Et Tu Dr. Laura?
Ken Oliver
There’s no doubt that many of you have heard about Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s unfortunate rant in which she repeatedly used racial epithets while interacting with a caller. Dr. Laura, the infamous talk-radio personality, subsequently issued an apology for using the word. Her apology, which was viewed suspiciously by many, was followed by a defiant touting of her First Amendment right to free speech and an announcement that she would be ending her longstanding radio show—well, at least in its current format. Barring the fact that the First Amendment has nothing to do with this case (i.e., since the government did nothing to silence the radio host), and that Dr. Laura seemed to have her own agenda with the N-word, and that her PhD is in Physiology, I don’t really have a problem with her. Wait, wait… let me explain why.
Dr. Laura is a shock-jock. Similar to Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh, she is an entertainer. It is reckless and irresponsible the amount of moral authority we ascribe to entertainers simply because they are commonplace on the airwaves. Do you really think these characters really believe most of the things they say? C’monnnn. Theirs is a business, first and foremost. Controversy, as long as it isn’t too extreme, rules the day in the world of a shock-jock. I’ll say it again…I don’t really have a problem with her.
In fact, I would rather her use the word in my presence, than behind my back. Hey, she believed she was making an intelligent, well-informed argument that would somehow bring the caller to some cathartic realization of her own over-reaction in the presence of the word. I get it. Problem was, it obviously wasn’t all that well-informed or poignant an argument to begin with. But, I digress. I don’t really have a problem with her…remember?
And what about the millions of callers who believe that having a physiologist berate them over the phone will somehow make them feel better—more empowered even—what about them? They aren’t to blame for wanting help. Misguided…misinformed…mistaken…maybe…but, certainly not to blame for yearning for someone to help them. We are constantly inundated with information about treatments offering a quick fix. If you truly could take a pill or make a 5-minute phone call to end all of your ailments, you would try it too. Well, most of you would. So, in that sense, I don’t have a problem with her for trying to capitalize on the insecurities of people. These are primarily adult callers we’re referring to (i.e., I’ve heard children call in over the years as well). She’s just trying to make a buck. I’m not disrespecting her “hustle.” Remember, I don’t really have a problem with HER.
No, my problem is with YOU. Where are you mental health professionals in this discussion? You do realize that Dr. Laura, Dr. Phil, Mr. Mackey from South Park, and Dr. Katz (i.e., the cartoon therapist) all represent you in the eyes of the public. To the uninformed, they do what you do. Therefore, when they do something that reflects poorly on your profession (I was being facetious with Mr. Mackey and Dr. Katz), it also reflects poorly on you. Where is your voice in all of this? I hate to break it to you counselors, but silence and inaction won’t make these things go away. For example, do these shows have disclaimers (i.e., warnings that the show is for entertainment purposes only and not meant to treat, diagnose, etc.)? I don’t know… maybe I just need to stick to doing my Mr. Mackey impressions.
Kenneth Oliver is a counselor in Missouri and an assistant professor at Quincy University in Illinois.
I am so happy that the ugly (inside and out) crazy old gym teacher reaped what she had sowed. She could have gotten her argument across by saying “N word” and not using the word and by not saying “don’t NAACP me” and “Don’t marry out of your race ” but like Michael Richards AKA “Cosmo Kramer”, she ends up the trash heap of history, a history of her own making. I am so happy that the free market AKA sponsors started to pull their ads (I guess they were exercising their free speech) and she finally realized that she was just another “run of the mill gabby” and her days were numbered. She realized that she was not as smart as she thought she was, finally! We are all adults here and we all know that we cannot control how others will respond to our comments, but it nothing to do about First Amendment rights (how exactly did the government stop her? They didn’t) and street talk and more about being held responsible for our actions and words. The first three times she used the word might not have been in anger but the last eight she was filled with hate, so good riddance.
Palin was the one who got bent over the use of the word “Retard” (she wanted someone fired for using it once), Palin also said that the people have the right to build the Mosque in NY, but out of respect for the 9/11 families they shouldn’t, but I guess this same standard is not applicable to Laura Schlessinger. Do you see the hypocrisy? The problem with Palin is the same when she mistakenly referred to Ronald Reagan Eureka College, being in California and we all know its in Illinois, same thing, she does not fact check anything she is going to say. She is soooo Palin!
http://vodpod.com/watch/3933949-keith-olbermann-mocks-sarah-palins-imbecility-stupidity-video
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-august-24-2010/the-hurt-talker
http://youtu.be/nhGk6eF65Fo
Thank you Kenneth for posting.
I think you bring up a great topic of how we as mental health professionals are perceived. And it seems usually mental health professionals are seen / portrayed to be a bit crazy and self declared experts on everyone but themselves all the while lacking what seems to be ethics or common sense. I think it is a discussion that needs to take place. I do think there is quite the dissonance in how we want to be perceived / what we truly do / who we are and what the perception of us / what we do/ and who we are is.
In addition, how do we go about educating and advocating for our profession – especially for its validity. I think ACA does a great job in working to do this; but I don’t think it is only there responsibility. I think we each play a part in educating and advocating about our profession, even if just within our own communities. It is great to be vocal about being a part of such a great profession and organization! Let’s be heard!
Cathi,
I totally agree. We do need advocacy for, not just from, our profession. Instead of being portrayed by entertainers, we need to educate the public on what it is that we do as counselors. Part of the problem though, seems to stem from our own identity issues as a profession. It makes it difficult to define ourselves to others when we have hard time with self-definition.
In peace,
Ken
Montana,
Sara Palin was about a half-inch away from being vice-president of the United States. I think it speaks more about our culture that entertainers are elevated to positions of moral or legislative authority. Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of highly intelligent, well-intentioned entertainers who might make fine policy-makers. However, I doubt that the few who might be successful in that role are really the ones garnering all the attention. Instead, we have allowed life to imitate art in the way we idolize the perspectives of people who have the main intention of increasing ratings. This flaw in us leads to a common acceptance of these perspectives void of the realization that these perspectives are merely a ruse to capture our attention. Unfortunately, however, these individuals represent counselors and other “actual” mental health professionals in the eyes of the public. We need to advocate for a mandate to require these individuals to state that what they say is for entertainment purposes after every commercial break. I’ll start the petition…You with me?
Kenneth,
Thank you for making such a valid point. And in your responses above as well as your post—a BIG issue is the lack of cooperation/coming together within our profession. You are so right–if we do not unite and define what we are/what we do, how do we expect others to do so? Especially if we aren’t in agreement from state to state, we are going to have a difficult time creating any legal disclaimers at the beginning of shows–right?
Dr. Laura should have realized that you cannot engage in meta-critique about certain issues without ruthless backlash.
The foaming at the mouth Palin hatred is so charming and represents the profession well.
Mr. Mackey would be ashamed…m’kay?
Wow, powerful reminder of our need to redefine what counselors are and what they do. I feel like I’m constantly correcting misconceptions about our career: no we don’t just “tell you what to do”, it’s not “all about your mother”…etc. I had blamed a lot of the misconception on fictional depiction in tv and movies but Dr. Laura, Dr. Phil et al represent just as strong a threat to the integrity of our work.