Just about everyone agrees that when Don Imus described the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos”, he was being insulting and insensitive. First of all, these are young women - women who are in college and playing sports. They could be any of our daughters. Secondly, it was simply a stupid thing to say. However “nappy-headed” is not a phrase reserved solely for African Americans, and “hos” is not a word that is used only to mean “whores.” It was tacky, but it wasn’t an offense worthy of losing his job and causing hardship to all the scores of radio stations that depend on his show to make a living.Â
He apologized - sincerely - repeatedly - immediately. He met with the players and their parents and coaches for hours to discuss how he could make amends for saying something so thoughtless. At first he was suspended from his job for a couple weeks. And that was sufficient for uttering two offensive words. TWO words.  But that wasn’t enough of a blood-letting for the wolves that were gathering to end free speech.
It does no good to compare what Imus said with what other people say on a regular basis. It does no good to compare what Imus said with what other people have done in the past. What is helpful is to look at the situation by itself. Imus said TWO WORDS that people find offensive. He said them in the context of a radio show in which insulting people is the norm and where the envelope of good taste is pushed continuously. That’s the kind of humor that his radio show is built upon.
The disturbing thing here is that censorship and intolerance have become so mainstream - depending on WHO and WHAT is being censored and not tolerated. We are being told which words we can use, and which words we can’t use. Some people can use certain words, but others can’t use the very same words.  One group of people can be insulted, but another group cannot. One offensive word is okay, but another isn’t. A group of people can put so much pressure on a radio and TV network that they can get someone fired within a few day of uttering TWO words that they feel are offensive. The radio and TV networks were absolutely spineless in their reaction to pressure.
One thing that I found amusing was the Rutgers player who claimed she was “scarred for life” by Imus’ remark. Have mercy, that child has a lot to learn about life if being part of a group of people who were called “nappy-headed hos” by a shock jock scarred her for life. She won’t last long in the real world.
I listen to the Phil Valentine show on my way home from work most days, and one of his favorite lines is “Let the market decide.” If enough people find Don Imus offensive, then eventually “the market” will decide that his show is no longer profitable enough to remain on the air. By the way - Phil says he has been called “nappy-headed” himself - as his photo on his website can attest.
There are things said on radio and television daily that are offensive to me. I change the channel. There are people on television that I find crude and enormously offensive. I don’t watch or listen to them.Â
Consider these books:  Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron,  Nappy Hair 101 by Ayana Hardin,  Nappy by Charisse Carney-Nunes, Nappy Journey by Sharon D. Chappelle, Happy to be Nappy by Bell Hooks., and Don’t Worry, Be Nappy! by Jeffrey Bradley.  If “nappy” is such a racially offensive word, why are these books still in bookstores? Why are such “racially offensive” books intended for children? Why are such offensive books being allowed to be sold in stores?  Why are such racially offensive books being marketed to children? The reason is because almost certainly the authors of the above books are African-American, and as long as it is a black person uttering the “racially offensivee” words, it’s okay.
Black rappers can call women hos - and that’s art.  However, a white radio personality can make a joke using the word, and he’s fired and his career is ended. There’s a double standard, and there is a lot of bullying going on by African American leaders who are, in truth, more interested in getting themselves on TV and in the public eye than they are offended by what Don Imus said.Â
There’s a radio station in California that will be airing “The Best of Imus” not only as a protest, but also as a financial decision. Imus’ show provided income for many people.Â
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - A small radio station intends to run the “Best of Imus†next week in defiance of Don Imus’ firing.
Fred Lundgren, chairman of 1,400-watt KCAA (1050 AM), said the station would start the series Monday with the program that wound up getting Imus cashiered.
“I’m not going to let networks dictate to me who I run on my station,†said Lundgren.
The station, which has broadcast the shock jock’s morning show since 2003, also plans to air mostly supportive listener mail and e-mail reacting to the controversy.
The station can be heard in communities east and south of Los Angeles. The Imus material also will be available on the station’s Web site at www.kcaaradio.com Monday.
Calls late Thursday to Westwood One Inc., which syndicated Imus’ morning program, were not immediately returned.
