tony harris has more on his mission. >> i just wanted to start us off talking about the "n" word, theorter: it is uncomfortable to talk about but jared mathis is on a mission to change it. >> a lot of this stuff is tough material. >> reporter: it is his goal to talk about the origins of the "n" word through education and empowerment. >> good job. i became sort of frustrated with i think the lack of consciousness among black youth. before slavery we were kings and queens. >> reporter: he channeled his frustration into what started out as a college project to empower ourselves now, a series of workshops to encourage dialogue by young people by closely examining elements out of handbooks. >> this man's arm is cut off and people are standing around smiling. what would bother me when i heard young kids using the "n" words they were 5 or 6. they had no concept of civil rights, to concept of slavery. >> i'm not going to lie to you. i never used the word. i see people getting hanged and laughing and calling them niggers and stuff like it's cool and got me to a point that i would never want to

the word n-- >> reporter: jarred's goal is to teach black youth about the origins of the "n" word andower. >> i became sort of frustrated with, i think the lack of consciousness among black youth. before slavery, we were kings and queens. >> reporter: jared channeled his frustration into what started out as a college project to empower ourselves now. a series of workshops to invite and encourage dialog among young people, by closely examining elements of black history that are often left out of school books. >> this man's arm is cut off on the ground. all right? and again, people are standing around smiling. what bothered me when young kids were using the young words, they were kids as young as 5 or 6 years old. they had no concept of civil rights, no concept of slavery. >> i've seen people get hanged, laughing, calling them -- and stuff like it's cool. right now, it got me to a point that i would never even want to let the word pass my mouth again. >> pictures of the people getting hung and stuff. having a party about it. it's horrible. >> could someone tell me what the word dehumani

fast the downside of creating magic words you know sort of called quote unquote magic words like the n word in the united states which is a word that you should avoid you know that i'm not saying it now is that you can again you can get to the poor your impoverishing discourse there's a famous book by randall kennedy that it has that the n. word is the title it's called the subtitles like the history of this word and there are some universities and high schools and libraries that won't carry the book because it has that word on it you know it's really it's not helpful. you know exactly but i'm going to let you go down the road and it's very interesting because i had a professor a great professor of american history and he did use that word in one of his essays how many did karl marx know ok and he was looking at race and he was looking at different social structures and things like that and he was a he's an african-american and i read it and i said do you really want to put that in there and he said yeah it makes my point i we talked to earlier before the program robert in london what about

terms and they were there was a talk show host who who decided to step down after she had used the n word several times in today's day and age it in the united states you just don't use that word period so for her to have thought oh people were not allowing her to have free speech so she had to quit her show in order to have free speech says to me that she wasn't being very sensitive and when i say sensitive i don't mean that you have to be so nice and what you're saying that you can't get your point across that because that is a problem that people become so nice to have is that what the heck are they saying really that they should be able to know how to say well without being totally offensive. when you just don't side of the. this is i just i just want to add the thing real fast the downside of creating magic words you know sort of called quote unquote magic words like the n word in the united states which is a word that you should avoid you know that i'm not saying it now is that you can again you can get to the poor your impoverishing discourse there's a famous book by randall kenned

the n-word.> first here, i just want to warn you that this next story is going to use some language that some people will find offensive. garard mathis got fed up with hearing his peers use the n-word to refer to themselves. he decided to do something about it, educating and empowering black students. tony harris has the story. >> i just wanted to start us off talking about the n-word, the word nigger. >> reporter: it is an uncomfortable topic to talk about. >> some of this stuff, i didn't learn myself until i got into college. so definitely don't feel ashamed, don't feel like i should know this, no, you shouldn't. >> garard's goal is education and empourmt. . >> i became sort of frustrated with, i think, the lack of consciousness among black youth. i felt like they didn't know our history as much as they should know. and i think as a result that led to an atmosphere of just respect. before slavery, we were kings and queens. >> reporter: garard channels his frustration into what started out as a

