“Rosie has the right of free speech.”
I know, I know, and I know. I don’t necessarily want to see Rosie fired, I just want her to be more responsible. Let me rephrase – I am not calling exclusively for her departure; I believe that other solutions exist and I believe that the good people of America will accept a sincere apology regarding her previous offensive comments.
But non-action is unacceptable. Something needs to be done, and here’s why – ‘free speech’ is not an unlimited right. The first amendment makes no claim that Americans can say anything they please without fear of consequence from an entity such as an employer, a constituency, or a fan-base. We are taught by our school system and our parents that we must always be appropriate and respectful with our voice. It is unacceptable for school students to curse or yell at their superiors, or to baselessly accuse them of wrong-doing. It is unacceptable for a student to publicly degrade or belittle a fellow classmate. It is just and legal for an employer to fire an employee for verbally harrassing a co-worker. There are definite boundaries of ‘free speech’ and they are constructed based on what is appropriate and responsible for the appurtenant environment.
Why then are those boundaries, which exist in virtually every professional or educational environment, thrown out the window when it comes to the media sector? I could point to plenty of celebrity comments that would warrant at least a detention if a student uttered a similar comment about a superior at a public, or most certainly a private, school. But I’m going to focus on Rosie exclusively, because I feel that she is the predominant figurehead of this movement.
The reason she oversteps her boundaries is because, aside from the fact that she vehemently and disrespectfully denounces our governing body, she offends a very specific group of people – American citizens! She defames our elected president, insinuates that our military are murderers, and projects a general attitude that it is warranted (if not applaudable) to blame America for the problems of the world.
Sure, the show is called The View, and it does offer the views of four different women. Here’s where the double-standard lies; hypothetically, if one of those women had a ‘personal view’ that homosexuality is evil and we should stand up to oppose it, I am most certain that plenty of Americans (both gay and straight, Rosie included) would argue that that host is being irresponsible, and demand that action be taken. I would agree that action should be taken! With this in mind, why then should we, as diverse and respectful American citizens, stick up and defend minority groups but be expected to bury our head in the sand when it comes to a majority group?
So let me make this very clear – unjustifiably calling the president a war criminal, insinuating that our troops are murderers, and projecting a belief that America is an evil country is absolutely irresponsible and definitely anti-American. As a proud American citizen I am offended, and demand action be taken.
“But if people didn’t like it they would change the channel.”
Don’t I wish? Here’s my theory on why it’s not happening – when a country like America, its leaders and citizens included, is proud and unwavering in its patriotic stance, the media is driven absolutely wild. It’s so boring!
So because this static, steadfast atmosphere doesn’t make for good news, the media looks to accentuate any sort of governmental scandal or wrong-doing it can find. The media implicity wants us to be divided, it wants conflict to always be in the air – why? because it’s ‘exciting’ and makes for great stories! This kind of behavior is very dangerous and emphasizes the mindset that we should not respect our leaders and that we live in an extremely flawed country.
But the real news is that our country is a decent, noble land, and for the most part we all get along swimmingly (well, at least we’re not physically hurting each other). Our government is a ‘constitutional republic’ and lucky for us, we happen to have a great constitution. Our laws are defined by objective morality and rationalism, not by primordial religious code. Every single citizen is treated equally and is bound by the same set of laws. Racism and sexism (two of our ugly vices in recent history) are virtually extinct, as evident by highly successful minority and female individuals in both the public and private sectors. And American citizens are free to follow any religion they choose, and do so without fear of government suppression or compromise of personal safety.
My point is that our country has made some poor choices in the past, and the bureaucracy of our large federal government has indeed bred corruption, but the positive impact of America greatly outweighs its vices. We deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt at all times, and the proclamation of love for our country should never become vapid or trite.
But because the media has been driving this “flawed America” mentality into our brains for at least the past decade, a lot of people have subliminally accepted the message. They don’t even realize that they should be offended when someone like Rosie denigrates our country. That is why they continue to tune in with awe to hear the latest rants regarding our ‘defective homeland’ and that is why people are not changing the channel.
Well folks, the final verdict is out. Due to a contractual disagreement, Rosie O’Donnell will not be returning for another season of The View.
It appears my campaign is over. I must be ecstatic, right? I mean, my goal was to ‘stop Rosie’ and she’s been stopped dead in her professional tracks. She’s gone, so there’s no need for a boycott anymore. But no, something just doesn’t seem right. I’m not ecstatic, or even happy, for that matter. And why not? Is it because my ’15 minutes of fame’ are over, as my detractors would have you know? No – the attention was nice, but that’s not it. The real reason I’m not happy is because I’ve lost this battle. Rosie and Disney-ABC have adroitly avoided any confrontation on the danger of her statements, while at the same time quelling my entire movement. Allow me to elaborate:
The real mission of stoprosie.com was to confront and expose the ‘blame America first’ mentality in the media. Rosie O’Donnell is not, and has never been the source, the leader, or the cause of this. She was merely a figurehead, a person who’s everyday demeanor and lack of knowledge on particular subjects made this mentality highly evident. Getting rid of her was not going to explicitly solve anything; we needed to treat the cause, not the symptoms. But now she’s gone and the media coverage surrounding her and this situation will shrink rapidly.
So was the ‘blame America first’ mentality exposed? Did I get media moguls to realize that they would alienate a vast majority of Americans by promoting a hateful, anti-American celebrity? Was anything really accomplished? In my opinion – well, we’ve made baby steps, but we’re still a long ways away from a solution. Sure, I had a lot of really wonderful supporters, and I wouldn’t have gotten ANYWHERE without their signatures and donations (thank you so much!). But for the 90,000+ who supported me, there are still millions and millions who didn’t support me. What I really wanted was for Disney-ABC to feel that they had no choice but to address the problem and to acknowledge the irresponsibility of the situation.
But they did no such thing. By not renewing her contract, Disney-ABC took the heat off of their back. But by suggesting she is returning for ‘guest-hosting’ and other appearances, they have made it clear that they do not, and will not, condemn anything Rosie has said or done in the past. So they’ve won. There is no rebuttal I can offer, no next step I can take (for now). Masterfully, Disney-ABC and Rosie O’Donnell avoided confronting any opposition that would lead to a loss of viewers, and at the same time extinguished the entire momentum of my campaign.
So I say to you, Rosie O’Donnell and the media moguls of America; touché, you have won this round. It was foolish of me to think that practically overnight I could change a corporation, a celebrity, and a mentality that is prevalent in almost every outlet of media in this country. Nevertheless, I’m young, I have plenty of heart, plenty of brain, and some newly-formed friendships with important people. So keep your eyes peeled. I am most certainly continuing this fight.
And I say to you, my fellow supporters, this is the time when we must remain steadfast. Don’t be fooled by thinking this is a victory, and keep your guard up for the next prominent America-bashing celeb. You haven’t heard the last from me, which means that I haven’t heard the last from you. Thank you all for your support!