Dr. Laura to End Her Radio Show

8
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

the_n_wordEmbattled radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday she will not renew her contract that is up at the end of the year, telling CNN’s “Larry King Live” she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights.”Schlessinger, 63, has been under fire for using the N-word repeatedly during an on-air conversation with a caller last week.

In announcing her decision “not to do radio anymore” after being in the business for more than 30 years, Schlessinger said, “I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry or some special-interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent.”

National furor erupted when Schlessinger used the N-word 11 times in five minutes during a call August 10 with an African-American caller who was seeking advice on how to deal with racist comments from her white husband’s friends and relatives. The conversation evolved into a discussion on whether it’s appropriate to ever use the word, with Schlessinger arguing it’s used on HBO and by black comedians.

Schlessinger apologized the following day, saying “I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the N-word all the way out — more than one time. And that was wrong. I’ll say it again — that was wrong.”

While Schlessinger told King on Tuesday that she was still “regretful” over the incident, she said she feels her freedom of speech rights “have been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don’t want to debate — they want to eliminate.”

“I decided it was time to move on to other venues where I could say my peace and not have to live in fear anymore,” she said.

Schlessinger plans to expand her internet presence with her website.

“I’m not retiring. I’m not quitting,” she said. “I feel energized actually, stronger and freer to say the things that I believe need to be said for people in this country.”

{CNN/Matzav.com}


8 COMMENTS

  1. i’m glad she’s leaving the air, now we’ll get a bit less nivul peh in our daily lives – that lady goes much too low all too often, besides for the terrible chilul hashem she caused by publicly denouncing shemiras shabbos

  2. I don’t get it. What’s wrong with using the word Negro? I have no problem being called a Caucasian, and I’m sure someone Chinese would have no problem being referred to as an Oriental. These are legitimate categorizations that have no negative connotations. Even the blacks themselves have organizations like the United Negro Fund. Years ago, the respectful way to refer to a black person was negro (and not nigger.) When and why did that change? Not all blacks are African-Americans. Many come from the Carribean islands area. So African-American is too imprecise. It seems to me that some people are too inappropriately touchy about this issue.

  3. #2 – the “N-word” is not “Negro.” It’s the word you describe as NOT the respectful way to refer to a black person.

    As for language – it changes all the time. Fifty years ago “Negro” was the preferred term, and it was used in organizations’ names. Now “black” or “African-american” are preferred. Using the names that people prefer is a simple matter of derech eretz. Be as sensitive to other people as you would like them to be to you. After all, “derech eretz kadman laTorah.”

  4. The problem is, she didn’t use the word Negro.
    Also, I think that the only people who can get away with even that now are the elderly. I don’t know how old you are but most of my early middle aged peers used the term black. If anything we might have heard our elders say colored. But never the derogatory diminutive in question.

  5. Chavi- if you have to ask that, I fear that you are so lost from a Torah derech there is not much I could say to you. There is more to being a good Jew than meets the eye. (your eye)

Leave a Reply to Hashkaffa Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here