it's not okay to call someone the n-word on the playground, but it is okay to call them the f-word.icant advances of gay rights, but until we as adults confront homophobia head on, kids are going to continue victimizing kids. we owe our kids more than that. >> how much of this do you believe goes to the quality of the communities that we have? in other words, when you have the digital universe and we have a world that's always us and them. it's never us. it's the men versus the women. the rich versus the poor. >> democrats versus republicans. >> gay versus straight. that the concept of us in this country as a principal of negotiating or relating appears to be at a low in our history. and how much of this is symptom attic of the broader community issue of basically division as opposed to unity or collection of some kind. >> i think you hit the nail on the head. when i say that about adults taking responsibility. i don't just mean the parents and schools. it's an example we should all be setting. when you have members of congress who call each other names, it sends a message that's ho

heard no outrage from you about that language which is the same as calling an african-american the "n" word, have you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find out who is responsible for that graze? >> i don't agree with that comparison. this is a five week old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a disbash eled -- garbled transmission. this is not -- i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >>neil: you heard him last night the woman he apologized to, here now. welcome, everyone, i am neil cavuto and and now meg whitman is here, joining me from los angeles. good to have you. >>guest: nice to see you. >>neil: we invited jerry brown to appear, as well, and he declined but possibly tomorrow. so we hope the former governor, attorney general, will show up. meg, two his apology last night, do you accept it? >>guest: well, you know, california deserves better than these slurs and personal attacks and all in california want to get to the issues of creating good jobs, fix our education system. so, i appreciate what he said and i

use of that kind of language, which to many women is the same as calling an an african-american the n-word. have you been in charge of the investigation in the campaign to find out who was responsible with that phrase? >> i don't agree that comparison, number one. number two, this was a private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission, hard to detect who it is. the campaign apologized promptly. >> not just me the people of california deserve better than slurs and personal attacks. that's not what california is about. it is not our better service. >> sean: brown's so-called apology did not go far enough with one group who previously backed him. n.o.w.. terry o'neil says this is hate speech that carries negative connotations associated with women it has no place in contemporary society. calls to fire any member of his staff who uses the word or any hate speech against women. not everyone got the memo including n.o.w.'s president. when asked in an interview today if meg whitman could be described as a political whore? replayed yes, that's an accurate statement. we ha

use of that kind of language which to many women is the same as calling an african- american the n word. >> i don't agree with that comparison. number two, that is a five-week old private conversation picked up on a cell phone. >> reporter: brown said the whore comment was recorded from a garbled conversation that it was hard to see who it was. whitman went on the attack. >> i think everyone californian woman knows that is terrible. >> who calls congress whores to the public sector unions? >> you know better than that. that's a completely different thing. >> reporter: but she refused to say how her use of whore was different. so brokaw didn't relent. he went to immigration. then went for the jugular. >> if you couldn't find someone in your home was undocumented or illegal, how do you expect businesses to be able to do that? >> reporter: whitman's answer: she went through an employment agency and diaz falsified the documents. >> it broke my heart but i had to let her go. this is why we need a good e- verify system. >> that's like treating mexicans like surfs to use them and send them bac

you about the use of that kind of language, which is the same ace calling an african-american the "n" word. have you been in charge of your campaign to find out who said that word? >> this is a five-week-old private conversation. i doesn't want to get into the term. the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> that was a sincere apology. a little defensive. it did not keep whitman from pressing him on the issue. >> i think every californiaian and especially women know exactly what is going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> have you chastised your chairman, pete wilson, who called the congress whores to the public sector unions. >> you know better than that, jerry. that's a completely different thing. the fact you are defending your campaign, the fact that you are defending your campaign for a slur and, you no he, a personal attack on me, it is not befitting of california or the office you are running for. >> i don't thing jerry wants to be parsing the word whore. it shows brown leading whitman 50% to 43%. connecticut's final senate debate wa

