Imus Has To Go

[stitch]

The man needs to go now. He knows better... He has no excuse for his on-air comments... If I had been his boss, I would have said "see ya" the day he called the girls nappy-headed, ho's..

There would not have been ANY sitting around debating how to handle such a famous personality... He would have been GONE! No two week suspension to see how this played out socially.

Other people can't get away with that stuff. Why should he be any different! Two-week suspension? MON DIEU!

He should be history!
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070411/ap_on_en_tv/imus_protests

[wooget]

Don Imus knew exactly what he was doing. He has been around the block, ...several times. He is old, and ready to do something else. I actually applaud "nappy-headed hoes" if Dave Chapelle can say it, why can't I ?
OK now is the time for all you to call me names.
NBC has lost a cash cow.

PS
I will buy his book

[stitch]

Wooget It's great to see U!

I'll scan through the book at the library.

[x]

Yes, he did know what he was doing. He's been doing the same stuff for decades. When did he make "Plastic Jesus" a cultural icon, 1968 or something?

Anyone who understands what Imus' show is about understands the context that the comment was made in. Was it the right thing to say? No. Should it have been a big deal? Also no. He's an equal opportunity offender; he offends everyone at one time or another.

What I'm more interested in is who got a bee up their bonnet and decided to blitz the media outlets and pressure them to turn this story into more than it was. Find who that was and I'll bet you'll find someone with a right wing agenda. The funny thing would be if he gets fired from his CBS Radio gig too. If that happens, five minutes after the press conference his phone will be ringing with an offer from one of the satcasters. If he wants, he'll make just as much or more over there. That will REALLY push their buttons.

[Terry]

Right wing agenda? I haven't heard anyone on the right call for Imus to be fired. Not one. It has all come from the left: Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Whoopee Goldberg, Al Roker, Spike Lee, Obama, Hillary. Have you heard anyone on the right call for Imus to be fired?

I don't understand your thinking. What would be the motivation for the right wing to attack Imus more than the left wing?

By the way, I'm not trying to start a war here. I know how much several people on this board hate right wingers. This is just a serious, civil question.

[admin]

What Imus said was stupid no doubt, BUT he does not deserve to lose his career over this, there is nothing anyone can say to make me feel this is not being blown way out of reason, the suspension is sufficient

I say the best thing is for all to forgive, and live and let live.......but I can't help but wonder would this be as big a deal if Al Sharpton called some white kids from SLC a bunch of whity-inbread hoes would this cause the same reaction? I think not, a double standard for racial comments is developing in this country.....and it should stop......

Terry get over the sensitivity over the right wing comments, George has given the right a bad name...no doubt...mind you I'm a Republican, but the right is seriously wrong these days

live and let live!

[x]

Terry is absolutely correct that the ones getting face time over this nonsense are the left wingers. I'm talking more behind the scenes. There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye, methinks.

BTW, there's no question that Al Sharpton is a racist. He's just a racist against non-blacks and apparently that's ok in today's world. It shouldn't be, but it is. I've been to a speech of his and was invited to a private reception for him afterwards. The guy's smart, no doubt about it. It's just too bad that his ideas are so warped. He's a definite liability to the cause that he supposedly advocates. It's a darn shame.

[x]

If you want to hear an excellent commentary on the situation please go to listen to this podcast.

musicradio.computer.net/boardreflections.html

The guy really gets it.

[dolt]

I am not black. So could the censor software be set race specific to bleep out nappy when I post it?

Thank you I'll listen to the answer on air.

[grimbasement]

I was listening to Doug Wright feign outrage about Imus's comment last week. It's sad to see that people want to excuse such base comments because Chapelle, or Snoop can "get away" with it. Such statements are reprehensible regardless of who says them.

I don't know who ultimately is responsible for perpetuating sterotypes. Black pop culture and the hip hop culture is largely responsible for negative stereotyping. The thug culture is glamorized. Is it the executives pimping the product or the masses clamoring for it? Are consumers really just ignorant people that accept anything and everything the pop culture establishment crams down their throat? Or are consumers the driving force and executives are just supplying the unending demand for crap?

I can't believe people would paint Imus as a victim. MSNBC and CBS have every right to fire someone who they feel acted inappropriately. Again the fact that people feel Imus should get a pass because someone else "can get away with it" just shows how little progress has been made with regards to race in the last 50 years. Imus or anyone else has the right to say what they want and employers and advertisers have the right to react to his actions. Imus is not a victim of black activists like Sharpton and Jackson. The whole idea of us vs. them is what causes the real problems on both sides. People who are outraged at the Imus firing should really examine how they look at race relations.

