Ok DU'ers here's a question: Do you agree with this CNN suspension of Roland Martin

[bigdarryl]

I think it was OVER KILL!!! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/roland-martin-suspended-cnn-super-bowl_n_1263276.html

[joeybee12]

1. Nope...he should have gotten worse...nt

[nanabugg]

60. Anyone who tweets ought to know the consequences of saying dumb shit!

Why do people just have to tell every stupid thought in their mind?

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Yes. Telling people to smack the 'ish' out of someone showing interest in the same sex...

is nasty.

[myrna minx]

3. Yes. He should be - at the very least - suspended. His comments were horrible. n/t

[justiceischeap]

4. Yeah, encouraging LGBTQ violence is a winner!

Over kill is allowing this hateful rhetoric to go unpunished... especially if you are supposed to be a journalist.

[JHB]

5. Eek. Showing age. read that as "CNN suspension of...

Rowan (and) Martin", and thought "they're still around? And on CNN?"

Veddy interestink.

(cue Goldie Hawn go-go dancing)


(on edit explanation: Roland Martin is not someone I recognize by name. Word association took it from there.)

[KansDem]

10. LOL! You and me both!

I thought the same thing when I read the name. I thought "What's up with 'Laugh-In?'"

[rocktivity]

59. You did better than me

rocktivity

[Control-Z]

6. Yes.

There is no doubt about what he said. If he thought it was just a cool thing to say or something, well now he knows better.

[Enrique]

7. it was underkill

see the video at this thread, a beating that happened in CNN's home city Atlanta:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11374417

[roguevalley]

18. +gazillion

[boppers]

47. He doesn't deserve a job as a public voice.

Fagbashing TV commentators? No.

[Spazito]

8. Yes, I agree with the suspension...

His tweets were offensive, imo.

[xchrom]

9. i think somebody has issues with gay men -- i'm not talking about roland. nt

[DURHAM D]

11. ditto

[Vanje]

45. uh Hum

(nodding)

[Hassin Bin Sober]

57. Bingo.

[kysrsoze]

12. Roland S. Martin is a loud-mouthed, @sshat. I wish they would permanently suspend him

That said, gotta wonder about a guy who talks about slapping someone and gets all hot/bothered about all things effeminate. Closet case? That's what I'm thinkin'.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

13. I'm torn.

While I think what he said was ridiculous and stupid, they let Nazis say whatever the fuck they want. They let those idiots from Westboro Baptist Church say and do whatever they want. As long as they aren't actually being violent, I honestly don't know if this is a 1st amendment violation.
Let me end this with I DO NOT CONDONE what he did. But there's that pesky 1st amendment. You have to let people say what they want when they want as long as it isn't hurting anyone. And one idiot saying something on his twitter isn't going to amount to anything. I honestly didn't know this guy existed until he started saying stupid crap on Twitter. Probably what he wanted all along. Attention.
Duckie

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. This is about a company suspending an employee who talks to the public

This is not about his right to be bigoted and offensive; it's about CNN being about to suspend or fire him for it. CNN doesn't pay the Westboro Baptist Church, nor does it get associated with what they say.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

22. He should have been suspended...

...but my opinion stands.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. So what are you 'torn' about?

You bring up the 1st amendment, which seems to imply you are talking about whether what he did should have been against the law. Is that what you're torn about?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

32. The first amendment and allowing people to say whatever they want even if it hurts people.

I didn't really make a stance in my original post about his employment issues because that is a separate issue, really.

[obamanut2012]

36. This is an employment issue, period

[justiceischeap]

52. If I had a public position at my place of employment and I said something

hateful about, oh, African-American's... like maybe they should be smacked for liking MLK, Jr., I'd be fired in a heartbeat.

Besides, most companies (especially public ones) have Twitter/Facebook policies that state if you say something that reflects poorly on your employer, it's grounds for action.

[tblue37]

65. The First Amendment is ONLY about preventing the GOVERNMENT from

suppressing free speech, not, not, not about whether an employer can limit what employees can say publicly while representing their employer.

[RZM]

21. It's not about the first amendment

He has the right to say whatever he likes. But CNN is not required to employ somebody regardless of what they say.

When are people going to learn that what you say on Twitter and Facebook can come back to bite you in the ass?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

26. First off, my post was merely about the 1st amendment...

I neither agreed nor disagreed with what CNN did in suspending him.
And I do agree that he should have been, maybe even fired.

[kysrsoze]

23. Oops - response to wrong post. Regardless, I think they lower their credibility as a "news" channel

Of course, CNN had Glenn Beck for years, before he went to FAUX.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

25. I do agree that he should have been suspended if his Twitter account linked him to CNN...

[Enrique]

27. Fred Phelps has a show on CNN?

I did not know this.

[obamanut2012]

35. This isn't a First Amendement issue

[alphafemale]

49. 1st Ammendment has NOTHING to do with keeping your job if you say something hateful and idiotic.

