
There is no way that Don Imus should have been fired or taken off the air. While his comments were idiotic, I do not think that he personally meant to offend anyone. He thought his comments were cute and trendy. That is because others say it everyday and nothing happens. African Americans can say it and there is no backlash. Pastors say it often, they use both words.
The problem is the double standard. If my brothers and sisters do not want anyone to call them names then they too should stop using offensive language. Rappers need to be held accountable. No one seems to care how much they degrade women......both Black and White. There is something wrong in American when commercials use language like "Where You At?" White kids now act like Black kids because the definition of cool is found in hip hop culture.
Imus is the scapegoat. The problem is much greater than him. He lost his job. Okay that's fine though I do not agree. He has done a lot of good for African Americans. We still love Abraham Lincoln and he is on record saying the he thinks "the Negro is inferior to Whites". American really needs to wake up before society goes right down the old hip hop tubes. That my two cents worth.
Hope that life is treating you well and that you are able to laugh at yourself often
I APPLAUDE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE STANDING UP FOR IMUS.
I just dont like hippocrisy. Wrong should always be wrong. Not just when one does it but the other can get away with it.
I am afraid that all African Americans will suffer from the backlash of this. There will be a backlash, and I am not sure where it will occur. It could be in the courts, in the schools, neighborhoods. It is not good for America. I did not want to see the guy get canned for saying something stupid.
I am with you. Perhaps he should have been fired years ago. But this event is much more than Imus. He is really not a bad man.
It feels good to just tell the truth and not jump on a bandwagon to nowhere.
Well, I kind of disagree with you, but it's for the same reason I don't like blonde jokes or snide remarks about other cultures. I know that black people can call themselves words that if it came out of a white persons mouth would be called a slur, but that's the way it is. It's kind of like women calling themselves broads or chicks, but not liking it if a guy says it.
Well, let's put it this way.....I love my black sisters and I would never call them 'nappy-headed' or 'ho's'............maybe if we were close friends and they gave me that room......maybe.....I doubt I would go there though.
I guess I never liked Don Imus much anyway, so my opinion probably doesn't mean that much.
I'm just glad you're still here, Art. I've been missin' ya.
subject matter. All the TV talking heads Al Sharpton and others seem to be adding fuel to this fire. I like Al and have admired some of his undertakings but this time I feel as if he is on a personal vendetta. He
is avoiding taking on the rap and hip hop artist but has no problem taking on IMUS and other whites. Racism has many faces.
Well racism hasn't changed in all the years that man has been on Earth. Being a pessimist, I don't see it changing.
So glad to have you back my friend. Take care.
I dont particularly like Imus either but he was made the scapegoat for a much larger problem. Its nice to be here again among friends, especially you.
My shining star. I have missed you. And you know that you are the reason I am back. I got your email.
Well said, my friend! Hope all is well.
peace, wayf
I'm so glad that you are here. My heart was sadden by your departure!
((((((((((((((((((Mr. Art))))))))))))))))))))))
Its great to be back man.
He does have lots of cash, but I wonder where the Black coverage has been when he was doing what I consider to be great work for Sickle Cell disease and the work on his farm to help underprivileged kids. I just think he should not have been fired. If they fire him they would have to fire lots of rappers and lots fo politicians, both Black and White.
Wow, did we ever miss your 'voice' on the blogstream, Art. If you weren't feeling 'needed' before, you should now, cuz it's true.
Soooooooo, whens ya gonna evoca us some more of your 'voice', huh, huh, huh?
to you! BigChris(erstwhile human being)lol
I found the same thing ringing true when the 'n' word was used towards my son at a work function. I was appalled because I don't use the word and don't like it very much...yet it has become the 'in' thing to say.
I applaud you for bringing these points to light
When men have to die for the equality of all races, that's pretty vocal.
All I meant was racism itself hasn't changed, how the world and others view it or permit it, has.
Sorry if my comment, offended, Art.
The squad members themselves are not required to obey those same rules because there is an Immunity Rule that makes them immune from persecution. So the squad members get to violate the same rules without punishment. Of course, the Immunity Rule is based on race but that’s okay because the Immunity Rule is needed for the good of all.
Only people of one particular race are immune from persecution and they alone are allowed to violate the anti-racist rules for word use without punishment. Members of any other race cannot use the Immunity Rule because they are not the equals of the members of the one race that is immune. The anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race are the ones who established the Immunity Rule for the members of their race alone so that all of mankind could benefit. It is quite clear to the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race that the world would be a much better place if only they could just persecute those rule violators of another race right into non-existence.
