DJ Fired for Racial Joke

[Guest web_norah]

Right, but we're not talking about the "N-word" here. We're talking about the "zoo" joke. So being black affords you the "ownership" of zoo jokes as well? Again, if its comedy and not done with vicious intent, I thought you all said to "get over it", or is that only when someone you don't like is the butt of a joke?? Who decides what's acceptable comedy, and not? It's ok to make fun of people's illnesses, but not their skin color? Interesting responses I've seen thus far.

The N word denotes a racist undertone because it came from white folks using that term for people of color....yes, being black, asian, hispanic gives you ownership of being free to use those terms, in comedy, music, daily life (i am not the only one saying this, listen to the rap and hip hop lyrics of today and 15 yrs ago)....i didnt invent it either, that's actually widespread in stand up comedy of people like Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, George Lopez, Willie Barcena, Margaret Cho...all comedians of color and race ...

[Guest web_norah]

There's a severe double-standard that goes on in the media. Rush Limbaugh and Trent Lott fell victim to this double standard, while guys like the former Lt. Gov. of California, Bustamante (Democrat), can slip and say the "N-word" in front of a large audience and the media bury the story. Same thing with Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat) who is the ONLY former card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan. Then has the nerve to do an interview on 60 minutes and use the "N-word" a dozen times in an interview. And Jesse Jackson and the NAACP endorsed this guy? Trent Lott had to step down, what about Byrd? Nope...Liberalism is, in itself, a double-standard.

Look at what Rush Limbaugh represents and then look at Bustamante....clearly, i dont think it's ok for Bustamante to go out and say stupid things like the N word or being affiliated with the KKK like Byrd. Rush Limbaugh is a drug addict who's also an opinionated conservative....i dont see anything to be bragging about him as a character really.

dont even touch J Jackson because he is a leader of the black community ...also, someone with some shadiness to his character but honestly, i dont know one single leader or politician whose never said or done anything stupid or race insensitive. (Bush father and his little brown ones comes to mind on this case).

[Guest maru37]

I don't know if he should have been fired or not, but clearly he is an idiot for two reasons: 1) He knew it proably would have offended people, and 2) IT WASN'T FUNNY!!! He was just saying it to see what would happen, and he found out I guess. What a moron.

Switching gears, can you believe that people are offended by Randy Moss's fake mooning??? I mean, some people are really the biggest pussies. How is that offensive?

[Guest slamminshaun]

Fine. I personally have no problem with any of that. Can you explain how guys like Bustamante and Byrd have "ownership" of these terms when they are caucasian? Does being liberal afford you "ownership" as well as being a minority? Let's face it. If Rush, Hannity, or O'Reilly ever used the "N-word" in front of an audience, it would be the end of their careers. But if you're liberal, they seem to sweep it under the carpet as if it never happened. How can anyone stick up for Byrd considering he was a recruiter for an organization that hung minorities from trees? Yet, he's a freakin' Senator, and worse, endorsed by the NAACP and Jesse Jackson!!!

[Guest slamminshaun]

There's a severe double-standard that goes on in the media. Rush Limbaugh and Trent Lott fell victim to this double standard, while guys like the former Lt. Gov. of California, Bustamante (Democrat), can slip and say the "N-word" in front of a large audience and the media bury the story. Same thing with Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat) who is the ONLY former card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan. Then has the nerve to do an interview on 60 minutes and use the "N-word" a dozen times in an interview. And Jesse Jackson and the NAACP endorsed this guy? Trent Lott had to step down, what about Byrd? Nope...Liberalism is, in itself, a double-standard.

but honestly, i dont know one single leader or politician whose never said or done anything stupid or race insensitive. (Bush father and his little brown ones comes to mind on this case).

You want "ownership"? How much more "ownership" does Bush need considering that's his own flesh and blood he was talking about?? : You said its ok for minorities make racial cracks about other minorities, but its NOT ok for someone to make a racial crack about their own flesh and blood? Really stupid.

[Guest web_norah]

Bustamante is a Hispanic name....he may not look it but thats a Spanish name....he is Mexican American.

You want "ownership"? How much more "ownership" does Bush need considering that's his own flesh and blood he was talking about?? You said its ok for minorities make racial cracks about other minorities, but its NOT ok for someone to make a racial crack about their own flesh and blood? Really stupid.

yes it is OK for minorities and i agree with it, you dont like the sound of it, well that's tough luck there big man....i dont make the rules, thats just the way it is...i dont know how else to justify it but next time you decide to make a racial slur....see how badly it comes across....why? history can tell you why. is it a double standard? no.

