 |
| Rob's Soapbox | ||
|
Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
||
|
||
|
April 16th, 2007 THE CULTURE OF MEANNESS You would have to be an ignorant ostrich from a foreign land with a reading impairment that lacks rudimentary communication skills to have not heard about talk show icon Don Imus being fired last week for remarks he made about the Rutgers women basketball team. There, you've been briefed. Sadly, we live in a time of extremes and overreactions. We place spotted owls higher on the food chain than blue collar workers trying to feed their family. When a black girl accused 3 rich white guys of rape in Durham, North Carolina, scores of activists found them guilty in the court of public opinion, solely because their accuser was a minority. In a nation of obesity, we remove soda machines from our schools as a "solution." When 100 children die in a year on bicycles, we declare it an epidemic and demand that all children must wear helmets. When Janet Jackson showed her boob to the world we declared our culture "crude" and launched an all out offensive on the first amendment. In light of 9/11, we justify bombing all brown people; on and on the examples rage. There is no acceptable explanation for Don Imus' comments. The terms "nappy headed," and "jigaboo" are patently racist, offensive and over the line. Those who cry "freedom of speech" in response to the uproar show their own ignorance. I live and breathe in a profession founded on my first amendment right, and I will be the first to tell you this is not a Freedom of Speech issue. Don Imus is not being thrown in jail nor charged with a crime for what he did, he is being judged by the marketplace, which is how the system is supposed to work. The Freedom of Speech does not guarantee you the right to be heard or tolerated. If Ryan Seacrest began Tuesday night's episode of "American Idol," by burning an American flag his right to do so would remain protected and he would not be thrown in jail… but you can be sure he'd be fired from every job he has. As for those of you who cry "double standard," I say grow up. We have never lived in a time where double standards didn't exist, so where have you been? For decades now, men who slept with mountains of women were "studs," while women who slept with more than 2 guys were "sluts." Double standards are a matter of human fact and nature, and decrying only those that offend your senses belies logic and reason. Yes, there is a Black Entertainment Network and no, society would not allow one called the "White Entertainment Network." Deal with it. You are welcome to work you whole life to change such standards, but in the meantime, you are resolved to accept the reality of their existence. The unacceptable nature of Imus' comments does not, however, excuse, explain or allow our culture of overreactions. I spent the weekend listening to commentators, journalists, experts, amateurs and everyone in between discuss the Don Imus firing. A myriad of excellent points were made, but one really stupid, ignorant, overreaction was repeated time and time again. In the political world, we call it a "talking point;" something that is repeated over and over again until in becomes part of the American vernacular. We now, according to pontificators, live in and must stop the "Culture of Meanness." The premise is simple, but chilling; it is time to stop all forms of meanness, regardless of the target because America, as a culture is just too darn mean, they say. Never mind how unrealistic this is, it is also unnecessary and a complete knee jerk reaction (emphasis on jerk). For starters, let's actually dissect what the proponents of a non-mean society actually want; they want people to stop being "mean" about things they care about. The same people who find jokes about retarded people funny, are the ones who find jokes about gay people offensive. The same people who laugh at fat people, simultaneously find it deplorable that anyone would laugh at an elderly person who falls down. People who think it's hysterical to make jokes about racial stereotypes find it unconscionable to make stereotypical jokes about religious beliefs. For those of you who are quick witted, you've already picked up on my circular argument; this is the culture of the double standard, and we must learn to accept it, not cry about it or fail trying to change it. There are simple failings and foibles about the human race that must be tolerated, and bigotry, on some level is one of them. All of us are bigoted towards someone and/or something and we must be allowed an outlet for it. There are ways to negotiate reality. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that we have history as a guide. One of the few truly American contributions to the Earth's society has been great comedy. We are the nation of the world's greatest comedians, bar none. From Charlie Chaplin, Henny Youngman and Red Skelton to Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, all the way to Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Sam Kinison, we have landscaped the globe with the most brilliant comedic minds in history and these great comedians have taught us one undeniable truth; all great comedy has a victim (or potential one). George Carlin lambastes organized religion, W.C. Fields targeted children, and Don Rickles insulted anyone who came to one of his shows. Even Bill Cosby's famous skit about going to the dentist has been attacked as being "insensitive" to stroke victims and/or retarded people because of the slurred speech portion of the routine. To live in a culture of non-meanness, we will be reduced to knock-knock jokes. It would be disingenuous of me to not acknowledge the personal nature of this topic. We have never denied the mean component of the Rob, Arnie and Dawn show, because we acknowledge it's necessity to our culture. Plenty of married couples are playfully "mean" to one another as a portion of their relationship, and who are we to say they aren't happy? Plenty of parents tease their children and vice versa in ways that someone might judge as "mean," yet the bond is strong and the results positive, so once again we must check our judgmentalism at the door. Our show, unlike those hosted by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O Reilly, Al Franken and the like does not try to change society. Rather, we reflect it. Our job, as defined by our own personal mission statement is to allow society an outlet for their day to day lives which will include information, entertainment and comedy, all while reflecting what happens in American homes, rather than trying to alter it. Love or hate Arnie, he reflects a portion of our society that is necessary and prevalent. He may be an ignorant hick, but he's far from the only one, and trying the ostrich approach to such people never works. We can't hide from our differences, nor can we sweep them under the rug by desperately trying to eliminate a made up entity such as the "culture of meanness." Meanness is a necessity. People are mean and always will be. Meanness, while unpleasant, makes you tougher and allows you to choose, of your own volition, whether or not you want to associate or listen to certain people you deem to be "mean." If we are going to outlaw meanness, we are going to outlaw all human emotions, foibles, and mistakes. Those of you who ignorantly respond to the claim that "meanness is a necessity and people will always be mean," by crying "that's what they said about racism" deny the truth. Certainly, we have made great strides and leveled the playing field for people of color on an array of issues, but no one can claim we have eliminated racism, and no reasonable person believes we ever will. Europe is centuries older than we are and is one of the most racist, anti-Semitic portions of the globe. Time and experience teaches us that the reasonable goal is not to eliminate meanness, but rather to mitigate it while accepting it. Let's all step back from the brink, shall we?
|
||