I could not agree with you more!! It will take many of us to register our outrage and disapproval, though, for anything o be done. There is no way the comments were a joke or done for shock value. They are words of a racist and someone who has no regard for females. Everyone is certainly entitled to their 'free speech,' but let's not pay the guy unbelievable amounts of money to be a vulgar racist an sexist!!
You know this is something that should not even be talked about, The guy needs to be fired and thats it.
Someone said that if a black entertainer had said those words we would not be having this conversation, and to a point that it true.
Look at it this way, how many of us had some bad or negative thing's to say about our parents?, now if someone you didn't know said those same things about your parents how would you feel? It's the same thing only on a racial, political, and religous level.
Here is another way to look at it. If your child does something wrong, do you disipline them?, Now if your kids did the same wrong thing, could I disipline them?????????? I don't think you would allow me to.
Thanks for providing the number for WFAN. I'll be making a call, as well. What Don Imus said has sickened me. These young women-- college students and athletes no less-- did nothing to deserve to be characterized in such a vile way. Nothing.
Enough is Enough! We are sick and tired of apologies! If a black commentator made a remake ON AIR referring a white college group of women athletes as " Stringy Haired Ho's"....what would have happen to him? Answer honestly.
Imus looks like an old Racist Southern plantation owner. He and his "JIGGABOO" manager should be fired.
I AM SO ANGRY....SO ANGRY. Enough is Enough. Please, let's not let this die, until justice real justice prevail.
Imus was talking like most of the popular culture, famous african americans do, those in entertainment. Why is it OK for african Americans to joke that way but not a shock jock entertainer? why can african american entertainers use different language?
crossing the line has been defined as using the N word, if you're not black. Imus was too crass, he was over some lines, he was trying to be entertaining and funny and he missed badly. but this guy provides valuable insight, interviews, opinions and a good venue for many people to express their views.
stop the crucifixion, the guy screwed up, but if Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock and every rapper can get away with worse, move on from this.. or change the whole society first!
Certainly, people are welcome to disagree with me, but I asked myself one simple question -- How would I have felt if I heard my players, my students, described that way? How would I have explained this to my students, to their parents?
This was not just "using language," Imus was saying this about a specific group of young women who deserved none of it. They are student-athletes representing their school proudly and well. If this is what Imus feels is appropriate, then in my view as an educator and former coach, he does not belong on the air.
For another take on this, Michelle Voepel of ESPN has a great column today about the young women he slandered.
You may listen to music where women are called whores, or you may have whores in your own family, but what Imus said has no place in my world - it is not a part of the popular culture that I'm familiar with, so speak for yourself.
I see his statement as disgusting, mean, and said with the intention of degrading the women on the team.
"It's Wrong, But Everyone Does It" is a cheap and lazy argument. Like Imus' statement, its time has passed. Saying that everyone does something is an excuse to do nothing about it.
You know, enough is enough. This idiot has been a bad seed since the early '70's and contributes NOTHING excecpt his own self-aggrandizement to people who are CONSTANTLY subjected to his condescending and often profane "editorial" comments
The guys time has LONG passed. GET RID OF HIM, NOW!!!!
Are you people even kidding about this.
Come on, some jackass (any radio host) says a stupid remark, and this insues.
This is getting out of control,
let people be jackasses, then they are judged as jackasses.
All this i'm sorry cr*p is confusing. Seems to me that, "I'm Sorry for what i said" is only said to keep the money rollin' in anyway. so F'em. People have to judge, that's how we weave our way through life.
Let's end this ridiculous double standard for once and for all. The music charts are littered (an all too appropriate term) with hip-hop artists who make a living spewing some of the most demeaning and misogynistic lyrics you will ever find, and yet no one says a word. Kanye West says "George Bush doesn't care about black people"; The Dixie Chicks tell an audience "We're embarassed the president is from Texas". And yet the three white girls are the ones receiving death threats. The Wayans brothers can make a film called "White Chicks", but imagine the uproar if the Olsen twins did a film in blackface. Was Imus wrong in saying what he did. Of course, he was - you would have to be as ignorant as he is to think otherwise. Should he be fired, however? My answer to you is 'hell no'. Until self-righteous hypocrites such as Al Sharpton are prepared to confront that segment of the community which does nothing but help propagate these negative stereotypes, why should Imus be held to this higher standard? Get over it people. Oh, and by the way, I'm black, so spare me your lectures.
Hugh, if you're Black, then why do you think Al Sharpton has to do something about this Black population you mentioned? I've never heard a Black person say Al Sharpton is responsible for the Black race before. Why would you say that?