[Guest JMT]

i dont see any problem with the elder Bush's comment. if someone's family was traditionally blonde haired and blue eyed and someone in the family married a greek, their kids would reflect that heritage. and if a family member called them "his little brown ones" would it matter then since they are still technically caucasian? they would have darker features for sure. its the same thing. im sure Bush Sr. loves his grandkids and didnt mean anything malicious by it.

[Guest web_norah]

Fine. I personally have no problem with any of that. Can you explain how guys like Bustamante and Byrd have "ownership" of these terms when they are caucasian? Does being liberal afford you "ownership" as well as being a minority? Let's face it. If Rush' date=' Hannity, or O'Reilly ever used the "N-word" in front of an audience, it would be the end of their careers. But if you're liberal, they seem to sweep it under the carpet as if it never happened. How can anyone stick up for Byrd considering he was a recruiter for an organization that hung minorities from trees? Yet, he's a freakin' Senator, and worse, endorsed by the NAACP and Jesse Jackson!!!

[/quote']

http://www.ltg.ca.gov/about/biography.asp

Cruz M. Bustamante is the eldest of the six children raised by Cruz and Dominga Bustamante in the small Central Valley town of San Joaquin, California. "My mother made sure we understood how to behave," Cruz says, "and my father taught us the value of hard work as he held down two jobs, sometimes three, to keep us clothed, fed and in school. My wife, Arcelia, and I have followed what we learned from our parents to raise our own three children."

Cruz went to school, worked in the fields and studied to be a butcher. He dreamed about becoming a doctor. But a summer internship in Washington D.C., working for a Congressman, changed the direction of his life. "I was given a stack of letters from constituents, instructed to answer their questions and find solutions to their problems," Cruz recalls. "As I did the research and fought with federal agencies on behalf of the people back home, I knew I had found my calling. I loved helping to make government work for people. I found out I was a lot better at cutting red tape than I was at cutting meat."

Cruz's rise from the fields of California's Central Valley to his elections as an Assemblyman, Speaker of the Assembly and then California's Lieutenant Governor was, "…the direct result of the lessons I learned about work, honesty and loyalty from my family and my community. I worked hard. I took advantage of opportunity when it came my way. And I benefited immensely from all of those who preceded me in the constant struggle for fairness, equality and opportunity that has allowed working-class kids like me to pursue the American dream."

In the Legislature and the Lieutenant Governor's office, Cruz has focused on education, the environment, health care and consumer protection issues. He worked with Republicans and Democrats to reduce class sizes in California schools, to enact a $1.7 billion middle-class tax cut, to reform welfare and to lower student fees at state universities and colleges.

Cruz wrote the law that provided $1 billion to put updated textbooks into California classrooms. When the state's Attorney General refused to participate in the multi-state litigation efforts against tobacco companies, Cruz wrote the law that forced him to join those cases. While others argued over what to do about the energy crisis, Cruz sued the energy companies that were gouging California consumers and sponsored legislation to make their activities a crime. As Chair of the State Lands Commission, Cruz used his authority to shut down an offshore oil operation that threatened California's coast.

At his first press conference as the first Latino Speaker in California, a reporter asked Cruz if he had a ". . . radical ethnic agenda."

[Guest slamminshaun]

yes it is OK for minorities and i agree with it, you dont like the sound of it, well that's tough luck there big man....i dont make the rules, thats just the way it is...i dont know how else to justify it but next time you decide to make a racial slur....see how badly it comes across....why? history can tell you why. is it a double standard? no.

If the point of that biography was to prove Bustamante is hispanic, fine . I slipped when I called him caucasian (i was typing too fast)...my point was, he's not black. Neither is Byrd. How can they "own" the "n-word" if they themselves are not black? Even worse, Byrd is from the south. How come liberals let Byrd, a southerner, get away with using the "n-word" and dismiss the fact he's KKK all the way? Face it, there's a double-standard for liberals.

I think its stupid when minorities use racial slurs to each other, but it doesn't bother me or anything. It does, however, bother me that people think its ok for non-related blacks to use the "n-word" to each other, yet its NOT ok for someone to make a wise-crack about his own flesh and blood. Explain the logic to me.

[Guest web_norah]

i cant explain it. sorry. that's just how it is....comedians make constant remarks about this, politicians, hip hop artists, etc etc

if i was able to explain to you what it feels like inside when someone uses a racial slur ...maybe you'd get it ...but i guess you cant....it is also the same, how i can joke with a Cuban American or a Mexican on different levels because they'd understand -while a white person wont get it. i don't have answers for all these things but i have the empathy to understand the implications of racist jokes/ comments and its consequences.

