“Slip Of The Tongue”?
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This radio idiot was rightly fired for referring to Condoleeza Rice with a racial epithet.
KTRS president and general manager Tim Dorsey came on the air to announce the firing shortly after talk show host Dave Lenihan used the word “coon,” a racial slur, instead of “coup” in describing her attributes for the post of NFL commissioner.
“She’s been chancellor of Stanford. She’s got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She’s African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that.”
How do you accidentally call a black person a “coon”? There’s no mistake there. I’ll also note for the record that the NAACP called up the station immediately to demand action be taken.
33 Responses to ““Slip Of The Tongue”?”
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© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
I kinda feel for the guy. If he has a racist or strongly anti-Republican past, then that closes it but, if not, it looks to me, from context, like he may really meant to say ‘coup’ and misspoke.
Dugger
It appears that the announcer who claimed never to have used such a word, had it readily available. It was, however, totally out of context at the moment (he was praising her to the hilt), so it was really accidental.
Surely, something should happen to the guy, but I always back at depriving a man of a living, whatever the reason. I know he’ll land on his feet, but it always seems excessive, and certainly not a punishment that “fits the crime.”
Maybe some “community service” — let him coach a team of young minority kids for a season. Baseball, football, whatever.
But than, there’s the hypocricy. She’s beem called similar (worse?) things by liberals in the past, with nary a peep.
http://tinyurl.com/zdfmw
http://tinyurl.com/h6boa
He meant to say “coup?” Give me a break. The truth is, most of these guys, Rush and Hannity included, and definitely Savage are always exploiting the racial divide in the name of ratings.
They are really sick and disgusting panderers.
cypher,
Use common sense. Look at the wording. The guy may be a flaming leftist for all I know, but I doubt he meant to say what he said. BTW, the ugly racially tinged rhetoric re Condi has come from the hard left (ex: http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste?id=110005788).
Dugger
Yes cypher – stereotyping is a bad thing. You’d never do it, I can tell.
My first comment is awaiting moderation: 2 URL’s
Imagine that. The NAACP rushing to Secretary Rice’s defense. I guess it is still ok with the NAACP to call her a token, however, or have its Chairman call the GOP nazis, or conservative judges, the Taliban.
I feel sorry for the guy. It was clearly an accident. He was in the middle of praising Rice, of lauding her qualifications for NFL Commissioner. He was clearly thinking that getting a African American with Rice’s qualifications for NFL Commissioner would be both a “coup” and a “boon”. But it came out “coon”.
Tough break, guy. I hope you land on your feet.
It appears that the announcer who claimed never to have used such a word, had it readily available. It was, however, totally out of context at the moment (he was praising her to the hilt), so it was really accidental.
Surely, something should happen to the guy, but I always back at depriving a man of a living, whatever the reason. I know he ll land on his feet, but it always seems excessive, and certainly not a punishment that fits the crime.
Maybe some community service let him coach a team of young minority kids for a season. Baseball, football, whatever.
But than, there s the hypocricy. She s beem called similar (worse?) things by liberals in the past, with nary a peep.
http://tinyurl.com/zdfmw
The funny thing is that saying she would be a “coup” because she is African-American is also racist.
On further research, big surprise, he is “conservative”.
David Lenihan is a new addition to the WGNU team. He has lived and run businesses in Europe and the US and has considerable experience on politics. He brings a different view to conservatism than what we see today in the US. A view of small government and more local accountability is what will lead to a more successful America. Dr. Lenihan also has a different view on racial relations. He has seen how people of Turkish descent are treated in Germany, Indian s in Britian and Marracon s in France and now realize that there are problems in the US. However rich or poor, white or black we are Americans by name and culture and a better understanding of this will lead to a better America.
http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?p=Dave+Lenihan&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8&u=www.wgnu.net/dave.htm&w=dave+lenihan&d=OgmeCG1aMQFW&icp=1&.intl=us
Surprise, surprise. Talk to a conservative long enough and you will usually find a racist.
I think someone would have to hear the audio before they could really judge the situation but reading the transcript, my first thought is that it was a total Freudian slip. Unconcsious racism, man. The shit runs deep. He didn’t mean to say it but there it is. Like when Cap’n Crunch referred to Steele (?) as “articulate.” He probably didn’t mean to be condescending, but there it was.
Got to love the overreaction on both sides for this.
I think keeping in mind the context and if this guy doesn’t have a history of “Freudian slips” then I don’t think he needed to be fired. He apologized immediately after hearing what he said. It was a slip.
I don’t see what his politics has to do with this. This is an accident that could happen to anyone, liberal/conservative, white/black.
Have the FCC fine him for using a racist word and move on.
and here:
http://tinyurl.com/h6boa
There is a great slip from Fox News’ Shepard Smith talking about Jennifer Lopez.
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith had something fairly egglike on his face last week when he launched into what should have been a straightforward item about tension between Jennifer Lopez and her old Bronx neighbors.
“J.Lo’s new song ‘Jenny From the Block’ is all about Lopez’s roots, about how she’s still a neighborhood gal at heart,” Shepherd declared innocently enough, before veering horribly off his teleprompted script. “But folks from that street in New York, the Bronx section, sound more likely to give her a curb job than a blow job!”
Oops!
