mnhe@STAT1.BST.ROCHESTER.EDU (Mark Hertzendorf) (02/11/90)
At least in the story on NBC News about Andy Rooney's suspension, they paid a great deal of attention to his anti-gay remarks as well. ***************************************************************************** mark hertzendorf university of rochester dept. of economics mnhe@uordbv *****************************************************************************
GLP5491%RITVAX.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (The Traebor Aragon) (02/11/90)
Where can I write to (i.e. ADDRESS) with any letters to tell Mr. Bucchanan (sp)
what he may do with his microphone? :-)
Greg Pratt
glp5491@vaxb.isc.rit.eduTIMBUCK@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU (Tim Buck) (02/12/90)
CNN alternately mentioned and ignored his anti-gay remarks, depending on who was the announcer. On the CBS evening news Friday, it was reported that Andy Rooney made racist remarks "in a Los Angeles newspaper". The name/nature of the newspaper was mysteriously overlooked. Tim Buck Va. Tech, Blacksburg
EJ00%LEHIGH.BITNET@IBM1.CC.LEHIGH.EDU (Eric C. Johnson) (02/12/90)
my 2 cents: i don't agree with what andy rooney said (or what a large number of people say), but i don't believe he should be fired over it. why? because it's dangerous to link employability with the uttering of politically correct statements. 20 years ago, mr. rooney would have come under fire (and possibly been fired) for uttering PRO-gay statements. it's a sad commentary on the civil rights movement that today people are being axed for professing their views on controversial topics. would the people on gaynet like to to be refused employment for the views they express on gaynet? i think not. so why censor mr. rooney? civil rights movements have always preferred punitive measures (i.e., barring others from expressing their views) rather than proactive measures (i.e., encouraging minorities to express the positives of being a member of that particular minority. reprimanding rooney is an unwarranted punitive measure. eric johnson.
PENNYJ%ATSUVAX1.BITNET@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU (Jim Penny) (02/12/90)
>i don't agree with what andy rooney said (or what a large number of people >say), but i don't believe he should be fired over it. why? because it's >dangerous to link employability with the uttering of politically correct >statements. well said. the enemies i know about are the ones i fear the least. and a particularly brave statement, especially for this forum. now i wonder when such a sentiment might hold for, say, jesse helms. no flames please. were i looking to promote acceptance, i would first promote that acceptance within myself. jp jim penny academic computing manager computer center north carolina a&t state university 1601 east market st greensboro, nc 27411 919-334-7856 bitnet: pennyj@atsuvax1.bitnet i live in constant terror of not being misunderstood. -- wilde(?)
CORCORAN@MAINE (02/12/90)
Why censor Mr. Rooney? 1) because racism is (theoretically) illegal
in this country and 2) because the news media in this country pretends
to be an objective, neutral source of information. 3) Mr Rooney's
remarks are oppressive to both blacks and gays and should not be
tolerated by any enlightened society.
Mr Rooney is entitled to his views, but only as a private citizen.
As a member of the news-gathering profession he must adhere to
a code of behavior when he makes public statements. That code helps
prop up what credibilty the American press retains. Were Rooney an
employee of the Christian Broadcasting Network, or some other network
that does not pretend to objectivity and fairness, there would be
no problem, but as it is CBS is perfectly within it's rights to
respond as it did, indeed, it was obligated to do so.
Finally, Eric, has it occured to you that one of the important reasons
that gay people (and blacks, and asians, and hispanics, blah, bla-blah)
still have such difficulty exercising basic rights is precicely because
of media attitudes such as Roony's? Lets not kid ourselves, the
most common source of news for americans is the TV, and that media
has an important role in resisting irrational bigotry, which presumably,
this society does not support.
It seems to me that the important thing to take away from this situation
is that while bigotry rarely confines itself to a single ethinic/racial
group, the media gods only notice bigotry with respect to particular
groups. Gay men and lesbians are still outside the pale. Some news.
Cororan@Portland / Corcoran@Maine are: John Corcoran ============
Phil Dept./Core == ==
"And now, what will become of us U. So. Maine === ===
without any barbarians? Those people Portland, ME ==== ====
were a kind of solution." 04103 ===== =====
--C.P. Cavafy 207-780-4226 ============DENLAT@UBVMSC.CC.BUFFALO.EDU (02/13/90)
Since when is racism illegal in this country? Is the Ku Klux Klan an illegal organization? How much do we want to restrict freedom of speech. As abhorrent as I find Rooney's racist and anti-gay remarks, I don't believe that when he was speaking he was intending to speak for CBS, but rather for himself. As such I think he should be censured, but not censored, if I have the difference right (?) What I mean, is there should be a public outcry, but people shouldn't lose their jobs because of their private views unless they obviously screw with job performance. Yes, our speech is restricted, hidden away, but restricting others will only hurt us in the long run.
hochsted@UCS.INDIANA.EDU (02/13/90)
i must say i think that CBS would not be wrong in firing rooney. as someone already said, he is a representative of a very serious news program, and with that position comes very important responsibilities. anyone in that profession knows that, and if he's not willing to take those responsibilities he should find another job. btw--mike wallace made a flowery speech about it last night, and ending by saying how much he was looking forward to andy's return. makes me wonder if, even though he said such statements "could not have been made on 60 minutes", he may believe them to be true also. just "food for thought". --doug
TIMBUCK@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU (02/13/90)
Well, if he wasn't speaking for CBS then his comments shouldn't have been allowed on the air. And I've never advocated censorship...CBS's actions (suspending him for 3 months) were perfectly warranted. Tim Buck Va. Tech, Blacksburg