hypocrisy
noun
- The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
- a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess
hypocrite
noun
- a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
- a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs
Clearly neither of these definitions fit an individual with a past set of behaviors no longer part of their lives while professing newer values and behaviors. And in Dr. Laura's case behaviors that have not been part of her behavior for decades.
People who insist on calling Dr. Laura a hypocrite or accuse her of practicing hypocrisy simply don't know what the words mean.
Or they know what the words mean and know the words don't apply, but simply use them to attack someone they don't care for (to put it mildly).
What kind of people do respond to Dr. Laura? Read some of the letters to Dr. Laura and find out.
I go there every so often to remind myself how the culture war is going on a personal level for many folks - male and female alike. I especially liked the recent letter from a chaplin in Iraq.
It occurs to me those who bandy about the words hypocrisy and hypocrite would have a very difficult time with Moses in the OT and with Paul in the NT. Maybe not, maybe they have there own personal definitions they need to share with others.
FWIW - I am an admirer of Dr. Laura, as I am of almost anyone who has succeeded in spite of their past behaviors. I am a fan (lower case f) and have an appreciation for her directness - what some choose to call mean or mean spirited.
I have absolutely no problem with those who do not care for her or her brand of advice. There are plenty of those I don't care for either. However, I don't find it necessary to attack those I don't care for.
Having started with two more definitions, here are two more to end with ...
self-righteous
adjective
- having too high an opinion of one's own merits, and being intolerant of other people's faults.
holier-than-thou
adjective
Believing oneself to be morally superior; sanctimonious, often patronizingly so
Cheers
RileyD, nwJ
Very well put and spot on!
‘And in Dr. Laura’s case behaviors that have not been part of her behavior for decades.’
Prove it.
Using your logic I assume that you have now forgiven Bill Clinton for all his actions....he did say he was sorry after all.