[Tuscany]

Below is a article written by a popular DJ in the Rochester NY area. People in the area are calling for him to resign. While I might not agree with what he says (then again I might). Either way I am all for freedom of speech. I would like to add, the last time he had a run in like this he called our African American Mayor a monkey. I have a very biased view on anything he says...but would like others opinions.


Bob Lonsberry's column for Monday, June 16, 2008.
Bob Lonsberry's column for 06/16/08, Now removed from His Web Site

Déjà vu ALL OVER AGAIN

Today in Rochester, shortly before noon, a group of black activists will call for me to be fired.

They will call me a racist.

Their claim is baseless, but it was the last time, too. And the last time I got fired.

So we'll see how this goes.

If worse comes to worse, I've got six months of severance in my contract and a book deal to fall back on.

Here's their beef: I criticized a program that honors “black scholars” and a newspaper story that praised pregnant teen-agers who graduate from high
School.

Actually, I did a lot more than criticize them, I ripped them from stem to stern. I think that the program and the story are examples of a sinister tendency to praise failure and mediocrity, and to offer false respect and honor for inadequate performance.

This tendency is sinister because it lulls people into thinking that second-best is good, when it isn't. It deceives them into being satisfied with less than their best. In short, false praise dooms people by throwing water on the fires of ambition and drowning out the desire for excellence.

First, the pregnant teens.

The newspaper – all newspapers – periodically runs ridiculous stories about teen-age mothers who get their high school diplomas. These young women are praised and petted and given special honors and called courageous and strong.

Which is insane.

The courageous and strong young women are the ones who kept their pants on. With out-of-wedlock births tied to a whole slew of social pathologies and failures, and with African-Americans particularly troubled by out-of-wedlock births, these unmarried teen pregnancies should be discouraged, not facilitated.

I said on the radio that they should write newspaper stories about girls who do what's right and excel. I said that they should particularly honor girls from troubled neighborhoods, where out-of-wedlock birth is so high, who don't get pregnant and who go on to graduate.

Honors should be for those who do right and deserve them. We should hold up as examples, in our newspapers and in life, those who have faced difficulty, made the right choices and excelled. Those people should be honored, not those who have messed up.

The other thing has to do with the “black scholars” program. This is a deal where black kids who have a B or above get their name and picture in the paper as “black scholars.”

This program irks me, and it should deeply offend every black mom and dad.

Why?

Because it sets a lower standard for black kids. If you get a B and you're white, you're average, you don't make the honor roll or the merit roll or whatever they call it. If you get a B and you're black, you get your name and your picture in the paper and you're a “black scholar.”

Why?

How does that make sense? And what do you think happens if you tell white kids that a B is mediocre and you tell black kids that a B is a big enough deal to get your picture in the paper? Isn't it racist to expect less from one group of people than another? Shouldn't the bar be set at one level for everybody? Don't different expectations result in different outcomes?

If you praise black kids for doing less than white kids, don't you set those black kids up for failure when they ultimately have to compete head-to-head with white kids?

Isn't it condescending to expect less of black kids and to give them false praise? And doesn't that false praise hurt people by lowering their motivation and standard of accomplishment?

If you tell one group of runners that 25 seconds is a fast time in the 100-yard dash and you tell another group of runners that 10 seconds is a fast time in a 100-yard dash, which group do you think is going to tend to run faster?

And haven't we sold black kids short long enough?

Haven't we learned that lowered expectations lead to lower outcomes? Isn't that a fundamental aspect of human nature?

And when we praise sub-standard performance, don't we cheat those who truly achieve? Don't we steal their thunder and take away some of the motivation for others to excel?

If the newspaper stories lionized City School District girls who did not get pregnant, wouldn't that honor true achievement and hold out a good example for others to follow? If the “black scholars” program put the pictures of African-American students who got an A+, or were above a 95, wouldn't that honor true achievement and hold out a good example for others to follow?

Shouldn't those who've actually done something good get the praise?

What's unfortunate is that these programs exist at all. They are a curse that weighs down an entire community. The only people who praise them are those who make money off them or who can gain political capital by advocating them.
I think someone who lowers standards for anyone – including African-Americans – is an enemy, not a friend.

City teen-age girls, and black students in high school, are in no way inferior or second fiddle to anyone. They have just as much innate ability to make moral and wise decisions, and to achieve academically, as anybody.

Setting lower standards for them – as this story did and this program does – is disrespectful and offensive. Criticizing that lowering of standards is not attacking the black community, it is defending it.

I stand by what I said.

Because I was right.

But we'll see how this plays out. The right thing to do would be to tell these activists to go pound salt. But there are a lot of other factors involved. Rochester is home of the powerful congresswoman who is pushing the new “Fairness Doctrine” that would end conservative talk radio. And the Democrats are about four months away from taking the country over lock, stock and barrel.

The odds are that a few no-names are going to get thrown to the beast to buy time and cover for the industry, and there's nothing to say I couldn't be one of those.

All I know for sure is this. Rochester's urban black community is falling in on itself. The perfect storm of personal and social dysfunction is crushing lives on a daily basis. After decades of politically correct social programs, things are worse than they've ever been – and that's not a coincidence. Many of Rochester's so-called black “leaders” are interested in nothing more than feathering their own nests -- in filling their purse or building their political base or stroking their ego.

And more babies are born without fathers and families, more people slide into welfare, lawlessness increases, educational failure is epidemic, more people are murdered, drugs and alcohol trap more and more, and none of that is the fault of the guy on the radio.

But it's easier to hold press conferences about me than it is to actually do something that does anybody any good.

So the attack begins today.

Only time will tell how it turns out.

