Wanted: Language Police

In case you haven’t heard, a reporter on MSNBC remarked last week that Chelsea Clinton was being “pimped out” (presumably by her mother) when the young Clinton was asked to call celebrities and ask them to support Senator Clinton.  MSNBC and the reporter have apologized.  The reporter has been suspended indefinitely.  Click here, here and here for more on this story.

Have TV channels eliminated their human resources departments?  Do their employees receive no training about what constitutes inappropriate language?

It seems like only yesterday that a Golf Channel host wondered aloud if the only way to stop Tiger Woods was to lynch him.  She received a two week suspension.  For a reminder about this story, click here and here.

What’s happening to the bosses of these TV personalities?  Are they being disciplined?  Suspended?  If so, I haven’t heard anything about it.  Employees who say this kind of stuff should be disciplined, maybe fired.  But that’s an easy call.  Their superiors should also be called on the carpet. 

Rarely ever is there a discrimination or harassment charge or an employment lawsuit that doesn’t involve the allegation of inappropriate, vulgar, insensitive, racist, sexist or otherwise unlawful language.  Until the superiors of the employees who use this sort of language are held accountable, it’s likely that their employees will continue to use words that should be out of bounds. 

Suggestion to the language police:  discipline the employees–and their superiors.