# Give the guy a break! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 23, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620 "2006-03-23T18:36:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/61 "2006-03-23T22:08:46Z")
Obviously the remark that got Lenihan fired had to be punished harshly, as it was dangerous. Who knows how many people listening in their cars laughed so hard they drove off the road? Anyway, it pales\* in comparison to [this incident.](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_16_95/ai_54731434) Sometimes announcers just screw up unintentionally. Or get help (as in the case of the rock group that invited disaster in its name for[this album](http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1678680/a/Cunning+Stunts.htm)). \*no racial allusion intended. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@Mister\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/62 "2006-03-23T22:09:41Z")
> [@Sequent](#): > > I agree that the slip about Frank was much, much more deserving of the label “reprehensible” than the slip about Rice. But you have to remember that Dick Armey is a member of the US House of Representatives. You can’t fire someone who doesn’t actually work for a living. Just to clarify, I wasn’t suggesting that what you are saying was insane. Someone getting fired over this is insane, in my opinion. I wish someone familiar with the DJ would come along. I’d hate to be defending a guy who has a history of slyly making racial insults. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/63 "2006-03-23T22:17:25Z")
The thing that the posters who are saying that the announcer shouldn’t lose his job over this seem to be overlooking is that this was during the man’s first two weeks of employment at the station. If he had made this mistake after a period of time as an employee I’d be with all those saying that he shouldn’t lose his job. But making this kind of error on the job after only two weeks… I can see why the station choose not to risk seeing if that was his mean time to failure. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@Mister\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/64 "2006-03-23T22:36:19Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > But making this kind of error on the job after only two weeks… I can see why the station choose not to risk seeing if that was his mean time to failure. I would only agree if had a track record of making insensitive remarks. Lenihan had a show on another radio station, WGNU, in the same city, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/65 "2006-03-23T22:38:57Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > …, but I don’t think any station owner wants to taunt the FCC with anything remotely controversial. Unless, of course, you’re Oprah. The conflating of boon and coup never occured to me. That’s a reasonable interpretation. Too bad he didn’t use that as an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/66 "2006-03-23T22:57:07Z")
“Coons? When racoons try to get on our back porch, Momma just chases 'em off with a broom.” Forrest Gump was the only other time I’d heard “coon” as a racial slur. And I wondered if it was concocted just for the film. Shoot, if I’d been the DJ, I wouldn’t have known _why_ people were offended. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/67 "2006-03-23T22:58:00Z")
I’m probably in the minority here, but I’ll argue that something had to be done, and really quickly. Here’s why: 1. According to news reports here in St. Louis, the announcer had a dump button, and didn’t use it. If he didn’t use it for his own slipup, what would he do if a caller said something inappropriate or inflammatory? 2. There would have been an inevitable Beavis and Butthead response – "Heh heh. He said “coon.” 3. Assuming it was a legitimate accident, what would the station do the next time an announcer “accidentally” used an ethnic slur or an obscenity? It’s not unheard of in the world of talk radio to have announcers deliberately push the envelope and claim innocence when stuff hits the fan. 4. Maybe firing was too harsh. On the other hand, the guy had been at the station for a grand total of eight days. He didn’t exactly get off to a flying start. And there are rumors going around that it was all a publicity stunt, with both the station manager and the host in on the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/68 "2006-03-23T23:01:54Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > “Coons? When racoons try to get on our back porch, Momma just chases 'em off with a broom.” > > Forrest Gump was the only other time I’d heard “coon” as a racial slur. And I wondered if it was concocted just for the film. Shoot, if I’d been the DJ, I wouldn’t have known _why_ people were offended. Like I said before, I wouldn’t have known either. If I had heard it I might have thought it an odd thing to say but wouldn’t have realized it was a racial thing. The DJ on the other hand obviously did know that it was offensive as shown by his apology in the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/69 "2006-03-23T23:21:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > 1. According to news reports here in St. Louis, the announcer had a dump button, and didn’t use it. If he didn’t use it for his own slipup, what would he do if a caller said something inappropriate or inflammatory? If he didn’t realize until he said it that he’d had a slip of the tongue, how can he possibly be expected to use the dump button? > [@kunilou](#): > > 1. There would have been an inevitable Beavis and Butthead response – "Heh heh. He said “coon.” So what? Why should someone who made an innocent mistake be responsible for idiots sniggering about it? > [@kunilou](#): > > 1. Assuming it was a legitimate accident, what would the station do the next time an announcer “accidentally” used an ethnic slur or an obscenity? It’s not unheard of in the world of talk radio to have announcers deliberately push the envelope and claim innocence when stuff hits the fan. Then evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Was this a firing offense? Only to the most hyper-sensitive. > [@kunliou](#): > > 1. Maybe firing was too harsh. On the other hand, the guy had been at the station for a grand total of eight days. He didn’t exactly get off to a flying start. Wow, god forbid any new person should ever make a mistake. > [@kunilou](#): > > And there are rumors going around that it was all a publicity stunt, with both the station manager and the host in on the whole thing. So the DJ entered into a conspiracy with the station manager to get himself fired and potentially branded as a racist? Do you have some evidence of said conspiracy or are you relying on meaningless rumors? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/70 "2006-03-24T00:29:35Z")
