Comments on: Radio Host Fired For Calling Rice A Racial Epithet

By: NoFiring

NoFiring — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 21:42:24 +0000

I am against the fact that he got fired. He revealed his true nature and should keep his job,now that people know who he is.
You don’t say those kind of things in public, if you are not used to saying them in private.
No, I don’t think he should lose his jobs, but I do thing blacks should make lots of noise about it.

There are lots of racial slurs that are said when there are no blacks around. So when it slips out, the whole black community has to make huge noise. That’s their only opportunity to complain about all the other stuff they don’t hear.

PING:
TITLE: Radio Host Fired For Calling Rice A Racial Epithet
BLOG NAME: Booker Rising
The Moderate Voice comments on Dave Lenihan, the St. Louis conservative talk-show host who claims that it was a slip of the tongue and he meant to say “coup”. He had been heaping praise on Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who has frequently said that she …

By: R-Squared

R-Squared — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 07:29:37 +0000

Okay, Okay, I admit, David Lenihan made quite a mistake with the racist slur. I guess Freud was working against him that time! “Since when should you only be fired if you meant to screw up?” … I think, as a rule of thumb, that something like this is absurd to be fired over. Lenihan proved that he is human and perhaps we should just fire anyone who is human.

Lenihan’s biggest mistake is opting not to use a standard seven-second delay which would have allowed him to delete the seven previous seconds and continue on air with no harm no foul. His appologies immediately afterward and on TV later that day were sincere.

By: nyrev

nyrev — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 01:27:46 +0000

Since when should you only be fired if you meant to screw up? That was a mighty big mistake that Lenihan made. Do I think the guy’s gunning to be the next Grand Dragon? No, not really. But do I blame his boss for firing him? Hell no. He called the Secretary of State a coon on the air.

Also, that “foot in mouth” picture is still freaky and gross.

By: S.W. Anderson

S.W. Anderson — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 22:44:34 +0000

“To me, this is another example of the double standard of conservative vs. liberal commentators. There is a presumption of bigotry if you are conservative.”

You’re going to have a hard time explaining my comment above, then.

I’m not a conservative. When I wrote the comment I had no idea if Lenihan was liberal, conservative or a holdover Whig. Nor do I care.

Fair and reasonable treatment is everyone’s due, regardless of political philosophy.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:45:27 +0000

I think it is reasonable to fire a radio person for that kind of slip. It is their job to say things properly. I don’t think he should have been suspended from his day job. I imagine if he would keep a low profile about it, he’d get that job back, but if the whole thing blows up into Some Big Incident (and I think by going on Hannity and other national shows he’s working that angle) then he likely won’t get his teaching job back. But, he won’t need it, he’ll be a conservative martyr (sp?) and get a job on someone’s campaign or something.

By: AustinRoth

AustinRoth — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:05:09 +0000

I have to remember to spellcheck before I post.

By: AustinRoth

AustinRoth — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:04:07 +0000

To me, this is another example of the double standard of conservative vs. liberal commentators. There is a presumption of bigotry if you are conservative.

So, the fact that you are in the midst of praising a successful black woman and have a slip of the toungue means you are unfit for the national airwaves, because all conservatives are bigots.

If this had been a liberal host talking about Larry Elder, while the blogosphere would have reacted, i would bet dimes to a dollar that they would still have their job. Their appology would be accpeted, they would be forgiven for a ‘himan’ moment, because of course being liberal means you have no prejedices.

By: cosmoetica

cosmoetica — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 13:26:16 +0000

PC is just a form of bigotry. If something like this, looking at the text, does not prove that, nothing will.

Ha he called her a horrid person, a total incompetent whose incompetence let nearly 3k people die on 9/11, or an asskisser who wears kneepads, then he’d be safe, but he accidentally says something that morphs coup and boon into a minor league epithet? Jeez.

By: S.W. Anderson

S.W. Anderson — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 06:57:04 +0000

I find the fact Lenihan was praising Rice and had no animosity toward her or her race to be persuasive. The fact he immediately apologized also says something for him.

We humans make mistakes. When a surgeon amputates the wrong limb, an innocent man dies in a hail of bullets fired by frightened cops or a pilot risks landing in the middle of a violent storm with catastrophic consequences, you have irredeemable wrongs done. No apology can make these things right.

Words do matter. They have the power to insult, inflame and inflict pain. But context matters as well.

In Lenihan’s case, there was no intent to insult, inflame or cause pain. The context was as innocent as could be. In his case, a sincere and prompt apology should’ve sufficed.

His employer comes off looking feckless and foolish.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 06:53:35 +0000

It seems to me that the man made a mistake. Should a person’s reputation and career be ruined or damaged severely over something like this? We have all at times said something we didn’t mean. Luckily, no one was recording it at the time. If you look at what he said and the context in which he said it, I’m inclined to believe his remarks were meant to be innocuous.