End of line for Imus ?

I'm surprised that nobody started a thread on this yet, so I guess I'll start it.

It seems that after 30 years on the air, Don Imus may finally have crossed the line, by referring to the young women playing NCAA basketball as "nappy headed hos."

I've been listening to him for many years but in my opinion this is reprehensible. From a racial standpoint it's disgusting. On top of that, with body image being such a touchy issue for young women, I think he crossed the line.

30 years on the air, he should have known better. I don't think a half-hearted apology cuts it this time.

Maybe he's looking to be fired so that he can sign a big money contract and land a gig on Satellite Radio!

You know something DC ? Maybe you're half joking, but radio contracts are veeeery difficult to break, even for the I-Man.
It's possible.

Difficult. But not impossible.

I knew you were gonna say that!!

Don Imus is a loser. Howard Stern whooped his ass out, and Imus' own mouth will get him screwed over.

He deserves to get ousted.

Take your fucking cowboy hat and go home, Imus.

Imus definitely crossed the line of good taste. The apology seemed hollow to me.

I haven't listened to his show in a long time. Does his brother still appear and try to sell shirts and things?

This morning, April 9, Imus went int the longest rant of self pity, self righteousness and smarmy apology that I have heard since The Checkers Speech (or for you republicans out there Clinton's apology over Monica). He carried on about how many sickle cell anmemia kids he has at his ranch, how he is going on Al Sharpton's show today, how he has done this that and the other for all races and ethnic groups...it was pathetic.

Mysteriously absent from the proceedings was Bernard McQuirk, the designated racist, who didnt show his bald head until the final hour.

All in all, I do not think we should be taking the likes of Imus, O'Reilly, Rush, or even Franken as seriously as we do. Primarily they are entertainers posing as serious political commentators, and if anything this episode will probably boost his ratings.

Speaking of O'Reilly...anyone see that spat where he went batshit on douchebag Geraldo Rivera over that drunk driving incident?

I tell ya, you're a serious asshole when the douchebag looks more rational. Ouch.

Yeah I saw that. It was about as authentic as pro wrestling.

Ronnie would have believed it when he was 12 then......

Don T, just curious, do you listen to Imus every morning or did you tune in because of what he said?

I can't speak for Don T but I've listened to him alot more since WCBC FM here in the city went belly up. I really have a hard time with what he said. I honestly don't know whether or not I'll listen anymore.

That is interesting. About 10 years ago, I would occasionally listen to Imus, and Bernard always seemed to go out of his way to ridicule Blacks. I didn't know the guy was still on the show. He was probably one of the reasons I stopped listening to Imus altogether.

You damn right I would have. I would save up on my allowance to buy up the PPV title bout!

Bill "The Invincible Irishman" O'Reilly versus Geraldo "The Moustache" Rivera in a title-match where the loser has to retire from appearing on TV.

The buyrates from people wanting O'Reilly off TV, and from people who want Geraldo to actually pay for the Capone Vault mishap, would outpace Wrestlemania this year.

Don Michael I watch him on MSNBC while getting ready for work. I usuallly catch the 6:30 and 7:30 interviews, sometimes the 8:30 if it is someone good. Usually I am reading the paper, getting dressed etc during the rest of it because I find him boring and repetitive, and I am sick of hearing about the ranch, country music, his wife and his fat, spoiled kid.

You know who's great when he does Imus ? Steve Schirippa, he's very funny and personable.

My main problem with Imus' show is that we get the same fat Clinton jokes. If I wanted that, I would watch Leno more.

Again, there is a reason why Stern whooped his ass.

Ronnie I also have a problem with his droning on about his fricking ranch, his wife, his kid, Bo Dietl, Net Jets....got god it makes your teeth hurt. Stern did whup his ass, but then Stern went to Sirius and was never heard from again.

DT, it doesn't help that Imus sounds like he's drunk and bored all the time...even when he's happy.

Anyway, Stern has been pretty good on Sirius. Subscribe sometime, but wait until that Sirius/XM merger is worked out.

"Controversial radio host Don Imus will be suspended for two weeks starting
Monday April 16, NBC reports."

Courtesy: CNN.com

I think it's quite funny and ironic how the "Rev" :rolleyes" Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two of the most racist talk show hosts out there, are pushing for Imus' dismissal. Wasn't it Jesse Jackson who referred to New York as "heimeytown" because of it's large Jewish population? And if Sharpton is so upset about PUBLIC AIRWAY being used to call people Nappy headed ho's then he needs to lead the bandwagon in getting every single rap song off of PUBLIC AIRWAY that calls a woman a bitch or a ho.

Agree Beth.

But Imus deserves to be fired if only because he was stupid enough to say such a thing...and he's got a long history of doing stupid shit.

Its like a guy that keeps hitting his wife or stays an alcoholic "I'm sorry, I relapsed, it won't happen again..."

I don't care for Imus and never have. But, good God, people, grow some skin. Whatever happened to "sticks n' stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me"? Chris Rock has made his career doing the same thing and far worse, as have other comedians and countless rappers. We've got far greater problems going on in the world, yet we're worried someone may get "offended"?? Puh-leeze. And you've got the so-called "Reverend" Al Sharpton heading the censorship circus? Don't EVEN get me started on that hate-monger and media whore.

