Once is Enough
Why is it that Americans are so eager to grab their torches and pitchforks when they hear a comment from a celebrity that doesn’t sit well with them? Andrew Dice Clay used his vulgar humor to touch on the issues of race, gender, and sexuality. Michael Richards had a famous incident at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, where he shouted to an African-American heckler using racial slurs. Former MSNBC radio show host Don Imus, referred to the 2007 Rutgers’s women’s basketball team as “nappy headed hos.” Mel Gibson will forever be known for his drunken rant in 2006, claiming that Jewish people started all of the wars. And now, Tracy Morgan is apologizing for his anti-homosexual rant.
During a comedy show on June 3 in Nashville, Tennessee, Morgan joked that he would "stab my son if he came home and spoke to me in a gay voice." After his not so funny act was exposed, gay rights groups from every inch of the country called for his apology. Morgan issued a statement apologizing, saying, “I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
Gay rights groups want more than an apology, they want Morgan to realize that being gay isn’t a choice (which he said it was), and understand that no one should feel ashamed for being gay, a lesbian, transgender or bisexual. But when is enough enough? I understand when an individual or a group of people are offended by one’s words or actions, they want an apology. Yet how many apologies does it take to satisfy people? Michael Richards called up Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton after already apologizing for his 2006 racial slur rant, and Mel Gibson apologized numerous times to the Jewish community. Doesn’t it seem that the more times these men apologize that they are not sincere? For me, once is all it takes. Whether or not they are truly sorry for what they said or done, it’s on them, and we as Americans ought to take the first initial apology and keep it for what it is or isn’t worth. Don’t badger someone to repeatedly say they’re sorry the amount of times you’re comfortable with. You don’t know if they were sincere to begin with. When I see a celebrity apologize time after time and work with the community he or she offended, it looks like they are pushing it a little too far for the sake of PR. America is blessed with the freedom of speech, but not the freedom of speech without hurting anyone’s feelings.
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