NPR: A Full Monday...

A Full Monday...

There was a lot going on in today's show...would you agree? Especially for a Monday when some of us haven't quite shaken off the weekend cobwebs.

The health care conversation. Important. Every now and again we just have to check-in on the big policy debates of our time...even when they are disguised as fights over (relatively) small programs.

And then Gustavo! If you haven't read Ask a Mexican, you have to check it out. I must warn newcomers: he is NOT everyone's cup of tea -- his bluntness, his refusal to give quarter, his sense of humor. Some people think he's playing into stereotypes. I think there's something cutting-edge there; a freshness that makes me wonder if that's what it was like to be black during the Harlem Renaissance, and for folks were proclaiming the era of the "New Negro," throwing off the shackles of a subservient past. (It was never quite that simple, and analogies are never perfect). But check Gustavo out and tell me what you think. He's also available in the Village Voice now.

And abstinence...

We're going to talk more about this in tomorrow's program. But if you saw the Washington Post article over the weekend, you'll see there are some interesting findings about whether these abstinence education programs really make any difference.

Where do you find yourself in this debate?

Also today, we just wanted to know: what's it like to be a teenaged boy and just...say...no?

Michel Martin

5:46 PM ET | 07-23-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

During the segment about Ask A Mexican, the author, Gustavo, justified cat-calling and whistling at women on the street, which is harassment, as a Mexican cultural tradition and Michelle laughed along. It sounded like she was wanted to be in on the joke, regardless of how of vile the behavior is. I don't see how Gustavo's 'take no prisoners' style of writing makes defending sexist behavior funny.

Sent by Eduardo | 11:25 AM ET | 07-24-2007

I don't know...I guess you had to be there. I don't like being whistled at or cat-called either.

(Check out our Monday July 2 broadcast on street harassment and my blog entry about that here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2007/07/monday_musings.html)

Gustavo is pretty damn funny. He just is...I don't know what else to say. His point of view on this made me think, even if I don't agree with it. And since I felt we had covered the other side of the street harassment issue in a way that I think very few others have, I feel we've let both sides have their say on this subject.

I'm sure you'll probably consider that lame, but it's the truth...and I think you may have a different image in mind than I had at the time of the conversation; there's a type of, shall we say, "commentary" that's just annoying and even silly, and there's a type that feels truly threatening.

Sent by Michel Martin, Host | 6:20 PM ET | 07-24-2007

I loved the Gustavo's segment about "ask a Mexican." I think he gets a free pass for giving edgy remarks because he is a Mexican American. It wouldn't be the same if a person of a different background gives the off-color remarks. It kind of reminded me of the " In Livin Color" and "the Chappelle Show" sketches; the fact that the sketch or commentary (no matter how sensitive the subject) is coming from a person of color made it funny.

I could give other examples like Eddie Murphy during his stint on Saturday Night Live or Chris Rock on his former HBO show. Murphy did some sensitive and racy subjects about Black America on SNL; I found myself laughing out loud at some skits but the difference with them was they also made me think.

Sent by Moji | 4:43 PM ET | 07-25-2007

Michel, I love your show and I DO appreciate your opinion as well as your insight. That being said, I think you totally missed the point of the article from Developmental Psychology (a scientific 'journal', and not a 'magazine').
You made a very good point regarding the importance of pathos to the human experience, and the inevitability that both men and women will naturally seek it out. [Although... can I just tell you, as a man from Sacramento I will sit and watch the Kings game to the often-bitter end, holding out the hope that they'll pull off a miracle and NOT out of some need for drama or bad news]. But I don't think the point of the article was to dissuade either men or women from this process. Instead, the abstract describes a warning (lost in the sensationalist headlines) to parents of young girls who may be experiencing a bout of depression or low feelings: Just because your daughter may have a tight-knit group of friends to share her problems with doesn't mean she is doing just fine. In fact, this reinforcing relationship between strong friendships and co-rumination on negative emotions may be a sign that she needs help from either a mentor or a mental health expert. In short, it's not about stopping the behavior but recognizing warning signs of a more serious problem -- (FYI: Teenaged girls are twice as likely as boys to develop depression, according to www.safeyouth.org).

Sent by Micha Barankin | 1:59 PM ET | 07-27-2007

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