Two Sides to Imus Story?

[Rhino]

Two Sides to Imus Story?

Monday, April 09, 2007

By Mike Straka

Radio jock Don Imus' comments last week regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team were deplorable, there's no arguing that.

However, the notion that he should quit or be fired over those remarks is questionable.

While I'm not defending Imus for comments — not worth repeating here — during a segment on his radio show, I am a little confused over the outrage coming from the likes of the Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and several more who want the man fired, including The National Association of Black Journalists.

Sure, the above-mentioned individuals and groups have spoken out against gangsta-rap stars and the record labels that profit from such "art" — where rap stars refer to women as much worse on a regular basis in music marketed to impressionable young consumers — they never persist to the point where they say Snoop Dog or Diddy or Jay-Z or Russell Simmons should be fired.

Never. And why is that?

And notice how most of the ire about the Imus incident is directed at Imus himself, and not his longtime radio producer Bernard McGuirk. Is that because McGuirk — when he went on to call the game "jigaboos versus the wannabes" — was quoting from Spike Lee's "School Daze," and any uproar directed at McGuirk would be an indictment on one of the country's leading black directors?.....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,264968,00.html

[Linda Walton]

I'm always surprised that Imus still has a gig to be honest with you. He stopped being funny 25 years ago when I used to listen to him on WNBC. He does look like Skeletor in a cowboy hat when I see him on MSNBC.

[buckeyepete]

I read in the paper this morning that Imus was in the "hot seat" on Sharp-x-2klb's weekly radio show. Said he could never "please you people" and caught hell from Sharp-x-2klb.

Go Imus, don't back down from that "nappy haired ho" pseudo preacher. Ditto for jackoffson too.:finger:

[S-T]

Another manufactured crisis (http://www.conservatibbs.com/?p=27)

We have another manufactured crisis on our hands. Notorious race-baiters Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are up in arms because shock jock Don Imus used a racially-charged term for some black college basketball players.

Is it really surprising that a shock jock would use this kind of language? Doesn’t Imus make his living by offending people? Isn’t that part of his appeal? Should we now expect South Park to tone down the cursing on the show and stop using Jesus as a recurring character?

What is annoying about this story is the lack of sincerity all the way around. Imus is not sorry for what he said; he is upset that it brought more heat than usual and now threatens him economically. If Imus was concerned about offending people, he would not be a shock jock in the first place. His insincere groveling is more offensive than what he said in the first place.

Jackson and Sharpton, meanwhile, could not care less about the offense Imus caused. They are simply using this to get some free time in front of the news cameras. Sharpton managed to get some (completely undeserved) credibility when he ran for President three years ago, as well as some influence in the Democrat Party.

Why is it that every time there is a racially-charged incident, the mainstream media immediately runs to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as if they speak for all black people in America? What have they done to deserve such status? What makes Sharpton and Jackson more qualified to speak on such matters than Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams?

Sharpton is demanding that Imus be “fired” for his remarks. Whether it is appropriate for radio stations to continue to carry his program is something that reasonable people can debate. What is not reasonable, however, is Sharpton’s stated intent to whine and cry to the FCC. Censorship by the federal government is not the answer to offensive commentary by shock jocks. Sharpton has proven himself to be an enemy of the First Amendment and an enemy of America.

What Jackson and Sharpton are doing here is far worse than what Imus said. They are once again intentionally trying to inflame racial tensions to score some cheap political points. Jackson and Sharpton do not want racism to go away, because they thrive on it. If through divine intervention racism disappeared tomorrow, Jackson and Sharpton would be irrelevant. That is the lesson to learn from this non-story.

[Dowple]

The bongo drums are beating. The mau-mauing continues. Imus is a goner. Wait and see. Sharpton ain't gonna shake loose. This silly dust up is being made into a national issue, as big as the Anna Nicole story. Sharpton's got center stage and cannot afford to lose. Meanwhile, Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Iran, North Korea, and the invasion of the US by illegals continues to bubble away . . . and nobody notices.

[Pennville_Bill]

I've made a couple of postings on this topic over the past couple of days:

A man who has made his reputation by being a misanthropic shock jock said something - surprise, surprise - shocking; and because it denigrated both blacks and women, he's being burned at the stake. Never mind the vicious verbal antics visited on white people by the likes of Sharpton, Jackson, Farrakhan or or the curmudgeonly bitchiness of Rosie O'Donut - they're not white men so they don't count and can venomously proselytize what they want with impunity.....

I'm not defending Imus save only to say that fair is fair and fairness sure is lacking w/ this issue. Seems to me a lot of the pots are calling the kettle black. Am I the only one who thinks there's a very rank smelling double standard apparent here?Later, after it was announced that Imus would be suspended from broadcasting for two weeks starting April 15th,

I've never said I wanted Imus off the air. He said what he said; he's responsible for what he said; and the consequences are his alone to bear. Hopefully those consequences will be mitigated by his apologies and contrition. IMHO mitigation would be the proper course of punitive action for anybody claiming to be Christian. Bottom line however is it's his fate and it should be allowed to play out without any outside kibitzing or pandering from the MSM..