use of that kind of language, which to many women is the same as calling an african-american the "n" word. >> i don't agree with that comparison number one. number two, this is a five-week- old -- >> whoa, whoack whoa! >> -- private conversation picked up on a cell phone! >> i think every californian and especially women know exactly what's going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject? have you class advertised your chairman pete wilson -- chastised your chairman pete wilson who called the congress whores to the publ sector unions ? >> you know better than that, jerry. that's a completely different thing. >>> new twist in the fight to ban styrofoam in the city of hayward. some environmentalists say it's actually a bad thing. they say the substitute materials require more energy and contribute more energy to -- more energy to produce and contribute to global warming. but city council members disagree saying that the city is better off without styrofoam. >> i doubt there's been a good study that says this stuff is harmless that we're going to substitut

use of that kind of language which to many women is equivalent to calling an african-american the n-word. have you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find out who was responsible for using that phrase. >> i don't agree with that comparison, number one. and number two, this is a five week old, private conversation. >> oh. >> picked up on cell phone with a garbled transmission, very hard to detect who it is, this is not-- i don't want to get into the term how it's used, but i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> jon: well, how did jerry do with that one in the media? >> you know, that's one you can never win, trying to explain why you called somebody a whore. that's just not a winnable issue. he should have grovelled, he should have outed the person who said it, fired them, if it wasn't his wife, that's another problem. but you know, when you get into explaining something like that, you've already lost the debate. >> the media didn't make him do all of those things. if this was a republican they would have had a voice analyzia

use of that kind of language which, to many women, is the same as calling an african-american the n word don't agree with that comparison, number 1. number 2, this is a five-week old private conversation picked up on a cell phone. >> on the ropes, brown said the who are comment was recorded from a cell phone sogard 6th garbled that they couldn't determine who said it. >> i think people know exact. i think every californian, especially women, know exactly what is going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject much have you chastised your chairman pete who called their people hoars to the public sector unions. >> you know jerry that's a completely different thing. >> reporter: but she refused to finish how her who are comment was different. whitman support of a business caught with undocumented aliens three times and then went for the jugular. >> if you couldn't find someone in your home was undocumented or illegal, how do you expect businesses to be able to do that? >> tough. >> whitman's answer, she went through an employment agency and diaz falsified

of sending offensive and racially charged emails to friends and coworkers some have contained the n. word while describing the president and others showed a woman performing a sex act with a horse so homosexuality isn't ok but in carl's book beast geology is took two guys just love a hypocrite and that's why carl paladino is tonight's tool time award winner. well there are a new slew of campaign ads popping up on t.v. greens around the country and as are still personal attacks but it looks like these candidates are starting to run out of enemies to claim that their opponents are supporting forget about illegal immigrants and bankers and muslims the new scapegoat are the chinese yeah you want to blame for unemployment well according to these new ads it's all the fault of politicians that support sending american jobs overseas take a look at this one from the ohio congressman saxby. gibbs is a proud free trader a free trader keeps wants more free trade with china to increase their standard of living but what about ohio we've lost ninety one thousand jobs to china through money pear tree dea

when i was born, there was the n-word, but if you're a little more polite you used the world colored, and if your were liberal you said negro, and by the time i was teenager, black got to be the term, and now the term african-american has taken hold. do you see this is where this whole type of desi nation is -- desi -- designation and there's going to be different ways to refer to people of african origin? >> i have no idea. you started the evolution well, and the answer is, i don't know where it goes, to tell you the truth. maybe this will stick around for a while. some people -- i've heard as i've been talking about the book, a couple of times people said, i prefer black to african-american. >> i'm black. i'm still black. >> there you have it. >> i'm an admirer of yours and watch you on tv and read your columns. >> thank you. >> one of the thing is notice about you is kind of your bemused take on most things, be they racial or political or whatever, and i just wonder where that comes from? how do your keep -- [laughter] >> it's not from medication. [laughter] >> i can answer that qu

going to make voters think that obama is chill smoking weed talking about his mistress using the n. word they obviously the rap isn't getting glowing reviews in the media they say that it's in bad taste to show the president and the first lady in such a way and they say the parody is just respectful to the office of the white house i guess i would say the same thing for the races billboards obama's a tribesmen posters so this one wasn't all that shocking to me this is a new way of seeing all the time but i can say that i did find this entertain you guys can decide for yourself but the video is a hit and it seems to have a lot of people watching and talking. bill clinton mark sanford eliot spitzer just three politicians who were caught with their pants down now clinton sanford weather the storm and remains in office while spitzer resigned and then got a cushy t.v. so is being involved in a sex scandal no longer the career ender for people in office parties christine for south takes a look. between the sheets many secrets secrets that sometimes. never stray i did not have sexual relations