Of course Utah has never really been on the progressive side of race relations. When a majority of the population believes black skin is a curse from god because Cain killed his brother Abel. And wonderful culturally uniting ideas like black folks have black skin because they weren't "valiant" enough in the pre-mortal "war in heaven". Where's the outrage from Doug Wright with regards to his employers belief system? Why has the dominant religion never issued a statement denouncing such teachings? Oh, because god was supposedly the root of those teachings. I guess that's why this whole thing rings shallow to me. People might say Chapelle gets a pass but the true untouchables here is religion. Religion has been used for centuries to justify racism and superiority based on a belief system that god has "chosen" a certain group of people and cursed another group of people. Why can't people see it for what it is... an ancient caste system used to propel one group above another? There's an ancient quote from Seneca the Younger "Religion is regarded as true to the foolish. False to the wise and useful to the leaders."
Look through the centuries and religion is the root of racism, or at least the attempted justification of it. Until people are willing to call everyone including, Chappelle, Snoop, religion or whoever else to the carpet the way Imus was, society will be hypocrites.


People can believe what they want to and say what they want, but people have the right to call BS. I can call BS on the things I find outrageous or offensive. CBS, P&G and MSNBC did the same thing with Imus. And ultimately everyone (including employers and advertisers) have the right to change the station or the programming.

[dolt]

Thank you grimbasement for penetrating several layers of hypocrisy. I suggest you now pick out a new outfit. May I recommend something in kevlar?

[grimbasement]

Kevlar huh?

Well, at least I feel better. As a parent of black children racism and racist beliefs, statements, or teachings in all forms really gets me going. Given our first amendment right everyone has the right to a belief or an opinion and even the basest dregs of society and solely racist organizations like the KKK or the Arian Nation can have their opinions however misguided they may be as long as they aren't physically harming people. Such is the double edged sword of freedom of expression outlined in the Constitution even the nut jobs are protected. The Constitution protects peoples right to expression from government intrusion but the constitution does not guarantee a pass from criticism from the general public or media outlets or ownership. Just because someone has the right to say something doesn't mean they should.

But my point was until everyone is raked over the coals like Imus and until people stop making excuses and see people as people and no longer tolerate bigotry, things are not going to improve. Finally, not to be misunderstood criticism of policies, procedures or beliefs is not the same thing as bigotry or racism. I would never make the mistake of the LDS church has racist teachings: therefore all mormons are racists. But in my opinion policies and beliefs as outlined really have no place in our modern society. Until we're able to stand up to everyone and say individually "I will not tolerate racism or bigotry in any form" even to "equal opportunity offenders" such as Imus things are not going to change.

Is racism ever going to go away... no, but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying.

[dolt]

I understood Grim.

It was my off kilter way of saluting your courage.

[x]

"Just because someone has the right to say something doesn't mean they should."

Well said.

There is one point that I would like to slightly temper that sentiment with. As I pointed out earlier, Imus regularly uses offensive language in poking fun at people. It doesn't matter whether it's someone he knows, someone he doesn't know, an enemy, a friend, his family, his wife or even HIMSELF. It would be well within character for him to refer to himself as That Offensive Remark if he was a black woman. His comments are not meant to be taken seriously. It's a COMEDY show after all. Sure sometimes he gets serious, but anyone who's seen the Very Special Episode of {insert sitcom name here} already knows that kind of thing happens.

Bottom line, there's a gray area here. It's not like the comment either was 100% right or 100% wrong. Was it ill-advised? Certainly. Especially considering the circumstances. Was it that big a deal? No. It was an off-the-cuff remark that was perfectly consistent with the irreverent flavor of the show. Period. Why everyone is making Mt Everest out of a sand castle is really beyond me.

[stitch]

It's ok to kid around about public figures like the President, an actor or actress, people who place themselves on reality tv and want that kind of publicity. Heck, if those people are satirized or something bad is said about them, as often happens to Paris Hilton, it usually means that person has made it big... Even though alot of the stuff that is said about them is harsh and some of it hurts them, these people know that because they are talked about..they have made it big. Imus knows this about himself.

The difference between the above mentioned and the comments that were made about the Rutgers teammembers is that they are not trying to be celebs. Those girls are just "Normal" girls, who play extraordinary ball. They are not stars, they do not seek the spotlight. They play for there own school spirit and perhaps the love of the game. Nappy-headed hoes is not what they are. But nappy-headed hoes is what will live on in the memory of those girls and most everyone else who deals with each and every one of those players throughout the rest of their lives.... That is why it's such a big deal.

Imus and others need to go back under the rocks they came from. It's time to cut their 15 minutes... I can't believe so many jerks have a 15 minute career that lasts so many **** years.