By Nicholas Stix
Call-in radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger has responded to the firestorm of leftists and racists calling for her head, on the August 17 Larry King Show, by telling the socialist host that she is quitting radio, at year’s end.
"I want to regain my first amendment rights. I want to be able to say what is on my mind, in my heart, what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry."
Schlessinger did not explain how quitting radio would regain her her First Amendment rights.
At issue was an August 10 show when a black woman, “Jade” (Nita Hanson), called in, to denounce her white husband’s friends and relatives as “racist,” for asking her what black people thought, allegedly for dropping the “n-word,” and her husband for not doing anything about it.
SCHLESSINGER: Jade, welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hi, Dr. Laura.
SCHLESSINGER: Hi.
CALLER: I'm having an issue with my husband where I'm starting to grow very resentful of him. I'm black, and he's white. We've been around some of his friends and family members who start making racist comments as if I'm not there or if I'm not black. And my husband ignores those comments, and it hurts my feelings. And he acts like --
SCHLESSINGER: Well, can you give me an example of a racist comment? 'Cause sometimes people are hypersensitive. So tell me what's -- give me two good examples of racist comments.
CALLER: OK. Last night -- good example -- we had a neighbor come over, and this neighbor -- when every time he comes over, it's always a black comment. It's, "Oh, well, how do you black people like doing this?" And, "Do black people really like doing that?" And for a long time, I would ignore it. But last night, I got to the point where it --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist.
CALLER: Well, the stereotype --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't think that's racist. No, I think that --
CALLER: [unintelligible]
SCHLESSINGER: No, no, no. I think that's -- well, listen, without giving much thought, a lot of blacks voted for Obama simply 'cause he was half-black. Didn't matter what he was gonna do in office, it was a black thing. You gotta know that. That's not a surprise. Not everything that somebody says -- we had friends over the other day; we got about 35 people here -- the guys who were gonna start playing basketball. I was going to go out and play basketball. My bodyguard and my dear friend is a black man. And I said, "White men can't jump; I want you on my team."
That was racist? That was funny.
CALLER: How about the N-word? So, the N-word's been thrown around --
SCHLESSINGER: Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is nigger, nigger, nigger.
CALLER: That isn't --
SCHLESSINGER: I don't get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing; but when black people say it, it's affectionate. It's very confusing. Don't hang up, I want to talk to you some more. Don't go away.
I'm Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I'll be right back.
[After the commercial:]
SCHLESSINGER: I'm Dr. Laura Schlessinger, talking to Jade. What did you think about during the break, by the way?
CALLER: I was a little caught back by the N-word that you spewed out, I have to be honest with you. But my point is, race relations --
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, then I guess you don't watch HBO or listen to any black comedians.
CALLER: But that doesn't make it right. I mean, race is a [unintelligible] --
SCHLESSINGER: My dear, my dear --
CALLER: -- since Obama's been in office --
SCHLESSINGER: -- the point I'm trying to make --
CALLER: -- racism has come to another level that's unacceptable.
SCHLESSINGER: Yeah. We've got a black man as president, and we have more complaining about racism than ever. I mean, I think that's hilarious.
CALLER: But I think, honestly, because there's more white people afraid of a black man taking over the nation.
SCHLESSINGER: They're afraid.
CALLER: If you want to be honest about it [unintelligible]
SCHLESSINGER: Dear, they voted him in. Only 12 percent of the population's black. Whites voted him in.
CALLER: It was the younger generation that did it. It wasn't the older white people who did it.
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, OK.
CALLER: It was the younger generation --
SCHLESSINGER: All right. All right.
CALLER: -- that did it.
SCHLESSINGER: Chip on your shoulder. I can't do much about that.
CALLER: It's not like that.
SCHLESSINGER: Yeah. I think you have too much sensitivity --
CALLER: So it's OK to say "nigger"?
SCHLESSINGER: -- and not enough sense of humor.
CALLER: It's OK to say that word?
SCHLESSINGER: It depends how it's said.
CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
SCHLESSINGER: It's -- it depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK.
CALLER: But you're not black. They're not black. My husband is white.
