Don Imus
Paul in Cannon Beach
4,703 Posts
I am not a Don Imus fan. I guess he is big on the East Coast.
But I am at a loss why Al Sharpton and others are demanding Imus be fired for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos".
Here is the actual conversation that has sparked this controversy:
"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ..."
"Some hardcore hos," McGuirk said.
"That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.
McGuirk is the producer of Imus show. He apparently first used the word "hos" and then Imus responded.
I guess what I dont understand is why Imus gets in trouble for his statement and its OK for rappers like Ludacris and Fifty Cent to sing about "hos" and "niggas".
Imus was wrong for saying what he did. It was insensitive. But I think these rappers are just as wrong, if not more so, for using the very same language. I think it can also be easily argued that rappers have a greater influence over younger people than Don Imus.
If its OK for Ludacris and Fifty Cent to talk about black women as "hos", its should be OK for Don Imus.
Ok, tell me why I am wrong.
But I am at a loss why Al Sharpton and others are demanding Imus be fired for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos".
Here is the actual conversation that has sparked this controversy:
"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ..."
"Some hardcore hos," McGuirk said.
"That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.
McGuirk is the producer of Imus show. He apparently first used the word "hos" and then Imus responded.
I guess what I dont understand is why Imus gets in trouble for his statement and its OK for rappers like Ludacris and Fifty Cent to sing about "hos" and "niggas".
Imus was wrong for saying what he did. It was insensitive. But I think these rappers are just as wrong, if not more so, for using the very same language. I think it can also be easily argued that rappers have a greater influence over younger people than Don Imus.
If its OK for Ludacris and Fifty Cent to talk about black women as "hos", its should be OK for Don Imus.
Ok, tell me why I am wrong.
Comments
Response deleted. He asked--I answered.
If you click on the FAQ icon near the top of the forum page, there's information on general netiquette and what sort of communication is expected on the forum. The following statement from the FAQ pretty well sums it up and is good to keep in mind when posting.
"You already know the kind of language that can offend others. For example, please be careful when joking about someone's gender, age, etc. Yes, we know it's in good fun, but we also know that some people can be offended by these types of comments.
Also watch out for negative statements about racial or ethnic groups, nationality, religion, gender, etc. We don't want to make offensive stereotypes.
We're all adults here, and HR professionals have to have a thick skin. We don't need anyone protecting our sensibilities.
Many of us consider the Employers Forum to be an extension of our workplace, or like a meeting of HR professionals. So we think general business etiquette should apply to the Forum the same as it does in your workplace.
Yes, many HR professionals have thick skins, but we all have feelings, too. We don't want to offend or scare off people who belong here."
I am sure many would like to raise a stink about what some rappers and others say. However, it would probably only make those people MORE popular, and result in their slurs being repeated more often. They are looking for a different kind of respect and popularity.
I hadn't heard what was actually said. If what you say is true, then I can only say that the "ho' remark was really bad, but the "nappy headed" part was where the real racial slur came in. The rest was an insult which could be applied to all women. Both parts require an apology if he wants to remain on the air and respected by anyone. To be obnoxious and cross the line politically is one thing, to do it in a sexist or racist way is quite another.
JMO
Nae
> Commentators continuously call our President a
>liar and tell the American people he can't be
>trusted. ...
>... So there are
>multiple dual standards being applied and one
>side will not recognize their own prejudice but
>readily identify the other side's. Objectivity
>has been replaced by perception.
It's not a double-standard. There is no evidence that the Rutgers women are prostitutes. However, there is plenty of evidence that the president is a liar.
Excellent!!!!!!!!
Elizabeth
Now then, some of our Americans here just happen to be black, some are white, some are Hispanic, some are Bosnian, some are Russian, some are fat, some are skinny, some are pretty, some are ugly, some are pretty ugly, some are young, and some are old (guess who).
Tell me, where did the hyphen come from? How was it decided that it is OK to give someone a hyphen? It somehow says, "OK, you are an American, BUT!" These continued ignorant attempts at political correctness exacerbate the race and color issues.
Our employees of all shapes, sizes, color, and race have red blood running through their arteries, white corpuscles, and blue blood running through their veins. That's right. They bleed red, white, and blue just the same as any other American and they don't deserve to be hyphenated or singled out by any of the numerous ignorant, politically correct, shallow thinking, immature romantics with degrees in French history and renaissance art.
Damn it, Paul, don't get me going!
BUT... we let some people say the same thing and MUCH MUCH worse and Rev. Sharpton isn't demanding they be accountable.
I did an online search of lyrics by Ludacris but honestly I dont think I could get away with posting them.
As for Irie's comments, she is welcome to send them, unedited, to my private mail box. I think my original post is a fair and legitimate question to ask and I welcome any response.
The second set of interviews involved a college professor who has written a book on racial problems in American society. She referred to a number of organizations that were involved in letter writing and other forms of protests to record companies and other sponsors to stop the production and playing of music that is sexist or racist. There are a large number of them, but they apparently do not warrent publicity the way Imus did. (Perhaps if they worked together and focused on the most famous Rapper or sponsor they might be more effective in getting publicity.)
