Don Imus: Should these comments get all this fuss?

[+ purplekow]

Don Imus, a local radio disc jockey here in NYC, on WFAN a CBS station, with a national contract with Westwood 1, also a CBS affiliate, has stepped on delicate sensibilities after calling the Rutgers female basketball team "a bunch of nappy headed hos." The NAACP and other groups have called for him to be fired and the Reverend Al Sharpton has joined the chorus, though he did have Imus on the Al Sharpton radio show to allow him access to his audience, which is, in the majority, black.

 

The cable branch of NBC TV which carries the show, has cancelled the TV simucast of Imus's show. CBS has, at the least, suspended him for two weeks and there is a movement underway to cancel his show. Several sponsers pulled out of their TV sponsorships including GM.

 

I don't believe Imus will suffer financially, as it is likely that he would wind up on XM or Sirius radio with a large contract should everyone else cancel him.

 

For his part, Imus has apologized on his show, on Reverend Al's show and I believe he has offered to come to the Rutgers campus to aplogize to the members of the team.

 

I think Imus' remarks were in poor taste and they were certainly offensive to the players. They have every right to be offended, but is anyone else of the opinion that other people should just take a deep breath?

 

A student leader of the NAACP at Rutgers made a statement to the effect that Imus does not understand the power of his words and it is up to us to teach him. I am not sure who the us in that statement is, but I sincerely doubt Imus failed to understand the power of his words. I believe he made a flippant remark that was racist and sexist and that it was likely made in a failed attempt to be humerous. He has apologized numerous times, to all different kinds of audience, but the call for his head continues.

 

The same statements made by a different speaker in a different forum would not have raised an eyebrow.

 

Other views?

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

Imus has a long history of making or allowing racist, homophobic, misogynistic and anti-Semitic comments on his show. This was nothing new and not an isolated incident. Here are 2 links to blogs that have compiled some choice quotes of his:

 

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/04/don-imus-show-calls-posts-howie-kurtz.html

 

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/4/9/12356/70203

[+ purplekow]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

Even more of a reason to ask why this one has received such a high priority. It should be noted that Imus has been on the radio for 25 years 5 days a week, 5 hours a day most of which is unscripted. Those quotes, while reprehensible, reflect a miniscule amount of the material aired in that period.

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

Maybe the tide is turning and the public is finally getting fed up with the hate talk in the media.

[+ Lucky]

Wait'll Imus starts picking on the purple cows and then we'll see how you think!

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:-27s-nfAvvrdrM:http://www.accudatasys.com/images/Purple%2520Cow%2520bottle01.jpg

[Guest TBinCHI]

I think he's getting far less than he deserves. First, his remarks were spontaneous, which, to me, reveals how deep-seeded his racism and misogyny really is. Getting a two week suspension is a slap on the wrist and has only a negligible impact on him. I am sick to death of seeing people like Imus reveal their true nature only to be let off the hook because they make some trumped up, phony, too little, too late mea culpa. Of course Imus is on Sharpton's show apologizing all over himself. He's not stupid - he's a racist, homophobic, misogynist, and I would prefer to see the door hit him in the ass.

[+ bigjoey]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

what has me puzzled is that all of this "fuss" is directed at imus; what about all of the other similiar filth that pours daily out of the mass media by the rappers and seen/heard on such places as MTV? somehow, al sharpton and company give these people a pass and it is much more violent than anything imus has said.

 

al sharpton will not accept an apology from imus; this has me puzzled, too. al sharpton as a christian minister should be aware of the power of forgiveness and redemption especially considering his own past that is in need of asking for forgiveness for his slander against the new york city police officers; those officers won a judgement against him and have never been able to collect a penny as al sharpton keeps himself judgement proof---no forgiveness or restitution from al.

 

my own thought is that the "fuss" is deserved and the language used by imus is disgusting. however, this "fuss" is because he is a white male conservative and therefore a fair target. meanwhile the rappers and their large media sponsors continue to go unchallenged when they call black women "ho's", use the "N word", call for the killing of police officers, etc. why do they get a pass?

