Sagittarius
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, summarizing Voltaire, 1906
Don Imus, like Howard Stern is a "shock jock." We know the term. They are being paid to shock us. Seems simple enough. Until they do shock us. One might think that is part of their job, hence the title. But no. When they fulfill that part of their duties, all hell breaks loose. If they can't offend, how are they shocking us? And without touching nerves, how are they doing their job? I'm not sure if it's a paradox or a vicious circle but whatever it is, it's a perplexing set up.
Evidently, nothing is offensive until a large segment of society finds it so. If a few people write the station and the FCC to complain, the network couldn't care less. If 500-1000 people do, well, maybe there's something. A small snippet on a news network might engender some caution and three days of coverage could signal a shake up. What is said is never important; the reaction is all that counts.
A lot of people wanted Don Imus every morning on their way to work. They longed for his witty banter and cutting edge humor. Where are they now? Where are the people who say that a few weeks of deep reflection and race awareness classes will absolve him? Wherever they are, they are insignificant. The tide has turned. People want him punished and last night, MSNBC gave the people (and themselves) what they wanted. He will no longer be carried on the network. Don Imus is a petty loss compared with the wealth of public support.
This story has nothing to do with Imus anymore.
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Comments
Don Imus - should never have
By JPHarrington, April 29, 2007 at 14:13Don Imus - should never have lost his job.
America can not hold it politicians to a standard like truth and fair speech; why should we hold Imus to a higher standard. For weeks after the Imus Shock speech; there are comedians still making mega bucks of what he said. Recently "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" had a guest comedian on who said in reference to Don Ho's passing and the number of descendants left behind that Ho had done a great job of leaving us with a bunch of "nappy bottomed Ho's!" But have any of them lost their jobs? Were we expecting such Shock Style talk from NPR?
Don Imus; Move over to satellite radio and give it to us good!
Jeffrey is quite right in
By luyen, June 15, 2007 at 10:09Jeffrey is quite right in that not everyone is accountable - it does boil down to a few selective targets, who's in the lime-light and when...
But everyone should be accountable, but also given a chance to redeem themselves. I think it's too much of a kneejerk reaction to just remove people from public life, when by slapping them on the wrist, they are then motivated to do some good.
As for the comment above,
By Scott Cooper, April 18, 2007 at 18:50As for the comment above, Imus' words may be the seeds of hatred but unlike the past, these seeds won't grow. Where is the support to cultivate these seeds into full blown flowers of hate? Hell, where are his fans? Yes, plenty still have a hard time embracing those different than us but my feeling is that we are moving away from that, not towards it. For once, I give credit and hope to younger generations who seem to be making the "old hate" a thing of the past. This country isn't unified to stand for much of anything much less a full blown movement of bigotry and intolerance. I'm not saying we're approaching some utopian paradise where equality is real but we're doing a better job than a mere 50 years ago.
I will say this. I don't think it's acceptable for the hip-hop community to propagate demeaning language concerning women and raise all kinds of hell when a white man utilizes their words. Let's all show some personal respectability and see what happens.
Leslie Benisz Regardless as
By Leslie Benisz, April 18, 2007 at 03:28Leslie Benisz
Regardless as to wether Don Imus's job detail involved shocking the public with language and comments that are highly controversial in order to earn his living, the women he insulted deserve so much better.
"Nappy headed hos" is what the women basketball players were referred to by Don Imus.
Who are these women that Don Imus referred to by those nasty words?
They are women whose ancestors were kidnapped and brought to America to be sold as slaves against their will.
These women are the children of parents who grew up during an era in history where black Americans could not obtain a library card, receive education from the same schools as white Americans, nor could they drink from the same fountain as a white Americans under the threat of arrest and incarceration.
The women whom Don Imus referred to as "nappy headed hos" are university students who have worked very hard to earn high GPAs, scholarships and bursuries, and awards as student athletes.
They are women who are working to open doors for other young black women and serve as positive roll models that some many young people need today.
Don Imus's referrence is damaging to everything that they stand for an are working to achieve, and if by firing him can open some dialogue for change, then that is a good thing.
While I don't hate Don Imus and I seriously doubt that the women he has personally apologized to hate him either, Don Imus's words are the seeds of hatred which can grow into holocausts if they continue to thrive.
I came across two "facts"
By luyen, April 13, 2007 at 16:19I came across two "facts" that I thought were really fascinating...one is that in most suspensions of on-air personalities, the advertising that was pulled as only temporary.
The other is about Imus himself, observing that his style of 'shock-jockery' focuses on 'high-politics' while using 'low-brow locker-room humor'.
The American people shouldn't be so surprised, when American culture is an uncomfortable mixture of peoples, - but nobody dares to give that feeling of discomfort a real name. Which is really, "I don't like you because you're different from" - you being different, threatens my comfort zone, this idea of me and my things.
I wouldn't go as far as to say racist, or to say what Imus said - but Imus, is a reflection of the world around him. A well-spoken, seemingly educated person, who experiences remorse (genuine, who knows?) when something really bad happens, but nonetheless reflected what he obviously considered okay behavior.
Would any of us, even in jest, go around uttering racist remarks? Even in my most drunken moments, i've never uttered a racist or sexist word - deep down inside, if we grew up knowing how wrong it is, we are never even tempted.
I think the Rutgers women's basketball team raised a point that showed a wisdom beyond their years, and that the kind of attitude Imus demonstrated, is all too pervasive in movies, music, general culture...specifically referring to hip-hop and rap.
That unspoken rule, it's okay if you're black to insult and belittle other black people and especially women. But it's not okay if you're white.
But neither are right, but are destructive, and for some reason there's been tolerance only in one direction.