Some thoughts on the Imus debacle
from Neal Boortz, boortz.com
THE DON IMUS AFFAIR
First of all ... I don't listen to the show. I've tried. I just don't get it. Apparently Imus called the Rutgers woman's basketball team a bunch of "nappy headed hos." Not good. Stupid even. But correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Stevie Wonder have some song in which he referred to himself as a "nappy headed little boy"? And is it not true that you can hear black women referred to as "hos" on virtually any urban hip hop station on any given day? Stevie Wonder is black, as are the rappers who denigrate black women with abandon. They're allowed. The real issue here is that the words were spoken by someone-not-black.
Was it a stupid thing to say? Absolutely. Do virtually all talk show host say something stupid once in a while? You bet. We don't have the advantages that a columnist might have. We don't have an editor to ask "are you sure you really want to say that?" We can't put our extemporaneous comments down on paper and then kick back with a gin martini to read them to see how they'll play out on the air. If we want to have a modicum of entertainment value to our shows we're going to have to tiptoe through a rhetorical pasture every day. Every once in a while we stray off the path and step in something. I've done it. Every host I know has done it.
This whole Imus thing, though, quickly got out of hand. Two of the nation's preeminent race warlords have become involved. Time to stir the pot of black victimization a bit. Imus has apologized. He asked forgiveness. These two so-called "preachers" aren't really down with that forgiveness thing.
The idea that Imus should be brought before those two race warlords, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson is disgusting. These two professional race baiters do nothing but scan the news day after day looking for some comment or action taken by someone-not-black that they can feign outrage over and get a little face time on the news. The idea that Al Sharpton is even considered to be a serious spokesman on issues such as this is an absurdity of a previously unimaginable magnitude.
Michael Harrison, the Editor of Talker's Magazine, made what I think was a brilliant observation, that being that Imus would survive this so long as he cut back on the apologies.
The real mistake for Imus was making an appearance on Sharpton's show. [video] He should have just gone on the show, apologized, said that he crossed the line, and be done with it. Let Jesse and Al snort and paw the ground all they want ... an apology would have been sufficient. I suspect, though, that his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Sharpton this wasn't Imus' idea. My guess is that either the MSNBC crowd or CBS that told Imus that he must go kneel before the Sharpton altar.
Al Sharpton is a liar and a bigot. He falsely accused Steven Pagones of rape and mutilation in the Tawana Brawley matter. He's never apologized. He incited murder at Freddie's Fashion Mart in Harlem while loudly denouncing white interlopers. No apology. Do you remember the Crown Heights Riot in New York? That's where Al Sharpton whipped a crowd into a four-day riot on rumors that a Jewish ambulance had failed to treat a young black at the scene of a disturbance after a car accident. There was Sharpton referring to "diamond merchants" shedding the "blood of innocent babies." Diamond merchants? Code word for Jews. Apology? None. And this is the man that that fool John Kerry calls the moral compass of the Democrat Party? And now what? Imus goes to Sharpton to apologize? And excuse me, but didn't I hear the words "Hymie Town" from Jesse Jackson?
Don Imus' two week suspension with pay was...
too harsh
not punishment enough
Sharpton is really enjoying this. He has the limelight back from Barack Obama for a time. You'll soon see him posing for the cameras with the Rutgers team. He'll also be demanding meetings with CBS and MSNBC. Ride the wave.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is getting into the act also. Why let Sharpton and Jackson get all of the attention here? The SCLC wants a hearing before the FCC.
Now the word is out that Imus will be suspended for two weeks. Still the media pushes the story. This morning I heard news anchors asking "Is two weeks enough?" There's blood in the water. The sharks are circling. A great white is wounded, and its time to move in for the kill. Sharpton has a chance to pull down a radio icon. It's a chance he doesn't want to miss.
Soledad O'Brien called his remarks "racist." Racism is the belief in the inherent genetic superiority of one race over another. There was nothing racist -- not by definition -- in Imus' remarks. Par for the course, though. I doubt O'Brien has ever bothered to look into the history of the word "racist."
The end result of all this? Sharpton and Jackson get their face time. Others, like the SCLC, will try to glom on. Imus relaxes for two weeks, and then probably comes back to a larger radio audience. He'll be bowed, though, by this episode. The edge will be gone. Time will tell.
IMUS EMAIL
Message:
THE DON IMUS AFFAIR
First of all ... I don't listen to the show. I've tried. I just don't get it. Apparently Imus called the Rutgers woman's basketball team a bunch of "nappy headed hos." Not good. Stupid even. But correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Stevie Wonder have some song in which he referred to himself as a "nappy headed little boy"? And is it not true that you can hear black women referred to as "hos" on virtually any urban hip hop station on any given day? Stevie Wonder is black, as are the rappers who denigrate black women with abandon. They're allowed. The real issue here is that the words were spoken by someone-not-black.