[Guest TBinCHI]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

I agree that rap lyrics are disgusting and that Sharpton and Jackson have revealed their own bias and prejudice in the past. However, I think that Imus should be judged on his own and not in comparison to what others may have done in the past. I think all the attention to this issue is good because it shows just how damaging spontaneous comments can be. How else do we send messages to the masses? I also think that we will continue to see others in the media being held to higher standards, especially if a ton of bricks fall on Imus. Let the rain begin!!

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

Imus said some mean stuff. However, shouldn't we all be apologizing? Haven't we all said something outrageous about another ethnic group, culture, sexuality group, or people with physical/mental disabilities in the past?

 

Now, if you have never said anything then HAVE YOU STOPPED SOMEONE from saying such comments (friend, family member, etc.)? NOT stopping someone in your company from such hate talk is just as bad as you saying such hurtful things.

 

Imus had a microphone. His microphone ... our mouths at the water cooler .... there is no difference if 1 person or 1 million people hear such a racial comment. The fact that someONE heard it at all, regardless if it was Imus' comment or something we have said, makes all of us like Imus.

 

If you have never said anything outrageous about a group of people different from you then I sincerely applaud any of you perfect people. Perfection is a wonderful quality.

 

Now I need to go and write my apology letters to the Amish, all Republicans, Peruvians and Gwen Stefani.

[+ Lucky]

Just the other day someone at work was putting down people who live in the valley and I slugged him good!

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>Just the other day someone at work was putting down people

>who live in the valley and I slugged him good!

 

Alfalfa, you are my hero!

 

http://www.rushingaround.net/redearth/puppycam/alfalfa.jpg

[jackhammer91406]

Change comes in fits and starts

 

Equality has had a rocky road in this country.

The women's movement at the turn of the century.

The equal rights amendment.

Civil rights.

Gay rights

The list goes on.

 

Here's what's bad about this;

That anyone is using these racial slurs, not just Imus.

 

Here's what's good about this (if you can find good in something like this) People are talking about it and some are finding they may have more prejudice than they realized.

 

Imus will suffer in the court of public opinion but more importantly, his life time of work will be remembered only for this. All of the good he may have done with charities and public discourse will be wiped out by the surfacing of his true nature. He has expressed fear of this very thing in the past few days, and when it comes to pass, he will regret it for the rest of his life.

 

Is it right that he be judged and punished for these remarks? YES.

It is fair or right that ONLY he be judged and punished for these kinds of remarks? Absolutely not.

 

The hip hop culture will have to tone down it's rhetoric about the right to use any lyrics it wants or else appear to be the hypocrites they are.

 

The white segment of the population will have to tone down it's rhetoric about how if the black culture can use the terms then anyone can or else appear to be the racists they are.

 

And black civil rights leaders will just have to tone down their rhetoric period or else appear to be the ineffectual people they have become.

 

When all of the talking is done, anyone using these kinds of racial slurs needs to face severe judgment from society or else we will be known for the fools and liars we are. You cannot stand on a high platform to tell the world about the benefits of a democracy when your own house is a mess. To raise the level of civil discourse in our culture, we must move away from the rhetoric of slander and into a dialog of fairness and equality.

 

Until that happens we have nothing to offer the world except hatred, bigotry and greed.

 

 

Just my humble opinion of course and not cribbed from any other source.

[Guest carter07]

What's sad is that Imus and the other trash-talkers have an audience. If people weren't listening they wouldn't be on the air. So it's not just Imus that's a racist scum-mouth but his audience as well — the pols and media celebs who go on his show are as shallow and two-faced as he is. Indeed, why all the fuss? Imus, his audience and his enablers are what this country is.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

RE: Change comes in fits and starts

 

>And black civil rights leaders will just have to tone down

>their rhetoric period or else appear to be the ineffectual

>people they have become.

 

Imus is not the only one that people should be demanding an apology from. Al Sharpton NEEDS to apologize to the three boys from Duke as he had them convicted before the trial began AND Al needs to apologize for something that happened in my valley some time ago ... Tawana Brawley. He had the cops already convicted of covering her in shit and putting her in a garbage bag AND THEN she says it was all a LIE because she was at a party and didn't want to get in trouble! Al never apologized to the cops after she said her story was a lie.

