Enough with the Apologies
Okay so I've been holding off on commenting on the Rutgers/Imus situation for awhile now. First, I think both the comments of Imus and his producer were despicable. I remember reading the excerpt from the radio broadcast when they talked about the girls looking rough, about all the tattoos, thinking oh here we go with that age old narrow minded view that every woman that plays basketball is a lesbian.
No, Imus stepped even lower. "Nappy Head Hoes!" What were you thinking? Did you even think, or were you trying to be controversial? The reality is I don't care what your motive was. It was idiotic.
I've heard excuses that rap's misogynistic culture makes these types of statements easier to say. You know what I have to say that, bullshit. If a twenty-year old skater punk said it, perhaps that might be within the realms of reason. When a man looking like certain death says it--it's ingrained.
If I hear another person say I'm not a racist I know black people, or I have black friends I'm going to hit someone. You're just a racist that has a few exceptions.
Anyway, I've seen the Revered Al Sharpton (who I'm not necessarily the greatest supporter of--but that is not even the point) galvanize the black community in such a way that saw Imus not only get suspended for two weeks, but also have his show pulled from MSNBC.
Why take a shot at college women that are striving to better themselves. I'm glad that he was stupid enough to say that in public. Hearing things like that makes me wonder what he says about black people in private.
Enough with the apologies. You should of thought before opening your mouth. All the apologies in the world won't take the sting out of what you said. And unfortunately those women will be remembered as much for this scandal as they were for getting Rutgers to the NCAA championship.
I just ask that people try to be considerate. I'll tackle the rap issue in another email. Let's just hope people realize that their jokes are offensive to other people--we've come a long way since minstrel shows and I hate to think that some people will always see us in such derogatory ways.
3 comments:
Imus has been outed for the racist he is. Howard Stern said he used to throw the N word around all the time,most specifically at Robin Quivers.
Im educated and im open-minded but I will say this. Show me someone who isnt prejudice and I will say he is liar. We are all prejudice in one way or another. If you dig deep enough you can find a little intolerancein us all......lol So glad I have a black friend( because according to most people that means im not racist) ha ha ha
I completely agree with you T1. We all have our prejudices. Some of us just aren't aware of it.
I'm glad I have a Jewish friend too. OMG you don't even want to know how both Jews and Christians are depicted in Infidel, not by Ali herself, but everyone around her.
It makes you see that this world is ugly.
Since the time of my original post Don Imus was fired. I can't say that I feel sorry for him, though I question whether it was necessary.
He erred in not immediately requesting the opportunity to apologize to the Rutgers basketball team and the university itself. Instead he apologized to the media, which tells me that perhaps he was trying to placate his alienated listeners or he felt the writing on the wall.
He tried to use the media to put water on the fire, and it ultimately backfired on him--along with his Nappy Headed Hoes comment.
I believe that suspension was warranted. He was fired not because of his inflamatory comments, but because advertisers pulled out.
Seems like a mixed blessing. He's off the air, he's apologized, but their is friction from the firing. You have so many people that instead of dealing with the issue turn it into a chance to take pot shots at Sharpton or to justify Imus' comments by bringing by attacking rap music's lyrics.
Two different issues Meredith Vierra, two different issues.
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