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We ought to give Dog a second chance (Daily Trojan)
Daily Trojan ^ | 11/13/2007 | Joshua Sharp

Posted on 11/13/2007 12:30:44 AM PST by panther33

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To: panther33
Hi Joshua, nice post! You are a good writer, too.

But some of the Freeper comments here make me want to puke! Where are the conservative and Christian standards and expectations?? Dog revealed himself for who he really is. He has two choices now - stand up and be authentic and NOT apologize....or apologize and (oh, what is that Christian word that Christians like to ignore in their own lives...? OH YEAH..) REPENT!!

Some of these ‘freeeepers’ are no more a positive difference in this world than Lefties! This ‘two wrongs make it ok’ justifications are mentally weak. Where is your intellectual rigor and community standard? We’re going to lose to the Facist-Muzzies if we don’t admonish each other, support each other, and repent with AUTHENTICITY.

Revile and admonish the actions of Dog but not the person. What in his life do we see in our own? Where are we mentally weak?? What do we hide?? Why DO we just give ourselves justifications and a ‘pass’?? YAWWWN!

How many of us are so damn quick to justify who Dog is (as he cowardly hides himself from the world) but at the same time were so eager to send ‘’Rev’’ Fred Phelps to hell (as he gladly exposes himself to the world)? I didn’t see any of the mentally slovenly Freepers just say ‘’Well, he is a Kansas Baptist. It’s just in his DNA. Live and let live, duuuuuude.’’

No!! Most the great Freeps stood up, were vociferous, and took action - quick to admonish the acts of hate!
Who are we that we are a Conservative? Who are we that we Freep?

41 posted on 11/13/2007 5:27:46 AM PST by LittleBillyInfidel (''Undocumented nukes want to do the job that American nukes won't do.'')
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To: panther33
Do you know how surreal this thread is? Over 40 posts by adults who are telling each other not to use a certain word and calling it something else - as if by calling it something else will remove the non-verbal thought from our minds. My mind is flashing back to when I was a kid and not being able to say the "H-word" or the "S-word" or the "D-word" in public and being punished by my mom for saying them. Is this really what was wanted - to have one race be a “mommy” to all the rest for saying a “bad” word? Using a replacement phrase/word out loud does not eliminate racism just as using the real word does not prove the user is a racist.
42 posted on 11/13/2007 5:34:10 AM PST by jettester (I got paid to break 'em - not fly 'em)
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To: apocalypto
Dog Chapman has not betrayed us or anyone else. It was a private conversation and we still should have the right to say whatever we want to in a private conversation. The only Judas was his son Tucker Chapman. ...

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?"

Good points.

With regard to your first rebuttal about Dog betraying us, he did betray our trust to a certain extent in that he is a role model for many and was not more careful with the way he referred to that woman. I understand that it was a rant, I understand that it was in private, but what he said was not acceptable or defensible and is now in the public domain.

How do the parents of kids who looked up to him explain why Dog is on the TV apologizing instead of bounty hunting?

When you make yourself a public figure and role model, you have to take on a higher moral standard for yourself. We all make mistakes, but what he said was indeed a small betrayal.

I agree that Tucker's the (much) bigger rat here, but he does not have young fans across Hawaii and the world. His transgressions of recording and selling the tape should not obscure the guilt of the owner of those words.

43 posted on 11/13/2007 5:41:46 AM PST by panther33 (USC Trojan -- Fight On!)
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To: BallyBill
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 agree. I strongly feel that A&E withdrew their support prematurely. They should have stood by him -- he's brought fantastic ratings for the channel, and if they hadn't pulled their support I'm not sure the comments would have seemed so "career-ending."

I hope when they re-consider the issue in a few weeks, they choose to stand by Dog.

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

44 posted on 11/13/2007 5:49:50 AM PST by panther33 (USC Trojan -- Fight On!)
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To: LittleBillyInfidel
Thanks for commenting, and for the kind words about my writing.