[Guest tres-b]

There's a severe double-standard that goes on in the media. Rush Limbaugh and Trent Lott fell victim to this double standard, while guys like the former Lt. Gov. of California, Bustamante (Democrat), can slip and say the "N-word" in front of a large audience and the media bury the story. Same thing with Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat) who is the ONLY former card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan. Then has the nerve to do an interview on 60 minutes and use the "N-word" a dozen times in an interview. And Jesse Jackson and the NAACP endorsed this guy? Trent Lott had to step down, what about Byrd? Nope...Liberalism is, in itself, a double-standard.

Look at what Rush Limbaugh represents and then look at Bustamante....clearly, i dont think it's ok for Bustamante to go out and say stupid things like the N word or being affiliated with the KKK like Byrd. Rush Limbaugh is a drug addict who's also an opinionated conservative....i dont see anything to be bragging about him as a character really.

dont even touch J Jackson because he is a leader of the black community ...also, someone with some shadiness to his character but honestly, i dont know one single leader or politician whose never said or done anything stupid or race insensitive. (Bush father and his little brown ones comes to mind on this case).

Pretty harsh judgement on Rush. I guess you have never used drugs in your life. :

It took a lot of guts to come clean publically and get sober the way that he did. Would you have that kind of strength? And remember, his doctors were the ones who got him hooked on the drugs. It isnt as if he decided to hit the crack pipe or shoot up some H.

Be careful not to judge to harshly. That's when we end up like those that we judge.

[Guest web_norah]

judging? no. however...............

i am not a radio personality in the public eye, who makes sometimes abrasive/ rude comments about other public figures on-air ....while under wraps, i have my maid go get me some Oxycontin pills for my own personal stack.

i think i am allowed to have an opinion here.

[Guest JMT]

it must be a double standard, if those guys didnt get massacred in the press. if Alberto Gonzalez ever used a slur you are sure you wouldnt hear the end of it. it is the press.

[Guest tres-b]

judging? no. however...............

i am not a radio personality in the public eye, who makes sometimes abrasive/ rude comments about other public figures on-air ....while under wraps, i have my maid go get me some Oxycontin pills for my own personal stack.

i think i am allowed to have an opinion here.

Opinions are always welcome.

Look, the guy got on pain pills that his doctor told him to take. The pills were addictive and he got hooked. Does that make him a bad person?

Like I said, it isnt as if he was smoking crack. There is a huge difference when your doctor prescribes you the drug that you get hooked on IMO.

Regardless, I dont think the fact that he had to kick an oxycotin habit makes him a bad human being. If you dont like his views, fine but dont knock a man's character for taking responsibility for the problem he had and fixing it.

I disagree nearly 100% w/ everything Robert Downey Jr. thinks politically. However, I would never attack him for his struggles with drug addiction. He has demons. It doesnt mean that he is a man without character.

[Guest web_norah]

Oxycontin is used for treating severe cancer pain - i think Rush was taking this for fun.....i dont see how this is different than doing any other drug in massive quantities. so, what you're saying is that it is ok for Rush to get high on Oxycontin but it isnt ok to do crack or heroine?

that makes no sense.

[Guest tres-b]

Oxycontin is used for treating severe cancer pain - i think Rush was taking this for fun.....i dont see how this is different than doing any other drug in massive quantities. so, what you're saying is that it is ok for Rush to get high on Oxycontin but it isnt ok to do crack or heroine?

that makes no sense.

Oxycotin has been prescribed for different types other than cancer of pain-severe injuries, back injuries, etc.

Im saying that getting hooked on a drug that your doctor prescribed to you(and as I understand it, Rush had legit prescriptions for these originally) your doctor has to shoulder a huge part of the blame. He/She put you on the drug that you got addicted to as a result.

Now, if I decided to leave work, head home and pop a few oxycotins that a friend gave me to try out, then that is the same as any other drug use.

Having said that, and completely unrelated, I do draw distinctions between smoking crack/shooting H vs. llello/ecstasy but that conversation is for another time.

[Guest slamminshaun]

Update: The DJ speaks out in response to him being fired. The most interesting thing he said: "white liberals have bigger hangups with race than African Americans." So true.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder20.html

[Guest web_norah]

all whites and rest of the world have some sort of hang up Einstein. :