# Weatherman fired for uttering a racial slur on air **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413 "2019-01-08T17:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/41 "2019-01-09T19:21:01Z")
Yeah, I bet members of the KKK (of which this guy is clearly a member) work “Martin Luther Coon” into every conversation they can. It’s their “That’s what she said”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/42 "2019-01-09T20:24:35Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Yeah, I bet members of the KKK (of which this guy is clearly a member) work “Martin Luther Coon” into every conversation they can. It’s their “That’s what she said”. No, [just into every mention of Martin Luther King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA6RtIXAkTQ). ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/43 "2019-01-09T20:39:09Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I can’t say what was in his mind at the time. But I would like to point out that racists have for a very long time relied on “the benefit of the doubt” to make little digs at people they are prejudiced against, even “by accident.” Privileged people (including myself) may be unaware of it, but there’s a history of racist dog-whistles where someone makes a slip similar to this one and then issues an insincere “Sorry if I have offended anyone” disclaimer while any racists overhearing are chanting “One of us, one of us!” in their minds. In the past, society would give them a pass for this…while the insulted minorities knew exactly what was intended but could only seethe impotently because the rest of us could hide behind “doubt whether any harm was intended” to avoid taking a stand. > > That doesn’t NECESSARILY mean this guy intended that. I am just saying that the people complaining are not doing so in a vacuum where this merely sounded like an insult. They are keenly aware of a long history of bad people doing this on purpose and smugly getting away with it. I understand you’re trying to add ‘nuance’, but basically, people will either get punished for what are very likely unintentional slips, and very unlikely to be proven otherwise, or they won’t. That’s the practical reality. History lessons and virtue signalling by calling yourself ‘privileged’ doesn’t really change that practical reality. I find it amazing there would be any disputing, even looking for a little wiggle room, that firing this guy was ridiculous, which it obviously was. Based on the evidence presented, and it stands to reason that if there was really anything else to it, that would have been made clear. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/44 "2019-01-09T22:55:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You’d think so, but one trip to Youtube and you’ll find compilations of newscasters Spoonerizing and fucking up all sorts of phrases unintentionally on live TV. “Keep fucking that chicken” being perhaps the most well-known (though that one I don’t know to this day if it was supposed to be “plucking that chicken” and it came out wrong, or he just had a momentary loss of sense of place or what.) Go fuck yourself San Diego.😃 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/45 "2019-01-09T23:04:16Z")
OK, let’s take this a little further. Let’s say all racists, or anyone who ever says anything that could be even remotely construed as racist, should immediately be terminated from their jobs. What then would be the cost to society in additional unemployment compensation, food stamps, welfare payments, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/46 "2019-01-09T23:30:01Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > That’s a not a slip you make on-air unless you have been comfortable saying the term often off-air. i don’t buy his excuse at all. Worst case scenario, let’s say he’s a secret racist who has used the term off-air. What are they worried he’s going to do, forecast the weather inaccurately for black neighborhoods? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/47 "2019-01-10T00:33:40Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > I understand you’re trying to add ‘nuance’, but basically, people will either get punished for what are very likely unintentional slips, and very unlikely to be proven otherwise, or they won’t. That’s the practical reality. History lessons and virtue signalling by calling yourself ‘privileged’ doesn’t really change that practical reality. > > I find it amazing there would be any disputing, even looking for a little wiggle room, that firing this guy was ridiculous, which it obviously was. > > Based on the evidence presented, and it stands to reason that if there was really anything else to it, that would have been made clear. Virtue signaling is not a real thing. It is a snarl word coined by conservatives in an attempt to circumvent having to prove that their position was moral and their opponent’s was immoral. That way, any time a liberal made an appeal to morality, they would simply call it virtue signaling. There are actually a lot of such snarl words in conservative discourse. SJW and PC are common. All describe things that a moral person would inherently do, and thus serves as a way to attack them and avoid having to prove them wrong. In this case, it is being used to ignore nuance. Nuance is important. It is important that we look at the situation from not only the position of the person who got fired, but also from those who wanted him fired. You cannot come to a proper conclusion if you just have the facts from the defense and not from the prosecution. It is entirely true that racist people will use excuses like “I just stumbled over my words” to cover things up. It’s entirely possible that this guy’s excuse is a lie–that he is used to saying Marten Luther Coon like the KKK does, and slipped up on air. Thing is, I still wind up on your side, despite acknowledging this. The clip is not definitive, and so the only evidence we can use is his past history. A slip-up is in this case a valid explanation, and a likely one. It makes more sense to simply count this as a demerit and let him stay on, but be watchful of any other signs of racism. That is, of course, assuming there’s no past history that we’re not being told about. In that case, this could be the final straw. That is a nuanced position, and it does not mean I’m “virtue signaling” to state it. I wouldn’t even be “virtue signaling” if I fell on the other side. It would just be an argument you disagreed with. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/48 "2019-01-10T00:37:14Z")