Was it a stupid thing to say? Absolutely. Do virtually all talk show host say something stupid once in a while? You bet. We don't have the advantages that a columnist might have. We don't have an editor to ask "are you sure you really want to say that?" We can't put our extemporaneous comments down on paper and then kick back with a gin martini to read them to see how they'll play out on the air. If we want to have a modicum of entertainment value to our shows we're going to have to tiptoe through a rhetorical pasture every day. Every once in a while we stray off the path and step in something. I've done it. Every host I know has done it.
This whole Imus thing, though, quickly got out of hand. Two of the nation's preeminent race warlords have become involved. Time to stir the pot of black victimization a bit. Imus has apologized. He asked forgiveness. These two so-called "preachers" aren't really down with that forgiveness thing.
The idea that Imus should be brought before those two race warlords, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson is disgusting. These two professional race baiters do nothing but scan the news day after day looking for some comment or action taken by someone-not-black that they can feign outrage over and get a little face time on the news. The idea that Al Sharpton is even considered to be a serious spokesman on issues such as this is an absurdity of a previously unimaginable magnitude.
Michael Harrison, the Editor of Talker's Magazine, made what I think was a brilliant observation, that being that Imus would survive this so long as he cut back on the apologies.
The real mistake for Imus was making an appearance on Sharpton's show. [video] He should have just gone on the show, apologized, said that he crossed the line, and be done with it. Let Jesse and Al snort and paw the ground all they want ... an apology would have been sufficient. I suspect, though, that his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Sharpton this wasn't Imus' idea. My guess is that either the MSNBC crowd or CBS that told Imus that he must go kneel before the Sharpton altar.
Al Sharpton is a liar and a bigot. He falsely accused Steven Pagones of rape and mutilation in the Tawana Brawley matter. He's never apologized. He incited murder at Freddie's Fashion Mart in Harlem while loudly denouncing white interlopers. No apology. Do you remember the Crown Heights Riot in New York? That's where Al Sharpton whipped a crowd into a four-day riot on rumors that a Jewish ambulance had failed to treat a young black at the scene of a disturbance after a car accident. There was Sharpton referring to "diamond merchants" shedding the "blood of innocent babies." Diamond merchants? Code word for Jews. Apology? None. And this is the man that that fool John Kerry calls the moral compass of the Democrat Party? And now what? Imus goes to Sharpton to apologize? And excuse me, but didn't I hear the words "Hymie Town" from Jesse Jackson?
Don Imus' two week suspension with pay was...
too harsh
not punishment enough
Sharpton is really enjoying this. He has the limelight back from Barack Obama for a time. You'll soon see him posing for the cameras with the Rutgers team. He'll also be demanding meetings with CBS and MSNBC. Ride the wave.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is getting into the act also. Why let Sharpton and Jackson get all of the attention here? The SCLC wants a hearing before the FCC.
Now the word is out that Imus will be suspended for two weeks. Still the media pushes the story. This morning I heard news anchors asking "Is two weeks enough?" There's blood in the water. The sharks are circling. A great white is wounded, and its time to move in for the kill. Sharpton has a chance to pull down a radio icon. It's a chance he doesn't want to miss.
Soledad O'Brien called his remarks "racist." Racism is the belief in the inherent genetic superiority of one race over another. There was nothing racist -- not by definition -- in Imus' remarks. Par for the course, though. I doubt O'Brien has ever bothered to look into the history of the word "racist."
The end result of all this? Sharpton and Jackson get their face time. Others, like the SCLC, will try to glom on. Imus relaxes for two weeks, and then probably comes back to a larger radio audience. He'll be bowed, though, by this episode. The edge will be gone. Time will tell.
IMUS EMAIL
Message:
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What do you expect when, even here, Bill Cosby's remarks, if repeated by someone else, would be poofed? 0 -
He should not retract what he said, nor apologize for it. By the way, I feel the same way about Zumbo.
Have they forgotten the First Ammendment, which all these people hide behind, when it suits their purposes ??
Doug0 -
I he(imus) is a racist does he ban black children from his cancer ranch?Surely sharpton or jackson have thier own,so black children with cancer can enjoy something that is not available to the average person!Were sharpton and jackson also involved with the name change of black talon bullets?I think those were the bullets that would veer away from caucasians?DARN!I think IMUS'S situation is as stupid as my last question? 0 -
quote:Have they forgotten the First Ammendment
Just because someone has the right to say it doesn't make it right. I don't like Imus. I have tried to listen, but all he and his producer do is spew crap and hate. As far as Stevie Wonder calling himself a "nappy headed little boy," that is OK. He can call himself whatever he wants. But if I call him that, it is wrong and crosses the boundary. Calling a bunch of women college BB players "nappy headed ho's" is wrong. I hope they fire the guy, and he never finds another job in radio. And BTW...I put Sharpton and Jackson in the same category as Imus. Stupid idiotic men who prey on the ignorace and stupidity of other people at the expense of someone else.0 -
He is just another loud mouth, like Rush, who has somehow managed to find sponsors willing to pay big money in order to fund his rantings.
