The morning after the 2007 Women’s Basketball National Championship, a nationally syndicated radio host tried his hand at analyzing the game. The conversation soured quickly, as the host and his producer traded racial epithets about Rutgers’ team before finally landing on the now infamous “nappy-headed hoes.” That radio host was Don Imus, and a week later Don Imus didn’t have a job.
The wide-eyed approach would be to look back and think we’ve learned to stop saying such offensive things in such public forums. Unfortunately, we haven’t learned a damn thing.
Nationally, Rush Limbaugh is in a heap of trouble for calling Sandra Fluke, a women’s rights advocate and Georgetown law student, a “slut” and a “prostitute” after she spoke in favor of health insurance coverage for contraceptives in front of Congress.
Locally, Emma Woodhouse is facing backlash for writing a review for the app Grindr and including an unhealthy dose of gay stereotypes. She has since apologized, but it still makes me wonder how people publish this vitriol without anticipating the chaos it will unleash.
Not offending people isn’t difficult. It’s a combination of common sense and knowledge of a few rules that’s prevented me from pissing off an entire demographic in my own column.
First off, know what the fuck you’re talking about. When you’re discussing something of which you have no knowledge, you’re bound to find something to fill in that time/space. So you’ll look for the easy way out and make rash generalizations. Rash generalizations are not good.
Calling a team of predominantly black basketball players “nappy-headed hoes” is that exact time-filling maneuver. Imus likely has little knowledge of women’s basketball because few people do. Regardless of personal preferences, it has a relatively small audience. According to Sports Media Watch, a women’s game between Tennessee and Georgia drew a rating of 0.2 and in comparison [a men’s game between Michigan and Ohio State had a 1.5](http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/02/tv-ratings-for-nationally-televised-sporting-events-january-28-february-3/). That leads to a low population of people who can legitimately discuss the women’s game.
I also have no doubt that Woodhouse has little knowledge of gay culture. Having a few gay friends doesn’t equate to full enlightenment. Half of my family is Mexican, but I couldn’t tell you a thing about their culture except that my cousin enjoys making fun of me for being the token white-boy of the family.
Another key is knowing your audience. When people tune into “Tosh.O,” they expect to be offended. Daniel Tosh is a well-paid comedian and his offensive material is intended to be funny. A viewer might be surprised at a joke Tosh came up with, but they won’t be surprised by the fact he’s making those kinds of jokes.
Rush Limbaugh is not a comedian; he’s just a crazy asshole. Because most sane people know this, we generally reduce him to background noise and let him spew until he says something particularly evil. Although we expect him to be controversial, we don’t expect, or at least tolerate, when he goes on an extremist misogynistic rant against an educated and rational advocate for contraception. Disagreeing with Fluke would be fair; calling her a slut: not so much.
The final piece of the puzzle is to simply think about what you’re saying. It can be troublesome enough when you blurt out whatever’s on your mind in person. But when you put it into print — or on air — without thinking, you’re just asking for trouble. These comments can’t be taken back and should be reviewed carefully and constantly either in your head or on your word document.
When old men commit these errors they’re usually not mistakes, but glimpses into the hateful minds making them. Fortunately, Woodhouse is still young and can learn from her mistakes. All she has to do is think next time.