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, I see. So, a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.
CALLER: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the "nigger" word, and I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: I didn't spew out the "nigger" word.
CALLER: You said, "Nigger, nigger, nigger."
SCHLESSINGER: Right, I said that's what you hear.
CALLER: Everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did.
CALLER: I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: They did, and I'll say it again --
CALLER: So what makes it OK for you to say the word?
SCHLESSINGER: -- nigger, nigger, nigger is what you hear on HB --
CALLER: So what makes it --
SCHLESSINGER: Why don't you let me finish a sentence?
CALLER: OK.
SCHLESSINGER: Don't take things out of context. Don't double N -- NAACP me. Tape the --
CALLER: I know what the NAACP --
SCHLESSINGER: Leave them in context.
CALLER: I know what the N-word means and I know it came from a white person. And I know the white person made it bad.
SCHLESSINGER: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Can't have this argument. You know what? If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race. If you're going to marry out of your race, people are going to say, "OK, what do blacks think? What do whites think? What do Jews think? What do Catholics think?" Of course there isn't a one-think per se.
But in general there's "think."
And what I just heard from Jade is a lot of what I hear from black-think -- and it's really distressting [sic] and disturbing. And to put it in its context, she said the N-word, and I said, on HBO, listening to black comics, you hear "nigger, nigger, nigger." I didn't call anybody a nigger. Nice try, Jade. Actually, sucky try.
Need a sense of humor, sense of humor -- and answer the question. When somebody says, "What do blacks think?" say, "This is what I think. This is what I read that if you take a poll the majority of blacks think this." Answer the question and discuss the issue. It's like we can't discuss anything without saying there's -isms?
We have to be able to discuss these things. We're people -- goodness gracious me.
Ah -- hypersensitivity, OK, which is being bred by black activists. I really thought that once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites hating blacks would stop, but it seems to have grown, and I don't get it. Yes, I do. It's all about power. I do get it. It's all about power and that's sad because what should be in power is not power or righteousness to do good -- that should be the greatest power.
Hanson has parlayed the August 10 conversation into 15 minutes of fame, with at least three appearances so far on CNN, variously with Larry King, T.J. Holmes, and on Anderson Cooper 360.
Speaking with King on August 19, Hanson condemned Schlessinger,
I think she’s trying to shift the responsibility on to somebody else. Now it’s somebody else’s fault. Well, no, you said it. And I just what like she says, ‘You need to go out and do the right thing.’” “And she needs to own it and claim it. She said it.”
(King: How about quitting radio. How do you feel about that?)
She really needs to be off the air.
To say those type of things; in a, in a, we’re in a situation right now where racism is just huge. But to say those type of things. You can’t say that. You can’t say that. And all I called was for advice. I didn’t ask to be beat up. And personally attacked. And personally attacked, you know.
It just went way too far. She went way too far, and she should not be on the radio; she shouldn’t be anywhere.
Hanson has not demanded that blacks be silenced for publicly using the word that Schlessinger quoted.
Hanson called in … the race card.
Hanson exposed herself as a run-of-the-mill, hypocritical black racist. Blacks can talk race, race, race, in any way they wish with whites, but if whites are less than deferential, they must have their lives destroyed. But why would a run-of-the-mill black racist call a white talk show host known both for her “conservative” views and for her no-nonsense responses to callers, and then complain that Schlessinger was insensitive?
