April 10, 2008
Firestorms over show hosts Imus, Shuster and Rhodes’ suspensions illustrate confusion over aggression and assertiveness
Almost exactly one year ago, Don Imus was fired for an inappropriate comment on the air. Two months ago, NBC’s David Shuster was suspended for an inappropriate comment on the air. Last week, Air America Host Randi Rhodes was suspended for an inappropriate vulgar slur during a station-funded appearance. She resigned today rather than apologize. All three events stirred firestorms.
The arguments in defense of name-calling and personal attacks demonstrate common misunderstandings about the difference between aggressive and assertive communication. Many people confuse strong expression with vulgarity, disagreeing with disrespecting, and holding people accountable with personal attack. Those conflations muddy the real issues. People think that objecting to Imus’ firing, and Shuster and Rhodes’ suspension is the same as silencing them. It’s not. It’s about maintaining communication standards in our airwaves
Imus is back, and apparently is willingly continuing to be assertive without being viciously aggressive. Shuster is back without incident. Rhodes chose to quit instead of apologize. I hope Rhodes maintains her passion in her new ventures while toning down her vitriol.
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