Is Imus That Important?
Written by Sam on April 11th, 2007Don Imus has uttering insults and ignorance across America’s radio waves for 30 years. There is a reason why people like him, Howard Stern, and others are referred to as “Shock Jocks”. This is what they get paid to do and this is why they have a large audience that tunes in to listen. He has made disparaging comments about blacks before, Jews, women, Christians, everyone. He is an equal opportunity offender.
I don’t know why after all these years “nappy headed hos” has suddenly sparked all of this controversy when he has said far, far worse in the past, but I fully agree with this opinion in yesterday’s New York Daily News:
Imus hosts a radio show and a lot of people listen to it. During a few seconds last week he said something tacky. The show went on, as did life. Black people continued to constitute most new AIDS cases, black men continued to come out of prison unsupervised. And we’re supposed to be most interested in Imus saying “nappy-headed ho’s”?
What creates that hypersensitivity is a poor racial self-image. Where, after all, did Imus pick up the very terminology he used? Rap music and the language young black people use themselves on the street to refer to one another.
What Imus said is lowdown indeed, but so is the way blacks refer to each other. And life goes on.
Street theater is not strength. It saps energy better put to other uses. The focus we’ll be dedicating to the next gaffe sometime in (this time I’ll give myself a little more wiggle room) May will mean that much less commitment to addressing black people’s real problems.
11
PM
Reading that Twanda Carlisle blamed her corruption charges on Don Imus’ racism both made my day, and made me die a little inside.
11
PM
Do you live in Pittsburgh or is Twanda becoming that infamous from sea to shining sea? She’s a waste of space on City Council so whoever her replacement is can only be an improvement.
11
PM
The Duke Lacrosse charges were dropped today. I seriously doubt that Nancy Grace will be suspended for two weeks for her clearly unjustified and equally wrong attacks on white privilige…
11
PM
I’m just addicted to the Post Gazette for its fair and balanced news stories, as well as their objective editorial page. So no, a corrupt, Democratic inner-city councilwoman doesn’t quite get the national press. . .
12
AM
This is a non-issue and no one at Rutgers gives a crap.
12
AM
“This is a non-issue and no one at Rutgers gives a crap.”
But the players all said that they were devastated…
13
PM
That is what they’re programmed to say. In any case, Imus has now been officially fired so that’s that. A dangerous precedent has been set, in my opinion.