Dr. Laura's Rant on Race Begs the Question: Just Who Needs a Doctor?

My personal opinion is that we should just ban the word. It should just be banned, the end. You say it, it is a fine. Black people should not say it. White people should not say it. No one should say it. Words hurt. So, there should be a penalty associated with them. Lets say a $100 fine or something. Then if a stupid white kid calls a black kid a n, then instead of having 5 people beat up the stupid white kid (which would probably be the outcome of said event) then the black kid could just seek justice. Assuming there was evidence and other people heard it. Etc. Same goes for black kids too though. I hate hearing that out of their mouths just as much. Perhaps in refined society you do not hear that word spoken by black youth, but you sure do in the poverty sections and highschool. The end.

I agree that one of our country's greatest achievements is "religious" freedom. What if the Wikkan religion,or pagan religions raised $100-200 million dollars to construct a "Religious" structure,and funded it through international sources?And,can anyone enter for prayer, as happens in synagogues and churches,and Ba"hai temples? We live in a time when image is worth a million words! Is there another structure in all of America, which if calculated in todays dollars,cost 100-200 million USD? And Who and what is the Cordoba Institute? What symbology or signaling, in a global sense, does this equation make: WTC DOWN 2001= Mosque UP 2011? DOW/NAS UP 2001,DOW/NAS going down with a bullet 2010? To some cultures TOLERANCE is perceived as weakness,or worse stupidity, or perhaps even evil,if this is perceived as an easy trade off for jobs and money in a state widely known to be way over budget ! I think a compromise would be a Muslim community and education center,for all New Yorkers to enjoy the culture, and learn the true-life ways and values of American Muslims, without the difficulties that religious sensitivities raise at this time. Then if this works well, the majority of New Yorkers,in their quirky,inimitable way, will be more comfortable,after later facts and evolution of politics and understanding occur. I also think people in NYC and perhaps the Northeast Wash-Boston corridor are more tolerant and understanding of non-Americans,if they are either moneyed up or degreed up, that they are of Americans in the rest of the country who they feel are less capable of knowing the simple truth,or the obvious. But 2001 affected the entire country, and many young Americans have been maimed and killed in post 2001 Iraq and Afghanistan; our treasure has been greatly diminshed as has our confidence ( THE GREAT RECESSION) and every day our privacy is eroded by increasing security measures. The Christians have to spend gobs of money to defend a creche in the public square,people ridiculed Judge Moore in his fight to keep the Ten Commandments "near" his courtroom. So I think to others in the country, THE BIG APPLE would be known as THE BIG MOSQUE, and the NEW YORKER cover will show Manhattan,Ground Zero, and a river of tears.

Cheryl Clark says"Let's get real, people. She wasn't there to help anyone in the first place --- she simply likes hearing herself ramble on for a paycheck." Couldnt you say the same thing about the Black Commedians?

Well as a white Rep guy im kinda disgusted when I hear Black Comedians use the word over and over, so I flip the channel. Id honestly watch if I didnt find it offensive. Where are all the calls for them to be taken off the air for being offensive? If you earn my respect you wont have to sue me for it.

I'm not offended so much by Dr. Laura's use of the n-word as I am the advice she gave her caller. I'm with the author on this one. Dr. Laura criticizing the caller for being "hypersensitive" and her implication that her caller has to put up with the boorish behavior of her husband's family and friends because she maried a white man is, to put it politely, bovine excrement. She should have asked the caller if she has told her husband how she feels, and if so, why is he so spineless that he can't say, "Don't talk that way in front of my wife" to his friends and family. So what if some blacks use the n-word when referring to each other? It doesn't make it right. Besides, in the caller's case it's an issue of decorum, not politics. As for Dr. Laura's first amendment rights, she seems to think the first amendment protects her from criticism or rebuttal or boycotts. Sorry, it doesn't. She is free to say what she wants, but there is nothing in the constitution that says we have to sit back and take it.

I have ready many articles on the subject of Dr. Laura and this was by far the most thought-provoking. It was well written and resonated with me. I am also an african american married to Jewish man. We have large family dinners and the N-word never comes up. His family never asks me what blacks think and my family also does not assume he speaks for all jewish people. Dr. Laura(and I question what type of Dr she is) absolutely got what she deserved. Im glad shes off the air, however I never listened to her anyway.

If anyone has had the pleasure of coming across a person of color who understands what the "N" word means they know that these people don't take offence to someone calling them that word. They know that the person using the word has no concept of it's meaning and at the most has the depth of a pothole. Put best they will ask you if you would be mad at or argue with a person with a less than normal IQ. And if you do what does it say about you?

Actually, Dr. Laura has her degree in physiology not psychology. She is judgmental and fails to listen to her callers. Good riddance.

Why are we identifying the Americans who want to build a center on Park place by their religion instead of by their citizenship? Shall we now inform the public that catholics want to build a new store on Main street or Jews want to build a car dealership in Yonkers? What about the Buddists who are building a farm stand in Iowa?

Dr. Laura was a licensed marriage, family and child counselor, and had a successful private practice for many years in the 1970s and 80s. I don't know if she's kept the license active, but she had the education and qualifications to be a therapist.