Mon, October 05, 2009 - 11:16:31

Conan Banned from Newark Airport… and That’s No Joke!

A few nights ago, we tuned in to The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and witnessed a very unusual turn of events unfold.  In his opening monologue, Conan remarked that his recent joke poking fun at the city of Newark, New Jersey had angered Mayor Cory Booker so intensely that he went on to post a YouTube video about it.  In his video lasting just over a minute, Booker attempts to teach Conan a lesson by “officially” placing him on the Newark Airport “no fly list.” 

As evidenced by O’Brien’s show later that night, Booker’s efforts of intimidation seem to have backfired and his video earned this unkind “apology” from the Tonight Show host:

Now, The Huffington Post reports that New Jersey news website NJ.com has gotten on Mayor Booker’s bandwagon and “banned” O’Brien from accessing their site, and it appears that what began as a mean-spirited joke on a late night talk show has turned into a full-blown feud.

While most of us aren’t political figures or Hollywood celebrities , the current controversy brewing between Newark’s mayor and Conan O’Brien serves as a reminder to all of us that the best way to deal with your critics is by harnessing the power of nice.  And although we certainly aren’t fans of mean-spirited humor, we feel that in this situation, both parties were in the wrong.

When O’Brien made the snarky quip about Newark, Booker could chosen to turn O’Brien’s negative into a positive and made a good impression with a kind gesture, like sending O’Brien a gift basket chock-full of the best things Newark has to offer or inviting O’Brien to join him on a tour of the city to show off its finest attributes.  But, the mayor chose to attack back and instead of quickly quashing the flames, added more fuel to the fire.  And to make matters worse, his negative response to O’Brien’s joke in the end only served to create a bad impression of himself in the eyes of others.

So, whether you’re a big-city mayor or just an “average Joe,” the next time you feel like you’ve been wronged, give yourself a minute to stop, think, and banish the negativity from your brain before you react.  After all, as the old cliché goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right” and nobody wins when everyone gets hurt.

 

Posted by Linda and Robin