Smith was quick to attempt a correction — “Or a bl-bl-block party!” — but it was too late. The damage was done, and the poor fellow knew it.
When the cameras switched back to Smith from a clip of Lopez shimmying in song, the anchor had a mighty rueful look on his face.
“Sorry about that slip-up there,” he said gravely. “I have no idea how that happened, but it won’t happen again.”
The video is worth watching.
It’s easy. The person thinks “Rice? Coon.” But then realizes, “Ooops, don’t say ‘coon.’ Don’t say ‘coon.’ Don’t say it, don’tsayit, dontsayitdontsayit…”
“Coon.”
Thinking it was deliberate. Saying it was the “accident.”
Not many people use “African-American” and “coon” in the same sentence.
Good post, Quaker.
This slip is way worse than when Lott chose to go “pinch his tits” at Sodom and Gomorrah.
http://unlikable.com/video.html
It was a slip, an unfortunate one that allowed listeners to peep just below the surface. Unlike when Rush referred to the mayor of New Orleans as Ray “Nay-ger.”
“Thinking it was deliberate. Saying it was the accident. ”
I don’t even beleive that thinking it was deliberate. It’s just there. The guy was talking about how great it would be if a black woman was made the NFL commissioner. Racism was the entire subtext of his comment which drudged up all manner of unconscious crap. The guy probably recognized this and, as Quaker points out, went to self-conscious high gear to NOT say something racist which made it all the more likely that he would. It’s the return of the repressed, man. To put a humorous touch on it, think of the scene in the second, I believe, Austin Powers when Austin is told not mention the word “mole.”
Surprise, surprise. Talk to a conservative long enough and you will usually find a racist.
Do you have to work hard at spouting such stupidity or is it a natural talent that you were born with?
Haven’t really thought about it. How do you do it crazy Jay?
the scene in the second, I believe, Austin Powers when Austin is told not mention the word mole.
Or John Candy in Uncle Buck.
Personally, I’d rather see Condi as commisioner of the NFL than a presidential candidate. Does anyone even know if she would consider the job?
Sorry, but sometimes a gaffe is just a gaffe.
It’s a slip of Freudian proportion. Hard to determine intent, so I’d give the guy some kind of mild/moderate censure, and put him back on the air.
This situation, for example, is VERY unlike the one that happened on Imus a few months back, when Sid Rosenberg made some cruel comments about someone famous who was undergoing cancer treatment.
Interesting to note that these kinds of stories about on-air personalities typically seem to be of the conservative variety, whether it’s Limbaugh referring to Chelsea Clinton as the “White House Dog,” Anne Coulter with her NUMEROUS one-liners, Jay Severin lying about the Pulitzer Prize, and now, this guy with a clear case of Freudian slippage.
A recent Pew study noted that conservatives were in general, “happier” people than liberals. If their heroes and icons, as noted above, are a clear indication of how the sheep that follow them with religious ferocity, behave in their daily lives, then I think I’d challenge the Pew results.
We’re a forgiving people. I mean, if Martha Stewart can rehabilitate herself….
JK
Frank, you told us that insults by liberals raise “nary a peep” and then give us a link to a Google search that reveals 15,000 peeps, disproving your own claim.
Over to you, Frame.
You counted the liberal “peeps”?
[...] l of us. Because it s the subtle and innocuous that bite us unexpectedly. There is a raging debate in the blogosphere, as you might expect, and that s a good thing ( [...]
Associating “breast” with an attractive woman is not the same as thinking “coon” when you see a black person.
I’m not defending Rice. I think she’s a reprehensible human being (almost) who karma will come back to, in due time. That said, black = coon isn’t just an honest mistake.
Note that he was fired on the air before the NAACP could contact the station… Wife heard the whole thing.
And the rest of the on-air personalities in St Louis radio agree with the trigger being pulled immediately.
I would say that he certainly didn’t mean any harm to Condi, given the previous sentence and his immediate attempt to correct his slip of the tongue.
But, anyway… when the @#$% did you start defending African-American Conservatives?
Although, I should say that you did have the courage and principles to say this.
Regards,
St Wendeler
Another Rovian Conspiracy
Well, Mr Willis, perhaps you’ll like this typo I once found on a dispatch screen, where a load of concrete was scheduled for delivery to “Martin Luther Knig Blvd.”
Typo or deliberate? I knew the guy who entered the order, and, with him, it could have been either one. I also knew how hectic the dispatch office was, and typos were simply not uncommon.
Fortunately, the order was corrected before the delivery ticket was issued.
Was it an honest mistake? Undoubtedly. To openly call the Secretary of State a “coon” on the radio would be to commit career suicide. If you believe it was anything but unintentional, you also have to believe that either the person in question is unforgivably dense, or determined to start bagging groceries at 7-11.
Now, having said that, I have to admit that while I have often gotten tongue tied myself, I have never stumbled into a racial slur. I would also think that anyone working in radio would know the value of carefully pacing yourself and speaking clearly to avoid such gaffs. I have yet to read any transcripts of the incident, so I can’t say positively one way or the other, but my gut tells me it was probably a stupid mistake. That doesn’t mean there was no “unconscious racism,” as Frameone put it, at work, just that the mistake was “honest” in that it was unintended.
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