Civility Blog

Rev. Al Sharpton “praised this firing and said it is time to change the culture of publicly degrading other people.”Here is an opportunity for all of us to look at our own behavior.   Who is not uncivil at times?  We all lose our composure from time to time.  But will the firing of one influential man be enough to change the culture of degrading people?

Dictionary.com defines opportunity as a chance for progress or advancement.

So thanks to Mr. Imus, we have a chance to progress or advance in the way we relate to one another.  But already, extremes are beginning to emerge.  Many are being very intentional in expressing their support for Imus via a radiothon fund raiser on his program.  Conversely, others are calling for better behavior from public figures in our society.

Is change in the air?  I doubt it.   Change comes when a majority calls for better behavior in all our circles - at our children’s baseball and soccer games, at the city council, at the barber’s shop, at the theaters, on our city streets, and in the courtroom.  Those changes will only occur when we as a society change and quit condoning degrading behavior.

What do you think?

Many times when we speak to each other one will say something that another will take offense at. Such occurred when Radio Talk Show Host Don Imus called the players on the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos.”

Civility matters and when we don’t follow civil rules of engagement, we can cause hurt on the other side. Sometimes one asks for forgiveness, as Imus later did.

But if you read the article, you’ll see an interesting question posed by Gregory Lee, an NABJ officer and senior assistant sports editor at The Boston Globe. He said the mea culpa did little to atone for the comments. “You can apologize, but what does that mean when you have a history of making disparaging remarks about people?” Lee asked about the acid-tongued Imus.

This is a good question. Once the hurtful words are spoken, their long-term effect on individuals or a whole society cannot be controlled.

And if one apologizes for one’s remark but then does not change one’s behavior, is the apology real?

Civility matters…..and the sooner we all learn to live in a world of civil engagement, the better off we will all be.