I just wanna know when it became taboo in the country I thought I knew to say whatever's on one's mind...good, bad, or ugly? BTW, had the context been reversed, you wouldn't hear jack about it, and if the target were white Christian Republican males, then that group would've been told to grow some skin, too. People, let's get over it and move on, huh?

I thought Rock was all about the n-word in his schtick, and Imus called Rutgers athletes "Nappy Headed Hos".

Besides, its not about tolerance or equilibrium.

Its about a famous person saying something stupid that even a dimwit like me knows is not a WISE thing to do.

Its like someone calling a person in Queens a greaseball. Most likely, that someone gets clubbed hard. Use the n-word in Harlem, you'll get wrecked. k*ke? Zip, Boom, Bang to the moon for you!

Besides, Imus has made these mistakes so many times to the point that its not a freak accident like Michael Richards.

Snake, if someone called you a dumbass redneck white trash incest-baby, then apologized, then called you a resident of the asshole of Tennessee, then apologized, then used a bad stereotypical hillbilly joke(Q: What's the best decade in a Tennessean's life? A: Third Grade!), you'll get tired and just sock it to him.

I never have liked Imus - I think he is completely untalented and a bore. But I still don't see how what he said is being labeled racist. It was dumb and insensitive, but I think calling his statments racist is a stretch.

And I agree with some of the other statements - I can do without Sharpton & Jackson, men who cry racism so often that they tend to get "tuned out" by many when racism legitimately occurs (Michael Richards comments, Rodney King beating, etc).

I agree totally with you goombah.

Imagine all the efforts and energy that Sharpton and Jackson do with these protests if they put them seriously into the inner-cities. Imagine how much more could be done instead of protesting a shock jock hack DJ, who doesn't need either to call him an idiot.

That's an excellent point- actually a couple of excellent points.

While Imus' comments and references were demeaning in a crude way, much vulgarity and degradation of the same ilk flourish with impunity. This permits an inference that some people are perhaps more offended by the messenger than the message. No single race holds a monopoly on this behavior, nor is this outlook, I think, limited to racial perspectives, but I have to admit that Beth 's examples hit the mark.

Similarly, because the reported suspension of Imus didn't occur for almost a week after he uttered the garbage, one can surmise that the suspension was not for what he said, but to appease those calling for his head. I certainly don't feel sorry for Don Imus, and probably agree that a suspension is warranted.

I'm not a fan of Sharpton's or Jackson's either. Al still hasn't apologized for Tawana Brawley, 20 years ago, which is something I will forever loathe him for.

BUT...Imus was dead wrong. If this was an isolated incident, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, but it's not. What about when he said that Venus and Serena Williams belong in National Geographic and not Playboy ? Did you think that Al and Jesse were gonna forget that ? If that's not a racist remark, I don't know what is.

And honestly, and this is just a guess, I don't think there are many African-Americans on these boards. I don't think we have the right to make a fair call on this one.

They could march down to Clinton's office in Harlem and share some McDonald's fries?

Actually, I get that, or something akin to it, about every other week. I work in Memphis and our corporate office is in New York. At least twice a month, we have these "Yankees" come down and imply as much, all in jest, of course. My reaction? I laugh right along with them, and even make a few funny Southern observations myself...Like how when the zoo here put on a live-action dinosaur exhibit with robotics, some Memphians wanted refunds because they thought the dinosaurs would be REAL! (True story!)

Yeah, Imus should've known in this PC-world-gone-mad that some moron somewhere would find offense (Sharpton and Jackson live for that). But unless someone's physically attacking me, my family, or my friends, I couldn't care less what spews out of their pie-hole. I got out of being offended by words in grade school.

I am not an Imus fan, but I say that he has done enough. He did the best that he could to right this thing.
Still Sharpton's and Jackson's need to keep this thing going to stay in the spot light. He is now their whipping boy. This months poster child.

I was so glad to see Imus go back at that piece of shit Sharpton on the Today show. Enough already,
Imus got beat up for over two hours on Sharpton's one sided radio show yesterday. This must be the new punishment for anyone they can blackmail once you do something wrong. Sharpton is a thug, and after what Sharpton did with Tawana Brawley, 20 years ago, he shouldn't be so quick to talk.
In fact the people should be ashamed of their community for letting Sharpton take the lead. In fact they should be ashamed for all their own people who use these same words and expressions. Clean up your own house first with these Rap Stars using words I wouldn't dare to say in public, after all didn't Jackson call New York "heimeytown" and I didn't see or hear them condemn the Mayor of New Orleans from things he said either. No Imus is to easy a target to pass up.


Folks, the world will never be pure and problem free, but lets face it this crap is getting out of hand

This is not about Sharpton who needs absolutely nothing to become "outraged" and get his face on television, nor about Jesse "Shakedown Artist" Jackson. It is about Imus.

While his initial comments were offensive, the real problem is a pattern of racist commentary by him and his crew for decades.
Worse, in two of his miserable self pitying rants he has LIED.

Yesterday he denied flat out that he ever called Gwen Eiffel a "cleaning lady." I actually heard him when he said it.

Today he said he had made the comment, but that it was back in the Reagan Administration. Wrong again it was in the Clinton administration in the 90's.

Like so many things his cover up and excuse making is going to turn out worse than his initial mistake.

We're turning into a nation of wimps. Poor me...I'm a victim... have pity on me...he looked at me cross-eyed...make me feel better. Christ, it's disgusting.

