Buh Bye Dr. Burke

ADifferentOkie · Jun 9, 2007

Double J said:
From the above link:

Washington tried to make amends and said he was seeking therapy.

He also met with officials from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and filmed a public service announcement in which he said "words have power" to hurt or heal.

Please note, I've never watched an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" and wouldn't recognize this guy if he were in my kitchen (although I can say with certainty that he has never been in my kitchen). I have no way of knowing if his apologies and other actions are on the level. I'm just pointing out he appears to have said and done the right things; even Katherine Heigl, who had gone public with her disgust, now says she believes he is sincere.

So what exactly is gained by kicking Washington to the curb, especially now? It reminds me of the Don Imus suspension-turned-firing, which was a joke (not that he was fired, just that the punishment changed after the fact for no apparent reason). If you were going to let Washington go, it should have happened when the incidents in question took place, or it should have at least been announced then that he would finish the season but his contract would not be renewed. The only message this latest news sends is that he needn't have apologized if he really hadn't wanted to, since it didn't help him anyway.

The problem was he had the original blowup and then a while later (more than a month, if I recall correctly), he said into a microphone at an awards show (the Emmys?), "I never called T.R. Knight a faggot."
He apparently hadn't learned his lesson. He repeated the same word.
Really, I think he got off a lot easier than someone would have if they had called Washington a racial slur twice.
And keep in mind where the term "faggot" comes from. A faggot, as any Brit can remind you, is something that burns (which is why they call cigarettes "fags").
The term comes from the days when gays were burned at the stake.
The word itself has more hateful origins than even the dreaded n-word. That doesn't make it worse, but I would expect a man as intelligent as Washington (and likely one who has been called hateful words before) to be able to grasp these concepts.

Double J · Jun 9, 2007

I understand there were two separate incidents, and I'm not debating what Washington said or the damage/hurt feelings it caused. I just believe that if he had to go, it should have happened back then, probably after the incident at the awards show.

Write-brained · Jun 9, 2007

I'm still lost about the awards show controversy - everyone's upset that he said 'faggot' but no one's upset that he used the word in a lie?? When you're denying a lie it often helps to tell everyone exactly what you didn't say so they don't come back later and accuse you of using semantics to lie again. I don't fault him for that, except, um, for the fact that he was lying.

As for the show, it lost me as well this season and I think next season represents the crossroads. I think there's still hope, especially now that some of the characters and the tired subplots they represented are gone. If they can bring in new and likeable characters along with new and likeable subplots they might survive more than another season.

sportschick · Jun 9, 2007

Double J said:
I understand there were two separate incidents, and I'm not debating what Washington said or the damage/hurt feelings it caused. I just believe that if he had to go, it should have happened back then, probably after the incident at the awards show.

Maybe the rest of cast can't stand him. He wouldn't be the first person fired because his/her chemistry with the cast is off.

Moderator1 · Jun 9, 2007

If George comes back, is it at another hospital? With the rookie interns? He failed the damn test.

Bucknutty · Jun 9, 2007

Moderator1 said:
If George comes back, is it at another hospital? With the rookie interns? He failed the damn test.

Since Callie got that new job, she'll find a way to keep George at the hospital. That will go over swimmingly until we find out that Izzie is pregnant with George's baby.

My predictions...