Imus should come over to Gun Broker where he'd be safe because here you can call people idiots, A-holes, morons, deplorable and despicable (those came from a staff member) all day long and no one in charge will ever lift a finger to stop it. An occassional death threat can also be tossed in for good measure, with no fear of being banned for the guy posting it.0 -
Imus's show is or at least was comical entertainment(too political now)for me anyway!But ,not to say Imus is not original on his show.But, I'm sure these words have been spoken before!I guess it took sharpton and jackson to point out to the rest of the world that someone spoke these words ,had a complaint come from the team first I could see a reasonable complaint.p.s. Is johnny Walker Black racist? 0 -
Allen's C&P pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject. A big double standard exists ! [:o)] 0 -
"This too shall come to pass"
Something spooky about this [al simpleton [:o)] and jessie the extortor [:o)] two race clowns0 -
I'm betting that it's your typical publicity stunt. If his ratings were slipping NBC probably calculated how they could give him a little boost. In two weeks his show will have gained a lot more viewers (and advertising dollars) to hear him apologize and then it's on to business as usual. 0 -
Al Sharpton was on Chris Mathews Show today and he flat out said he REFUSES to apologize for the Tawana Brawley incident. 0 -
Imus was wrong for sure. He has submitted an apology time and again, as he should. Al Sharpton and the other real fatladys in this picture like Jesse Jackson, and their kind, are rightfully being taken to task by the media and radio for not letting it go. They tolerate this type activity in their black culture, glorify in the promotion of double standards, and don't call for the heads of their own kind for serving up the same crap in comedy, music, etc. They are fighting a losing battle with the public here, and it does justice to their racist agenda and repulsive lifestyle. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by kimi
Imus was wrong for sure. He has submitted an apology time and again, as he should. Al Sharpton and the other real fatladys in this picture like Jesse Jackson, and their kind, are rightfully being taken to task by the media and radio for not letting it go. They tolerate this type activity in their black culture, glorify in the promotion of double standards, and don't call for the heads of their own kind for serving up the same crap in comedy, music, etc. They are fighting a losing battle with the public here, and it does justice to their racist agenda and repulsive lifestyle.
KIMI,no comedy from me this time, I agree!0 -
I have heard Howard Stern spout stuff like that and nobody blinked an eye.His co host Robin is black and is just as bad as he is.
XXXXXX0 -
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are professional race baiters and bigots.
Imus is an arrogant bully.
Although this is an attempted unrighteous lynching, it's hard for me to pick a favorite in this fight. It doesn't bother me to see Imus humbled a little bit, but I hate to see anybody bend a knee to Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.0 -
In this case, "wrong" is not an absolute. it is 100 percent subjective.
I know nothing of Imus and think Zumbo is worthless.
Apologies from public features are meaningless.
Doug0 -
bottom line what will determine if Imus survives this litle faux pas...sponsorship.
Proctor & Gamble, along with Staples, said they would pull sponsorship of the show.
Reverse racists Sharpton and Jackson can waive the bloody shirt all they want, but it all comes down to $$$ in the end.0 -
This whole thing is retarded. Turn on Comedy Central any given night and you've got some Afican american comedian on there spouting the "N" word every other breath. And nobody says a word. Where is Al Sharpton then???? How come its okay for an African american to use the "N" word but a Caucasian person cannot???? And since when is the word "nappy" racist??? AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
What about the first Amendment?????
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Imus must go. Jackson and Sharpton want him to publicly kiss their collective asses on national TV AND deposit millions in their accounts and it will not happen. Was it in the T. Brawley case in which Sharpton had his mike open and declared himself to be the"bigest black person in Cleveland" or wherever the case was handled? Tom 0 -
The first amendment isn't really involved in Imus' predicament. He has a right to say anything he wants to. Proctor & Gamble is just exercising their right to not pay him to say anything he wants to. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by tccox
Imus must go. Jackson and Sharpton want him to publicly kiss their collective asses on national TV AND deposit millions in their accounts and it will not happen. Was it in the T. Brawley case in which Sharpton had his mike open and declared himself to be the"bigest black person in Cleveland" or wherever the case was handled? Tom
Imus has already kissed their collective asses. I wouldn't discount the possibility of buying them off.0 -
I understand that P&G have the right to stop sponsoring him if they choose. It just aggravates the tar outta me that it has become one of the leading news stories, and you have alot of people who are calling for his resignation/termination. 0 -
I more or less agree with you. Imus being the arrogant bully he is, it's hard for me to muster any sympathy for him. I just hate to see the other arrogant bullies get to play demigod. 0 -
looks like a case of "Mean Old Man Syndrome. 0 -
More like building a mountain out of a mole hill.
BW0 -
Matwor, the first amendment protects his right to call a college basketball team nappy headed ho's, but it does not prevent him from being fired for terminal stupidity. 0 -
I agree with that.
D.0
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