Ah, another day, another rant! I was sitting at my computer vaguely listening to TWC, The Weather Channel this morning, on my TV when I heard a newscaster/meteorologist/celebrity (I’m not sure what they call themselves anymore) whose voice I recognized, Al Roker. I didn’t catch much of what he was actually saying about Rapid City, South Dakota, but I did catch his tone and turned around in time to see him doing a little jig in with an imitation accent of what people in South Dakota must sound and look like. I was offended. Why? I’m an Iowan. I’ve lived here most of my life. South Dakota is just the next state over, and I’ve witnessed firsthand the misconceptions of individuals from other parts of the country about our accents (most Iowans don’t have accents,) or intellectual abilities, or mannerisms. Although I expect some people to be misinformed about my part of the country, I had always assumed that Mr. Roker was an educated man, and I don’t know why, but I expected more from him. See, I know most people in this part of the country aren’t nearly as sophisticated as Mr. Roker. Thank goodness! I personally can’t think of any of my friends who currently own a formal gown or tuxedo, although plenty of people out here do. Most of us haven’t achieved celebrity status just by doing our jobs or getting daily exposure on television. Most of the people I know, in this part of the country, haven’t used that as a means of mocking people. Most of the people I know from this part of the country are very intelligent, but obviously Mr. Roker doesn’t know that. In 62 years, I have never met anyone who spoke with the accent Mr. Roker used to mock his viewers or danced a jig as he did. Most of the people I know have better sense than to act as he did. I guess I expected more sensitivity from someone who is quite obviously a member of a minority group. I am seriously disappointed. I was surprised at first, and then offended. I changed the channel immediately and plan to avoid it in the future. That’s only going to be a problem because I used to leave it on all night so my cat could have a voice to keep her company while I slept. I’m pretty sure my cat won’t miss TWC and I know I won’t. Sincerely, Marie Pacha Sharing this with my friends on Facebook
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 15:04:08 +0000
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