Couldn't have said it better.

I agree Don T.

I detest Sharpton because I think he's a hate mongering opportunist, but that aside, this has been a pattern with Imus and his crew that's been going on for years.

Don't forget Sid Rosenberg, who did mornings with Imus, was fired for saying that Kylie Minogue wouldn't get any work with a "bald head and one titty", on the day she was to start breast cancer treatments! Ironically, he's in Miami now, your home state, Don T.

I know that morning radio is all about shock and flaunting one's freedom of speech but sometimes they just cross the line.

What Imus said is WRONG. It's that simple. He degraded both blacks AND women, and he should be punished. And his "apology" seemed rather insincere to me. How is his apology and suspension pandering to a PC world? He has made racist remarks for years, or permitted them on his show. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

Imus is an asshole.

I support his right to be an asshole.

I will exercise my right not to listen to his asshole show.

The whole point of freedom of speech makes it easier for me to know who the assholes are and avoid those assholes accordingly.

Yes, you are right, let's take him out and hang the son of a bitch! Strip him down naked, hang him from a tree and let the whole team whip his old tired ass. Then put him in the stocks and let everyone who would like have a wack at him!

Now where did I put that can of tar?

Good post salad.

Here, in a nutshell, is my opinion on freedom of speech:

Just because you can say something, doesn't mean you should.

That's it.

Yes, Yes Yes.....now here is something I can stand up and cheer about!

The general feeling that I'm getting from this thread is Don Imus is an asshole. No argument from me there.

The second feeling I'm getting from this thread is Al Sharpton is an asshole. No argument from me there.

I say we should put the two of them in a steel cage and give them socks full of bull shit and let them beat each other's brains out. Put it on Pay-Per-View, sell tickets.

Ah, gee. Degraded? Poor things. How about a stuffed animal? Would that make you feel better? Does someone need to kiss your boo-boos? "He's a mean man, mommy."

That, or let them settle it by way of a beauty contest.

Actually, the only purpose Sharpton's over the top reaction serves is that it may make Imus a little more hesitant to make such racist comments over the air in the future. That, coupled with his suspension, might curtail the pattern of comments, to which don tomasso alluded.

Yes, with Geraldo Douchebag Rivera as Special Guest Referee!

On the contrary, the women, who were the subject of Imus' vulgar sketch, have exhibited more class and maturity than Imus ever has. They represented their university and advanced against the odds to reach a championship game, after which a jerk with an audience demeans them by calling them "nappy headed hos."
Just as Imus enjoys freedom of speech, so to those offended are free to express their outrage. I haven't followed the aftermath of this story closely, but I don't believe any of them stooped to his level.

You have more patience. I would be giving one of those damn Yankees a Jerry Lawler*-patented piledriver by the end of that conversation.

*=King of Memphis!

BTW there is no freedom of speech on terrestrial radio. Speech is governed by the FCC.

So, people should make public statements that are racist, mean-spirited and degrading? And the people who those remarks are aimed at are just big, whiny babies for being offended? I don't understand what you're saying. And who said that the women that he belittled have acted like children, which your post seems to have implied? I think that SC, in his usual pithy and succinct manner, has summed it up the best.

Looks like Imus will have to meet the Rutgers women's basketball team privately.

I watched their press conference this morning and I'll say this, these young women displayed alot of class, more than any of the shock jocks ever have.

Good for them.

Female athletes are true student-athletes, very, very few of them ever make millions in sports. They are students in the truest sense of the word and some of the finest ppl I've ever met, class and debonair abound.

He's going to feel like an old weed surrounded by roses when he has to look those women in the eye.

Good post Ice, I couldn't agree more.

Yeah Right., Private! How much do you want to bet that Sharpton and Jackson will get they noses into this meeting?

This is horse shit. For two reasons.

#1 Al Sharpton the asshole is nothing more then a black/man version of Gloria Allred.

#2 If Imus said white trash or something else, no one would hear about it in the news or even be pissed.

I read this and it says it all.

SB you are right, and from some of the posts here you can see who the not so closeted bigots are (AND I MEAN YOU FATHERSON). Imus said a disgraceful thing, and these idiots want to put on their white sheets and use it as an excuse to condemn Sharpton and Jackson. In other words rather than addresss the real issue they want to change the subject and use it as a way to advance their own agendas.

I always knew you were a bigot, fathersson. ;-)

Sharpton and Jackson don't need anyone's condemnation...they do that well enough on their own. All I'm saying is you people harpin' on "hurt feelings" obviously haven't been through anything really harsh in life. Trust me, there are far worse things which would make someone calling you a "bad name" seem like a picnic with strippers. Jeez, I wish I had a crayon to write with...

And clearly there's the ol' double standard....AGAIN. If I don't approve of certain programming on TV, I'm told to not make a fuss and try to censor the networks, but rather just change the channel. Fine. Then don't get up in arms over Imus or similar idiots. Just change the channel, don't buy their stuff, etc., etc. That's what folks did with the Dixie Chicks incident and those boycotters were still ostracized for doing so! Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don't...It must be a real talent to be able to talk out of both sides of the mouth.

Hurt feelings...sheesh. I wish all I'd ever had to deal with in life was hurt feelings...

Because I'm offended by what Imus said and think that he got his just desserts, that means that I've had sunshine and rainbows and puppies and daffodils my entire life? Snake, you are not naive enough to believe that. Nobody in this world gets a free pass, and everyone has had their fair share of heavy loads that they must carry. That's life.