conversation between brown and staff referring to meg whitman's politics not her person is akin to the "n" word here is the reaction. go. >> i don't agree with that comparison. number two, this is a five-week old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission. hard to pick up what is said. i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> you're repeating it to miswhitman. >> yes. >> it's not just me. it's the people of california deserve better than slurs and personal attacks. that is not what california is about. >> so there is brown first. >> he doesn't do it well. he doesn't carry himself off well he just did not look sincere. he did turn and look and meg whitman refused to make eye contact. he said yes. i'm sorry. he had the intelligence to turn the body towards her so that she'd feel like it was a real... >> and whitman isn't cutting him slack. >> there is a look she gives him. a look of real deep skepticism there. is a sideways glance. when you see that, there is resignation and hostility. >> bill: i saw loathing. >> she raised

conversation between brown and staff referring to meg whitman's politics not her person is akin to the "n" wordhere is the reaction. go. >> i don't agree with that comparison. number two, this is a five-week old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission. hard to pick up what is said. i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> you're repeating it to miswhitman. >> yes. >> it's not just me. it's the people of california deserve better than slurs and personal attacks. that is not what california is about. >> so there is brown first. >> he doesn't do it well. he doesn't carry himself off well he just did not look sincere. he did turn and look and meg whitman refused to make eye contact. he said yes. i'm sorry. he had the intelligence to turn the body towards her so that she'd feel like it was a real... >> and whitman isn't cutting him slack. >> there is a look she gives him. a look of real deep skepticism there. is a sideways glance. when you see that, there is resignation and hostility. >> bill: i saw loathing. >> she raised h

why sit that if the "n" word is use aid teacher would intervene but if the "f" sword used against a usel a students that's perceived to be gay, why is that word allowed to be used liberally in schools. >> it's so normal and common people say, what's the big deal? it's just what we say. and when i talk about this, we talked about racism generations ago and it became unacceptable. it has to happen in the same way. otherwise, what happens is, you have to keep saying just because it's common doesn't make it right. racism is not right and so isn't homopho homofhobia. >> i was in a theater this weekend and saw a preview for a new vince vaughn movie and in the preview he says -- that's so gay! and he uses "gay" as a pejorative term and i found it surprising it was in the movie but in the preview to the movie? >> that's pretty disappointing. i think people need to take responsibility for the things that they do that contribute to this. even if they haven't realized it before, now they realize by saying things that seem innocuous they'll really aren't because it creates an environment where bein

tom brokaw likened it to the "n" word with respect to african-americans. >> have you been in charge ofe investigation of your campaign to find out who was responsible for using that phrase? >> i don't agree with that comparison number one. number two, this is a five-week-old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission very hard to detect who it is. this is not -- i don't want to get to the term and how it's used. but the campaign apologized promptly. i affirm that apology tonight. >> i think every californianbe, especially women know exactly what is going on here. that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i interject. have you chastised your chairman pete wilson who called the congress whores to the public sector unions? >> a lot of times people believe that personal attacks a going negative will sway voters. this year, voters i don't think can be pigeon holed too easily. [ chanting ] >> reporter: protesters outside the debate echoed that sentiments. [ applause ] >> why would i vote for someone who -- [ inaudible ] when we have the highest unemploy