Of course, the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race are kind and generous and they are willing to be tolerant of the members of other races but all of the members of all of those other races must remember that they are not the equals of the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race. All others must learn their proper place in society and not get too uppity and say or do things that are strictly reserved for the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race
If necessary, the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race will try to persecute all of the members of all of the other races into non-existence if they all violate the very, very, very important anti-racist word use rules. The anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race will even persecute members of their own race for supporting any sort of equality in word use. So it should be clear to all that the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race are being quite fair and reasonable and that they are very dedicated to ending the unfairness of racism. The anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race are even willing to be the only survivors of their campaign to end racism, which is really very noble of them when you think about it.
We all must learn our proper place in relationship to the anti-Racist Squad Members of the One Race. They alone know what is best for all of mankind.
They always do.
Copyright © 2007 Iraq Problem Investigator Report @blogstream.com
Art:
I consider you to be and an equal and it seems to me that you consider me to be an equal. Is this what you are trying to say about this Don Imus thing?
If so, feel free to forward this document to his supporters if you think it will help.
With thought and respect,
Old Yankee
Like I said, I hate he lost his job, but my mama always said, "Those best taught lessons, are those bought lessons". And he bought an azz load of stuff with those 3 words.
Have a good weekend!!!
Lets put things into perspective. No woman should ever be called a HO. Because it means whore.........and to refer to any woman as a nappy headed HO in most cases constitutes a fight. Imus was trying to be funny and failed miserably. He was at least a man and stated that himself. He was not defiant. He was contrite. I respect that in anyone. Its the reason I do not hate current White Americans for slavery. The problem was corrected. Slavery ended. It still hurts but you can't hold on to hurt forever.
I support free speech. I am a former radio host myself. I ask one question.....Imus only asked to meet with the young women to see if he could work things out with them. He should have had the chance to do so. That would have been empowering to the young ladies from Rutgers.
No one wins here. Black media never covered Imus while he was doing good for the African American community and it is a fact that he has done a lot of good. My fear is that this episode will only do more to hurt race relations. Yes Whites need to stop saying Nigger and Hos...But daggonit........so should every single African American.
I did put it into perspective Art.
That comment can shoot down every single racist argument of any kind or of any magnitude involved in this Imus thing. It is treating any racist view as being identical regardless of the race that is being at all racially biased in their arguments or racially biased in their treatment of people of another race. Nowhere in it does it say what the “One Race” is. Any race or group or individual can be substituted for the “One Race”.
It is a mathematically precise treatment of the problem and could even be used to get Imus his job back and get the people who have treated him this way to apologize to him.
I didn’t know what Imus said but I could take a good enough guess to come up with that comment. You might want to reread it and substitute any group you want into that set of verbal equations.
I admit that it is sarcastic and may be a bit much in that way but that just fits my personality.
Thought and respect,
Old Yankee
I speak for me. Not Sharpton, not Jesse Jackson, not any of them. I respect what they try to do, but just like any other human beings they are fallible....and this time...they moved too quickly. So now that they have started all of this.....they had better go after the rappers too. I mean man....that guy from Seinfeld was so much worse than Imus...and he wasnt trying to be funny.
Its good to be back my friend. Things like this only make race relations worse. Imus acted badly but the so called Black leadership also responded badly. Unfortunately, its not a wash though.
It is equally nice to see you again also. I trust all is good.
I could feel the sarcasm and I thought you made you point very well. I did not disagree. It is time to end the foolishness on both sides. If a man says I am sorry....take him at his word....especially a guy like Imus....you see, he's no saint.....but who the heck is?
Your point is well taken. The words should have never been used.....but his choice of to whom they would be directed was also a brainless act. But when old guys say racist things to me.....and it rarely happens might I add.....I still remember what my dad taught me....."when a fool calls you a name....be careful not to respond by acting like the name he called you....your name is Art....you are my son.....and wonderfully made."
So Imus never hurt me.....because my mind will not allow me to go there.....he did not hurt my mother, nor my sister.....he hurt himself most of all.......and then they forgave him.....it was the right thing to do and it shows the kind of class the also belittles his racist statements. That is how you deal with it.
People these days seem to think that to get a perfect world we all have to be perfect. One mistake and you’re out. How is anybody supposed to learn and grow under that system? I am with you on a lot of this stuff. He made a mistake, it was pointed out to him that he made a mistake, he apologized for the mistake, so what’s the big deal? I think that you are right and there will be a backlash to this. Why should anybody with any sort of racial bias try to improve? Imus is now a shining example of why you shouldn’t even bother to try to improve because if you mess up at all you will be punished severely. Every racist group in America now gets to use Imus as the poster child for their cause because he is white and members of the black community treated him unfairly because of his race.
