The recent events surrounding Kathy Griffin and her decision in May to post a photo of a symbolic beheading of the President is unconscionable. As “the picture” and subsequent apology video have traveled around the Internet, Griffin’s friends and detractors have notably distanced themselves, while former fans and ardent critics have wagged their fingers and publicly condemned Griffin’s unethical-if-not-illegal behavior.
In many ways, Kathy Griffin’s media stunt has finally given Americans on both sides of the political aisle an issue on which to agree and unite.
There is little room for controversy that Griffin’s decision was appalling. That said, it should also come as little or no surprise that the photo happened. In a culture that has replaced respect for others with love of self and has kicked kindness to the curb in lieu of comedy, Kathy Griffin’s photo op was the next natural choice.
Thankfully, her decision (and its consequences) offer several teachable moments for parents in the midst of raising children in this current culture that worships at the altar of personal opinion. Here are just 5 lessons out of many
1. There is an acceptable (and inacceptable) way to treat people with whom we disagree.Griffin’s decision to pose with the prop of the President’s bloody head should not come as a surprise after some of the country’s animalistic behavior demonstrated during the last election season. Words were regularly used as weapons on every social media outlet and commonly separated friends and family members. Disagreement is good and healthy, but it must be done with kindness and respect.
2. The way to stop a bully is not to fight back.Griffin believes President Trump is a bully, having said so on the record. With her attorney by her side, Griffin apologized for her decision to make light of a beheading, saying, “I’m not afraid of Donald Trump. He’s a bully. I’ve dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career. I am a woman in a very male-dominated field.” Despite the irony of her assertion that the President was the bully (considering he wasn’t the one holding the head), there remains a correct way to respond to unfair or unkind treatment.
Holding a severed head in the name of humor does not fall into the category of “correct response.” What, then, is the correct response?–speaking up, getting help, and doing right.
3. Comedy offers no get-out-of-jail-free card.Playing jokes and being funny must still travel in clear-cut lanes of appropriate behavior. In a rush to defend Griffin, fellow comedian Jim Carrey said, “It is the job of a comedian to cross the line at all times, because that line is not real. We’re the last line of defense. And really, the comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing.”
Except, who said comedians hold the trademark on truth? Being funny is no replacement for being kind. Funny stunts cease to be funny when they harm people.
4. Laying the blame on anybody else during an apology makes the apology null and void.Griffin very publicly gave a “Sorry, not sorry” apology when she took responsibility and then flung it back into the face of the man and family she had wronged. She was correct at first when she took full responsibility and would have been wise to stop there. True apologies are not opportunities to become the victim. Good apologies own wrongdoing without excuse.
5. Choices have consequences.Shortly after Griffin’s photo went viral, venues began pulling her from their entertainment lineup. Her tour was canceled, and her famous New Year’s Eve gig on CNN with Anderson Cooper came to a crashing conclusion. A tearful Griffin told reporters, “I don’t think I’ll have a career after this. I’m going to be honest, he broke me.”
The problem? The President didn’t break Kathy Griffin. Kathy Griffin’s choices broke Kathy Griffin. People are free to make choices, but they are not free to choose the consequences.
Life will go on. Soon enough there will be a new story that garners the interest of the American people and claims the top spot on the evening news cycle. But we would all do well to pause for a moment of honest reflection in response to Kathy Griffin’s situation. For parents, especially, lessons exist and should be passed on to children growing up in a culture unlike any this country has ever known.
~ Christian Patriot Daily