I'm just having trouble with the two biggest race pimps in America being the self-appointed arbiters passing judgment over someone else's racist, misogynist comments. I remember Jackson's "Hymie Town" remark when he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidential nomination, and no one should ever forget Sharpton's "Twana Brawley" episode.

Imus will be punished for what he said; right now it appears that will be either a two week off-air suspension, or a permanent banishment from broadcasting. All of which remains to be seen. And IMHO that decision will depend more on ratings and sponsors, as opposed to Jackson and Sharpton getting their collective jockey shorts tied in knots.

But in the short term, Imus should have told the "reverends" (and I use the term loosely) Jackson and Sharpton to both go straight to Hell; don't pass go, don't collect $200.00. He knows what he said; he knows he's going down; he should have grown a set of cojones and stood up to those two opportunistic race mongers, rather than groveling before them. Because the bottom line here is it's not the fact that his remarks were all that bad; if they had been uttered by a Chris Rock, or Eddie Murphy they would have been laughed at, glossed over and forgotten; truth be told material far worse than this is broadcast daily by radio stations playing black recording "artists" and their rap music. No! The true crux of this issue is the remarks were made by a white man and due to a rampant double standard permeating the black community, he's being pilloried for it..........


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[Pennville_Bill]

Another manufactured crisis (http://www.conservatibbs.com/?p=27)

We have another manufactured crisis on our hands. Notorious race-baiters Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are up in arms because shock jock Don Imus used a racially-charged term for some black college basketball players.

Is it really surprising that a shock jock would use this kind of language? Doesn’t Imus make his living by offending people? Isn’t that part of his appeal? Should we now expect South Park to tone down the cursing on the show and stop using Jesus as a recurring character?

What is annoying about this story is the lack of sincerity all the way around. Imus is not sorry for what he said; he is upset that it brought more heat than usual and now threatens him economically. If Imus was concerned about offending people, he would not be a shock jock in the first place. His insincere groveling is more offensive than what he said in the first place.

Jackson and Sharpton, meanwhile, could not care less about the offense Imus caused. They are simply using this to get some free time in front of the news cameras. Sharpton managed to get some (completely undeserved) credibility when he ran for President three years ago, as well as some influence in the Democrat Party.

Why is it that every time there is a racially-charged incident, the mainstream media immediately runs to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as if they speak for all black people in America? What have they done to deserve such status? What makes Sharpton and Jackson more qualified to speak on such matters than Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams?

Sharpton is demanding that Imus be “fired” for his remarks. Whether it is appropriate for radio stations to continue to carry his program is something that reasonable people can debate. What is not reasonable, however, is Sharpton’s stated intent to whine and cry to the FCC. Censorship by the federal government is not the answer to offensive commentary by shock jocks. Sharpton has proven himself to be an enemy of the First Amendment and an enemy of America.

What Jackson and Sharpton are doing here is far worse than what Imus said. They are once again intentionally trying to inflame racial tensions to score some cheap political points. Jackson and Sharpton do not want racism to go away, because they thrive on it. If through divine intervention racism disappeared tomorrow, Jackson and Sharpton would be irrelevant. That is the lesson to learn from this non-story.

:claps::claps::claps::claps::claps::claps:

[Taylor]

Imus was suspended for two weeks for calling the black girls on the Rutgers basketball team "nappy head hoes" and now popular leftist black leaders want him fired. If Chris Rock made the same statement, would the black community want to silence him? No. This is all about race. I don't listen to Imus and I disagree with what he said but he has just as much right as anyone else to his free speech.

[S-T]

In a message to her e-mail list, Hillary Clinton adds her $0.02

Dear Friend,

When our children are young, we teach them to dream big and reach for the stars, and that if they work hard enough they can accomplish anything.

This year the Rutgers women's basketball team defied the odds and lived up to their dreams, providing inspiration to every little boy and girl beginning to pick up a ball or open a book. These remarkable young women reached the pinnacle of success and won the hearts of basketball fans everywhere with their grace, skill, and poise. They are role models deserving our praise -- and our support.

Don Imus's comments about them were nothing more than small-minded bigotry and coarse sexism. They showed a disregard for basic decency and were disrespectful and degrading to African Americans and women everywhere.

Please join me in sending the young women of Rutgers a message of respect and support. Show them that we are proud to stand with them and for them.

http://www.HillaryClinton.com/respect

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[buckeyepete]

"Don Imus's comments about them were nothing more than small-minded bigotry and coarse sexism. They showed a disregard for basic decency and were disrespectful and degrading to African Americans and women everywhere." Quote from above.

Hillery, nothing but a Sharpton/Jackson in 'White face and a skirt.":finger:

[Pennville_Bill]

Someone should call the HildeBEAST a "nappy haired ho".........

[Air-Warrior]

I have been in a cave for 25 years. I never once saw or heard him. I guess that's a good thing.

Wish I could say the same about a lot of libs.

[Rhino]

I've only seen a few snippets. I wasn't impressed. The dude is dry as the Sahara.

[DesertFox]

Hillary, you nappy-headed ho, shut up.

[DesertFox]

And, I agree with S-T: Imus' insincere apologies and transparently phony mea culpas made the bile rise up in my throat and smite the oppressor -- wait a minute, that was another film.

My bad.

[bannerman]

such a month ....such a month ....

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