Dr. Laura has given us a "new definition for 'way over the top'" with her n-word diatribe, done in once again by her own "failure to listen," writes Kathleen Parker. But her column isn't one of good riddance. Parker has a "soft spot" for the good doctor, and thinks she "deserves a little slack," she writes in the Washington Post. "The good she has done during her 30-year run, helping people see their own flawed thinking, should be balanced against her insensitivity in this case."
In dealing with this caller, "she was unfeeling and callous, true. ... But silencing people for expressing opinions or using certain words that grate on our public sensibilities carries its own risks. Even though Dr. Laura is retiring of her own volition, she is correct in noting that the overt hostilities waged in today's world against any who speak 'incorrectly' have become a threat to our ability to speak freely." (More Dr. Laura N-word stories.)