They’re worried people will boycott their station. There’s not enough information to say whether he’s never used the slur in his life, or if he slipped up and used his private name for the park in public. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/49 "2019-01-10T01:02:25Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > OK, let’s take this a little further. Let’s say all racists, or anyone who ever says anything that could be even remotely construed as racist, should immediately be terminated from their jobs. > > What then would be the cost to society in additional unemployment compensation, food stamps, welfare payments, etc.? I don’t find monetary arguments in situations like these to be useful. It is very often the case that the right thing costs more money, or the wrong thing could save money. I also think you misunderstand. When I (and I presume others) say “zero tolerance,” I don’t mean “anyone who ever says anything that could be even remotely construed as racist should be immediately fired from their jobs.” I’m referring to just saying certain words that are known to be slurs, even on accident. And when I say “saying even on accident,” I mean “uttering the phonemes in order that would construct a slur in a context where said meaning would fit, but another meaning would not.” It’s rather restrictive. Another example might be making the sounds of “fag” when talking about a gay person. I do think we still have to consider legitimate tongue mishaps. But I can understand those who say "No. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue, but if we allow the slip of the tongue, then we let the actual racists get away with it. And, to answer **Vinyl Turnip** , if someone actually is a racist, then the harm is that they are normalizing racism. They just said something racist on national TV. They just black people know that they can still get away with being racist and there’s nothing they can do about it. Things don’t ever stay steady. If you aren’t fighting racism, then it will creep back in. Stopping any sort of bigotry requires a level of eternal vigilance. Because human beings are all naturally bigoted bastards. It’s our tribalist nature. Still don’t misinterpret this as me defending the guy’s firing. Absent other incidents, I think he should have just gotten a mark to watch him more closely in the future. He should have to publicly apologize on air, saying that, while he slipped on his words, he knows that such language is very hurtful, and that he’s genuinely sorry and would strive to never say anything like that again. I do have to worry that overreaching creates a negative stereotype of liberals, making our fight against racism harder. I wonder how many people will bring this guy up any time someone makes a legitimate argument. We have to be extra careful of making a mistake when it comes to punishing racism, for the good of the cause. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/50 "2019-01-10T03:12:09Z")
Al Roker has offered Kappell his support. I hope another tv station offers Kappell a job. He deserves another chance imho. > **[Al Roker defends the meteorologist who was fired for a racist slur | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/09/us/al-roker-defends-jeremy-kappell-meteorologist/index.html)** > > "Anyone who has done live tv and screwed up (google any number of ones I've done) understands," Roker tweeted. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/51 "2019-01-10T03:33:22Z")
Did Grover on Sesame Street recently drop the [F-Bomb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyKuGq_1xAY&feature=youtu.be) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/52 "2019-01-10T03:59:14Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Did Grover on Sesame Street recently drop the [F-Bomb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyKuGq_1xAY&feature=youtu.be) Oh, man, that’s going to be another “yanni”/“laurel” thing, ain’t it? First few times I played it, I heard “fucking excellent idea.” Then I read what it was supposed to be, and it morphed into that. I have to distract myself now to hear my original interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/53 "2019-01-10T04:28:24Z")
There is a British government minister named Jeremy Hunt who has had his name mangled several times now by various reputable newspeople, and in one particular way. The inadvertant misplacement of a consonant was perhaps more understandable when he was Jeremy _Hunt_ the _Cult_ure Secretary, but it also continued when he was Health Secretary. Here’s a [video compilation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmYwBHooA_M) [accidentally rendered NSFW by the misplaced consonant]. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/54 "2019-01-10T04:33:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Al Roker has offered Kappell his support. > > I hope another tv station offers Kappell a job. He deserves another chance imho. > > [Al Roker defends the meteorologist who was fired for a racist slur - CNN](https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/01/09/us/al-roker-defends-jeremy-kappell-meteorologist/index.html) Afterwards, Kappell replied, “Thanks Al, I coon… COULDN’T have done it without you.” Turns out, this professional meteorologist can’t get a sentence out without saying the word coon or some other slur. Yes, yes, definitely a racist that deserves his reputation ruined. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/55 "2019-01-10T11:57:13Z")
You know, relative to everyone else, there’s a disturbing amount of profane anagrams in **BigT’s** posts. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/56 "2019-01-10T12:10:17Z")
I could easily see “King Junior” tangletongued into “koon…” in the same way that “Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary” became something rude, and as a one-off I would tend to give someone the benefit of the doubt. If the individual had a history of questionable statements and behaviour regarding race, then I’d be inclined to be more sceptical. As for immediately doing it again, as the Jeremy Hunt example shows (with the slip being repeated even after he became Health Secretary), once you’ve slipped up the verboten word gets stuck in your head and slips out far more easily. ---
**Author:** ![BenedictusXIV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@BenedictusXIV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BenedictusXIV)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/57 "2019-01-11T10:39:33Z")
Focus, America! Focus! Eyes on the balls…uhhh ball. Don’t sweat the small muff. STUFF…stuff! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/58 "2019-01-11T13:13:21Z")
n/m. Link already in thread. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/59 "2019-01-12T17:06:02Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Yeah, the combination of this is what makes me want to give this person another chance. Unlike some slurs, there aren’t a whole bunch of people who are itching for an excuse to say this. I’ve never personally seen it used in the wild in my lifetime, unlike those other more popular words. Unfortunately, I have. It _was_ 30 years ago when I was a teenager by another teenager, but yeah, he was dropping numerous racist terms, not in an ironic way. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413/60 "2019-01-12T17:47:07Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I could easily see “King Junior” tangletongued into “koon…” in the same way that “Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary” became something rude, and as a one-off I would tend to give someone the benefit of the doubt. If the individual had a history of questionable statements and behaviour regarding race, then I’d be inclined to be more sceptical. > > As for immediately doing it again, as the Jeremy Hunt example shows (with the slip being repeated even after he became Health Secretary), once you’ve slipped up the verboten word gets stuck in your head and slips out far more easily. That might not be the best example of how innocent mistakes can happen. Let’s put it this way, Jeremy Hunt has… not been especially popular in either of those roles. It’s a pretty common nickname for the guy in some circles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weatherman-fired-for-uttering-a-racial-slur-on-air/827413.md?page=4)