Hanson claimed to CNN’s T.J. Holmes,
I didn’t want to make this a racial thing. [Hahaha!] She’s only apologized because she got caught. It’s more than just the N-word. [Yeah, right.] Dr. Laura acted like I set her up…. [Because you did!] I don’t think she’s sincere in her apologies. [Of course, whites' apologies are never enough. But blacks always demand them?] I’ve been married for three wonderful years. [She sure didn’t say that to Schlessinger!]… “I listen to her all the time.” [And I'm an Obamaton!]When Hanson said, “I didn’t want to make this a racial thing,” and “I listen to her all the time,” she violated the First Law of Lying: Plausibility. I doubt very much that Hanson ever a fan of Schlessinger. Her claim reminds me of the dirty trick campaigns of leftists who claim to be staunch Republicans, and who then either take leftwing positions (to try and make them look acceptable to conservatives), or who act “racist,” in order to try and discredit the Tea Party, Rand Paul, et al. Holmes asked Hanson if it was ever appropriate to use the “N”-word. Hanson said “no,” but spoke of the “civil rights movement,” and insisted that Schlessinger’s use of the word came from her heart, and proved she was a racist. There was no condemnation of the millions of blacks who say the same word billions of times a day (at least once in every sentence). Translated out of racial code, what Hanson is saying is that it is never appropriate for a white to use the word. Both women have followed the Don Imus-Al Sharpton script, which was great for Hanson, but not so good for Schlessinger. Schlessinger made the mistake of apologizing to Hanson, who of course denounced the apology. Was Hanson’s call a set-up, in order to “Imus” Schlessinger? Do cows fart? After all, lefties have been trying to destroy Schlessinger for years. Do I smell a Nita Hanson book deal? A frivolous lawsuit, like the one that some black Rutgers women basketball players filed against Don Imus? In a story published today, “Stars happy with Dr. Laura exit,” The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul Bond reports,
"I found her repellent," Ed Asner told THR. "If she said the N-word, then she's sociopathic. I don't think she'll be missed. There are other Dr. Laura's out there who know how not to go too far." "She used the N-word, and now she has to leave her job," Howard Stern said on his Sirius XM Radio show…. Talkers magazine says her audience tops 9 million unique listeners a week, which ties her with Glenn Beck and Michael Savage for the third-largest audience in talk radio behind Rush Limbaugh (15.3 million) and Sean Hannity (14.3 million).Asner’s response is shocking in its stupidity, but not surprising, coming from a communist. From a professed libertarian like Stern, however, who has long chafed at any limits on his right to express himself, such hypocrisy is disappointing. Perhaps Stern is just one of the glibertarians one runs into nowadays, for whom “libertarianism” is merely a sophistic rhetoric meant to make them rich as Croesus, rather than a principled philosophy. And of course, it’s he’s covering his own derriere, by acting properly outraged. But that won’t help him, when black racists go after him. And they will. He would have done better to show some integrity. CNN’s Roland S. Martin wrote a column with the bizarre title, “Dr. Laura blew chance to talk about race.” What did Schlessinger do, if not talk about race?
(CNN) -- The beauty of having your own radio or TV show or column is that you have a wonderful opportunity to address many of the significant issues of the day by using the enormous platform that has been bestowed upon you. That's why when I read, and then heard, the stunning, childish, and venomous discussion Dr. Laura Schlesinger had with one of her callers Tuesday, it was clear to me that the firebrand radio talk show host blew a perfect shot. She could have used the exchange around race to help a lot of people. Dr. Laura is getting ripped, rightfully so, for her repeated use of the N-word during the discussion with a black female caller. Instead of paying attention and listening to the woman's genuine concerns about the racist comments made by the friends and family members of her white husband, Dr. Laura made her out to be the villain. It was clear that Dr. Laura had a beef of her own when it comes to black folks being too sensitive about matters of race, and that's why she tried to use the example of black comedians using the N-word to buttress her position that the woman should really pipe down and not be so sensitive about such issues. She could have easily pivoted from the caller's question to explore this issue, but she didn't, choosing to dig herself deeper and deeper into the racial abyss.One of the giveaways of black racists nowadays is their calls for a conversation about race. The last thing in the world that racists like Nita Hanson, Roland Martin, Eric Holder or “Barack Obama” want is a conversation about race. They want to lecture whites, and get outraged whenever a white refuses to play the role they have assigned him as a white Uncle Tom or, in this case, white Aunt Jemima. (I have previously exposed Martin as a black supremacist.) Nita Hanson told CNN's T.J. Holmes that she was "confused" by her conversation with Schlessinger, and claimed that she wasn't saying that it was o.k. for blacks to use the word, but not for whites. So that there is no ambiguity, and my readers don't fall for Hanson's current story, let's review the central passage of the radio dialogue.