Does this mean that I think that anyone is right to hop on this bandwagon? No. I think that anyone who uses this incident to forward their own agenda is loathsome. But what it does mean to me is that Imus did a wrong thing, and he should pay a price.

That's what I try to teach my children. Nobody can truly stop you from doing things in life, but there are consequences. If more people today understood that simple lesson, I believe that the world would be a better place.

Just calling them as I see them Don T. Thanks for the attack!
I don't hide, I don't lie and I'm not in the closet either!
I don't care what the color of your skins is, when you are a piece of shit you are getting called on it.
After all I have seen you start enough threads with rants on so many subjects I think you would know all about such things.


Don T what do you think: Yes or no?

Thanks Snake, I always wanted to be thought of as a bigot by you.

you rotten Yankee!

Yes Ronnie, just call me nappy!

I get a little uneasy when you agree with me fatherson. Maybe I have to sit and think about this issue some more!

Here is a few more things to think about:
We now know that they are making a big thing out of Imus because they get news coverage, which they don't get if they criticize Rap stars or black comedians.

Also that the Players have already been programed with large planned out statements. If may have noticed this on the Today show when the coach prodded her player which then let into a long spiel.

The Black Caucus has called all Imus's sponsors and put pressure to pull their adds or face major boycotts from the black community. Those fueling the fire.

So all this is really a campaign to bring this issue once again to the people. Now who is getting hurt besides Imus and the people who work on his show? Well, if things weren't blown out of proportion almost no one would have even given Imus's words the time of day, which is what happens every day of the week. Now these ladies will be known for the Imus issue and very little else.

This issue has gone way over board. Everyone knows that what Imus said was foolish but what else is new. They call them shock jocks for a reason. Do what we all do now, Don't turn Imus on your radio. We all know he is even crappy as a shock jock.


One local BLACK MINISTER told our local reporters that if every person who used these terms or said such foolish things lost their jobs then the black and Hispanic community here would all be out of work. Showing a true double standard in the country.

This story has gotten out of control.

I bet Imus' ratings have gone up....only to see him pissing and moaning about it.

I think it's the proverbial mountain-out-of-a-molehill, that's all. I think there are far worse wrongs than someone being "offended" by an off-the-cuff remark. Many predatory black leaders (Sharpton, Jackson, et. al.) play the race card so often that when there's a real racial injustice going on, a lot of people just don't care anymore. And as far as the "degraded women" thing goes, why isn't everyone up in arms over the way in which women are portrayed and exploited in porn, television, movies, songs, etc., etc., etc.? In my opinion, these mediums do far worse because they instill images and philosophies in impressionable young minds. But rather than rail against that, we pick a racy (but I don't think "racial") comment by some moron and blow it all out of proportion. As fathersson noted, now this poor basketball team will forever be associated with Imus. Had nobody harped on it, it would've been quickly forgotten.

If Imus suffers repercussions, fine and dandy. But to act like what he said was so taboo and catastrophic is, imho, going waaaay overboard,

Snake, you are starting to sound like you may be a bigot.


Sign, First Time Bigot
and didn't know it.

I'm "bigot th' mouth"...we got some women down here who are "bigot th' hips."

Lets consider something else here, and forget Sharpton and Jackson. Those guys are fish in a barrel. When Trent Lott made his intemperate comments about Strom Thurmond, and when Rush Limbauugh made his comments about Donovan McNabb there was a virtual firestorm in the white mainstream media calling for their heads. Same thing happened to Jimmy the Greeek and Al Campanis years ago.

If you look at who appears on Imus' show as regular guests, it is a who's who of the white media establishment, many of whom are falling over themselves telling Imus he can redeem himself etc. etc. In other words these people are his enablers (see today's Wall Street Journal Op Ed) and they are happy to get him off the hook with a two week suspension so they can all go back on his show, pontificate, promote their books and television shows and otherwise maintain their high profiles. sHouldnt Imus be subject to the same sanctions and criticism as Limbaugh and the others?

I never said it was catastrophic! Dear Lord, I certainly wouldn't term anything of this nature as catastrophic. It would make me as stupid as Imus was for saying it. That does not mean that it wasn't degrading and it doesn't mean it wasn't wrong.

As for porn and rap, etc., I think that they are degrading and I do rail against their portrayal of women. That doesn't make Imus right.

I tend to agree. No one, other than Ann Coulter and her band of hate spewing followers, was bending over backwards to promote their books or television shows on Limbaugh's show. So you're right, Imus' "enablers" would hardly be willing to kill the high profile, free publicity juggernaut, that is Imus' morning show.

I missed this thread, but...

Rap is degrading?

Rap is about as degrading to women as rock music was in its worst days. So lets just say, rap doesn't bother me(though hacks like 50 Cent sorta do.)

Yes, any medium that refers to women as bitches and ho's is degrading to women.

Uh oh, Dave Chappelle is in TROUBLE!

Haters gotta hate.
Lovers gotta love.
I don't even want.
None of the above.
I want to piss on you.
Yes I do, I'll piss on you.
I pee on you.

Incorrect. Any rap song which is degrading to women is degrading to women. That's a very reductive generalisation of a style of musical form you (I can only presume) don't listen to.

