It must be difficult to be the center of attention every time you speak and to have the media, or anyone that recognizes you criticize what you say. Or, even go further than this; but stating you are ignorant or discriminatory because of something that was said, not having any true meaning outside of the conversation.
Bill O'Reilly of Fox News has been going through some of this because of a few statement he made after visiting a restaurant. The networks seemed to have a field day at cutting what was said into pieces and taking only parts of his comments and turned them into radical remarks or not "politically correct" comments. It is too bad that we have started to develop too much sensitivity to works and how they are used, especially when used in a conversation and only short versions of the text is used against you, not what was said before or after.
I was listening to the Arcata City Council meeting the other night. They were discussing the installation of cameras for better surveillance and such through the City (The Plaza and the City Hall Building and its parking area.). One council member mentioned the fact that there was an incident on the HSU campus involving a black man and a white man. After viewing the video from the surveillance camera, it was discovered that it was not the black man's fault, but the white man's fault.
My point here is: Why did either of the subjects mentioned here (O'Reilly or the council member) need to reference the race or skin color of the individuals involved? When speaking in either situation, could of the pronoun "they" or noun "individuals" been used instead?
In my opinion, I think that O'Reilly's only mistake was sharing his thoughts too honestly without considering how he represented himself to others. As for the council member, I think, because how she said it, she did not know she was making it a matter of fact type of thing that the one individual was saying.
How we speak and label others is important to think about, especially in today's society. We often forget about others' opinion or feelings!
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