“See what they did to Imus? See how those people don’t really believe in treating everybody with fairness without regard to race? See how they stung him up? Black people get to use those words but not the white people. Did you see all of that stuff Imus did to help those people and they didn’t even thank him for it? One mistake and their true colors showed up. They think they are better than us.”
In the battle to end racism this Imus thing is a disaster created by the people who got Imus fired. If people don’t rectify this thing then racism will increase because of it. When you battle racial bias with racial bias you increase racial bias every time.
From my sarcastic perspective I look at it like, “Every person on the airwaves or television messes up once in while. The only way to stop it is to shut the whole system down and stop everybody from saying anything. How are we all supposed to get our fifteen minutes of fame if none of us are allowed to be morons and allowed to do moronic stuff? The whole system was designed so that we can share our stupidity with the world at near the speed of light. That’s the whole idea! How many times have you seen somebody saying ‘Hi.mom!’ and then waving? What? Like that’s an Einstein moment? Get that dope off the air so that I can do my stupid thing!! It’s my turn to do my stupid thing.”
Thanks for you time Art.
With thought and respect,
Old Yankee
( p.s. there’s something that I think you are missing but to show you will take a bit and it will be long and I don’t want to hog all of your time and stop others from giving you their views in this posting. I will put it into a comment in your “happy holidays” thing from last December. OY) (p.p.s. I told tallpockets about your discussion and he suggested that I tell you about a similar one going on in Whit's Whittlings under the post "Who's Sorry Now" OY)
Whit is as smart as a tack is sharp so I am sure he will do this thing some justice. I very well could be missing something.....I certainly consider that to be within the realm of possibility. I guess I am really just tired of the double standard. You see if Whites created the negative aspects of the "N" word, then to me there is no justification for the use of it by African Americans. From a psychological perspective it suggest some element of self-hatred.
But when we creative our own derivation of words that also have a negative connotation, we should not be surprised that others also use it. Like I said earlier, he first time I heard the word HO on mainstream TV, it was on Saturday Nite Live. Use there almost connotes that it is okay. And I know that HO refers to any woman regardless of race in some cases, but it is such a negative word that it should never be used in reference to any woman, even is she is a prostitute.
This whole episode is sad. The women were denigrated and Imus has gone through a modern day sophisticated version of tarring and feathering.
Both are wrong....very very wrong. And as long as I have existed, I have been of the belief that two wrongs dont make a right. The only multiply.
Yeah. People think that we are so advanced these days but what some people do with all of these fancy new gadgets is just modernize the old ways. We no longer need paper to send written messages and we no longer need tar and feathers. We can do all of the same old things with a lot less effort. But it still takes some thought to figure out what you should and shouldn’t do.
For me these days I am optimistic. I figure as long as there is the voice of one black man, or woman, or person of any race or creed who knows two wrongs don’t make a right in the racial bias thing then there is still hope. I could choose otherwise but I think I will go with the hope.
When you get a chance check out that happy holiday thing.
Thought and respect,
Old Yankee
Love Lucy
I did not realize you had done this post. Thank you so much. Unfortunately we guage black viewpoint too much by information we get in the media. The source of it is usually Al Sharpton or someone high profile and not necessarily in the interest of black people. I said my piece on my own blog this morning, I included comments from AOL Black Voices because I think we are listening to the wrong people.
Sherry
http://bana05.blogspot.com/ She's been published! I have her on my BookPower4MindPower blog.
I will join you on the wagon of optimism. And on this wagon you and I both know that we will be scrutinized not only for what we say, but also for what we do. The best way to improve relationships is with less words and more actions that demonstrate respect and compassion. You make a boatload of sense my friend!
I hope I spelled your name right, I did check out your friends blog. She seems to be very talented. Almost as talented as you. Keep up your good work and continue to develop into the fine woman that I know you will be. And remember that I will always be very proud to call you friend and just very proud of you period.
I hope I spelled your name right, I did check out your friends blog. She seems to be very talented. Almost as talented as you. Keep up your good work and continue to develop into the fine woman that I know you will be. And remember that I will always be very proud to call you friend and just very proud of you period.
I hope I spelled your name right, I did check out your friends blog. She seems to be very talented. Almost as talented as you. Keep up your good work and continue to develop into the fine woman that I know you will be. And remember that I will always be very proud to call you friend and just very proud of you period.