CALLER: How about the N-word? So, the N-word's been thrown around -- SCHLESSINGER: Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is nigger, nigger, nigger. CALLER: That isn't -- SCHLESSINGER: I don't get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing; but when black people say it, it's affectionate. It's very confusing. Don't hang up, I want to talk to you some more. Don't go away. I'm Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I'll be right back.... SCHLESSINGER: It's -- it depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK. CALLER: But you're not black. They're [the husband's friends and relatives] not black. My husband is white. SCHLESSINGER: Oh, I see. So, a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that. CALLER: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the "nigger" word, and I hope everybody heard it. SCHLESSINGER: I didn't spew out the "nigger" word. CALLER: You said, "Nigger, nigger, nigger." SCHLESSINGER: Right, I said that's what you hear. CALLER: Everybody heard it. SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did. CALLER: I hope everybody heard it. SCHLESSINGER: They did, and I'll say it again -- CALLER: So what makes it OK for you to say the word?Like the lady said, it's all about power. A tip ‘o the hat to George Soros, for paying to have the transcript prepared, and some of the videos posted.
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if whoever is in charge of the network that carries Dr. Laura's show told her the show would not be renewed when the contract expired at the end of this year. In other words, Dr. Laura was told to "retire."
David In TN
David, that's a very strong possibility.
ReplyDeleteSo if she is a racist, why did she marry a white man? And why did she call into a white, conservative talk show for advice?
ReplyDeleteAnd do you think that it would be OK for a black man to call his white wife racial slurs? If Clarence Thomas were to use racial slurs to refer to Virginia Thomas and were to continue doing so despite Virginia Thomas telling him that it offended her greatly and hurt her feelings, would you back Clarence Thomas over his wife? Would you tell Virginia Thomas "that is what you get for marrying black man, you need to stop being hypersensitive because whites use racial slurs all the time?"
Speaking of Thomas, when he accused the white Democrats on the Senate Judiciary committee of a "high tech lynching", wasn't THAT playing the race card?
Oh the double standards and hypocrisy ...
By the way, Dr. Laura is being dishonest here. She had already decided to retire from radio. Her ratings and ad revenue is declining, and she stated recently that she has been doing this for 30 years and is tired of it, and that moving to the Internet seems more fun, like a fresh start. Dr. Laura was saying this LONG BEFORE this incident, which was why she didn't renegotiate her contract LAST YEAR when she easily could have. She is just using this incident as an excuse and to get more publicity.
But hey, since Dr. Laura is white, she obviously can't be lying right? Oooh, did I just play the race card? Big deal. Quite being so hypersensitive.
This column is so chock full of idiocies that it's hard to pick out a personal favorite. The charge that Schlessinger was "set up," however, is so jaw-droppingly stupid that it's hard to believe that you intended it seriously -- after all, it was Schlessinger herself who inexplicably dropped the word "nigger" into the conversation in the first place, and who insisted on repeating it over and over again even after the caller had made it quite clear that she found the word offensive. That goes beyond mere insensitivity and into the realm of blatant race-baiting. And then to suggest that the person she has offended needs to "lighten up" and can't take a joke? Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteSchlessinger is, at best, a moron, and at worst, a racist moron. Your attempt to play the role of her apologist is bad enough, but that you saw fit to smear the victim -- who is married to a white man, in case it somehow escaped your attention -- as a racist in the process is nothing short of despicable.
I doubt a white man would even marry a black woman, so I'm thinkin it's a setup Nick..
ReplyDeleteNothing has come out yet on Nita Hanson, if Nita Hanson is her real name. For these other commenters to suggest this woman is on the up and up and hysterical.
ReplyDeleteNicholas, very well written and put together synopsis. I'd like to point out that while Nita "Jade" Hanson told one of her interviewers that she wasn't saying it was okay for black people to say the n-word, but not white people, she must have forgotten that she herself said the word 4 times in the call to Dr. Laura!
So either she was just as guilty, or she lied in the interview.
More will come out on this Nita Hanson, and I can't wait for it to.
Thanks for your kind words, Lone Wolf.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the observation about Hanson using the N-word herself. I'd overlooked that.