Lundgren said the motive for broadcasting the Imus reruns is in part financial.
“I hate to say it, but without Imus, we’re pretty much toast,†said Lundgren, adding: “What Imus did was deplorable, inexcusable, but it shouldn’t end the career of a man who has done so much good. This is an overreaction beyond anything I’ve ever seen in radio.â€
I wonder if all the perpetually offended folks who are so eager to grab the spotlight with their pained and offended words ever took into consideration the scores of other folks - plain hardworking people - who will lose money and possibly their livelihoods as a result of Imus’ show being cancelled.
I’m not worried about Imus. He will be reincarnated in another job somewhere - IF he wants to get back into radio or television. I’m sure he has enough wealth to not ever go back to work, if that’s his choice. This isn’t about Imus. It’s about free speech - and about people who aren’t concerned with fairness but with revenge and retaliation.
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April 14th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Hey! What’s that white girl doing in the picture? Imus wasn’t apologizing to her!
April 14th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Just imagine…if he would have sung it in a hip-hop or rap fashion he would have won a Grammy award !
April 14th, 2007 at 10:45 am
If one of the black members of the Rutgers team actually felt that Imus’ comment was no big deal, do you think she would be able to say so? If you think so, you’re not in touch with reality. The entire Imus affair is like a Kabuki dance. A series of artifices.
TMS: Intolerance goes both ways. There are certainly people who feel it’s no big deal who are afraid to speak up.
April 14th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I have a solution to all of Don Imus’s problems.
:
New Name- Rev. Don Imus
All will be forgiven!!
Amen
TMS: Good solution! I think it would work.
April 14th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Consider that both Imus and his wife rightly pointed out that popular brands of house cleaning agents contained toxins and known carcinogens. Those are mega-industries run by powerful corporations. They spoke repeatedly about the possible connection between the mercury in vaccine preservatives and autism repeatedly. The pharmaceutical industry in the US is an all-powerful industry. Imus repeatedly called Hillary Clinton - “the devil”, and the Bush administration “war criminals”. There were many forces out there who wanted to silence Don and Dierdre Imus. It’s a bit simplistic to label the problem “Left-Wing Intolerance”.
April 14th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I think the Don Imus innocent is one of the wake up calls that people of this nation will recieve. I will say right out, I am not a racist, I am just an observer. And what I observe is that the racism is still alive, just drastically changed. A white man lost his job for a racial slurr. Black rappers become rich and famous for crude and racist “music”. This may show people how out of control things are and possibly lead to a change.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
April 14th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Your post reminds me of a savage controversy about 10 years ago when a white teacher read Nappy Hair to her elementary students, and several parents were irate about it. I’m glad to hear that book is still in print!
April 14th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
April 14th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
I was a regular listener to the Imus program for years, since about 1984. Although he has the reputation as a “shock jock” his program has evolved considerably over the years. I would call him provocative now but not generally shocking. Until he made that comment about the Rutgers team. I was watching then and I was very uncomfortable.
The feeding frenzy was a result of how much the power elite hated him for constantly poking fun at them and talking about things they didn’t want discussed; including Sharpton and Jackson. And when Don got his fangs into something - or someone - he was unrelenting. We’ve lost his voice and maybe his extensive chartiy work and its gonna hurt.
I would have suspended Done and Benard for up to three months without pay. He had no right to attack people who are not public figures or the high and mighty and he has occassionaly in the past pushed too close to the line. He knows the profound effect on those girls now.
Plus he needed to finally purge those elements from his program as they were inconsistent with the rest of his program and with the person he’s become since he sobered up. He would never had wanted the kids at that ranch to hear him talk like that - that’s whey he was so humiliated. He just had the “ah-ha” moment too late and in the worst place.
Don’s past comments have been published with no context, including segments from “skits” and parodies as if he said them in some racist rant. But we all know what that’s about, don’t we? I’m really going to miss that show and I hope he will take a breath for awhile and then come back with his middle finger blazing!
April 19th, 2007 at 5:24 am
May 4th, 2007 at 9:06 am
quite Pc indeed