Some people are attacking Imus in a way that indirectly justifies the method that whites used in the past to prevent any discussion of equality and in that way these Imus attackers are following a bad precedent. They are using the same basic arguments that whites used to justify mistreating blacks and quell any opposing opinion. It is not a good idea for people to be doing that.
One reason that people keep running into all of these “nasty word” problems is that people are not coming to any consensus on what the nasty words are, all the things that the nasty words imply and what we should do about it all in a way that actually fits within the American value system.
The emotion that people put into the word “Ho” is clouding people’s judgment and preventing them from seeing all that it means when somebody uses that word. It can be shown that when somebody uses the word “Ho” that that person is indirectly declaring himself to be a “Ho-boy”, indirectly declaring himself to be a member of a self-declared inferior group of individuals. All sorts of people can see the direct insult but they are missing the indirect self-declaration that is always there when somebody chooses to use the word “Ho” in a nasty way.
People are missing the big picture in this thing because they are focusing on one small piece to the puzzle.
Old Yankee
Do you realize that you are claiming to be the only person on the planet that is always right?
“I trust my gut instinct. I don't care what the spin doctors are saying never did. My instincts have always always been right on.”
Do you realize that your never apologize rule could be a very negative thing when combined with your “I am never wrong rule”?
“Don't ever make apologies. Don't ever step down to appease the masses. It takes one person to make a change in this world. If i'm the only person who sees this as wrong then so be it.”
Do you realize that you and countless others involved in all sorts of these Imus related discussions have freely chosen to use a sexist definition of words like “prostitute”?
“Never compromise for anyone.”
When you combine your previous rules with that one you become one dangerous individual.
It is not my gut telling me that. History tells me that.
Old Yankee
but I don't think that purple fly meant that she thinks she is always right.
I do think she has made some very good points, however, and I am a white woman too.
I believe in the first amendment. I also know history, Old Yankee, two of my children TEACH it. I agree with purple fly that this wouldn't have been said 50 years ago.
When I was a little girl there was a rhyme that some of my friends chanted,
"eenie, meanie, minie, moo
catch a nigger by the toe"
When I said that in front of my white, very upper middle class, fur stole wearing, country club mother, she roundly rebuked me and told me NEVER to say that AGAIN. We were allowed to say, 'catch a froggie by the toe'.
I went to school in Rochester, New York, which was a hotbed of the civil rights movement in the north. The school I went to was a large city school with a fair percentage of minorities, which at that time meant black and hispanic. The times, being what they were in the sixties, did not allow for a lot of crossing of boundaries. But no one can convince me that Imus didn't know what he was saying.
"Out of the heart the mouth speaks".........right, Art? You KNOW that's right, baby! If what he said wasn't already in his heart then he wouldn't have said it.
Like I said over at Sherry's blog, firing him is probably overkill, especially as Art pointed out, many people, even black people make statements like this. However, just because black people say it to each other, does NOT give white people, or men, the right to say it about another race, or women. It's not right.
Hey, I'm just glad to have The Voice of One Black Man back on the blogstream. I'm always happy to hear what Art has to say......what I want to know NOW is when ya gonna sing again for us?
I just go by the rules in what I read. Purplefly statements are a set of rules.
I know that people don’t always mean always when the say always but in these kinds of things people set up their rules and base their arguments on those.
I take a far more mathematical approach to these sorts of things because that is the fastest and most accurate way to get to the root of the problem. People are starting with a few common assumptions and definitions and unfortunately the first definitions they are using are sexist. Then they toss in racial bias and all the things that are “proven” wind up being based on sexist, racially biased assumptions and rules.
To me it’s a lot easier to just play within all the sets of rules, avoid the sexism and racial bias and just get to the solution. . The mathematical way gets to the solution faster.
Others have their way.
I have mine.
Old Yankee
Sheeesh, Old Yankee, you HAD to bring up math dincha?
Besides the two that teach history (I can TELL where that came from cause I love to read and so do they), I also have one child who teaches calculus
Math was ALWAYS my WORST subject!
So, I guess what I'm saying is, you should use it if it works for you..........I might get mixed up trying to deal with all that logic. *see confused look*
I'll just go by the scripture that says "Even a fool seems wise if he keeps his mouth shut". Since that other scripture I quoted about 'out of the heart the mouth speaks' is true, as is our brothers James admonition that "the tongue is a flame of fire.....and no man can control it".....I figger it's just easier to deal with my heart then my tongue. If I work on the heart part, the speech part is easier to deal with.