Hanson is definitely a liar, because she insisted categorically at least twice during the call that whites don't have the right to use the N-word, but that blacks do.
Because Hanson knows she enjoys black racial privilege, she knows that she can contradict herself, lie, etc., without facing any consequences.
I too hope that someone does the requisite digging into this woman's background, but it won't be me. I don't have the time right now, and a preliminary check I did turned up several women with that name, around her age (35-45), in different parts of the country.
And that's assuming that "Nita Hanson" is her real name. As you noted, we cannot even assume that.
I have one objection to this column. You quoted this passage:
ReplyDelete"She used the N-word, and now she has to leave her job," Howard Stern said on his Sirius XM Radio show….
By itself that doesn't seem to be an anti-Laura statement. If anything, because he says "has to" rather than "chose to", he's just acknowledging the PC censorship regime. I'd have to know the full context of Stern's comments to determine how he feels about the incident. I think it's unfair to criticize Stern for this without context.
It's a HUGE stretch to call Mrs. Hanson a racist. On the other hand, I find it interesting that Dr. Laura (Jewish)is complaining about the double standard regarding the word nigger. The fact is, every race or cultural group can be insulted in the media except Jews. Why is that?
ReplyDeleteI should also add that Dr. Laura is one of those dangerously male-identified women (in her case, white male identified). She would have been more sympathetic if a man had called with the same complaint.
Dear Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Im following this and still have not decided how I feel about this entire episode of events with Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
Here is the latest interview-
Dr. Laura Promises Not To Say 'Nigger' Ever Ever Again
Read more: http://comedyhub.blogspot.com/2010/08/dr-laura-promises-not-to-say-nigger.html#ixzz0xObtbjs1
Dr Laura is half Jewish and half Italian (like me), and let me tell you, us Jewtalians tend to be mighty opinionated and we often don't give a flying fig what anyone thinks of us for it. I use the word "nigger" routinely, but my friends know to expect that of me. Dr Laura strikes me as very much a WYSIWYG kind of gal, not unlike myself.
ReplyDeleteBottom line: never try to shut a Jewtalian up, esp. a female one! We will ALWAYS get the final say!
Well, It seems that we have a fight. In this corner we have a Jewtalian, in the other a black woman. I reviewed the transcript of the conversation between Dr. Laura and Nita Hanson. It seems to me that Dr. Laura has a chip on her shoulder and Mrs. Hanson has low self esteem. Why did Dr Laura choose this woman as a platform for her view and not just address the problem at hand? Why did Mrs. Hanson allow her mind to be so clouded with fear she did not just speak up to her husband and his family and friends? Mr Hanson loved his wife enough to marry her. She needed to be a strong woman and let him know that she was not sure how to receive the comments she was hearing. I hope that Mrs. Hanson can have a whole and happy marriage. I think she needs to remember that she is to love and protect him. I think Mrs Hanson needs to remind her husband to love and protect her too. I think the friends and family will have more respect for Mrs Hanson if she lets them know how she feels and not assume the family and friends are more than curious of her opinion. She needs to remind them that she is not the spoke person for all black opinions and feelings.
ReplyDeleteDr Laura must also remember that well, she's a Doctor. She is to treat the patient and not use them. To start by attempting to belittle the patient is not the best medicine. Love is to be the rule when helping someone come to a realization not abuse. The word "Nigger" has an ugly history out of the mouth of whites so it hurts a black person such as myself when whites use it. I don't like it when blacks use it because it only keeps the dehumanization alive.
To rise above the "Nigger" issue will take a change of mind from culture and growth in underlying spirtual self perception for Americanized people of African decent.
Franklena Phillips
Let us be clear: Dr. Laura had a pet peeve and went off on Hanson because of her pet peeve. It is disingenuous to say that she was "set up" or that she gave an appropriate response to this caller. Despite what Dr. Laura says, the conservatives have launched unprecedented race-based attacks on this President. Only THIS President has been called a Socialist/Communist/Muslim Terrorist/Foreign-Born -- and don't forget "Anti-Christ." These attacks are intended to inspire and justify acts of violence against this President.
ReplyDelete