You're right that authentic repentance is what's needed in this situation, instead of making excuses or justifications. It is my belief that Dog has already begun that process.

I also particularly liked your comments about self-reflection. I think it's helpful to use this time as a chance not to muzzle ourselves completely, but still to remember what a huge effect words can have.

Think before you speak, I always tell myself. Still working on that one...

45 posted on 11/13/2007 6:04:25 AM PST by panther33 (USC Trojan -- Fight On!)
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To: All

Duane Chapman and his clan perform a necessary role in civil society ... but they are far from the heroes that some make them out to be. A&E has paid this family a small fortune and they still won’t buy a shirt. I couldn’t care less if the show never airs again.


46 posted on 11/13/2007 6:16:55 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
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To: panther33
Btw, I don't think an apology makes him weak at all.

Neither do most of Larry King's viewers. But then they aren't his peers, and they don't understand his background.

There's something wrong when a man is forced to apologize to the whole world for what was said in a private conversation, in which he had an expectation of privacy.

Well at least he hasn't checked into some kind of rehab (yet).

47 posted on 11/13/2007 6:53:38 AM PST by zipper
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To: freekitty
...Dog is the wrong person to be held accountable here. His son and girlfriend should be. Just like that case in Boulder where that couple’s land was taken. ...

FYI, here's that land-grab case in Boulder, CO.

48 posted on 11/13/2007 8:22:17 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Caipirabob
If you heard the language I use at white people who don't signal and cut people off in traffic, you'd never worry about what dog said about black people.

Don't tell me you're an anti-idiotarian! Shocking! /sarc

49 posted on 11/13/2007 8:24:53 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Mila
I think he deserves a second chance. I understand that even Whoopi was pretty conciliatory when speaking of it on The View.

Here's the tape of Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd on The View, talking about Dog's situation.

50 posted on 11/13/2007 8:38:30 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Albion Wilde

Thanks. Just one thing. They forgot to inform the owners of this law.


51 posted on 11/13/2007 8:41:52 AM PST by freekitty ((May the eagles long fly our beautiful and free American sky.))
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To: panther33

Who’s this “we”? Whether his TV show continues is between him and the network.


52 posted on 11/13/2007 9:06:56 AM PST by Tax-chick ("How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!")
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To: gridlock
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.

Forgive me for using your well-meaning post as an example of the problems we have with language in today's media-saturated culture, but regardless of your good intentions, several of the things you said as fact simply can't be proven true.

First, you claim as fact that his profession "requires him to use coarse language and racial slurs from time to time." This statement is clearly not fact, it is one opinion among many. The case can certainly be made that he can effectively catch criminals without using bad language — it's probable that only an authoritative tone of voice when he commands them to surrender will work just as well.

Next your post says, "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." Again, absolutist words — "merely", "perfectly", "really", "nothing" — are used to describe a situation with many shades of gray.

I'm not trying to pick on you; I believe most of us here understand that your remarks were made in the vernacular, everyday language most of us use. I'm trying to make a point about language usage. Dog was doing the same thing — using his everyday frame of reference. However, most people today do recognize the sensitivity of the n-word, as Dog himself did. That's where this situation breaks down.

The word is a bad word. Dog's other frequent frame of reference, "m****rf****r, is a terrible image that should offend virtually everyone, and he uses that one during almost every bust against a male perpetrator, without losing his show. But the n-word is directed at an oppressed people who have been freed only in stages, thus it has an extensive political lobby backing it up.

The n-word is a particularly offensive word, and it's hard to make the case that the person who uses it, black or white, isn't accountable for offensive speech aimed at a person's race rather than their character. When he called her a "whore", nobody got upset. This word was understood to mean that he doubted her character as being a person who would sell a thing of great value cheap. As it turns out, she did encourage Tucker to do just that, in selling out his own father at any price.