Imus doesn't appear to have alot of common sense about what comes out of his mouth either......so, he might be better to work on his heart too.
The tremendous outcry about this situation says to me that people are fed up with racism. We should be past this by now...but since we aren't, at least people are talking about it. I'm sure there are completely stupid assumptions still lingering within me and I am anxious to purge all ignorance. Thank you all for your honesty.
Thanks for such heart-felt words. I do not agree with any of them. I simply think it is a large issue. Yes Imus was wrong. Even he admitted that. My issue is that if we are going after him for saying what he said, then we must go after all, the politicians, the rappers, and in some cases even the preachers.
If you offend me...........I dont need the public to defend me......I will tell you myself.......and I will be the one to speak on television and tell you just how it felt to Me.
I was outraged........I was mad.........but I got over it. Nobody complained when SNL did a skit and used the word HOs. Just the use of the word is offensive and makes fun of the people who originally used the word because they could not spell the word whore.
And just for the record, in my neighborhood the word HO was used for mean and women........it just meant someone who slept around. Thanks again for your comment.
Differently people often process the same information differently. I respect that and move on. I only ask that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander (what the heck is a gander anyway).
This math alert is only at condition level pale green. Not all that terrifying.
Math is a language Poh so your calculus-teaching child is just using a language that seems foreign to you. And math people have set up the language, over time, in a way that makes it difficult for a lot of people to learn the language. So it’s probably not you it’s just the way things have been set up in the math world. The math thing makes it all sound complicated but math is a just way to simplify the world when it comes to sets of rules and assumptions.
I am not dealing with things in this Imus thing like it’s all a bunch of numbers, just a bunch of rules that all work together. You could call them laws or axioms it doesn’t really matter. One way to think of this Imus thing is that we are all participating in a trial in the court of public opinion. And to stay within the rules of the American value system the simplest thing to do is to go by some of the rules that we all know about how real trials are conducted.
So when somebody brings up the fact that Imus is rich as some sort of reason to convict him we should toss out that evidence. When they say that Imus has committed a series of past crimes of which he has never been convicted that too should get tossed. It’s a simple way of sorting through all of the emotional evidence and get to the main issues and figure out the way to handle this thing. Then you get to start looking at the rules people are bringing into the court.
When people say, “I never liked Imus therefore it is okay if he gets treated badly”. That’s the same sort of rule that the racist groups use. You don’t want to bring that rule into the courtroom. With purplefly I was asking, “Are you sure you want to say that these are the rules that you live by?” If her answer was yes it brings all her evidence into question, if her answer is no then it brings up the possibility that she could be wrong.
Again, it’s just a mathematical way to me but it could also be looked at it being a more lawyerly way of coming at this Imus thing in the court of public opinion. Because I don’t fear math I am able to use it to filter out the poor evidence and conduct a reasonably fair trial in my head and get to the truth of the matter. My suggestion for the rest of you would be for you to do the same sort of thing.
Everybody should act like a fair judge and decide what agreed upon evidence is admissible and what the rules of law are that everyone can agree on. That way at least Imus gets a shot at a reasonably fair trial in the court of public opinion.
As for me, I look for the mathematical solution to the problem so that this stuff won’t happen again.
Old Yankee
PolarB ;)
I believe that as a Christian, I am to forgive this man, as I forgiven those who called me the "N" word after they got up off the ground. But seriously, we let too much go. We should respect women...if we are men......and women should demand respect when they dont get it. Tippor Gore's fight against some language in rap does not seem so far fetched now. Good to be back POH.
We just need to continue to talk. We all hurt and bear each other's pain. When the kids were killed in Pennsylvania in the Amish community, I hurt for them and their parents.........no color on the thing.......they were somebody's kids. And the first thing they did was to forgive.........We could certainly learn a lot from the Amish.
Already put my two cents in over at Biggie T's place so won't bore anyone with it again...
-pr-
I appreciate the support. Keep the light on man.
NO WAY!
The word HO started out because people couldn't spell the word?
I never, EVER, knew that!
To be honest, at the time the word became popular I was probably already diapering a SLEW of foster babies and takin' 'em for walks around the block, so I never even heard the word until a few years ago and was mildly amused by it. I don't watch alot of television either so......
Anyway, that's probably why I didn't think it was that bad when Pretty Rubble and I were calling ourselves (repeat: ourselves) that on another blog.
