by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
The patriarchy which has dominated American life and culture since the nation's founding suddenly seems to be teetering on complete collapse. Yesterday while Congressman John Conyers was busy checking himself into a hospital to be treated for media-induced stress and Matt Lauer struggled to clear out his desk at NBC after being fired, Minnesota Public Radio announced that Garrison Keillor, the leading citizen of Lake Woebegone, Minnesota, had been fired over a couple of allegations of sexual misconduct. The firing effectively ends several long-standing business ventures that Keillor had with MPR.
And, as if knocking one of the most prominent figures in public radio off of his celebrity perch wasn't enough in the way of retribution, Minnesota Public Radio also said that it would be changing the name of A Prairie Home Companion, the beloved radio program that Keillor created and hosted for decades.
Garrison Keillor, for his part, minimized at least one of the allegations, and appeared to take some pride in being fired. He noted, perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek:
He also said that getting fired was "poetic irony of a high order."
Just this past week Garrison Keillor had spoken out on the sexual abuse controversy surrounding fellow Minnesotan, Senator Al Franken. He encouraged Franken not to resign from the Senate, and labeled his alleged groping of women as "humor of a low order."
Perhaps they both see it as being less humorous today.
A couple of days ago I referred to this "moment" in American history as a "tsunami of truth." The big wave is sweeping across the landscape and washing away shame and humiliation of countless women as it carries a generation of men who abused power and privilege off to the sidelines of society. Women are speaking up, forcefully, and the world is changing for the better.
If Garrison Keillor can be caught up in the moment and washed aside, it can happen to any man, anywhere - except perhaps in cultural backwaters like Alabama and the Trump White House.
But . . . never say never.
The moment continues.
Citizen Journalist
The patriarchy which has dominated American life and culture since the nation's founding suddenly seems to be teetering on complete collapse. Yesterday while Congressman John Conyers was busy checking himself into a hospital to be treated for media-induced stress and Matt Lauer struggled to clear out his desk at NBC after being fired, Minnesota Public Radio announced that Garrison Keillor, the leading citizen of Lake Woebegone, Minnesota, had been fired over a couple of allegations of sexual misconduct. The firing effectively ends several long-standing business ventures that Keillor had with MPR.
And, as if knocking one of the most prominent figures in public radio off of his celebrity perch wasn't enough in the way of retribution, Minnesota Public Radio also said that it would be changing the name of A Prairie Home Companion, the beloved radio program that Keillor created and hosted for decades.
Garrison Keillor, for his part, minimized at least one of the allegations, and appeared to take some pride in being fired. He noted, perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek:
"I'm doing fine. Getting fired is a real distinction in broadcasting and I've waited 50 years for the honor. All of my heroes got fired. I only wish it could've been for something more heroic,"
He also said that getting fired was "poetic irony of a high order."
Just this past week Garrison Keillor had spoken out on the sexual abuse controversy surrounding fellow Minnesotan, Senator Al Franken. He encouraged Franken not to resign from the Senate, and labeled his alleged groping of women as "humor of a low order."
Perhaps they both see it as being less humorous today.
A couple of days ago I referred to this "moment" in American history as a "tsunami of truth." The big wave is sweeping across the landscape and washing away shame and humiliation of countless women as it carries a generation of men who abused power and privilege off to the sidelines of society. Women are speaking up, forcefully, and the world is changing for the better.
If Garrison Keillor can be caught up in the moment and washed aside, it can happen to any man, anywhere - except perhaps in cultural backwaters like Alabama and the Trump White House.
But . . . never say never.
The moment continues.
1 comment:
And we know so little about the full story...
"I am deeply grateful for all the years I had doing "A Prairie Home Companion" and "The Writer's Almanac", the summer tours, the outdoor shows at Tanglewood and Wolf Trap, the friendships of musicians and actors, the saga of Lake Wobegon, the songs and sketches, Guy Noir, Dusty & Lefty, the sheer pleasure of standing in the warmth of that audience. A person could not hope for more than what I was given. I've been fired over a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard. Most stories are. It's some sort of poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story, having told so many of them myself, but I'm 75 and don't have any interest in arguing about this. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I've worked hard for since 1969. I am sorry for all the poets whose work I won't be reading on the radio and sorry for the people who will lose work on account of this. But my profound feeling is that of gratitude, especially to my wife Jenny, and for this painful experience that has brought us even closer together."
— Garrison Keillor
http://www.garrisonkeillor.com/index.html
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