Yay!
I don't know how many of you have seen this already, but I thought it was very much worth re-posting anyway.
I just saw this on the GLAAD blog.
This is from Rob of the "Rob and Arnie and Dawn" show, about which I have been so ranty:
TO OUR LOYAL ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN FOLLOWERS,
WE HAVE FAILED YOU. AS A SHOW, AS PEOPLE, AS BROADCASTERS, WE HAVE SIMPLY FAILED ON ALMOST EVERY LEVEL.
WE PRESENTED OUR OPINIONS ON A VERY SENSITIVE SUBJECT IN A HATEFUL, CHILDISH AND CRUDE FASHION; AND THEN, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETRACT THOSE REMARKS, WE DEFENDED THEM.
SINCE THEN, YOU, OUR LOYAL LISTENERS, HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TO US THAT WE WENT TOO FAR. THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING. NONE OF YOU SAID THAT WE COULDN’T HAVE OPINIONS, YET SO MANY OF YOU SAID THAT THE WAY WE GAVE THEM CROSSED THE LINE. FURTHER, YOU SAID THAT OUR ATTEMPT TO MASK OUR COMMENTS AS “JOKES THAT WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY OUR AUDIENCE,” WAS UNACCEPTABLE. I WOULD SAY NOW THAT IT WAS WORSE THAN THAT, IT WAS COWARDLY. YOU HAVE MADE THAT CLEAR.
WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO VARIOUS GROUPS AND ASKED FOR A CHANCE TO MAKE THIS RIGHT; TO RESPOND, WITH THEIR PARTICIPATION, TO THE EDUCATION THAT OUR AUDIENCE HAS PROVIDED US. THAT OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY GRANTED THIS THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 11TH. AT 7:30 A.M.
THE WORD APOLOGY APPEARS NO WHERE IN THIS LETTER FOR A REASON. WE ALREADY HID FROM DOING THE RIGHT THING ONCE AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. APOLOGIZING IN A WRITTEN, POSTED STATEMENT IS A FORM OF COWARDICE. WE WILL SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID THIS THURSDAY.
ON A FINAL, PERSONAL NOTE, AS THE LEADER AND OWNER OF THE SHOW, I HAVE MADE THE DECISION THAT WE NEED TO REFRAIN FROM BROADCASTING NEW EPISODES UNTIL WE CAN ADDRESS THIS ON THURSDAY . WE WILL RETURN TO THE AIR AT 7:30 A.M. JUNE 11TH.
ROB WILLIAMS
ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN
So, we shall see how this all plays out, but I for one take it as the white flag being run up the mast. I have heard from other people that these folks are very capable of crying crocodile tears when they have their asses handed to them over something they've said. I don't really care if they're genuine or not.
The fact of the matter is that these guys said some things that were hateful and inappropriate about a vulnerable segment of the population and a whole heap load of people heard it and were utterly horrified by it AND decided to fire off emails and make phone calls and raise a stink about it. Corporations pulled their advertising, hitting them where it hurt most - in the wallet. They were apparently inundated with protests and theoretically on Thursday they're going to apologize somehow and then possibly take steps to make it right. But even if they don't follow through? The fact that "Rob" issued this statement is a big win, imho.
Keeping in mind that the "T" segment of the GLBTQ spectrum is the smallest, statistically, and the most likely to be chucked under the bus by every other letter in the Queer alphabet soup, and that trans people are the group most likely to be met with intolerance, derision and open hostility by straight society - the fact that so many people, queer and straight, objected to this and then took action to make sure these guys knew that a group previously regarded as a safe and easy target were NOT to be ill used in this way? That's huge. Admittedly, the fact that these things were said about trans children made it a particularly potent cocktail, but the fact that so many people rallied to the defense of transgendered people in any age bracket is something that I take to be a sign of progress. And hope.
Thank you, all of you who wrote and followed up and helped make it completely crystal clear to these guys that what they said was unacceptable and intolerable. Y'all are my heroes.
This goes a long way towards restoring my faith in my fellow humans, which makes me happy. I like laboring under the delusion that most people are good at heart and that progress towards a more tolerant society is being made.