Like I've said before, it's one thing for women to call themself a ho, a chick, or a broad, and it's one thing for a black person to call themself anything they want............it's not okay for a person of another race or gender to do it. It's as offensive as the Polish jokes that went around when I was in school. And I wouldn't like blonde jokes either, even if my whole family wasn't blonde.............
sounds like the right step.
good post.
ron
You CAN'T delete your comments!
It's just a discussion girlfriend.........nobody is offended. If we want to be offended we should save it for people who call other people names!
You don’t have to apologize to me. My problem is that I work simultaneously and I always have trouble communicating with others on these sorts of issues. There’s a lot going on in those questions at the same time because they are part of a mathematical system of arguments that deals with this Imus thing and to sort it all out I have to work simultaneously within dozens of different rule systems at the same time; not just your system of rules. And so there are all sorts of things going on in the questions. I have to take into account every rule people are introducing into this thing and sort through it all to reach a solution that fits within all of the major rules involved.
I have to treat this like it is a court of public opinion because that is what it is and there are rules that I need to take into consideration. I didn’t assume that you were dangerous, I considered that to be unlikely, but I had no evidence to rule the possibility out so I had to ask my questions in a certain way so that no matter whether you answered yes or no I had what I needed to use in the court of public opinion.
I admit that I can be really annoying when I am in math mode but it gets me to the solution to the problem faster. For me the big thing about this Imus thing is fixing the problem permanently not just with Imus but with the rappers and everybody else. Now that I have the basic set of rules to go by I pretty much know the generalized solution to problems of this type.
Sorry for any problems that I caused you when you were on the metaphorical witness stand.
Old Yankee
calm down. I apologize if I made you think that I was accusing you. Generally when somebody says something like they are always always right they don’t mean always but the only way for me to find out for sure was to ask you. True, I could have asked you in a nicer way given how you took it. But we can all get along here.
All of us have the same problem in that the written word doesn’t come with all of the information we would get if we were talking in person and that can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings. But we can work all of that out if we try.
Two me there are a lot more than two issues but the two that you mentioned are a big part of the problem (racism and sexism). From my end it looks like everybody is starting with sexist definitions to words like “prostitute” without realizing it and then a lot of those people are adding racial bias on top of that without realizing it.
Lots of people are like you in that their feelings are that Imus was wrong. To me that’s the easy part, something was wrong but how do we identify precisely what was wrong and why it was wrong?
From my end that is the thing that people are messing up on.
Again my apologies for upsetting you,
Old Yankee
It is a pleasure to see that you are back on Blogstream. We need your voice. In this case, however, I can't agree with you. There has been a noticeable decline in civil discourse in the United States over the past 25 years, and I think it is time to bring an end to it, starting with Imus. From there we can proceed next to the hip-hop artists who pollute the airwaves with their language. After that, we should go after other radio and TV talk show hosts who use name-calling daily in their broadcasts. Nothing of positive value is gained by calling Bill Clinton a "rapist" or John Edwards a "faggot". If these personalities want to continue using this language, let them go on Sirius Satellite Radio like Howard Stern. By doing that, their freedom of expression will not be inhibited. But in no way should they be able to use the public-owned airwaves to spread their venom and uncivil discourse across the nation.
1. He's 66 years old. He's been around long enough to know that there are things said within our community that would be found (more) offensive if said by members outside our community.
2. Someone else's poor behavior does not give anyone license to act the same way. For instance, I can't say I killed someone, but I shouldn't be punished because other people have killed as well and gotten away with it. We're both wrong.
Having said that, I don't think he should have been fired. Speech, however insulting and degrading, should remain free. Just as Snoop's simple thoughts are allowed to spew the garbage he throws out, Imus should be allowed to do the same. I personally don't appreciate the commentary of either, so I choose not to listen which is a choice all of us have.
Rappers and entertainers as a whole only put out more of what we (their customers) demand. Imus had to answer to his corporate sponsors because they signed his checks. Rappers (for the most part) only have to answer to their fan base. So the only way to change them is to change the mindset of the people that listen to them.
That's a ferocious undertaking that will require way more work than sending letters, branding someone a racist and picketing outside of NBC studios. I sincerely doubt Pandora's Box will be opened anytime soon...
The more I read people’s reactions to this Imus thing the more it looks to me like Imus has very little to do with any of the reaction to it all other than him being the one to set off a pre-existing bomb.
People are just using him as a metaphor and he is being used as the scapegoat that represents all sorts of the ills in our society. This isn’t a metaphorical tar and feather thing.
For some people this is a war where no American value is safe. Only winning the war matters.
Old Yankee