Posted on 11/13/2007 12:30:44 AM PST by panther33
OPINION COLUMN
We ought to give Dog a second chance
By: Joshua Sharp
Tuesday Opinion Columnist
Daily Trojan
It's always a good day when "Dog: The Bounty Hunter" is on TV. Bored by the prostitutes and stab victims on "Cops," I enjoy watching Duane "Dog" Chapman and his family hunting down meth-crazed fugitives on the Hawaiian Islands.
The long-haired strongman, accompanied by his trademark sunglasses and busty wife, usually ends each arrest by giving fatherly advice to his capture and offering a cigarette - if that's his or her thing.
But production of the show is now suspended indefinitely after the bounty hunter's estranged son, Tucker, recorded a private phone call where Dog repeatedly used racially charged language. Tucker then sold the tape to the National Enquirer for a reported $15,000.
In the call, Dog was chewing out his son for his relationship with a black woman whom Dog suspected was leading recently paroled Tucker back into trouble.
"I heard this girl was maybe not being the best for Tucker - and I'll leave it like that - so I tried to interfere," Dog explained on "Larry King Live." "I don't care if she is black at all. He's on parole for a 20-year sentence, and if he messes up, he goes back."
Dog's recorded rant was an angry, obscenity-laced tirade. But what's worse, Dog used the n-word to refer to the girlfriend.
Over the past two weeks, Dog has been rightfully vilified in the public sphere for using such indefensible language. But knowing Dog's track record of compassionate public service, and after his repeated, presumably sincere apologies, we need to forgive and move forward. ...
Continue reading "We ought to give Dog a second chance," by Joshua Sharp in today's Daily Trojan...
That'll happen the moment it doesn't become profitable.
Somebody bring me a lawn chair.
heck he didnt say anything NEAR as bad as RAP LYRICS
I think he deserves a second chance. I understand that even Whoopi was pretty conciliatory when speaking of it on The View.
I agree with you. He is taking responsibility.
Thank you for commenting.
Dog also had a right to expect some degree of loyalty from his son which he did not get. If I were Dog, I would tell the kid no problem, you're on your own, and when your girlfriend gets done using you and kicks you to the curb, don't come crying to me.
Sounds like the kid needs to be reminded which side his bread is buttered on.
As long as the N word is in popular music by black artists, used by black comedians and so forth I could not care less who uses it. It is an offensive word regardless of who says it.
Condemning him for using the N word is racist.
“I think he deserves a second chance”
Second chance implies he did something wrong. Its the people vilifying him that are wrong.
You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for commenting.
“Its the people vilifying him that are wrong.”
That’s very true.
Having paid scant attention to this “controversy”, but still more than I wanted to, I would point out that Mr. Dog was telling his son that he did not want to get caught up in some BS racial grievance firestorm, and that is what got him caught up in some BS racial grievance firestorm.
His use of the N-Word in that tape was not denigration, but an example or the language that he might use. He was having a discussion about language, and thought he was in a situation where he could use the actual word he was talking about, instead of saying “The N-Word”.
The fact is, Mr. Dog’s public act, which has made him a lot of money, requires him to use coarse language and racial slurs from time to time. He was merely pointing out to his son that he did not want somebody in the family making a big deal out of it every time he did so. This is a perfectly reasonable position and really has nothing to do with racial denigration or the individual girl involved.
And it turns out that Mr. Dog was right.
I think the whole ordeal makes A&E look worse than Chapman. He has obviously used the language before and A&E didn't care as long as nobody actually heard it.
I'm just as offended when blacks call me "Honkey", "Whitey", and "Cracker" as they are when they are called the much celebrated "N-word", even by each other. As a redhead, I'm also offended when people call me "Carrot Top", "Red", and "Rusty". My life goes on, though, despite my objections to these names. I grew up in the "old south". Folks who are upset by all of this clearly don't have enough to do in their own lives.....or they are out for financial gain.
It amazes me that people expect a member of the Devil's Disciples who is a 7th grade dropout to use genteel language. Dog has done far worse things than use foul language. Yet not a single gripe about them. He has used the M-F word. And he has committed adultery during previous marriages. Ask any woman: "Which is worse, your husband having an affair or your husband using bad language with an adult son in a private conversation?"
I forgive ‘Dog’.
But I won’t be watching his TV show.
As many posters have pointed out, the Clintons also have used this kind of language and look where Hillary is now: front-runner for president of the USA.
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