By Bob Lonsberry © 2008

[N0help4u]

Unfortunately when you go against any organization for what they believe no matter how wrong what they are saying is it makes you a racist or politically incorrect and open for
Problems. People hide under their organization to promote things that may have no bases of being right but since they are advocating whatever they have rights that protect them.
The left wants the fairness doctrine because they can not get any success with their own radio programs so it kills them to see the republicans being heard.
From what you are saying it sounds like you would do better to get Bill Cosby to back you
Because he is black and says the same thing.

[Synnen]

FWIW, I agree with the guy.

I think that programs like those he is denouncing are worthless to society as a whole, for exactly the same reasons he listed.

The problem is: people don't want to take responsibility for their own actions, or the actions of their organization. By setting the bar low, it makes their organization look that much more successful--and it makes it so that no one else holds THEM to a high standard.

I feel the same way about the "No Child Left Behind" policy, too. If you can't learn at the level of your peers, you SHOULD be left behind. Classes should NOT be taught to the lowest denominator, but to the highest. Standards should not be set so that anyone can meet them, they should be set so that only the best and brightest can reach them--or the most ambitious.

[Tuscany]

Nohelp- I am not saying that I agree or disagree with his beliefs. I just don't think he should lose his job over it.

Edit: Synn just saw your post. As an educator I agree 110% with what you say with regards to the No Child Left Behind. We are helping nobody with NCLB, it hurts those students who are not at grade level, and it hurts those that are above. We should teach to the child not to the test and or standard.

[Synnen]

Oh... and he shouldn't be fired for his opinion. Nothing he said (if that article is the whole story) is in any way racist.

If I were him, though, I'd start a "white scholars" program. You have to have a B average, and you get your picture in the paper. Wonder how many people would scream about THAT? Yet it's perfectly okay to have a "black scholars" program... um... where's the racism here?

[N0help4u]

Yeah he should not but it is that we are being conditioned to accept losing freedom of speech by anything that does not go along with society as hate speech.

Meant the guy, not you, was easier to type you to type as fast as I was thinking and then forgot to change the you to the DJ.

I have said for 20 years how wrong I think the No child left behind and the 'everybody gets a trophy so that no child feels bad' is wrong because if they are further behind when they get to high school then it is harder for them and when all kids get trophies the ones who earned it feel why did they try so hard.

[tomder55]

He will get " Imused "

[N0help4u]

he will get " Imused "

I was thinking that too.

[NeedKarma]

he will get " Imused "

Not the same, the DJ didn't use demeaning terms like "nappy headed hos".

[N0help4u]

That doesn't mean they will not fire him for what he said.
They will still find a way to use the same reasoning to fire him.

[tomder55]

The broadcasting company doesn't have the guts to face an organized protest against it so they will succumb.

[magprob]

Who died and left this guy in charge of dictating what high moral standards are anyway. In Africa, the girls are ripe for childbirth at 12 or 13. They are traded for a few goats or pigs and become a wife.
If you are a white, American christian, this may be appalling to you but then, the puritanical belief system is fading fast. These days, anything goes so get used to it.
If you can't get used to it, who died and left you in charge of dictating the high moral standards for others anyway?

[tomder55]

Well for one thing there are laws about age of consent. That is not me or the DJ but the people deciding that .

[Tuscany]

I guess that is my thing. He might think all these things which is absolutely fine, but saying them would absolutely have reprecussions. While I do not think that the comments made by the above DJ are as racially harsh (is that the correct term) as that said by Imus, I am unsure as what the aboves DJ's reprecussions should be.

[tomder55]

There is a simple equation to follow . If his ratings suffer he should be canned. But he will go because the next step in these lynchings is to pressure advertisers of the show to drop their ads.

[NeedKarma]

The people who are offended will turn the dial, those who love this kind of sensationalism will keep on listening. Guess which way the american public will go?

[Tuscany]

Well I know what way I went... dial turned

[excon]

Hello T:

I don't know. It appears that he didn't SAY these things on the air. He wrote them on his blog. I don't know what difference that makes...

Actually, I do. We have a jillion blogs. The government doesn't license blogs. It DOES license the airways, because they're limited. He isn't bound by the same regulations if he WRITES stuff, than if he SAID the same stuff. When he writes it on his blog, there's no mistaking HIS opinion from his BOSSES.

So no, he shouldn't be fired.

excon

[NeedKarma]

I dunno. It appears that he didn't SAY these things on the air. He wrote them on his blog. I dunno what difference that makes.......

Actually, I do. We have a jillion blogs. The government doesn't license blogs. It DOES license the airways, because they're limited. He isn't bound by the same regulations if he WRITES stuff, than if he SAID the same stuff. When he writes it on his blog, there's no mistaking HIS opinion from his BOSSES.

So no, he shouldn't be fired.

excon

Wait, I didn't get that from the original post but you are correct, it's text from his blog not a transcript from his show, and yes, it does make a difference for the exact reason you mentioned.
No, he should not be fired. Of course if his listenership (is that a word?:)) declines drastically because of it or if he violated a clause in his contract then he may be discipline then he may indeed be disciplined by his employer.

[Tuscany]

Hello T:

I dunno. It appears that he didn't SAY these things on the air. He wrote them on his blog. I dunno what difference that makes.......

Actually, I do. We have a jillion blogs. The government doesn't license blogs. It DOES license the airways, because they're limited. He isn't bound by the same regulations if he WRITES stuff, than if he SAID the same stuff. When he writes it on his blog, there's no mistaking HIS opinion from his BOSSES.

So no, he shouldn't be fired.

excon

It is a blog that he wrote in response to comments made on his morning show.