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The Flap Over Don Imus

I don’t get it

Ok — that’s not exactly true. I get it in the sense that there are a lot of perpetually outraged people running around that are offended by, well, everything.

I just don’t get why Don Imus is garnering so much outrage.

So, Don Imus started off by calling the women’s basketball team from Rutgers “nappy-headed ho’s“. Which truly is offensive in almost every situation and instance. And then in the course of trying to apologize, he called Rev. Al Sharpton and another black guest “you people” (yikes).

But let’s stop and look at the few situations when it’s not 100% offensive:

  • IF Chris Rock or Carlos Mencia made the exact same remark — or called any other group of black women “nappy-headed ho’s”. The crowd would feign shock, and then laugh out loud (literally, not in that juvenile LOL-chatroom-way).
  • IF Ludacris or 50 Cent call their bitches “ho’s” (or just call them “bitches” for that matter), their record goes platinum. Like this song from Ludacris, aptly and succinctly titled, “Ho“:

You gotta run in your pantyhos
Even your daddy knows
that you suckin down chocolate like daddy-o’s
You hos are horrible, horrendous
On taxes ya’ll writin off hos as dependents
I see tha ho risin
it aint surprisin
its just a hoasis
with ugly chicks faces
but hos dont feel so sad and blue
cuz most of us niggaz is hos too

Or this lyrical masterpiece from 50 Cent, titled “Surrounded By Hoes“:

Everywhere I’m at everywhere I go, I stay surrounded by hoes
Even when I’m tryin to be on the low, I’m recognized by hoes
Man, its gotta be cause of the dough, its got to be cause of the dough
Cause the game sure wasn’t like this before, it wasn’t like this before

They get away with it because 1) They are entertainers and it’s part of their shtick, 2) because, well, it’s protected speech (vulgar, but protected), but mostly 3) because they are black (or a joke-stealing Mexican).

So, Imus appears to be covered by #1 and #2 above. But he’s white. So we have to march out the Rev. Al Sharpton, we have to have boycotts, marches in the streets, some death threats, and a 2-week suspension.

Because Imus is a white entertainer trying to pull of black material.

IF calling black women “nappy-headed ho’s” is offensive (and make no mistake about it, it is — I’m not defending what Imus said), then it should always be offensive no matter who said it or what the context.

I’ll get all “riled up” about Imus using the slur like the rest of the Blogoshpere the moment I hear the Rev. Al Sharpton criticize Ludacris and 50 Cent in the same way.

__________

OTHERS:

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 | Trackback |

18 Responses to “The Flap Over Don Imus”

I really begin enough a lot of comments here with: “Are you serious?”

If, for example, I was over at your house and said: “Man, your wife is a bad cook!” I imagine I’d be on the curb in two minutes.

On the other hand generations of comedians have made careers making fun of their wives and their cooking.

The principle is pretty simple: I can make fun of my own people- you can’t. Your soapbox about a double standard flies in the face of common experience.

In any case, you cite rappers who have been criticized for their portrayal of women.

Left by Preston on April 10th, 2007 at 10:25 am

I’m so sick of hearing about people being offended.

I don’t like what the man said, but that’s his free will. Has has every right to be an ignorant, biased, narrow-minded, racist idiot.

This world has become too politically correct. If you don’t like what you’re hearing, turn the channel.

Left by kw on April 10th, 2007 at 12:40 pm

It’s called taking a stand. If someone is a racist, sexist jackass he should be called out as one. If he doesn’t want to listen to those criticisms he can turn the channel.

Left by Preston on April 10th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

If someone is a racist, sexist jackass he should be called out as one.

Ok, I’m calling out both Imus and Sharpton for being racists (and jackasses).

Left by Robbie on April 10th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

It’s either offensive or it’s not.

Sister Toldjah, a black woman, points out the same thing here:

I just find it interesting that Imus’ comments can generate this much controversy and outrage and calls for his firing, yet such incendiary commentary coming from rappers black AND white in the form of ’song lyrics’ fly to the top of music sales lists, garner Grammy nominations, and in some cases win Grammy awards?