I never listen to Imus anyway, so not listening will not make a difference for me. However, I am glad to hear that the argument that Rappers do it and no one says anything is a false argument. Maybe this stink with Imus will help Rappers see how disgusting such slurs are. I can always hope anyway.
Nae
First lets pause and just savor the irony that this rapper is named Ludacris.
Ok, back to Imus. Imus made a FOUR WORD off hand comment. Ludacris and other rappers create entire albums with repeated uses of the words bitches, hoes, etc.
I believe both Imus and Ludacris should be held accountable for using demeaning language but the outrage against Imus is laughable when Ludacris and others have used much worse language and done it over and over and over and over and over and over, making millions of dollars along the way.
Imus has apologized now and accepted his suspension.
When we will be hearing the apologies of Ludacris? 50 Cent?
So, you have younger people using a language of thier generation (however unpleasant), using it to gain attention, and using it on their own race. All of these are certainly poor reasons and no more acceptable than any other. However, Imus was in a completely different league and that made his statements all the more offensive.
I agree that NONE of them should be using this language. ANY time someone allows such terms as acceptable they hurt all people of color and all women.
Saying "its OK for rappers like Ludacris and Fifty Cent to sing about "hos" and "niggas"" is a false argument. It is not OK. People ARE trying to hold them accountable. Unfortunately, you can't stop people from listening to them anymore than you can stop people from listening to Imus. It is just that 1) his boss and his sponsors are more susceptible to public pressure, 2) Imus can more easily make headlines by being such an idiot, and 3) Sharpton and Jackson are more likely to get publicity calling Imus out than Rappers.
I would like to hear that McGuirk was also disciplined. His comments were just as sexist as the ones by Imus. Is it now ok to be sexist but not racist? Let's hear about that! I seriously doubt if any of this would have happened had that basketball team had been all male.
Nae
Good goal, Imus. How does it feel?
Apparently, his producer McGuirk was able to reach that goal.
And don't forget that Imus has been insulting and offending people of all races, religions, and orientations for thirty years. Its his schtick. I am not excusing it but why are people getting upset NOW?
More irony. Imus will probably emerge from this a better person. But the African-American community will have gained nothing. Zero. Zip. Why? Don Imus isn't their real enemy.
The dragon will be slayed but its not the dragon that is truly decimating entire generations of the African American community.
If you want to know what the real challenges facing African Americans in this country, read a transcript of one of Bill Cosby's speeches.
The Imus scandal is a red herring. A ruse. A deception of the worst kind. A distraction from any real or lasting progress.
Yet, what did he get out of taking that position? Answer - he has been pilloried, chastised, and branded as an "Uncle Tom" by the community he is trying to help.
I have never had the opportunity to hear him live but I know most of his old routines by heart and have heard him speaking on the radio several times.
He has nothing to gain by speaking out. I think he does so because he truly wants to see things change for the better and knows that know one else is saying what needs to be said.
[url]http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/66339.html[/url]
As it stands, Whitlock is about the only thing I don't miss about my years in Kansas City.
Kanye West wrote in "Jesus Walks" to:
"We at war with society, racism, terrorism and most of all we at war with ourselves"
Got to love and I mean loooove the internet.
Elizabeth
Racism in this country wont ever end until we are able to talk honestly and openly about our feelings and experiences that have shaped our prejudices.
We have mistakenly beleived that if we change our language and the words we use it will somehow change how we feel about eachother. Thats backwards. Our prejudices remain. We just are more discrete about it.
We need to change our understanding of eachother and the words we use will change accordingly. We need to learn that we are more alike than we are different. That our shared human story is the same, regardless of skin color.
I live near a large Hispanic family. Their language, customs, and religion are different from mine. But I know that when they tuck their kids in bed at night, their hopes and fears for the world their kids are growing up in are no different than mine.
Imus got fired. A white man was taught the lesson that you can't use the same words that black men use. We are more different than we are the same.
With wary glances, black and white America inched just a bit further from eachother.
It doesnt feel like progress.
I think it has a great message that all of us, regardless of our race, should pay attention to if we ever seek to truly rid ourselves of bigotry.
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/04/13/13sptcol.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild25=TRGdGfrTjSbRvvC6y6y0q4pGdnqntTFBM24TpDZfGGDJVlnGz1Yp!1256805891&UrAuth=`N]NUObNWUbTTUWUXUVUZTZU^UWU_U]UZUaU`UcTYWYWZV&urcm=y
For some reason I can't get the HTML link to work, so you may have to copy and paste.
Sarah
See Post #14.
Honky.
Its also fun to say.
Honky honky honky.
Dang, I just offended myself.
He was very uncomfortable for the next 5 minutes. I love doing that stuff!
Ok, I have read this three..no four times and I still dont know what Elizabetharess is saying.