I just saw this on the GLAAD blog.
This is from Rob of the "Rob and Arnie and Dawn" show, about which I have been so ranty:
TO OUR LOYAL ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN FOLLOWERS,
WE HAVE FAILED YOU. AS A SHOW, AS PEOPLE, AS BROADCASTERS, WE HAVE SIMPLY FAILED ON ALMOST EVERY LEVEL.
WE PRESENTED OUR OPINIONS ON A VERY SENSITIVE SUBJECT IN A HATEFUL, CHILDISH AND CRUDE FASHION; AND THEN, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETRACT THOSE REMARKS, WE DEFENDED THEM.
SINCE THEN, YOU, OUR LOYAL LISTENERS, HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TO US THAT WE WENT TOO FAR. THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING. NONE OF YOU SAID THAT WE COULDN’T HAVE OPINIONS, YET SO MANY OF YOU SAID THAT THE WAY WE GAVE THEM CROSSED THE LINE. FURTHER, YOU SAID THAT OUR ATTEMPT TO MASK OUR COMMENTS AS “JOKES THAT WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY OUR AUDIENCE,” WAS UNACCEPTABLE. I WOULD SAY NOW THAT IT WAS WORSE THAN THAT, IT WAS COWARDLY. YOU HAVE MADE THAT CLEAR.
WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO VARIOUS GROUPS AND ASKED FOR A CHANCE TO MAKE THIS RIGHT; TO RESPOND, WITH THEIR PARTICIPATION, TO THE EDUCATION THAT OUR AUDIENCE HAS PROVIDED US. THAT OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY GRANTED THIS THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 11TH. AT 7:30 A.M.
THE WORD APOLOGY APPEARS NO WHERE IN THIS LETTER FOR A REASON. WE ALREADY HID FROM DOING THE RIGHT THING ONCE AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. APOLOGIZING IN A WRITTEN, POSTED STATEMENT IS A FORM OF COWARDICE. WE WILL SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID THIS THURSDAY.
ON A FINAL, PERSONAL NOTE, AS THE LEADER AND OWNER OF THE SHOW, I HAVE MADE THE DECISION THAT WE NEED TO REFRAIN FROM BROADCASTING NEW EPISODES UNTIL WE CAN ADDRESS THIS ON THURSDAY . WE WILL RETURN TO THE AIR AT 7:30 A.M. JUNE 11TH.
ROB WILLIAMS
ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN
So, we shall see how this all plays out, but I for one take it as the white flag being run up the mast. I have heard from other people that these folks are very capable of crying crocodile tears when they have their asses handed to them over something they've said. I don't really care if they're genuine or not.
The fact of the matter is that these guys said some things that were hateful and inappropriate about a vulnerable segment of the population and a whole heap load of people heard it and were utterly horrified by it AND decided to fire off emails and make phone calls and raise a stink about it. Corporations pulled their advertising, hitting them where it hurt most - in the wallet. They were apparently inundated with protests and theoretically on Thursday they're going to apologize somehow and then possibly take steps to make it right. But even if they don't follow through? The fact that "Rob" issued this statement is a big win, imho.
Keeping in mind that the "T" segment of the GLBTQ spectrum is the smallest, statistically, and the most likely to be chucked under the bus by every other letter in the Queer alphabet soup, and that trans people are the group most likely to be met with intolerance, derision and open hostility by straight society - the fact that so many people, queer and straight, objected to this and then took action to make sure these guys knew that a group previously regarded as a safe and easy target were NOT to be ill used in this way? That's huge. Admittedly, the fact that these things were said about trans children made it a particularly potent cocktail, but the fact that so many people rallied to the defense of transgendered people in any age bracket is something that I take to be a sign of progress. And hope.
Thank you, all of you who wrote and followed up and helped make it completely crystal clear to these guys that what they said was unacceptable and intolerable. Y'all are my heroes.
This goes a long way towards restoring my faith in my fellow humans, which makes me happy. I like laboring under the delusion that most people are good at heart and that progress towards a more tolerant society is being made.