on your first album the "n" word was anything -- nigro. >> this is an ugly group of people. bunch of black dudes. i feel like we are doing baby daddy on the mauro po vich show. >> john was married to my favorite lady rebecca romijn o'connell. you lost your wife to the fat kid on stand by me. >> uninhibited. >> john, you are a big ghoulish woman. i am talking to you carrot top. what happened to your face? you look retarded. how did you do that? how did you find a plastic surgeon who could add a chromosome? >> most often crude. >> what a (bleep) career you have had after you split up cheech became a big tv star and chong went to jail. you are like lance armstrong testicles one of you cruised along one was ripped from the home and finally left to rot in a can. >> i hate to laugh. i hate myself for laughing. just hours after word spread last week greg geraldo died alone in a hotel room fellow comedians gilbert godfrey said was that the great roast? >> when asked about the tweet gilbert said he had trouble expressing his real emotions. he added can't say anything about it now can

use of that kind of language, which to many women is the same as calling an african-american the n wordve you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find tout who was responsible for using that phrase? megyn: oh, and wait until you see what happened after that. jerry brown, gave an answer that made the crowd jump into the debate. audible responses after what he said. we'll show it all to you. >>> and stunning new developments in the alleged shooting of an american man on a border lake. see what investigators and his family are saying now after one of the lead detectives on this case was found de capitated on the mexican side of the border. it's sad. it's so sad that they have to be fearful of people, you know, coming after them for searching for somebody, you know. it's sad that they have to fear the cartel. megyn: welcome back, folks. all eyes are now on chile where rescue teams are working to haul up the last of the 33 miners. seventeen have been taken up so far, we are awaiting the rescue of the 18th, these men have spent 69 days trapped 2000 feet beneath the surface

laura schlessinger used the "n" word five times during a rant. >> turn on hbo, listen to a black comment. and all you hear is [ bleep ]. >> reporter: and in may, helen thomas lost her job after answering a simple question about israel like this. >> tell them to get the hell out of palestine. >> reporter: in the end, after pressure from the host, sanchez backed down and replaced the word bigot. >> be careful with the word bigot. >> i'll take the word bigot back. >> reporter: but it was too late. the damage was done. for "good morning america," meg oliver, abc news, new york. >>> and we will be right back. well, max, first day... moh-ohm. -do you have your lunch? -yes. and you know where your classroom is? uh huh. mom, i can walk from here. what about your... mom, i got it. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're never too big for a little something sweet. kellogg's rice krispies treats. [ son ] hi, mom. sorry i missed your call. [ coughs ] call me. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest. [ sneezes ] [ female announcer ] no wonder people go out of their way t

that's why he rejected the comparison that our colleague, tom brokaw said it's like the "n" word. brown said no, it's not like that. >> some democrats feel better today about the senate race than they did two weeks ago and some republicans are running when is carly fiorina going to write a personal check? what do we know? >> there is no sign yet that she is going to pour a huge amount of money -- nothing like what meg whitman has done. >> sure. >> but even in a more limited way, she's just not gone there. i suspect that carly fiorina will feel out how strong she is going to be. running as an unabashed conservative. even when you have a liberal candidate like barbara boxer, who republicans would love to beat so much, it's a tough battle to win in this state. a little over 2 1/2 weeks. we'll see whether she writes that check or can get somehow the dynamic working in her favor. >> we'll know, perhaps, by how many tv ads we see next week. >> exactly. >> john harwood covering both california races today. thank you very much. >>> first lady's first campaign of the tour is off to a rousi

use of that kind of language which to many women is the same as calling an african-american the "n" word. >> i don't agree that comparison, number one. number 2, this is a five-week- old private conversation -- >> whoa, whoa, whoa! >> --picked up on a cell phone. >> i think every californian and especially women know exactly what's going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject, have you chastized your chairman pete wilson who called the congress whores to the public sector unions? >> you know better than that, jerry. that's a completely different thing. >> reporter: so did this final debate change any minds? well, too soon to know that. but some of the latest polling data shows one-fifth of likely california voters are still undecided in the gubernatorial race. reporting live from the registrar of voters office here in santa clara county in san jose, i'm mark sayre, cbs 5. >> thank you. >>> pg&e has a plan to increase safety around its natural gas pipeline. anne makovec joins us now from san bruno, where last month's disaster prompted pg&e's move. go

