May 7, 2008
Communication standards ~ Political bullying…in kindergarden?
I thought I already knew how divisive the political environment is. I thought I had heard it all. But I learned something that surprised me when a viewer called in to a TV interview show I was on for my Unite and Concur eBook. The caller relayed sordid tales of political bullying in her child’s elementary school.
Since that day, I have heard other tales of the political divide trickling down to our kids.
My eBook talks about how to handle political bullies, and you can get some quick tips here.
Have you or your family members been subjected to political bullying? Please email me or post comments here with your tales. Thanks!
And have a great, bully-free week.
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- A Political First Date - What not to say
- Blog guidelines: How to start a reasonable dialogue about reasonable dialogue
- Communication Question - talking with your political opposite
- Guest post ~ here to serve…a growing sense of order
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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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Air America Radio suspension of host Randi Rhodes raises communication questions
Air America Radio’s suspension of talk show host Randi Rhodes stirred anger among her fans, drew cheers among her detractors. As a communication author and teacher, I herald it as an example I hope other outlets follow.
If you’re asking, “Randi who?”, she’s a liberal talk show host who is generally considered smart, outspoken and often caustic. Air America Radio suspended her last week for calling Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro “f*&#%^$ whores.”
To me, this kind of language is indefensible, but there are plenty of people who try. If you follow the discussions whenever a media figure gets suspended for poor word choice, you get the impression that you have to be disrespectful in order to disagree. The real issue of Rhodes suspension is whether you condone calling public figures F&%#& whores. It doesn’t matter how you feel about Clinton or how you feel about Rhodes. Either you approve of this kind of attack or you don’t.
Air America’s press release read:
“Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station. ‘Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts.”
To ignore this kind of vulgarity is to condone it. I know, I know, it sells. Randi Rhodes commanded high ratings. I predict she will command higher ratings if she returns to the air, keeping her feisty nature but losing her vulgar tirades. I predict she would keep her current fan base and gain a new base of people who like their commentary to be clear without being caustic and corrosive.
If you’ve read any of my books you know my philosophy is to say what you mean, and mean what you say, without being mean when you say it. Practice that yourself, and then hold the people you support to the same standards. Advocate clear, substantive dialogue from the candidates and media outlets you support.
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Related posts which may interest you
- Firestorms over show hosts Imus, Shuster and Rhodes’ suspensions illustrate confusion over aggression and assertiveness
- Old school politics ~ Obama supporters vs. Clinton haters
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