Dr. Laura listener?

[smiley]

I was wondering if you listen to Dr. Laura. To me it seems like you either love her or hate her. She can be very controvercial and has strong opinions about every and any subject. I read one of her books and enjoyed it , but sometimes her advice to callers has me searching for the dial. What about everyone else, do you enjoy her show?

[Flynn]

Hmmmm. This could get a little heated??? I am going to make my comments a bit vague and use "friendly" adjectives!!!

Dr. Laura --- due to her beliefs and very outspoken views on homosexuality she is hard to take seriously for me. I think she is borderline nuts in that area of her views and she is a bit (a bit?) wacky about her faith. Nuf said on that.

I do respect how blunt she is about being unfaithful to your spouse -- there is NO excuse for that in my book. I also agree with her that if you have children you should be involved and AROUND for your kids. I do not believe that if you have kids and work you are ALWAYS "parenting by proxy" as she says. Some people who work full time don't know their kids, some people make it work. It depends on the adults and the child or children in the relationship.

I listened on and off when I had a long commute pre-children. I found it interesting and disturbing all at the same time. I changed the station many many times when I got too uncomfortable (enraged?) listening....

[Vanquisher]

I find her views to be a little too conservative for my tastes and her views on homosexuality do not mesh with mine. Her religious bent does not fit into my life.

I like that she is blunt, but I find that there are gray areas in life when she seems to only see black and white.

I have only listened to her occasionaly, usually in the company of my MIL who really likes listening to her. Not suprising, given MIL's complete lack of empathy for the human race, that they often see eye to eye.

I find it interesting to listen to her, but mostly she just makes me angry.

[DCJenn]

Can't even go close to there....

Jenn

[Rapunzel]

I don't recall ever listening to her radio show. I know she has one but I haven't a clue as to what station it would even be on (or if it is even broadcast in this area!).

I do own one of her books, Parenthood by Proxy, and I really appreciated it. And, I agreed with the vast majority of her opinions expressed therein. I read another book by her years ago. I think it's called The Ten Biggest Mistakes Women Make or something like that? Anyway, it was quite insightful and, again, I agreed with much of her opinions expressed.

I can definitely see how she could make a lot of people feel very uncomfortable. She doesn't pussy-foot in her books (don't know much, if anything, about her radio-show) and she's very no-nonsense. Very un-P.C. person as well.

I don't know much about her religious views, either. I do know that she doesn't ascribe her opinions to her religious views in her books, at least. She goes about her writing using research and good, old fashioned principles of logic and reason (something I really like). She's certainly not rude in her books (the ones I've read) but she also doesn't back down from her conclusions.

There is another book that she's written called The Proper Care and Feeding of Men (I think that's the name of it, at least) and it was actually one of the books my bookclub read while I was out of town last fall. They all really loved it. I haven't read it yet, but intend to in the next few months (probably post-baby, laying-around-nursing reading ).

Jennifer

I think her books might be a little more...reasonable, I guess. I haven't read an entire book, just a chapter here or there when book-surfing at someone else's house. I have listened to her show and while I agree with some (but not all!) of what she says, she can really be quite rude and demeanin, IMO. The format of the show, or any call-in help line, does not lend itself to much in-depth discussion. Still, I think she goes beyond blunt to rude and sometimes just mean. I also find her to be hypocritical, perhaps that is less so in her books.

On the other hand, I have no idea why some people call her! Have they not listened to her before, or think she will see them in a different light?

[Meenah]

She is a whack job.
Luanne

Here's my problem with her. While she may not have put her son in a daycare, she certainly does come off as more than slightly hypocritical in her berrating of women who work outside the home. Especially since she's been working in radio since *I* was a child, and that's a pretty long time.

[PrincessFiona]

I have read some of Dr. Laura's books, and I would agree with Nellie that they are presented more reasonably than her views.

I do resent her black/white radical expression of her views on the air. It strikes me also that she is not a psychologist, but is a physiologist.

She is

1. divorced.

2. she worked while her child was young and took him with her to work. Employees supposedly filed complaints because the child was completely unsupervised during the day.

3. she was estranged from her mother for >15 years

4. She apparently started dating her current husband when he was still married.

I call that hypocricy.

If you're going to talk the talk, walk the walk.

kris

[houseelf]

I won't hold back. If I should die and go to hell, this is what it will look like: I will be stuck in an eternal surgery residency program forced to do counted cross stitch with Dr. Laura and my MIL as a roommates.