And why would Al Sharpton have to do anything before someone ELSE is punished for doing something wrong? Are you applying the Al Sharpton Test to Don Imus? I'm Black, and I've never heard of this nonsense.
Does every bad behavior get a pass, regardless of what people do, because you hate Al Sharpton? That's illogical. If you dislike Sharpton, then go dislike him or obsess over him. But he has nothing to do with Imus' choice to say what he did.
OR, to put it in language that you will approve of: IMUS admitted he was wrong. Does that make it legitimate now? Imus said he was wrong. So, forget Sharpton. Deal with the facts before you, not some cowardly argument that points a finger at everyone except for the person who called those young women whores = Don Imus.
Imus isn't connected to Sharpton, the Dixie Chicks or anybody else. When the Dixie Chicks won a Grammy, they didn't also give one to Imus. When Sharpton marches in the winter, Imus doesn't also catch a cold. LOL
Stick to the subject at hand, Hugh. If Imus did something good, you wouldn't give Sharpton the credit, so when Imus does something bad, you can't give Sharpton the blame.
One more thing, Hugh: I was trying to think of a rap song where women are called whores, and I couldn't. Then it hit me - the word "whore" is never even played on the radio - no curses or words like that are.
So, if you HEAR any music that is littered with curses, you're buying that music yourself - and if you buy it, you like it. And if you DON'T hear it, then what are you complaining about? The CHARTS are littered with it? Are you the purchase police? If you aren't listening to the songs yourself, how do you know what the words are?
If you claim you've heard those words on the radio, you must have been listening to IMUS (or singing karaoke). And we do agree on one thing: Imus is LITTERING the airwaves with it.
I have heard so many black people say that Al Sharpon DOES NOT REPRESENT THEM!!! They are very confused why he is constantly trying to reach for an excuse (yes, an excuse) to be offended. Has anyone heard of Tom Leykis? He has a radio show out of L.A. that basically degrades women on an every day basis. He convinces his listeners that single moms are nothing but "booty calls" and that it is okay to trick a woman into having an abortion. It is an utterly insane concept to have him on the radio, preaching to so many penetrable minds, but, there's one simple fact everyone is overlooking...WE LIVE IN A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY WHERE WE CAN SAY WHATEVER WE WANT. Our beloved men and women are going overseas in mass numbers to try and defend a very minute iota of freedom (in the scheme of things) that was attacked one Sept 11th. Remember when that happened? That morning...no one was thinking about stupid racial "slurs" or frivolous lawsuits (pretty much the same concept, unless you are that one lawyer that defended the infamous attempted shoe bomber who tried to blow up an airplane. That lawyer, I am convinced, is the antichrist). EVERYONE I knew was deeply, to the core, concerned for our country's future, our loved ones, friends of our loved one's friends. What a terrible, terrible thing to happen. But how beautiful to see a country of 300 million people unite. 300 million people...and nearly everyone united for a purpose, a cause. Please don't forget our Constitution. Please don't forget the principles our WONDERFUL country was founded on. Yes, certain concepts have changed, and for the better (no more racial segregation, women voting, etc.), but remember those basic principles set forth. The most important was Freedom of Speech. I disagree with many beliefs that are anti-family and anti-society, but that is the beauty of this wonderful nation. And you know what...I'll get over it. And so will you. Don't let the media dictate how you feel about some random shock-jock's stupid comment. Realize the news is one big ratings-driven reality show,and get over it. Move on. Instill the values you believe you should in your children. Isn't it nice to have that option?
Just wondering: if one of your students said something like this, as an educator what would your initial reaction be? Get rid of him or educate him?
Because I always wonder in these cases: what exactly does firing accomplish? Besides appease the mob, that is?
No doubt Imus is a first-rate pompous jerk and what he said was wrong. But wouldn't it be better if guys like this were chastened, educated, reformed, and CHANGED? So that both them AND their listeners can learn from this? Instead of them just packing up and taking their hate-show on the road somewhere else, never having changed their nasty feathers?
Because you know that always happens: they pop up somewhere else after some lower life-form hires them, and they're even more disgruntled and fired up than they were before.
Here's the thing, clearly for a student who made a mistake like this once, we would view this as a teachable moment. A student who made this mistake twice, we would again work with this student... however, if we had a student who over and over publicly used racist and sexist language to demean their classmates, we would discipline the child to the point where, if the student refused to look to examine and change their behavior, we may have to look to find another school.