I admittedly knew very little about Imus. Since this hullaboo I did some research. His "show" has hit on things like:
- Beating up fa***ts.
- Knocking over Jewish tombstones.
- Setting homeless bums on fire.
- Anderson Cooper taking it in the poop shoot.
- Obama as a colored man.
- Wish that some "sissy" on American Idol be the victim of a vicious hate crime.
- Shaving Rosie O'Donnell's bush, you'd need a weed wacker.

This "nappy head" comment was picked up by ESPN and thus it hit the nation's attention. But really, this guy has been doing bigotry for years and no one has really cared! There is a loyal audience that buys into everything he says. There is a larger issue to this Imus thing.

I've said it before: we are turning into a Nation of wimps. I wish I had a damn nickel for every time I was called a Dago or a Wop, or even a Guinea which is stupid because I'm not Sicilian. Christ, did I cry on someone's shoulder? Maybe, when I was six. You suffer life's slings and arrows. It's part of maturity. You don't go public seeking someone to assuage your feelings.

"I don't care how many - - daigo guinea WOP greaseball gumbahs come out of the woodwork!"

"I'm German-Irish..."

"Well let me tell you something my Kraut Mick friend."

Deep in the heart of Texas...

Paul would be loving this subject matter. Boy, he is really missed.

Ergo, either we should have censorship across the cultural-ethnic-political-social board and shut people like him up, or everyone else should shutup and forget about it. And why is it when certain folks say something equally as "offensive" (which is subjective anyway) as what Imus said and there's an outcry, everyone casting stones is told to "forgive-and-forget" and "judge not," blah-blah-blah...? There's one thing I find more outrageous than anything any single moron can verbally SAY: the glaring contradictory standards and values in this screwed-up world. Imus did everything but set himself on fire and STILL there are those who wanna keep the racial fires burnin' (one who proclaims himself a "reverend"....yeah, right!).

I don't know what the "larger issue" is, SB, unless it's some vast, right-wing, white media conspiracy thing, which some apparently believe in.

But these women didn't go public. They are meeting with Imus privately . The media are going to them, but they can't help that.

They are not seeking pity or solace from others. In fact, it shows they are mature by meeting Don Imus face to face and discussing his racist and sexist comments, which were broadcast throughout the country on his radio and television program. They deserve an apology and explanation.

Just remember that despite what they say Sharpton and Jackson DO NOT represent the black community. Ask around!



No, the larger issue as Americans we tune in to that kind of puke, and even invite it into our minds! What a hypocrite degraded culture this is! These are our family values?

Is my boycott working? Guess not, never heard of him before...

Christ! What's wrong with you? What the hell was that press conference about on national TV. Who were those uniform clad people on the dais? Who were those uniformed people addressing the reporters. Who were those uniformed people on several talk show? Private? Not being there is private. That's what's called private.

I'm certainly beginning to wish I'D never heard of him before!

The press conference was held to accommodate the inquiries from the media around the country. The press conference was held as a matter of mutual convenience for the women and the media. The public is apparently very interested in the story, and these women can't be faulted for answering their questions.

How these women can be critcized for the manner with which they've handled this ugliness is beyond me.

It is easy for someone who is neither female or Black to tell these women to shut up and just deal with it, but if that clown Imus sneered and snickered as he threw those insults, rooted in ignorance and playing off the bigotry of his audience, at my daughter, I would have quite a bit to say, and I would not advise her to accept it quietly as one of life's lessons.

I'm an Italian-American male, born and raised in the Belmont section of the Bronx. Growing up, I saw my share of hatred towards African-Americans, Puerto Ricans and whoever else had the "nerve" to move within the confines of "our" little enclave of the east Bronx. I heard my share of bigoted remarks within my own family. I'm not an apologist. It's no more up to me to apologize to minorites for my grandparents view of the world than it is to a WASP to apologize for slave trading or for a third generation German-American to apologize for anti-semetism. However, I choose to "break the chain" on that way of thinking. The very least I can do is recognize that what Imus said was very wrong. He's being punished and he needn't be fired. I just choose not to listen anymore. What everyone else does is their business.

Uniformed people? The military was there?

I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but -- I taught her never to dishonor her family. I don't apologize, to take care of my family. And I refused -- to be a fool -- dancing on the string, held by all those -- bigshots. I don't apologize -- that's my life. It -- makes -- it doesn't make any difference to me what a man does for a living, understand. But your business is ah -- a little dangerous.

A good article from Jason Whitlock, a columnist in Kansas City, might know him from his past work on ESPN. A very good read and I think he's 100% correct. He is black, btw.

Imus isn’t the real bad guy
Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.

I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.

But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.

I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.

But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.

In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?

I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?

When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.

No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.

Great article on the whole sham! Thanks for posting it, ap_Capone. Whitlock said it better than anyone else has.

My man spoofed this whole debaucle: paprika-snorting ghoulies

Just heard the white guys in the Duke LaCrosse thing got cleared. Maybe Sharpton & Jess will put their bullseyes on that town for a while and leave poor ol' Imus alone!

Oh! And did you see the picture of their accuser?? I WOULD quote Imus here, but someone might take offense!

That deserves it's own thread. That prosecutor should be flogged for withholding the evidence that would have cleared those poor boys. I hope he ends up in general population with an axe murderer that he prosecuted.

"You gonna eat your cornbread ?"