Left by Robbie on April 10th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

i dont think you would ever see a hypocritical Shaprton going after Snoop Dogg. The guy is a self described pimp, but because he’s black and he makes money, Sharpton would never get in the way of another black man making money at the expense of women.

Left by chris on April 10th, 2007 at 6:33 pm

Speaking as a black woman, I did not find Don Imus’s comments offensive. I just laughed. I will continue to watch Don Imus show.

I am shocked by this purported/manufactured outrage by Jesse and Al. I refuse to call them “Reverend” because they are false and are not true Christians because true Christians must forgive and live by the Word of God completely.

I really think that Jesse and Al’s PR outrage over this is so hypocritical. This is a shakedown. Why are they not going after the companies that put out the garbage music of rappers? Rappers spew demeaning things about black women all the time. Jesse and Al say that the rappers are wrong as well but I have not heard or seen Jesse and Al going after these record companies with the fierce intensity that they are doing against Don Imus. I have not heard or seen these self-appointed “leaders” go after BET and its continual showing of videos that put black women in the worst light. BET and the rappers are the outrage. Do Jesse and Al’s organizations hire lawyers to represent thousands of single black mothers who do not receive child support from the fathers of the children? So how did Jesse and Al become the defenders of Black women?

Jesse and Al do not focus their energies on the moral decay in Black America: money-hungry preachers, sexual immorality, high illegitimacy rates, criminality, and low desire for educational achievement among teenagers. I guess the reason why Jesse and Al are not focused on the moral decay in Black America is because they are morally corrupt themselves. Does not Jesse have a child out of wedlock? Did not Jesse commit adultery? What about Al has his comments about white and Jewish people?

How did Jesse and Al become the paragons of virtue/moral authority? Why must Don Imus and the rest of mainstream society grovel at the feet of these idiots/wolves? Jesse and Al do not possess moral authority.

Sadly, I think that Jesse and Al’s campaign to exile Don Imus will cause a backlash because everybody, Caucasian, Black, Hispanic or Asian, can clearly see the hypocrisy in this and begin to question why black rappers with their horrific lyrics are celebrated and glorified in Black America but one white guy with a joke, nothing but a joke, must be forced to suffer and lose his career over this.

This is so laughable and ridiculous.

Left by Kim on April 10th, 2007 at 8:47 pm

If people are going to claim that Al Sharpton should be taking a stand against violence and misogyny in rap music as well would it be so much trouble to research if he already has?

Maybe start by googling: sharpton rap violence, and get over 100,000 results. Or google: sharpton, rap, misogyny and get 11,000 results and this article:

THE HIP HOP GENERATION
by Rev. Al Sharpton

I had a discussion with a few rappers a while back, and I asked them
why they use so much profanity and are so misogynistic in their music.

“Rev, we’re like a mirror to society,” one of the rappers said. “We
are merely reflecting what we see.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I use a mirror to correct what’s
wrong with me,” I told them. “I don’t look in the mirror to see my
hair messed up and my teeth need brushing and just walk out of the
house that way. I use the mirror to fix me.”

This hip-hop culture must use their music, their influence to correct
what’s wrong, not to continue to perpetuate what’s wrong, not continue to promote what’s wrong. They have the power to do that. And if they really want to have an impact on society, they must change their focus and show America the best of us instead of the worst.

Left by Preston on April 11th, 2007 at 6:43 am

Wow. That’s scathing!

I’ll wait for the Sharpton-paid attornies, and the calls for boycotts, and for heads to roll, and for people to get fired first.

Left by Robbie on April 11th, 2007 at 8:36 am

I could care less about Al’s discussion with rappers. Where is the change? There is none. Why? Rappers do not care about Al’s concerns because Al is not an economic threat to them. Al is not confronting the employers of these rappers to void their contracts.

Have any of us heard of any record labels terminating the contracts with these rappers for the lyrics that degrade black women?

Left by Kim on April 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pm

i dont ever remember the NAACP roaming the streets after hearing what Snoop Dogg did to his ho’s. Yet checking CNN.com, the NAACP was, of course, in the streets, yelling for Imus to lose his job.

Left by chris on April 11th, 2007 at 5:38 pm

Well, Snoop may be looking at some mandatory prison time.