laura schlessinger used the "n" word 11 times during a 5-minute rant when a caller asked for advice on race relations. >> turn on hbo, listen to a black comic. and all you hear is [ bleep ]. >> reporter: and in may, helen thomas lost her job after answering a simple question about israel like this. >> tell them to get the hell out of palestine. >> reporter: in the end, after pressure from the host, sanchez backed down and replaced the word bigot. >> be careful with the word bigot. >> i'll take the word bigot back. i'll say prejudicial. >> reporter: but it was too late. the damage was done. for "good morning america," meg oliver, abc news, new york. >> i think in this world of live television, it's pushing the envelope. sometimes people push a little >> exhibit "a." >>> coming sheled the da o an administrator at one of nat accused of forcing scholarship students to do her household chores. >>> and what does sumo wrestling in japan have to do with the economic meltdown in america? we'll ask one of the fascinating subjects of the new movie "freakonomic." we'lllk rs. mom, i got it. ♪ [ fem

use of that kind of language which, to many women, is the same as calling an african-american the "n" word been in charge of the investigation of your campaign? >> i don't agree with that comparison, number one. number two, this is a five-week old. [audience booing] >> conversation picked up on a cell phone garbled conversation very hard to detect who it is. >> bill: okay. now meg whitman made her fortune of as ceo of what tech company? cards up, please. and the answer is yes, ebay. they are both hot tonight. two for two is tied with three to go. in a radio interview this week former white house correspondent helen thomas denied being anti-semitic. >> the one thing i want to clear up right here right now out of your own mouth and then i don't want to talk about that anymore is people have called you anti-semite. helen, how do you respond to that? >> i have never been anti-semitic. i'm a semite. they're not. >> bill: not sure who they're but i'm sure there are some semites in the world. when helen thomas reserves to semite she is referring to arab heritage. her parents were immigrants from

you about the use of that kind of language which to many women as calling an african american the n-word. have you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find out who is responsible for using that phrase. >> i don't agree with that comparison. no. 1. no. 2 this 5 week old private conversatio conversation. >> oh, >> picked up on a cell phone with a garble transmission very hard to detect who it is. this is not i don't want to get natural term and how it is used but i'll say the campaign apologized promptly. and i affirm the apology tonight. >> repeating it to miss whitman. >> yes, i am. unfortunate. i'm sorry it happen. i apologize. >> so jerry it's not just me. it is the people of california who deserve better than slur and personal attack. that's not what california is about. it is not our better selves. and i think people know exactl exactly, i think every california an and especially women know exactly what is going on here and that is deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject. have you changes tasted your chairman pete wilson who called the congress who

>> bill, this is a guy with with a history of writing emails using the "n" word.ornographic emails. >> bill: zoo man. that's what do. did you ever hear that in college mary katharine the zoo man. that's what he is. >> juan is right. these are problems. >> bill: these are problems. >> you turn to somebody like -- >> bill: in any other year these were problems. not this year. you know, they want somebody in there with a hand grenade. that's how angry people are. >> it doesn't help to have problems. i mean, you are right that it's to be the general guy. it doesn't help to cause problems. meg whitman wasn't the one who necessarily had the hand in causing herself that problem. should have been more diligent. >> bill: unless she knew. >> no, no. i think they definitely should have been more diligent. >> thank you, mary katharine. >> doesn't have a lot of evidence. >> mary katharine diligent. there is so much hypocrisy on the illegal immigrant issue in this country, the maid, the gardeners, everybody, they know that a lot of these people are illegal immigrants people in

you about the use of that kind of language, which to many women is calling an african-american the n-word you been in chanchrge of t investigation. >> i don't agree with that comparison and, number two, this is a five-week-old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission. very hard to detect who it is. this is not, i don't want to get into the term and how it's used. but i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> i think every californian and especially women know exactly what's going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> what happened in the california debate there and recent polls having whitman trailing brown in double digits. but the surveys were done before the debate there. >> yeah, all right, thanks so much, richard. i want to have more of a conversation about what happened in california. phil bronsteaw brownstein is ed large and robert trainm joins us, as well and alicia menendez joins us here in studio. phil, let me start with you. you served most of your professional life in california when y