Snoop Dogg's Take On The Imus/Rutgers Basketball Situation

Snoop frequently refers to women as "b**ches" and "hos" in his music, but he insists Imus' use of the term was unacceptable and the 66-year-old DJ should be taken off the air.

The Doggystyle star says, "It's a completely different scenario. (Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing s**t, that's trying to get a n**ga for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthaf**kas say we are in the same league as him.

"Kick him off the air forever."

MSNBC drops simulcast of Don Imus show

I guess Al & Jesse are happy

Can't do a tv show every day without sponsors. Looks like the I-Man is learning a lesson in humility.

Oh darn. I was wanting to hear Imus piss and moan about how hes a victim tomorrow.

Sounds like what 95% of the country talks about with their friends.

Well, it's growing into a Frankenstein. Now they're talking about getting up a committee to discuss what one can and can't say in radio (and probably in everything, eventually). Even that loathsome Rosie O'Donnell -- whom I despise -- has warned that the "thought police" are coming next, and I begrudgingly admit that I'm prone to agree with her.

And, sorry, but I don't buy into Snoop Dog's rationalization. In fact, his take on it is far more demeaning to blacks and women than anything Imus said.

God, can't we just move on already??

Yeah, and look what happened to him!

Yeah poor Khartoum

We obviously hangout in different circles!

Don't you go to Catholic school?

Ditto.

Have you ever listened to Michael Savage's radio show? His last name is an adjective. God, not only is he insane, but he has a forum in which to manifest that insanity.

Wasn't Savage the one that was so nuts that FOX NEWS had to can him? Or was that MSNBC?

Savage is fucking nuts. Seriously. Basically, the right-wing alternative to Rosie O'Donnell.

I quite agree. Savage's mind is so closed that even he can't open it. Having convictions on certain issues is all well and good, but to act like you have the answer to everything without considering any other viewpoint is indeed insane. If a caller calls in with a counterpoint, he just tells them to shutup and hangs up on them. Hardly a serious or respectable "celebrity." I used to listen to him when I worked nights just to laugh at him and some of the poor, hapless and clueless callers.

Savage is a seriously sick bastard, in the same vein as Ann Coulter. Imagine if they bred ?

They would procreate...the AntiChrist.

But Annie has a bigger Adam's Apple.

"Michael Coulter"..."Ann Savage"...The former sounds like the captain of a football team and the latter sounds like a porn queen.

I wrote earlier in this thread that I didn't feel that Imus' comment was racist. I must not keep up on my racially derogatory terms because I had never heard the reference he used before this controversy. Since the reference is racially biased, I amend my previous point and am glad to see what he received.

But what gets me is the double standard in this country. Stuart Scott, an African-American sports commentator on ESPN, was on Mike & Mike's morning show yesterday. He contended that when rappers use the "n-word" or refer to women as "bitches" or "ho's" in songs, that is perfectly acceptable.

Bullshit! If it is offensive when a white person says any of those words to a person of the other race, it is offensive when any person says those words. Period. I cannot stand it when I am in my city at lunch or out and about when I hear one African-American call another a "n-word." It is completely hypocritical that such a hateful word when uttered by some can somehow be construed as a term of "affection," as Stuart Scott contended.

I'd like to see Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, and some of these others who decry racism in all instances, not just when it's convenient.

Looks like CBS fired him from his radio show. Jeez, I wish they would get this shit off ESPN. I dont want to watch Around the Horn to hear about this story.

It was just reported CBS fired Imus (as well).

OK, thats out of the way now (and maybe rightly so). NOW that house is being cleaned, we take Al Sharpton to task for his role in the Tawana Brawley mess.

Yes...oh shit, he got out of our grasps again. Lets get his underlings processed.

Book'em Danno.

I cant wait to hear what O & A say about this tomorrow.

All I know is, Imus wont be pissing and moaning about his ranch anymore.

Good point. And why did he say that? Well, because he is black also. It's natural for peole to make excuses for transgressions by those with whom they have an affinity, a characteristic or two like race. But that doesn't make it right.

I'm not defending Imus, but Goombah I agree. To take it further, it is acceptable for minority comedians to make fun of whites, but the reverse is not true.

But back on topic. CBS blew a chance to collaborate with Imus to change the decay in American media - the degrogatory, desparaging commentary that flows from our TV and radios. We need a kinder, gentiler society; not one that constantly insults and degrades people.

CBS dumped Imus for one reason - money. Their sponsors were pulling out.

Yeah, and Lizza Lampanelli too, for insulting and trashing every group in a club act.

"Hey blackman, your Jew landlord is here!"

We should only live so long.

Let us hope that you never know a kid that comes down with cancer then Ronnie.

Both CBS and CNBC could have waited till after his fund raising days were done this week.

What is that supposed to mean? I was only refering, which was I have to admit already mentioned on this thread, how Imus would talk about the same things on his show...like his ranch(and no I wasn't refering to the cancer kid thing. More like how Leno would used to do Clinton and O.J. murder jokes nightly years after years).

To be honest, I'm surprised they actually pulled the trigger on Imus. I figured he would get slapped and screwed around like a rag doll, and forced to eat humble pie...several pies...

Sorry, we are now boycotting you for being insensitive to those poor kids and we are also calling for Geoff to pull you off these boards forever.

Get my drift?

Insensitive?!?! I only intended that post for comedy....

Wait, that didn't work for Imus.