 

Now I am tired. Take away the microphones from Imus, Sharpton, Jackson, O'Reilly, anyone talking about Anna Nicole .... our country needs a fucking time out! We all need a nap. When we wake up, we will all look like Neapolitan Ice Cream ... pink, brown, white ... we will all be the same colorS and we will all be delicious.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>Indeed, why all

>the fuss? Imus, his audience and his enablers are what this

>country is.

 

HEAR HEAR!!!!!

 

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7823/animatedapplausexa3.gif

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7823/animatedapplausexa3.gif

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7823/animatedapplausexa3.gif

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7823/animatedapplausexa3.gif

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7823/animatedapplausexa3.gif

[RockHard]

"there is no difference if 1 person or 1 million people hear such a racial comment"

 

I respectfully disagree. Offending one person is far less serious than offending millions. Freedom gives everyone the right to fail and fall. Freedom offers every offender the ability to choose how large he wishes his audience to be. We must all protect our freedom to fail and fall. Sometimes, there's no better way to learn a valuable lesson.

 

My favorite Rome enthusiast, Alessandra Stanley, said it well in today's Times:

 

"But there is a deeper dichotomy behind his disgrace: Mr. Imus wants to be both a shock jock and Charlie Rose, and the two roles inevitably collide. He is a radio star whose early popularity rested on sophomoric and outrageous humor. But Mr. Imus also staked his claim to gravitas, inviting journalists and politicians on his show and discussing —with considerable skill — news and political affairs."

 

Imus shot himself in the foot with a serious moment of sheer stupidity. Here, near the end of his long career, he accepts a legacy no successful man ever dreams of receiving.

 

This time, I think the punishment fits the crime.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

Dearest Rock,

 

>I respectfully disagree. Offending one person is far less

>serious than offending millions. Freedom gives everyone the

 

Let us pretend I am from another planet. I am the only alien on Earth right now. Someone makes a comment on television about space aliens that is derogatory. I am insulted and hurt by the comment. Because I am one person/alien my pain means nothing? Just because my fellow 4.8 million aliens from my home-world didn't hear the comment means the pain is less for me?

 

Answer freely Rockhard as when my species does come to rule this world on October 14, 2020, I will make sure no harm comes upon you (and all the band members of a-ha ... AND Ming Tsai).

[FinFangFoom]

The answer to your question is: no.

 

Does that mean what he said wasn't offensive? No. Sure it was offensive. But correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it it JOB to be offensive?

 

The third rail of political correctness is anything to do with blacks and he made the mistake of making a "black joke". If a black radio personality said it it wouldn't have even been a blip on the political correctness radar.

 

People like that buffoon Sharton make their living by exploiting "racism". I put that word in quotes because racism is whatever they say it is - whether it is or not - and Sharpton and his ilk feed on anything that a white person does that they think even hints at "insensitivity".

 

Sadly, Sharpton and his ilk have done more to hurt blacks than to help them. If the black community were smart, they would deep six him because he is universally (and rightly) considered by the white community to be a buffoon and anything he attaches his name to immediately loses credibility.

 

After the Tawana Brawley charade, he should have been ostracized yet a large and vocal segment of the black community embraced him as their standard bearer and he has even run for President of the United States. In addition, every Democrat for higher office has made a hadj to his office (including Hillary). But let's not go there.

 

Back to Imus......

 

What we currently have in this country is a double standard. A black man can say what Imus said and blacks laugh. A white man says it and blacks act as though he took a shit on Rosa Parks' grave.

 

What he said is either offensive or it's not - regardless of who says it. As a society, we cannot allow black racial flamethrowers to be the arbiters of what people can say. Frankly, I don't know where the goal posts are since they're subject to change at a these buffoon's whims.

 

Until Al Sharpton starts picketing the record companies who represent racist rappers and calls for their recording contracts to be cancelled, he needs to shut the fuck up.

 

Vocally yours,

 

FFF

[+ purplekow]

>Wait'll Imus starts picking on the purple cows and then we'll

>see how you think!

