Don't worry he's not really dead. He'll be back soon enough, probably with a show on Sirius, as Sparky points out. But let's all enjoy his going down in flames while we can.
As you may have noticed, Zeitgeist-y prefers to cover more important, underreported news (like this and this), but the Imus flap is seriously rubbing me the wrong way.
On principle I support any kind of earnest discussion on race in the mainstream press, mainly because it occurs so rarely. But the post-mortem commentary is starting to upset me more than his original remarks. And I'm talking about the coverage I get from my preferred media outlet: milquetoast public radio programming, not Fox or CNN or sensationalist TV news crap.
Let's automatically dismiss these opinions:
He's a good person who made a dumb mistake
He's really really really sorry
What about his charity? It helps black people!
What about freedom of speech?
and other such insightful commentary from people who just don't get it and never will.
By the by, isn't it infuriating how they deflect the heat right back at Al Sharpton? He's got baggage, that's for sure, but Imus' comments have nothing to do with Tawana Brawley or the Crown Heights Riot (said incidents are stuck to him in perpetuity). People fling all sorts of accusations at Sharpton, but most of the time, he just points out what's right under people's noses: racism!
And that's part of what ticks me off. Are we really talking about race or are we continuing to point fingers and tip toe around the issue?
CBS did not fire Imus to do the right thing. It took them over 10 days to can the fucker, and even after he was suspended, he was allowed to participate in that charity radiothon (what a guy). The only reason he was finally fired was because advertisers were fleeing left and right. Do you think CBS executives thought the comments were racist? Perhaps. Did they care? No!
More disturbing are some of the comments I've heard from the so-called liberal WNYC radio audience. So many (white) men called in to say that "nappy" is an unfortunate choice of word, but, really, it's just descriptive. The "ho" part is what got to them. And just as many (white) women said Imus' use of "ho" was unforgivable, an offense to women of all races. But can you separate the "nappy" from the "ho?" Put those two words together and it multiplies the effect of either on its own. Imus meant "nappy-headed ho" and that's exactly what he said.
I find it inconceivable that a grown man would use the word "ho" on a radio broadcast. But let's stay on topic—this is primarily about race. Those callers may mean no harm, but they are ignorant. In this post civil rights era, when whites have embraced hip hop, live amongst a black upper middle class, vote for Barack Obama, and see Ice Cube starring in a remake of an old Cary Grant chestnut, people forget that racism is still alive and kicking. Call me prejudiced, but I think it's just a little bit racist to pretend that racism doesn't exist.
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1 comment:
dude you are so right. it's crazy how much people seem to want to talk about how this is equally bout sexism as it is about racism...ok. yes, but that doesn't make the racism less serious, which is kind of the impression i get from these commentators. it sucks to be a woman, yes, to a shocking degree to this day in the world, but, shit, it sucks way worse to be a black woman. why do you think no one gives a fuck about AIDS anymore in the country??? our own black babies are dull; african ones are cute and need vaccines and rich white mamas with big std-filled lips.
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