The Doctor Laura Schlessinger Show

I'll admit to listening to this show when it had a drive-time slot on our local radio powerhouse, WJR - AM, here in the Detroit area. I used to think "Hey, she's got a good head on her shoulders. She gets how people should treat each other." But then she started getting a little more direct, to the point of being rude, even brutal, to her callers. There was no discussion involved in how she dealt with callers.

Then of course, in 2003 or so, she decided to tell everyone that she's been converted to Orthodox Judaism, and the religion helps guide her in responses to callers, writers, etc. I believe she and her son converted. Odd to me, but whatever.

SO the show starts spouting off about "...as a Jew", or "my faith helps me to answer you thus...". It became a lot of rationalized b.s. to me, and so, off she went. I switched to other material that made sense - sports radio. Noticeably, her ratings fell around the same time in this area, and she was shuffled off to the 1am slot next to Laura Ingraham.

Bringing us to ... last week. She spouted off about the use of the word naga (paraphrased here), and the concerns of a caller from a mixed-race marriage. In general, LS was correct. We're all too paranoid about the use of the word. Words only have the power we give them. Words like fag, sissy, gay, neo-con, and nazi, all have power based on historic context or definitions that were implanted in our social memory at some point in the past.

LS told her caller that if she is so sensitive about the name slinging, she should not have married outside of her race. That's where I think the good Doctor (PhD pending) crossed the line. The girl who called in has a different context of the word than the rappers and comedians who throw it around like confetti. The girl who called has an in-law family that appears to have problems with persons of color (this is an observation and a guess). Because of this, LS could have been more sympathetic. Should have been, in my opinion.

On the other hand, LS is right about the simple fact that the rapper/comedian community are doing their level best to desensitize all persons from the word "NIGGER". (God, I said it - don't hate me). And the sooner the better. I hate the idea that we as a species are confined in our ability to communicate with each other. The sooner we're desensitized to it, the sooner we'll stop using it. (Just like the word 'faggot' is hardly ever used anymore in discourse.)