I grew up in Ohio, too, and I wouldn’t have recognized this as a slur if not for my husband telling me. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/71 "2006-03-24T00:37:36Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Thanks, I figured that out in [post 28](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7226249&postcount=28). 😉 …which wasn’t there when I wrote the response. The hamsters took several minutes to accept my post. Honest. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/72 "2006-03-24T00:57:22Z")
Well, I’m from the STL area and think this whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. I couldn’t believe how draconian the coporate reaction was, and Frank O Pinion sank way down in my “opinion” when he endorsed the station’s decision. I think KTRS is below contempt in how they handled this and will vote with my radio buttons. No more KTRS for me, and I don’t listen to Cardinal’s baseball so no big deal for me. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/73 "2006-03-24T02:53:59Z")
Psh. Like you’d expect rationality once the PC police show. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/74 "2006-03-24T03:07:02Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Psh. Like you’d expect rationality once the PC police show. Who? ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/75 "2006-03-24T04:10:32Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > This is quite possible, and I have no knowledge of the guy, _and_ I’m one to unfairly presume that racism is present when it might not be. However, it’s also possible for people to have in mind things that they fear they might say, as in _"Oh man, I hope I don’t say “x” because people might think I’m a racist. Don’t say “x” don’t say “x”…_" > > “And of course, that would be a real big X…” _aw fuck_ I call this “The Number Three” effect. (note: “Number Three” has a huge mole on his face) > [@Austin Powers: Goldmember](#): > > Austin Powers: [to Number Three] > Nice to mole you… meet you. Nice to meet you, Mole. > [to Foxxy as Basil & The Mole leave] > Don’t say mole. > Foxxy Cleopatra: Now stop. > Austin Powers: I said mole. > Foxxy Cleopatra: Stop. > [Basil gestures him to hush] > Number Three: Bye. > Austin Powers: Mole. > [Basil & the Mole try again to leave] > Austin Powers: Mole. > [Basil warns him again to hush] > Austin Powers: Mole. > Basil Exposition: Oh, shut up! > Austin Powers: [Basil and The Mole walk out and Austin lets loose] Moley, moley, moley, moley, moley! I think that this is exactly what happened to **Dave Lenihan**. He shouldn’t be fired for it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/76 "2006-03-24T04:35:35Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > If he didn’t realize until he said it that he’d had a slip of the tongue, how can he possibly be expected to use the dump button? Because the dump button is a five-second delay. He knew what he said within five seconds. That’s what the dump button is for. > [@](#): > > So what? Why should someone who made an innocent mistake be responsible for idiots sniggering about it? Because sniggering idiots tie up the phone lines to radio talk shows and keep an innocent mistake going for hours or days. If you’re a talk show host, and you give sniggering idiots an opening, pretty soon the only listeners you’ll have are sniggering idiots. It’s Gresham’s law applied to radio. > [@](#): > > Then evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Was this a firing offense? Only to the most hyper-sensitive. > Wow, god forbid any new person should ever make a mistake. And I actually said “maybe firing was too harsh.” But hosting a talk show is a high-wire act, and talk show hosts know it. Also, employers aren’t known for forgiveness when a new employee screws up and there are 100 other people lined up to apply for the job. > [@](#): > > So the DJ entered into a conspiracy with the station manager to get himself fired and potentially branded as a racist? Do you have some evidence of said conspiracy or are you relying on meaningless rumors? No, I don’t have evidence and yes, I am repeating rumors which may or may not be baseless. That’s why I said “rumors.” This is The Pit, not Great Debates. But considering that the station participated in a publicity stunt a couple of weeks ago, I don’t put it past them, either. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/77 "2006-03-24T04:42:20Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > This reminds me of the time I met an African-American lawyer who had been in the same legal service organization I was in in law school (I’m white, BTW). We were surrounded by judges, dignitaries, important people, and somehow it came out that we had both been in Phi Alpha Delta. I shook his hand and blurted out “It’s great to meet a fellow brother!” Of course, I immediately realized how idiotic that sounded and I was shocked, but nobody else seemed to notice or care. He chuckled, and that was it. A year later, I played saxophone at the guy’s wedding. President Clinton? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/78 "2006-03-24T09:27:12Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > A charming negress. > > 😛 Well, this guy certainly found himself an egress. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/79 "2006-03-24T11:49:58Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > I must be way out of the loop on what is and is not a racist term, but I have never even heard that word before except as shorthand for a racoon, as in the animal. There’s a brand of [cheese here in Australia](http://www.dairyfarmers.com.au/internet/s02_products/coon.jsp) called “Coon”. I never know what to think whenever I see it. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@Mister\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620/80 "2006-03-24T12:40:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There’s a brand of [cheese here in Australia](http://www.dairyfarmers.com.au/internet/s02_products/coon.jsp) called “Coon”. I never know what to think whenever I see it. No worries, mate. That’s named after [Edward William Coon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon_cheese). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-the-guy-a-break/349620.md?page=5)