, Vienna Girardi, and their ilk?
These people will exploit controversy and use it to improve their lives. This hag will be back in no time, supported by a different company (probably one with Republican ties, since they never seem to be ashamed of their own racist and heterosexist bigotry).
Robert in NYC
Who among married couples having marital problems would entertain even asking this biased woman for advice? She’s highly unqualified given her own sordid and tawdry past. A lot of these self-appointed non-psychologists are in dire need of help themselves. I don’t know how this woman sleeps at night with a clear conscience. She’s a charlatan, nothing more, a media hungry whore.
Talarico
@axos: “Am I off the hook, or do I still have a target on by back?”
Yeah, you still do from my pov.
You seemed to relish the opportunity to use the word and your boilerplate immediate apology was meaningless.
Cunt.
Bill Perdue
This racist, homohating islamophobic piglet should have been kicked off the air long ago.
Good riddance.
axos
@Talarico: Your pov seems to be one of “can I find someone to hate here?” To which you add your homemade, long distance psychology. Based on your of cause infallible intuition.
No, I don’t like the n-word. Or the one you seem to like, which I think is just as offensive and brain-dead.
Drake
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS:
Re: Dr Laura’s son Deryk : Son of a BITCH !
ManPuppyDotCom
Let’s see if we have this… THEY’RE hateful…
Time to go, Laura. (We refuse to say “Dr.”) Merry Christmas to all.
sasha
She is going to have a youtube channel so people can leave comments for her. I will also watch the sara palin reality show, too, something about watching creepy people is kind of fun. I guess her “apology” was just a huge crock o’ shit.
Scott
I’m no fan of hateful people and I’m not sure what she has said about gay people in the past. But if you actually listen to the recording of this episode as I did, you may find that it was not as offensive as people are making it out to be. She wasn’t condoning the use of the word. This has been blown out of proportion in my opinion.
Sexy Rexy
@Scott: No, but she was complaining that blacks could use the word without censure, but whites could not. She made a sweeping generalization that all blacks use the n-word all the time and get away with it. And she didn’t need to say the word ELEVEN FUCKING TIMES to get her point across either.
And just because she has heard SOME black comedians and entertainers (HARDLY the majority of the US Black community), she thinks non-Blacks should be allowed to use it!!
Sexy Rexy
On top of that, her hair and makeup are for shit.
B
No. 6 · Dave wrote, “Ding! Dong! The Wicked Old Witch is Dead!”
Please don’t malign the wicked old witch by comparing her to “Dr. Laura”.
ewe
So Dan Savage can say “nigger” and Laura Schlessinger cannot? Ok, now i get it. AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hypocrites.
Bill Perdue
@ewe: Forget Savage and Schlessinger. The question is why do you want to use a vile epithet like that?
Why is it important to you?
truthteller
Context is everything.
I personally find the n word vile and would never use it, and the thought of defending this woman makes me cringe, but we cannot fall into the mob mentality without thinking for ourselves.
The woman was complaining about “white racism” and Dr. Laura in her usual crass, jock-shock mentality shot back in a way that would get her ratings. She was not condoning the use of the n word. She was illustrating how people from the black community use it and how it no longer has the racist meaning it used to have.
It is a fact that the n word has been redefined into something cool by the hip-hop stars and a lot of the black comedians–and they have influenced every teen in every state who idolize them and want to imitate them. It is also a fact that a big part of the black community still find it a vile and violent word.
This is a good opportunity to have an honest conversation about race in the USA and to look at our motivations. It might not be easy and it might be painful, but we need to be honest and discern people’s intent before reacting like Pavlov’s dog.
Working too hard to prove we’re not racists makes us racist.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Drake: ~LOL~ rim shot!
Blah
Hyper-sensitivity? At least that woman doesn’t have hyper-frigidity, Doc.
Brandon
@christopher di spirito: Actually, the First Amendment *does* protect hateful speech, as long as the speech does not incite immediate violence. Check out case law on Klu Klux Klan activities. Nevertheless, the First Amendment applies only to government action to stifle speech — it does nothing to protect hateful speech from the voiced opinion of society, which apparently has called for her broadcast demise. Looks like it worked.