Regardless of her views, she is just not a nice human being. I think that she is entirely demeaning to her callers and I can't believe that people call in to her for abuse. The sad thing about her is that some of her underlying beliefs are reasonable, but the delivery is caustic and inhumane.

But in the spirit of congeniality, I could be wrong about all of this.

Kelly

Let's see....
I have listened to her radio show but never read any of her books. For the most part her views on just about everything do not mesh with mine. I find her to be incredibly intolerant and judgemental. And after reading Kris's post on letting her kid run around the studio etc, I am surprised she even has a fan base.
Honestly, the only good, solid advice I ever heard on her show was to callers who were female, in an abusive relationship or being cheated on and making excuses for not leaving the relationship.

This came from an unknown source on the internet. I didn't write it!

Dr. Laura:

> Thank you for doing so much to educate people
> regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal
> from
> your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as
> many people as I can. When people try to defend the
> homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind
> them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an
> abomination. End of debate.
>
>
> I do need some advice from you, however, regarding
> some of the specific laws and how to follow them:
>
>
> a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I
> know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord
> (Lev.1:9).The problem is my neighbors. They claim
> the
> odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
>
>
> B) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as
> sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.In this day and age, what
> do
> you think would be a fair price for her?
>
>
> c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman
> while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness
> (Lev.15:19-24).The problem is, how do I tell? I have
> tried asking, but most women take offense.
>
>
> d) Lev.25:44 states that I may indeed possess
> slaves,
> both male and female, provided they are purchased
> from
> neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that
> this
> applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you
> clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
>
>
> e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the
> Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put
> to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
>
>
> f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating
> shellfish is an abomination (Lev.11:10), it is a
> lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't
> agree.
> Can you settle this?
>
>
> g) Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the
> altar
> of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to
> admit
> that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to
> be
> 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
>
>
> h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed,
> including the hair around their temples, even though
> this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How
> should
> they die?
>
>
> i) I know from Lev.11:6-8 that touching the skin of
> a
> dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play
> football if I wear gloves?
>
>
> j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by
> planting two different crops in the same field, as
> does his wife by wearing garments made of two
> different kinds of thread cotton/polyester blend. He
> also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it
> really
> necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting
> the
> whole town together to stone them (Lev.24:10-16)?
> Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private
> family affair like we do with people who sleep with
> their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)
>
>
> I know you have studied these things extensively, so
> I
> am confident you can help. Thank you again for
> reminding us that God's word is eternal and
> unchanging.
>

[migirl]

This one's my favorite

Why can't I own Canadians?

I am wiping the tears away from laughing so hard....thanks for posting this....BTW, I haven't heard Dr. Laura. But that was hysterical!

Thanks for the laugh!

[houseelf]

That's it....I'm getting on Ebay right now to purchase my Canadian!

Kelly

[houseelf]

Because I'm a weinie and I want to ameliorate any discord that my post may have called, I should clarify (READ: Hedge):

My single biggest problem with Dr. Laura is that she offers criticism and judgment far more than compassion. Like so many "heated" issues, I think once you peel back the layers and get to the root of the issue, many times you will find areas of agreement. I do agree that families can not outsource the majority of childcare for the bulk of the tender childrearing years. Somebody has to parent. The problem with a statement like this is there is no bright line definition of where exactly that delicate balance lies. Honestly, I don't know to many SAHPs who don't do something to either bring in extra money or to contribute on a volunteer basis to the community. Conversely, I don't know too many WOTHPs who haven't made serious career concessions. (Those who haven't are a whole 'nother ball of wax).

I agree that adultery is wrong, wrong, wrong. But I also know that people who transgress and call out for help merit compassion.

I also agree with her that some of these people do need a swift kick in the pants. Sometimes tough love is what the doctor ordered. But tough love has to be based on "LOVE".

I won't even touch my thoughts as to whether homosexuality is a "sin". But if it is, a dear friend of mine once pointed out that gossiping, lying, stealing, gluttony and various other vices makes one culpable for sin. Most christian based religions do not recognize a hierarchy of sins. From a christian (not justice or legal) standpoint, we are all sinners.

Damn , I feel like Ted Kazinski now--writing a manifesto on Dr. Laura.

Kelly