It means you can't be jailed or discriminated against by the government.

[HappyMe]

14. Yes, I agree with the suspension.

Telling people to slap a gay man is completely unacceptable (to say the least).

[MrCoffee]

15. To be fair...

If he'd have said to smack the shit out of Goldenballs, I would applaud.

[Are_grits_groceries]

16. Martin has made several denigrating statements about the LGBT community before:

<snip>
But Martin’s record tells a very different story.

Roland Martin has never compared being a soccer fan to being an alcoholic, the way he has compared being gay to being an alcoholic.  Roland Martin has never bragged that his wife has led men and women away from the “soccer lifestyle,” the way he claims she has with gay people. Roland Martin has never defended jokes about parents stabbing soccer-playing children, the way he defended jokes about parents stabbing gay children.  

Based on this history, this doesn’t seem like a playful jab at what Martin considers an inferior sport.

It seems like a jab at what Martin considers an inferior community of people.
<snip>
http://www.glaad.org/rolandsmartin

These aren't the only remarks that have been offensive. Martin has established a clear pattern of anti-gay rhetoric. I don't care who he is. This wasn't overkill. If anything, it's late in coming.

[Whisp]

30. thanks for that info.

I just thought Roland was a one hit wonder in blunderland with that comment about the ad, but I guess he has history of this sort of despicableness so fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

What an ignorant fool.

[sinkingfeeling]

17. Yes, but it might have been too little.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Yes, and I'd expect them to fire him in due course

His excuse was pathetic and unbelievable.

[Burma Jones]

24. I don't think it was overkill.......

If you make a living spouting opinions and your paychecks come from an organization that does not support the sort of thing that RM tweeted, that organization has every right, even a responsibility, to no longer provide you with a forum or a paycheck.....And that's without even recognizing the venal nature of his tweets. I am more than sure that RM would take extreme offense if someone with access to mass media said that Brandon Jacobs should be horsewhipped for back talking Gisele Bundschen, I mean, c'mon she's a white woman, in the good old days, there would have been some serious consequences for that sort of uppity behavior.

[Hugabear]

28. There's nothing wrong with joking about committing acts of violence against gays

What's the harm in joking about beating up a gay person?

[A Simple Game]

31. If a person that makes his or her living in the public eye isn't smart enough

to keep their mouth shut when they should, they aren't smart enough to keep a job in the public eye.

[coffeenap]

33. Yes, absolutely.

All individuals placed in front of the camera at national or local media outlets have a responsibility to never condone violence or perpetuate beliefs that could provoke it. Period. The end.

[William769]

34. If thats the company you want to be associated with

Thats on you.

After all, you are the company you keep.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

37. Isn't Roland Martin a TV fishing host?

can't remember

[tkmorris]

38. I completely agree with CNN

Obviously you don't. Would you care to explain a bit further WHY you don't? "Rabbit season", "Duck season", "Rabbit Season!", "Duck Season!" isn't much of a conversation.

[knowledgeispwr]

39. Yes, I agree.

His tweets were despicable and not the first time he's made homophobic comments.

[maddezmom]

40. I agree with the suspension and think he should be fired

for encouraging violence.

[dsc]

41. absolutely he should be fired

Imagine for a moment that Anderson Cooper said that he was scared of black people. Nothing else, just that he is scared of black people. I would bet he would be fired immediately.

[boppers]

43. Didn't somebody already lose work for something similar?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/21/juan-williams-fired-npr_n_770901.html

[Bluenorthwest]

42. He's a bigot and CNN should end their contract with him at once. The guy is a hater.

And the thuggish comments are disgusting. They pay that man millions for what? For his intolerant ignorance?

[Vanje]

44. Suspended?

He should have been FIRED.

[demmiblue]

46. Wow... check out this tweet from his wife (Jaquie Hood Martin):

[ruggerson]

53. The wife is a raging homophobe too.

I'm not quite sure how anyone can defend these people.

[justiceischeap]

54. I hate this whole "our history" stuff

it's kinda like saying only certain people deserve equality and those that don't shouldn't use history to accomplish it.

[ruggerson]

55. I've heard that same sentiment expressed

right here at DU. Often.

[demmiblue]

56. I don't get it either.

Personally, I think that the beauty of civil rights movements/gains is in the way that they evolve and spread to other disenfranchised groups. This is not to say that these groups do not have a rich history of bringing about change in and of themselves. Work together, people!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

58. "Don't ask us for nothing else"

Cut her some slack. They covered bigotry in the 6th grade - clearly she didn't get that far.

[Joe the Revelator]

62. That's insane

[we can do it]

48. They Should Fire His Big Ass

[ruggerson]

50. No. He should have been fired.

n/t

[JI7]

51. can't stand him, wouldn't mind if they fired him

[bullwinkle428]

61. Should have been termination.

[MrSlayer]

63. Yeah, I agree with it.

This guy is a jackass.

[Lil Missy]

64. No. I think he should be blackballed from the industry for life. n/t