I helped tie the shoes of a kid in elementary school that wet his bed at night. I helped a pathological liar keep his lies straight. I once carried a kid to a doctor appointment because he suffered from "Lazy Ass."

I help people!

I help people too.

I once helped a non-crippled guy across the strreet.

I gave a dollar to a woman wearing a full-length mink stole.

And I once forgave someone who hadn't done anyhting.

This has to be the funniest post I've read in awhile.

Total applause for your post, Goombah.

I turned on FoxNews yesterday, and this black dude (is that racist?) on the O'Reilly Factor called Imus a superracist. When the guest host (not sure who she was, filled in for O'Reilly) asked whether we haven't been desensitized to words like "ni**er" and "ho's" (which I also didn't realize was a racial term), and whether Imus was just mimicking popular culture, the guy responded by saying that Imus isn't a 5 year old child and shouldn't repeat what he hears.

When she asked why then rappers like Ludacris and others use "ni**er" profusely, he then proceeded to blame it on the slaveowners and white America.

Does this mean rappers (read: blacks) are acting like 5 year old children?

There was also this guy from the Black Panthers on FoxNews last night who claimed white America fucked over the black community again after the verdict in the Duke lacrosse trial. Yeah. Tawana Brawley still hasn't gotten justice by the way.

God, if I believed even half the shit that is spewed out of these peoples mouths, I think, collectively, as a race, we white people should just jump off a fucking bridge to save humanity.

I'm thinking that's what they're hoping.

About 12:37 PM CST I was watching MSNBC during which the host and guests were discussing this damn Imus thing. So, I had a thought. On my remote I punched in 55 which is the BET network. There they were, a bunch of half-naked black chicks undulating on the screen; there they were, a bunch of thug-looking black guys speaking almost unaudibly, but in a derogatory way about women thank God for close-captioning).

Just a random access on my part this one day, this one time. But, I bet, if I randomly punch 55 on my remote a few more times today (you can do it too), I will find the same crap. Where's the outrage Jesse? Where's the outrage Al?outrage

Ollie - You fail to see that as long as its black guys tearing down black or white men and women, it's perfectly acceptable.

But whitey?

Holy shit. Race war.

I think Snoop's logic was that when Imus calls nice sportwomen "hos", it's sexist (and racist witht he nappy part). But when rappers call women "hos", it's because they ARE hos, whether they be black or white or somewhere inbetwen.

I think?

Its like that Chris Rock stand-up story. You have black girls that dance and get groovy to lyrics like "Slap Her with your Dick! Slap Her with your Dick!". Lets just say, Rock advises us that they are rather "lewd."

Time to tackle the real problem
Friday, April 13, 2007
CORMAC GORDON

OK, so they got Don Imus.

The big bosses at MSNBC and CBS shoved him right under the bus, quicker than you can say, "Sponsor cancellations."

And that's fine, as far as it goes.

Imus took a chance.

He made some nasty statements.

People were rightfully offended.

The Rev. Al Sharpton declared that what Imus said when discussing the Rutgers women's basketball team would not stand.

"We cannot afford a precedent established that the airwaves can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism," he said.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson agreed with him.

So did the Congressional Black Caucus.

So did a lot of walking-around, nobody-special American citizens everywhere from Hylan Boulevard to Sunset Strip.

Because of all the pressure -- and there was plenty of it from people like Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama to sponsors like Procter & Gamble Co. -- the bosses said enough is enough.


They canned Imus yesterday afternoon.

Kaput!

"You're gone."

That's how simple it is to decide who gets on the American airwaves when you are in charge of international, multi-media empires.

Imus can pack up his entourage over at the WFAN studios now. He'll move on to pay radio, I'm guessing.

Or -- and you would only hope he'd be this smart -- he can take his millions and retire quietly to wherever he chooses to and live a life.

THE HARD PART

But now that Imus is gone comes the hard part, as far I'm concerned.


That would be making something positive out of the entire, ugly, overblown episode.

The only way that will happen is if those same bosses at CBS and MSNBC, and those same leaders like Sharpton and Jackson and the Congressional Black Caucus, stand up and tell the truth.


That truth is this:

Don Imus may have been part of the debasing of American pop culture, but he was nowhere near as important in the downhill slide as a lot of other people.

I'm talking about those folks who write and produce and perform and market anti-Semitic rap, and put together misogynistic music videos.

They make movies that glorify violence and dehumanize women. They fill television and radio with junk that any serious professional psychologist or educator will tell you is having a negative effect on young people in this country.

You know that's the case.

I know it.

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson certainly know it.

THE MONEY

The people who run international, multi-media empires not only know of it, they are getting even richer than they already were from it.
Keep this in mind. Several different reports yesterday put the revenue generated by the "Imus Show" at $20 million last year.

Wall Street people say that is just 1 percent of what the CBS radio division alone does in sales. I guess that what people meant when they put the word "Big" into big business.)

Still, pop culture in America is like the 800-pound Gorilla in the room.

And that goes for blacks as well as whites. Few are willing to even acknowledge a problem exists, never mind trying their hand at changing the direction even a little.

Why?

Money and power are reasons.

But so is lack of courage.

How are you going to get JayZ's support on this or that issue if you go around slamming his product? How could you expect Snoop Dogg to answer your calls if you started telling Americans his music is a problem for their kids?

That's the problem.

