Federal Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt was forced, some say by the Prime Minister’s Office, to say she was sorry for calling the scarcity of medical isotopes a “sexy” situation for her ministry. What a load of hooey. I don’t think she had anything to apologize for.
I wasn’t looking for a mea culpa because I fully understand what she was saying and all she ought to have done was explain it.
What would you say if I told you that the terror attacks of 9-11 was the “sexiest” news story of the past decade? It was. And that’s media lingo that I have nothing to apologize for. Sexy in this case doesn’t mean it looked good in a short skirt and heels. It means it was compelling, alluring and magnetic for broadcast news, which it was. The fact that it was a horrific incident beyond belief is something else entirely. Calling the medical isotopes shortage sexy simply meant that all eyes would be on her ministry to watch how it handled the crisis and had nothing to do with diminishing its seriousness. It’s a lingo we use in the media and she was just hooking on to that slang.
I don’t see why people have to constantly stop and explain themselves because someone takes offence. What about giving a person the benefit of the doubt? Why didn’t someone, anyone in the media, who knows full well how we use the term “sexy”, bring that up with Ms. Raitt? Because to do so would kill a story that took up plenty of real estate in papers and airtime on radio and TV? Ignorance kept that story going. I don’t expect to understand every short cut and catch phrase used by every profession and trade. But if I’m puzzled by one of them and it’s explained to me, I would think that would be enough to put it to rest. Instead, critics acted like a bunch of wet-bottomed babies and we are no further ahead in our understanding…of anything.