But Dog's specific use of the n-word in this situation implied, without stating it, that most black people are persons of bad character; or that her bad character was somehow associated with the fact that she is black. That's where he went off the rails. Even if he had said, "Son, in my experience some black people in high-pressure situations with white people can be suspicious that everything we do is about race, and she seems a little insecure this way, and this will cause us trouble," it would have still caused a firestorm, but would have been harder for Tucker and the girlfriend to use against him. He was impatiently using the n-word to try to telegraph all of that in shorthand, instead of sitting down with his son and having a counseling talk face-to-face, and it didn't work out for him.

53 posted on 11/13/2007 9:13:56 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Mohito Loe
Maybe, he did kill someone and go to jail for it. That’s why he can’t carry a gun and only goes after mostly small-time or safer convicts.

He didn't do the killing, but was an accessory after the fact, having been part of the criminal robbery during which the murder was committed by someone else in his gang.

54 posted on 11/13/2007 9:16:29 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Mohito Loe
It makes me uncomfortable when they pray one minute and sling the “MF” word a few seconds later. It’s bleeped out, but there is no doubt what he is saying. Still, he’s less scary than his wife.

LOL!! I'm surprised she hasn't put someone's eye out with those things. Suddenly meeting up with her must be like having the air bag go off.

55 posted on 11/13/2007 9:18:45 AM PST by Albion Wilde (America: “the most benign hegemon in history.”—Mark Steyn)
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To: Tax-chick
Who’s this “we”? Whether his TV show continues is between him and the network.

We = loyal viewers

You're correct to an extent, but it's perfectly legitimate for his viewers to discuss (and advocate) for/against his return to television.

Let's get him back on the streets and fighting crime. His time on Earth is best spent doing that, not sitting in the courtroom of public opinion or negotiating a reduced deal with A&E.

56 posted on 11/13/2007 10:44:30 AM PST by panther33 (USC Trojan -- Fight On!)
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To: panther33
I’ll be on campus tomorrow and will try and grab a hard copy of the paper myself.

God finds people where they are at.
Dog was in a bad place, never had the benefit of the great education you are getting and he is rough as a person.

I think if his cable channel doesn’t pick up his show, that some other channel who is smart will. He makes cable money.

I think he is human and that he was never trying to say the N word on his own in public, it took the secret recording in privacy to bring it out.
He at least had the good taste to keep it away in public to not hurt feelings.
I think if he feels bad and grows from this to speak less foul things, then good for him as well.

He’s a guy out of prison who took up bounty hunting and got himself a cable show, we should NOT expect to find Jay Leno or Henry Kissinger there.

57 posted on 11/13/2007 10:52:23 AM PST by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: Albion Wilde
The case can certainly be made that he can effectively catch criminals without using bad language — it's probable that only an authoritative tone of voice when he commands them to surrender will work just as well.

Well, he is less in the catching criminals business and more in the entertainment business, these days. He has made quite a lot of money by projecting a certain public persona. That persona is coarse and uses foul language and slurs as a matter of course. He is in a very unusual position in that using the N-word really is part of what makes him successful in his field.

Such is the state of our culture.

58 posted on 11/13/2007 11:08:05 AM PST by gridlock (Recycling is the new Religion.)
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To: Albion Wilde
He was impatiently using the n-word to try to telegraph all of that in shorthand, instead of sitting down with his son and having a counseling talk face-to-face, and it didn't work out for him.

Having a one-sided conversation like this into an answering machine is just stupid. I will grant you that.

59 posted on 11/13/2007 11:09:19 AM PST by gridlock (Recycling is the new Religion.)
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To: panther33
it's perfectly legitimate for his viewers to discuss (and advocate) for/against his return to television.

That's true. However, I also think it's legitimate for the network to conclude, based on its commercial evaluation, that he's better off doing his job without their cameras.

60 posted on 11/13/2007 11:27:49 AM PST by Tax-chick ("How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!")
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