When Madison radio personality John Sylvester called Condoleezza Rice, the nominee to be the next U.S. secretary of state and the current national security adviser, an \Aunt Jemima"" on the air last Thursday, he probably did not think he was doing anything wrong. As a shock jock, Sylvester is primarily an entertainer. He talks about current events but his main job is to tell his listeners what he thinks in the liveliest and most humorous way he can.
But there comes a time when a shock jock must take into account what is appropriate, and his remarks on Thursday were not proper. He could have made his point-that prominent blacks in the Bush administration serve as little more than yes-men and yes-women to the president-in a less offensive way. Sylvester's remarks were irresponsible, and for that he should be held accountable.
Sylvester's remarks were made in poor taste, and he should apologize for his lack of judgment. However, much of the reaction is overblown. While he clearly said something he should not have, nothing he said was so offensive that he should be suspended or removed from the air, as some people are demanding.
Sylvester's main offense, it seems, was to equate the terms ""Aunt Jemima"" and ""Uncle Tom."" ""Uncle Tom,"" while not complimentary by any stretch of the imagination, is nonetheless a part of the American lexicon. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and National Public Radio have both called the current secretary of state, Colin Powell, an ""Uncle Tom"" for his seeming willingness to compromise his own ideals in order to paint the administration in a positive light-as did Sylvester in the conversation during which he called Rice an ""Aunt Jemima.""
This story is receiving as much coverage as it is in part because Sylvester essentially coined a new phrase to make a controversial assertion about a prominent national figure. While the words he used were not the right ones, the issue is with diction. It is a mistake to say Sylvester is on par with Mark Belling, the Milwaukee radio host who called the city's Hispanic voters who were voting illegally ""wetbacks.""
Belling received a one-week suspension for his remarks, and what Sylvester said, while inappropriate, is not close to the same level. Sylvester should apologize, and in the future he should think before he talks. But any punishment that includes suspension from the air would be an overreaction to a statement that was, when taken in context, not too offensive.
