Imus Calls Rutgers Women's Basketball Team "Nappy Headed Hos"

[maycocksean]

He can make fun of catholics and crackers, not to mention just about everybody under the red sun, all he wants. but make a remark which is so flippant and vague to be taken as a direct racial perjorative.......

This is a pathetic discourse we have in this country.

Wake up.

This statement illustrates your ignorance about the most basic dynamics of racism in this country.

Wake up, indeed.

 

[Dreadsox]

I do find it incredibly interesting how we as human beings can be so very quick to reject the goodness in someone because of other character flaws.

I also think once we have targeted someone with a hate label, there is no coming back for them, no matter what they do in the future.

Just a thought. Not a defense of what he said.

 

[yolland]

If one is carelessly tossing around broad-stroke labels like racist or bigot...I agree, and that can actually be a way of falsely simplifying those issues by making them seem more containable than they really are.

However, I still think that to shrug it off (the opposite extreme) is to say the dignity of the people demeaned by it counts for nothing and the cheapening of it is their damn problem.

 

[Dreadsox]

However, I still think that to shrug it off (the opposite extreme) is to say the dignity of the people demeaned by it counts for nothing and the cheapening of it is their damn problem.

I did not mean to sound like I was saying we shrug it off, but Headache is correct, despite this persons flaws, he does actively do things to help make the world a better place.

I think he is guilty of making broad generalizations about groups of people. In the past I have heard him slam Catholics, yet no outrage, why? He makes fun of Evangelicals, yet no outrage, why? I am trying to think of a group of people he has not made fun of.

If we were talking about a person who was running a non satiracle show making the comments, I would take it differently. This is a guy who has made satire his shtick.

Was it a good skit? Probably not. The women's basketball team is not in politics, generally, the group I associate with the show. Should they be off limits, absolutely. And that is where I find fault. These women were being honored for their excellence. Not because of something political or a poor sense of judgement. That would be why I am most disappointed and find it inappropriate.

If it were a politician, black white, Jewish Catholic, or Evangelical Church leader who did something stupid, then, YES satire away.

And I think for me that is where he went wrong. And I believe he deserves a suspension of some sort.

 

[BVS]

and such a blind eye to things standing in the same ballpark as the other.

So true, just look at your comments.

 

[BVS]

I am trying to think of a group of people he has not made fun of.

Anyone he is a part of...

And that's where I find fault in Headache's statements. Is if this was pure comedy he'd include himself in his "comedy". But he doesn't he elevates himself above these things he "makes fun of".

When Ray Mencia pokes fun of the stereotypes of whites, blacks, hispanics it's comedy. When someone stereotypes others to elevate themselves they are indeed a bigot, radio show or not...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I did not mean to sound like I was saying we shrug it off, but Headache is correct, despite this persons flaws, he does actively do things to help make the world a better place.

I think he is guilty of making broad generalizations about groups of people. In the past I have heard him slam Catholics, yet no outrage, why? He makes fun of Evangelicals, yet no outrage, why? I am trying to think of a group of people he has not made fun of.

If we were talking about a person who was running a non satiracle show making the comments, I would take it differently. This is a guy who has made satire his shtick.

Was it a good skit? Probably not. The women's basketball team is not in politics, generally, the group I associate with the show. Should they be off limits, absolutely. And that is where I find fault. These women were being honored for their excellence. Not because of something political or a poor sense of judgement. That would be why I am most disappointed and find it inappropriate.

If it were a politician, black white, Jewish Catholic, or Evangelical Church leader who did something stupid, then, YES satire away.

And I think for me that is where he went wrong. And I believe he deserves a suspension of some sort.

bingo

Anyone he is a part of...

if you actually listened to a lot of his skits, the one person who imus makes the most jokes about is, in fact, imus himself.