But just think what could happen if everyone showed just a little more nerve?


We're not talking about calling for censorship of this or restricting of that. This isn't about protest marches and boycotts, either.

But what if Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson stood up and said that racist music is hurting kids. And that black mothers and fathers should at least try to keep it out of the house?

What if they said it all the time, and named names? What if, miracle of miracles, they actually went after one of the worst offenders?

Just to make a point?

Don't you think that would change things a little?

And what if the bosses at CBS and MSNBC said that the kind of stuff Imus has been getting away with on the radio is a thing of the past. That entertainers will just have to try and find another way to get laughs?

And what if they acted like they meant it?

That would also have to have an effect, wouldn't you say? I guess what I'm saying is, what if everyone with the power to make real difference shows a little collective bravery for once?

Wouldn't that be worth something?

Because if nothing comes of the last week then the whacking of Don Imus was just another somewhat tasteless pop culture media moment.


===========================================================

With all the back and forth that's been going on in the news, on these talk shows, the different opinons, etc. I thought that this writer summed it up pretty well.

Lets ban Hip-Hop.

Come on, its not gonna happen...and despite what many old people on these boards think, you know what the effect of the music and "degrading" will have on people?

Nothing.

Remember that hippie music shit in the 1960s, with its glorification of narcotics and defying authority? What was the effect on those same old people anyway? For the most part, they were with the times, but grew out of it. We all do.

Now anti-semitic lyrics, that shit shouldn't stand though.

DC:

I'm afraid that your last sentence is a vision of the future.

I love it how people are actually saying rap is degrading.

The latest fallout: the Governor of NJ was in a severe car accident on his way to a meeting with Imus and the Rutgers team. He was very badly injured, with numerous broken bones, and his broken leg required surgery (and will require two more over the next few days). He's also on a breathing tube until he can breathe on his own.

That poor man. I hope he will be ok.

So then let's call a spade a spade. If I use the word n.igger, its because that person IS a n.igger, whether they be black or white or somewhere in between.

The Black Panthers strike again!

I listen to rap music. I like a lot of rap songs. I don't think that it's fair to generalize rap music as a whole as being degrading. It's like saying that because of what Imus did all radio personalities degrade woman or are racists. People shouldn't generalize like that. At the same time you cannot deny that some rap artists degrade woman. There are rap artists out there that do not degrade woman and there are rap artists that do degrade woman in their songs.

Where is Patrick? Isn't he our resident Tupac philosopher?

You mean six-pack philosopher.

I was wondering the same thing the other day.

Is that like Harry Pothead and the Philosopher's Stoned?

I recall a few years back when some city councilman/alderman somewhere used the term "n.iggardly" when warning about how freely the city spent money. Guess what? He had to apologize to the black community (not sure, but he may have even ended up resigning). I thought it was getting pretty ridiculous then. But now, insanity has reached new heights...or, should I say, lower depths??

I saw that before in my afternoon newspaper! Incredible. They say that he cannot even talk and can only communicate a yes or a no. They've also reported that he was not wearing his seatbelt.

Correct Snake. I can't believe that there are people in America that were so damn stupid that they didn't know the meaning of that word which, basically, means stingy.

Ok, say that to someone specific (no broad group or generalizations now) that you think is one -- right into his/her face and then report back to us! Deal?

The couldn't look it up in the dictionary and see that is what he meant?

Ridiculous how...because he had to apologize for using an obviously racist term? Spending money "niggardly" reeks of ole Bob Ewell from To Kill A Mockingbird if you get what I mean.

Dave Chappelle's THE NIGGARS.

"My my, our son sure has those Niggar lips!"

The word "niggardly" is a legitimate word. Its roots and meaning are completely separate from the racial slur that sounds like it.

It has fallen into disuse most likely because of the similarity to the slur, but it is a legitimate adjective meaning miserly.

Snake, your story reminded me of a hotly contested local election many years ago that I've heard about. The contest was up for grabs until one candidate said openly of his opponent, "he metriculated at the State College, and he masticates three times a day."

The electorate in their ignorancevoted for the misleading candidate overwhelmingly as they didn't want to elect a sick pervert who went to college and has three meals a day.

I just heard Dick Gregory on the Joe Scarborough Show say that Imus might have said it in order to break his contract so that he could go to another outlet.

Way to go Klydon.

Couldn't Imus just call his bosses at MSNC or CBS assholes?

That would get him cut, and without the publich thrashing.

Al Sharpton would be fine. Then Ted Kennedy. The list goes on and on.

After all, our culture has been desensitized to these words, unless of course it is a white person saying them.

I said this from day 1.

Explain to me though why Imus would care to go sign a big money contract...isn't he already a multi-millionaire? He's nearly 70...at this point, I don't think his show is necessarily about the money.

As the dust is settling in the aftermath of the firing, I think Imus may come out of this better than ever. First, Americans are pretty forgiving, and in time the public will realize that his firing - even though there was no place for his comments - was an extreme punishment. He can allow himself to be portrayed as a Christ figure, sacrificing his livelihood for our sins, phobias, discomforts about race, etc. He'll probably have a half dozen offers before he can sit his wrinkled butt down on his ranch.

Yeah, but the councilman should've known better. You just can't use ni**er nowadays. It absolutely is a double standard, but still, he should've known he would catch shit from people.

See DC. I agreed with you then and I believe those reports may just have some merit now.