Chitown Kev
Well, shit, if I had of known that a comment of mine was going to be so downgraded as to be hidden, then I would have followed my first mind and called Dr. Laura and David Ehrenstein a couple of bitter old Jewish bitches!
Jaroslaw
Chi #62 – I’ve been advocating for the removal of this hiding comments thing – it seems kind of silly because 8 people don’t like your comment out of 785 viewers that it gets hidden.
Anyway your #25 is no longer hidden.
Do you think my #34 should be hidden? I’m not defending Laura, I just said read the transcript! Talk about MOB mentality here!
Me
@Jaroslaw:
Actually, you are the one who clearly did not read the transcript. THe person called for advice about what do do about the fact that her white partner didn’t stand up to his family members when they made insensitive racial remarks. (AKA, said racist shit.) She then went on to say its ok because apparently PDiddy is the spokes person for our people. Good times. Read the link at racialicious.com
Jaroslaw
#64 – she did NOT say it was OK – please re-read the transcript yourself. And read what else I wrote on the subject here.
Sexy Rexy
@Chitown Kev: Well, isn’t David only half of a bitter old Jewish bitch??
Clark Lane
I’m still wondering why grown-ups have to say something so stupid as ‘n word’ yet “they” can call us crackers all day long? There is no such thing as ‘hate speech’ just like there is no such thing as a ‘hate crime’. It is speech, or crime. You can’t legislate thought-as much as the pc crowd would love to try. So get over it.
Clark Lane
@truthteller: Liberals will never ever understand context. They are too quick to jump on a sound bite and sensationalize. There will never be an honest ‘dialog’ on racism because to many it’s a business…and the only way to get attention. My goodness, we have had a Civil War and non-stop talk since our founding! Those that perpetuate racism will never stop. Most of it comes from the left-the first ones to start dividing by race, gender, orientation, etc etc etc. But of course, ‘they’ can’t be racist now, can they?
tjr101
@Clark Lane: Purlezze, enough with the libertarian bull crap!
El Jefe
@Jaroslaw: you had your chance to speak freely and don’t want to deal with the consequences? Sounds just like Dr. Laura
To everyone else: it’s clear from the interaction that Dr. Laura is a rude ignorant bitch. The racist opinions she expressed about Obama are FAR more offensive than the n-bomb. It is instructive that that’s where we are as a nation- the culture of neocon victimology is shockingly whiny.
The shame of it is that Jade could have been helped ably. It was clear the interactions were making her feel uncomfortable and Dr Laura wanted none of it.
If it were my neighbor I would take them aside and say ‘you know, I don’t speak for all black people or talk about these things at black people’s meetings, so if you want to know what *I* think about it that’s what you should ask. Otherwise it’s awkward.’ Clearly a white man with a sufficient education should understand this already. Oh well.
Laura :’Ohh, so a word is restricted to race?’ Duh, dipshit. All subcultures use inside slurs casually and if you’re not in the group it’s not acceptable.
P.S. It might not be an argument worth making in mixed audiences, but what comedians (sorry, “comacks”) and rappers often say (to each other) is ‘niggah’ which is as different as ‘beeyotch’ or ‘biotch’ is to ‘bitch.’ Nuanced, but accurate.
Queer Supremacist
@Clark Lane: There’s racism, i.e. judging a person’s character, intelligence, and abilities by inherited genetic traits, and then there’s “Racism”, which many on the left reclaimed so they could redefine it as “anyone who disagrees with me in any way shape or form” when they lose yet another argument.
Jaroslaw
#70 – El Jefe – where am I not dealing with the consequenses? What I am doing is NOT letting comments slide that are inaccurate, including yours. I clearly said DL was insensitive to the caller, I said she MAY be a racist, but she definitely is not one for pointing out there is a double standard. Yes, I understand that Black people appropriated the word for themselves to lessen its impact etc.YEARS ago but how does that excuse a Black comedian saying it 50 times in 2 minutes NOW?
Poster #64 said that I didn’t read the transcript (I did ) and he/she said DL said it was okay to use the “N” word. DL did not say that.
If you have a beef with me, be specific about what it is and I’ll be happy to deal with it.