Left by kma on April 11th, 2007 at 6:25 pm

It looks like Jesse and Al won. We have witnessed the great shakedown of MSNBC at the hands of Jesse and Al. These guys are masters at their craft!! I must applaud them for being such wonderful hustlers.

Well, I will sit back and see how the demise of Don Imus show will improve the conditions of Black America.

Due to the removal of the Imus show, I expect to hear all new rap music glorifying black women; no more black children out of wedlock; see all black mothers with wedding rings on; hear of great academic achievements among all black teenagers, regardless of economic status, across the country; no black guys standing on the corners during the day; never hear degrading words about black women ever again; BET off the air; no more pregnant black teenage girls; huge college enrollment among young black men across the country pursuing degrees in business/finance, political science, engineering, math, and science; watch segments on televison profiling hundreds of black teenagers achieving perfect scores on the SAT; no more black strippers; interviews of rappers on TV and in print, celebrating marriage, Lord Jesus Christ, chastity, morality, and living by the Word of God (the Bible); and no black poverty.

Left by Kim on April 11th, 2007 at 6:47 pm

BET off the air?

Left by Preston on April 12th, 2007 at 3:26 pm

*Edited by poster for vulgarity*

Screw the “Reverend”Al Sharpton, that race baiting jerkoff.

Wheres the 345, 000 dollars that he was ordered to pay for slandering the Dutchess County Prosecutor during the whole Tawana Brawley fiasco… 7 mos of medical examinations, witness interviews, concluded that no such crime was committed, and that all 4 of them (Maddox, Sharpton, Mason, and Brawley) were lying through their teeth.

Just like that stupid jerkoff starts a march sayin crap like “We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business.” when someone wants to buy out a business thats going under to begin with.

Then, when a “brother” flips out and burns it down to the ground, good ole’ Al runs and hides like a little *****.

Oh yes, and we cant forget the slang “diamond merchants” - a term coined by good ole’ “Reverend” Al Sharpton, to describe Hasidic Jews during the funeral that was the precursor to the Crown Heights Riots

Thats nothing to say of the MILLIONS of cd’s that are already out there, that are being sold in the US and abroad, which, by comparison, reaches a HELLUVA bigger audience than some morons radio show thats broadcasted in the US.

(Think about it - millions upon millions in overseas cd sales, where as Imus’s show is broadcasted in the US.)

You have millions of cd’s being sold EVERYWHERE that talk smack like “smacking bitches & ho’s” or “fuckin that ho doggystyle” or whatever other crap… but no, not a peep from Sharpton about that, right?

He needs to join Johnny Cochran feeding the maggots.

And don’t even get me started on that adulterous jerkoff Jesse Jackson.

Left by Vinny Boombatz on April 12th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

MSNBC and CBS execs are pussies, and the execs of their advertisers — easily cowed and kow-towing to vocal bullies with their own idea of racism [ok if black, banned if white], sexism [ok unless an old white man says it]. The use the cult of the VICTIM and the threat of boycott to cow these cowards. But they don’t make those threats against the music channels that play vile, violence-mongering, sexist, racist, and as to the visuals, most depict women as “hos” or booty-pieces of ass.

Cut me a break: Two very insulting words; less than a second to say; followed by days of apologies. No matter — death penalty demanded by the PC police, Sharpton/Jackson– who, btw, are very selective in whom they choose to prosecute — and delivered by gutless, “sensitive” executives who do not have the balls to stand behind their decisions to run shows like Imus in the first place.

Left by khound on April 14th, 2007 at 8:04 am

Don imus attacked this girls witthout any provaction from them or anyone connected with them and on national tv or was radio called a bunch of 18-20 girls girls for WHAT REASON?

i’M STARTING TO GET SICK OF WHENEVER A OLDWHITE GUY GETS CAUGHT BEING RACIST AGAINST BLACKS, SOMEONE TRIES TO BLAME IT ON HIP-HOP.

An Old haggle white guy attacks a bunch of young black girls and people to try to blame it on hip hop. what the hell

Left by jan on April 14th, 2007 at 11:01 am

Are white people tring to start a race war, first that loser Kramer from seinfield and now this old jackass, weren’t we mean’t to be fighting the terriosts

Left by Bobby on April 14th, 2007 at 11:14 am

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