And that's the thing... this isn't Imus' first offense. This is the latest -- and perhaps most henious -- example of Imus' willingness to really use hateful, racist language in specific attacks on people.
And moreover, Imus is not an 18 year old, and the airwaves may not be the best place for the teachable moment.
But yeah, it does make me sad that we know he'll end up somewhere else.
I just want to say that I am deleting any comments that devolve into personal attack. This is an issue that certainly is passionate and certainly people can disagree, however, comments that attack other commentors personally, instead of living in the world of ideas have no place.
i totally agree with you. its good to hear that others agree... who cares if you dont like it then dont listen. who even listens do him anyways. OMG just let him go n get over it.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I can't disagree with anything you said. But I just don't think that placing him (or anyone else like him) outside of our hearing range fundamentally changes or solves anything.
You may be right that Imus himself is beyond reforming. But I think Constance Rice says it very well in her op-ed: He is just symptomatic of our greater culture.
Regarding Imus and the discipline that was handed out to him, what was incorrect about what Imus had stated about the basketball team? Were there any tattoos on any of the players? Were there any members of the team that had any hairstyle that could be interpreted as “nappy”? Have any of the team members ever been involved in any conduct in their life that one could assess them as acting like a “hoe”? At least Imus did not have a contributing part to the death of another non-convicted victim like Nancy Grace has done several times already.
Nancy Grace was proven wrong again on Wednesday April 11th after the charges were all dropped against all of the Duke Lacrosse players. Nancy was wrong again on all assertions Nancy has made about this case, and she will be facing more lawsuits against herself for the crimes she committed against the non-convictism victims of this case too. Turns out that Howard Stern of the Anna Nichol case is also going to file another suit against Nancy for her crimes of character-assassinations Nancy did against Stern according to his attorney. Even the attorney of Joran VanderSloot of the Natalee Holloway case has mentioned filing another suit against Nancy as well for the crimes Nancy committed against Joran. Better bring your checkbook Nancy, you are going to have to pay hugely on your continued crimes against non-convicted victims. Perhaps it might be cheaper for Nancy to simply stop victimizing victims.
I agree with Imus being fired but we should put an end to certain minority groups getting a free ride, while others continue to be the subject of racial ridicule and disrespect. Where we have seen what happens when you try to offend an African American group, what about the countless insults directed at Arab and Middle Eastern Americans everyday by one local radio host or another in the form of "towel-head" or "raghead", without any consequences or backlash whatsoever.
America should end this double standard.
I completely agree with Mike. Somehow, the war on terror has made it okay for popular culture to subject Arab Americans to racial slurs, and its largely ignored. All humans deserve the same right to dignity in this country irrespective of race.
This sort of constant diet of racism and the support by the white masses for it against blacks( mind you if this had been gay/lesbians, Asian women, hispanic(the new flavor of the month) or middle eastern no one would argue that D.I. should be fired. But somehow blacks should quit their "belly-aching" and self-victimization and get over it.
There have been recent studies that show that racism actually contributes significantly to health problems and stress related illness in blacks. http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Anxiety/minorities_2.asp High blood pressure being one of them. This disease is disproportionately seen in the black community with no rational other then racism being the culprit. That is unbelievably sad that in the 21st century racism is still killing people in the US. That is the biggest reason why I have chosen to live outside of the US. And I encourage other blacks to leave as well...taking their tax and consumer dollars with them...good riddance to a country that is hateful and terminally ill.
I think the particularly unforgiveable part of this tirade of his is that it was not about a nameless group of people, a whole racial category, etc. It was about a small number of indetifiable people that were in the limelight for an amazing accomplishment, making it to the finals. These are girls that work hard, play hard and if they deserve any criticism at all it should be on their basketball skills. These are young women that want to be taken seriously as ball players. Maybe Imus will go the way of satellite radio... who knows, but I guarantee that he will think twice about racially marginalizing young people as a means for ratings.
The real issue here is the worth of advertising. If the brands hadn't decided that they want to use their money to fund a negative message. I think this will be a watershed. In the past if anyone said anything it wouldn't matter (white, balck, green or blue). Sharpton has said absurd things in the past as did many others. After this its going to be very hard for any of these guys to get away with it. Sharpton has not said a thing about DUKE players. Also if the Duke players were African American would he have steped in? The real key is being consistent. Imus was a fool and has said 1000's of mean things in the last 30 + years. He is not novel or unique. The real key is who is going to call out rappers ( the sexist, racist drivel that is there is unmatched)