 

[ntalwar]

you can label him a racist all you want. you can completely ignore his close friendship with the late bishop g.e. patterson. you can call him an asshole. you can completely ignore that he takes thousands of children suffering from cancer, black children, white children, hispanic children... ALL children... to his ranch, on his dime, as an escape for these suffering young kids. you can call him an anti-semite because he's made jokes about jews. you can completly ignore that he's organized a telethon for sudden infant death syndrome only because someone he worked with, who happens to be jewish, had a child die from SIDS... a telethon that has raised millions of dollars towards research for SIDS.

don imus is a good man who gets paid to push the envelope and pushed it a bit too far. i in no way agree with his comments and think he was wrong to say what he said. but to fire him? no way.

it's amazing how many people are quick to jump on a guy, yet have never listened to him on a regular basis and only really know of him by hearsay. i'd like all of those who are outraged to look into their own souls and ask themselves if they've ever said and/or laughed at a joke that was derogitory towards a group of people... be they blacks, whites, polish, irish, gays, jews... whoever. if the answer is no, and it's an honest no, then you're better people than all of us. if the answer is yes, which most of the answers will be, then i think you shouldn't be so quick to judge.

And Michael Jackson did millions of great things for kids, but was destroyed in the media and by the public. If we judged people by their "overall characters", many criminals would go free. Are the anti-gay comments made by public figures that you start threads about more offensive than Imus' comments?

There's a huge difference between jokes told in private, and those broadcast over the airwaves. The airwaves belong to the people and are regulated by the FCC. So there should be a higher standard for what gets broadcast.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

And Michael Jackson did millions of great things for kids, but was destroyed in the media and by the public. If we judged people by their "overall characters", many criminals would go free. Are the anti-gay comments made by public figures that you start threads about more offensive than Imus' comments?

yes... i do find remarks made in a serious interview to be more offensive than those said by those involved in comedy.

 

[Vincent Vega]

And you don't consider the recipient of those attacks?
As far as I understood it this is not a comedy show, is it? And comedy has its limits, and such a derogatory talk as far beyond these limits.
He seems to be a media professional who is doing radio for many years. So he should be a bit more professional when he is on air.

However, he did apologize, and there is not much more he can do.
So I would't blame him for the rest of his life. You can make stupid mistakes, and he obviously did. It's not ok, but it's also not okay to shred him to parts for this.

 

[BVS]

if you actually listened to a lot of his skits, the one person who imus makes the most jokes about is, in fact, imus himself.

I've listened to him enough, and this may be true. When he IS making fun he may joke about himself, but when he's calling people "ragheads", "hoes", "quota hires", or "fags" he's usually excluding any group he belongs to.

 

[martha]

but when he's calling people "ragheads", "hoes", "quota hires", or "fags" .

He uses this kind of language regularly? And people think he's funny? And he's a "good guy" because he's nice to little crippled children?

Some folks have different standards of good guyness than others do, I guess.

 

[BVS]

He uses this kind of language regularly? And people think he's funny? And he's a "good guy" because he's nice to little crippled children?

Some folks have different standards of good guyness than others do, I guess.

Ragheads and fags, he uses quite a bit, the rest I may have heard only a few times...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

some of the satirical characters on the show may use that language, but to say imus uses those words on a common basis would be a misrepresentation. he does not.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

As far as I understood it this is not a comedy show, is it?

you understood wrong.

 

[martha]

some of the satirical characters on the show may use that language, but to say imus uses those words on a common basis would be a misrepresentation. he does not.

His show, his call, his responsibility.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

is south park a racist show?

 

[ntalwar]

yes... i do find remarks made in a serious interview to be more offensive than those said by those involved in comedy.

I don't believe that "comedy" should provide a shield for offensive comments.

 

[deep]

yes... i do find remarks made in a serious interview to be more offensive than those said by those involved in comedy.

I think Michael Richards tried this argument,
but later accepted that it did not hold up.

 

[Dreadsox]

is south park a racist show?

Hehe.....it depends are you of a conservative mind and enjoy it?

 

[financeguy]

My point above being....

We have such a sensitive nature to certain things and such a blind eye to things standing in the same ballpark as the other.

We as a society bring about uproar to pull out apologies just for the sake of stomping out the small fire.

Who gives a flying fuck?

Don Imus talks about all kinds of issues on his show, from corruption in government to autism in children, he's also a very GREEN friendly program.

Say something flippant, well.......

Fuck this 'ready to be offended' crowd who is interested in NOTHING you have to say up until the point you say something that might be offensive .

Be offended.

Agreed.

 

[martha]

is south park a racist show?

No. Neither is Dave Chapelle.

 

[deep]

Is this guy and his show really worth defending?