>http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:-27s-nfAvvrdrM:http://www.accudatasys.com/images/Purple%2520Cow%2520bottle01.jpg

 

 

How sure are you that I, purplekow, am not a member of a group that would be rightfully offended by being called either nappy haired or a ho?

 

I have not defended Mr. Imus other than to point out some of the rhetoric that falls to his favor. The actual words are indefensible though as a follicly limited individual, I would be grateful for any additional hair be it nappy, straight, gray, black or even purple.

 

By bringing up this topic, I was curious as to people's reaction to his words; people's reactions to reactions of the public sector and people's willingness to defend first amendment rights to free speech. The last item has not come to the fore yet.

 

I think it would be interesting if a newsperson would interview a ACLU representative about this issue. I would cancel my membership if they did not support Mr. Imus' right of free, albeit hateful speech.

[Guest zipperzone]

RE: Don Imus Should these comments get all this fuss?

 

>Even more of a reason to ask why this one has received such a

>high priority. It should be noted that Imus has been on the

>radio for 25 years 5 days a week, 5 hours a day most of which

>is unscripted. Those quotes, while reprehensible, reflect a

>miniscule amount of the material aired in that period.

 

Maybe it's finally a case of "enough is enough".

[RockHard]

RE: Aliens.

 

"I am the only alien on Earth right now."

 

I think everyone knows, VDN, you're my favorite martian. :-)

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

RE: Aliens.

 

>I think everyone knows, VDN, you're my favorite martian. :-)

 

Thanks Rock! I knew I would be loved even before I ripped out of my mother's stomach.

 

http://www.coolscifi.com/gallery/files/3/0/5/aliens_mq_076cd.jpg

[Guest ReturnOfS]

Now if we could just get rid of Michael Savage.......

[Guest]

Well, can we say the free market reigned? I don't like listening to that kind of stuff. Apparently enough people must have let the advertisers know they didn't want to listen to Imus's rants either. As the advertisers backed off, so did his employers.

[+ purplekow]

Don Imus

 

So to further the damage of the Imus' quote about "Nappy-haired hos"

 

Don Imus is fired immediately, in fact, after the first day of a two

day radiothon for a variety of children's charities. This leaves the second day without a host, so the station asks Mrs. Imus to fill-in.

Granted she is involved with two of the three major charities benefitting from the shows.

Was something gained by this firing in the middle of a multimillion dollar charitable radio program? Does having his wife as a stand-in

somehow wipe the slate clean? Given the opportunity, I am sure Imus would have hosted the charity event and announced his departure at the end.

Switch to Oprah, who has the Rutgers Women's Basketball team on her show for a brief interview. Nine young women, some of who were girl scouts, or so we are told. They seem quiet congenial and happy to be on Oprah. When asked if they were offended, they said yes, in the same way one might say yes to a Sunday afternoon margarita. The coach explains that there will be a meeting with Imus and they are waiting to see what he has to say. They are going to the meeting with open minds and open hearts. Apparently, these are exceptional young ladies, because they are willing to give him a chance to redeem himself. Apparently the power people at CBS are not so considerate, as before that meeting can happen Imus has already been canned. He attends the meeting. Coach Stringer states that the meeting was productive as she exits the building.

 

Switch to the evening hours, Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey feels the need to attend the meeting between Imus and the basketball team. On the way to the meeting, the governor is seriously injured by a car side-swiping his car and he winds up with about 18 broken bones and 5 hours of surgery. No description of the driver of the offending vehicle is given.

 

Again, I am at a loss. The parties directly offended seem to be perfectly willing to wait and see what an open discussion can accomplish. The political hacks and the major media players who have kept Imus on the air, knowing full well the content of his program, seem to have suddenly become aware of the tenor of his show and are aghast. You can almost hear them saying to the assorted Reverand's who have come bearing torches: "We had no idea this is what we were putting on the air as we never actually listen to our own radio shows, but now that there is a chance that we might lose some money rather than raking it in hand over fist from this show, we will kick him off the air. (So please don't boycott us.)" "Oh by the way, to show we are serious, we will kick him off in the middle of a charity event."