Imus' success has often been a result of his on-air barbs.

"That Imus is in trouble for being politically incorrect is certainly not new," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. "He's lived his life in and out of trouble. ... This is something CBS will be watching very carefully."

Recent controversies involving Imus focused on a member of his morning team, Sid Rosenberg, who was fired two years ago after a particularly vile crack about cancer-stricken singer Kylie Minogue. Before that, a racially tinged comment by Rosenberg about Venus and Serena Williams stirred another controversy.

The NABJ cited two other incidents in which Imus himself insulted two black journalists. Imus has called PBS' Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady" and described William Rhoden of The New York Times as "a quota hire," the group said.

Fired White Sportscaster Apologizes For Remarks About Venus And Serena Williams; Gets Rehired - Don Imus - Brief Article

A White radio sportscaster who was fired after he called tennis superstar Venus Williams an "animal" and said that she and sister Serena had a better chance of posing nude for National Geographic than Playboy, recently apologized for his remarks and was rehired.

"I want to extend my most sincere apologies to (them) and to anybody else who was offended by my remarks," New York sportscaster Sid Rosenberg said on the air.

"I am not the type of guy that says things that are laced with hatred and bias," he added. "Unfortunately, things got out of hand ... and I took a couple of days of long, hard thinking." He also reportedly sent a letter of apology to the Williams sisters.

Rosenberg, a sportscaster on radio personality Don Imus' show on WFAN-AM in New York City, was fired after he appeared on the June 5 show and said he found the Williams sisters too masculine-looking. "I can't even watch them play anymore. I find it disgusting. I find both of those, what do you want to call them--they're just too muscular. They're boys."

Rosenberg also said, "One time my friend he goes, `Listen, one of these days you're going to find Venus and Serena Williams in Playboy.' I said, `You got a better shot at National Geographic."

Imus responded during the show by calling Rosenberg "a moron" and "a degenerate."

He was fired immediately but later said his comments were not racist. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he told the New York Post. "When I see women that are muscular, classically boys, then that's how I refer to them ..." Imus later rehired Rosenberg. "It's one thing to say things like that--and occasionally stuff gets said on this program by all of us that is inappropriate--but it's quite another to feel that way," Imus explained in the New York Post.

Imus added that he is convinced that Rosenberg "wasn't expressing any deep-held racist views about Black people being an inferior species."

 

[BVS]

some of the satirical characters on the show may use that language, but to say imus uses those words on a common basis would be a misrepresentation. he does not.

False, I've heard him use this language without any "characters".

 

[BVS]

you understood wrong.

i suppose many who of those who are calling imus a racist now weren't listening to the great interview he had last week with the widow of bishop g.e. patterson.

^ Was that comedy as well?

 

[Vincent Vega]

He might be doing both serious talking and comedy.
But the quotes posted here are no comedy. Nappy-headed hos and so on rather sounds like "Oh, look there, stupid, ugly girls trying to play a man's game. How could they?"

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

very simple... if you think he's a racist, a bigot... don't listen.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

No. Neither is Dave Chapelle.

why? it's filled with racist, sexist, bigoted speach... why is it when imus is making jokes it's racist, but when it's done with a cartoon character it's just satire? who gets to draw the line?

 

[fly so high!]

My point above being....

We have such a sensitive nature to certain things and such a blind eye to things standing in the same ballpark as the other.

We as a society bring about uproar to pull out apologies just for the sake of stomping out the small fire.

Who gives a flying fuck?

Don Imus talks about all kinds of issues on his show, from corruption in government to autism in children, he's also a very GREEN friendly program.

Say something flippant, well.......

Fuck this 'ready to be offended' crowd who is interested in NOTHING you have to say up until the point you say something that might be offensive .

Be offended.

WOW.......Congrats Inner El Gollum??!! After just reading ONE of your posts you have managed to get on my IGNORE list...that is certainly a first.........be offended

 

[anitram]

I still don't really understand why anyone would listen to him. Certainly you can hear any of these political guests he has on about 6 separate networks per day, not to mention on shows like Stewart or Colbert, not to mention print interviews, Larry King and whoever else is out there.

It isn't as if none of them will appear elsewhere. So unless you find him independently witty or something, I just don't get why anyone would want to listen to him either.