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

[deep]

I like the idea of him having to go to the games and promote the team and do features about them, that's much better than firing him.

He would lose his audience.

 

[yolland]

Now a professor in African American Studies Mr. Kamau Kambon spoke out against congress and white people in General, calling for their extermination on TV where Millions of people watch.

He's not a 'professor of African American Studies,' he's an activist from Raleigh who'd taught one section of an introductory African Studies course on an adjunct (temp) basis at NCSU a couple times prior to that incident (and hasn't since, and doubtless won't again).

If you have proof that "millions" watched that program, I'd like to see it. A four-hour-long panel discussion on C-SPAN 3 featuring African-Americans who work in the in media, analyzing media images of race during Hurricane Katrina coverage, doesn't exactly sound like something that would likely have "millions" of Americans glued to their sets, and as BVS mentions, it looks like there weren't too many attendees at the conference itself to begin with. So far as I can tell from Googling the story a bit, it was the blogosphere and white supremacist sites like Stormfront and National Vanguard (hey, how come we never hear national outcry over those? oh yeah, because they're fringe) which accounted for the lion's share of the "audience" for it. Comparing something like that, or even more so the prospect of yourself replying with racist remarks to some reporter who randomly came up and "asked for your opinion" about African-Americans (right, like that's ever gonna happen, not to mention it'd bite the dust in the editing room anyway) to Don Imus' show doesn't make any sense at all. Somebody who's nobody can get away with saying all kinds of things, and why not, because no one's listening and they're certainly not being paid large sums of money for whatever they froth on about from their (nonexistent) national platform.



And this whole line of questioning is really, really off-topic.

 

[BVS]

He would lose his audience.

Really?

It depends on how long he has to do this and how extensive, I will admit I didn't read how much of this "community service" he has to do...

 

[deep]

Really?

It depends on how long he has to do this and how extensive, I will admit I didn't read how much of this "community service" he has to do...

here is what the article? said

I would like to see Imus attend every home game for the Rutgers women's basketball team next season. In addition, he should commit time each week on his syndicated radio show featuring the players, what life is like on the Rutgers campus, their challenges as well as their successes as student athletes.

In short, he should profile their lives on and off the court. His legion of devoted listeners should be given of heavy dose of Rutgers women's basketball next season..

I have spoken to a few people that are fans.
They say he took responsibility and apologised, what more does he need to do.

They think any more is just sucking up and they will lose respect for him.

 

[BVS]

Yeah, that may be a bit too extensive for his fans...

 

[blueyedpoet]

I do not understand why bringing up some other racist comments excuse this racist episode. Prejudice exists everywhere and in everyone. No one is ever really prejudice free - but we all ought to constantly examine our lives and our hearts to try and purge ourselves of prejudice.
I do find it tragically ironic though that a guy who has made a living off of saying horribly shocking things gets nailed for being a racist, but the Savages and Limbaugh's get away with far worse. Their racist diatribes don't even hide behind the mask of humor.

 

[DILETTANTE]

Can we just forget about the color barrier for once?

I'm not sure exactly who you are referring to when you say "we", but in my experience, people who CAN "forget about the color barrier", and indeed, people who WANT to "forget about the color barrier" are people for whom color is not a barrier.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow3P2t2OAgI

this, is imus. that's his show. they make fun of anyone, everyone. it's crude, it's obscene. it's satire. it's the same "everything's okay or nothing's okay" theory that's used on south park, the chappelle show, mind of mencia, etc. etc. it is in this atmosphere... in this context that these words were said. does it make it right? no. is his show funny? that's up to you.

and then there's this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1MgfW4-mMA

this is also imus. the serious side of the show, with the biggest names in politics from all sides of the asile, in candid, no holds bared interviews... not the ass kissing, gutless interviews that the majority of the mass media conducts.

outrageous comedy combined with serious political banter. if not for the success of don imus, there would be no daily show... no colbert report.

think if jon stewart says something that's deemed to be racist... think of all the jokes on that show, low brow, high brow... some with racial overtones, sexist overtones, etc. done in an obvious atmosphere of comedy, satire. now think of how those who are looking to bring down the likes of jon stewart could take those lines out of context and use them against him... the o'reilly's of the world, etc. that's what's being done here.

wether you think his type of humor is funny or not, that's up to you. but this man is no racist. he said something that crossed the line... these girls are not in the public domain, they are not political figures, they should be off limits. he made a mistake, he's applogized for it, and now he's paying the price.

imus was one of the first in the mass media to bluntly call out the bush administration for handleing the aftermath of katrina the way they did simply because the new orleans was a city made up of mostly blacks. he's taken in thousands of kids with cancer from all races and religions to his ranch, which he runs himself, hands on... not just some donor with a checkbook. he regularly volunteers his net-jet to pick up the families of low income families and fly them to where they can get the medical attention they so desperately need, and on top of it, criticizes those in the corporate and political world who do not enroll in this Corporate Angel Network. he took on the poor conditions at walter reed when no one else inthe mainstream media would. he brought awareness to the plight of children with sickle cell anemia, and brought thousands of kids with the disease to his ranch, again, at a time when no one else in the media spoke about it. this friday, imus' last show before suspension, is the annual wfan radiothon, benefiting the imus ranch, the tomorrow's children fund and the cj foundation for SIDS research... a radiothon that imus spearheaded, which has raised somewhere in the ballpark of 40 million dollars for these organizations and perhaps more importantly has brought awareness to these causes.

this is a good man. a good man who made a mistake. and when he comes back, i will listen.

 

[DILETTANTE]

do you really think these women were paralyzed with hurt? do you really think they cried themselves to sleep at night? do you really think they looked at themselves in the mirror the next day and thought, "gosh, maybe i really am a ho"? do you really think they looke at themsleves in the mirror the next day and thought, "oh no, America thinks i'm a ho."

because i don't.

i'm not excusing the comments. i'm just saying that the comments themselves probably made little or no difference in the lives of these women, but the reaction to the comments certainly has.



[

Yeah, I do.
Until very very recently (i.e. within my lifetime ) Black women and girls were portrayed in the media, in literature, and in many non-Black people's minds as maids/Mammy's or as whores. Images of Black females as teachers, as mothers, as students, as achievers, as the cute kid on the cereal box, or even as a Disney princess were few and far between. These stereotypes persist. And it's this persistence that may make Imus's comments particularly painful for these women .

 

[DILETTANTE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow3P2t2OAgI



this is a good man. a good man who made a mistake. and when he comes back, i will listen. [/QUOTE


I'm curious. You, and others, have described Imus as "a good man" who "made a mistake" or who said bad things. How would you define a "bad" man? How many "mistakes" or "bad things" would someone have to do or say to be viewed as "bad"? Or, how many "good" things would someone have to do to have their "bad" statements and deeds viewed as "mistakes" instead of as reflections of their character? Note that I'm not making a statement one way or another about Imus's "goodness" or "badness". I'm interested in the distinctions that some have made between an individual's character and his/her behavior -- and how this has informed people's reactions to Imus's statements.

 

[maycocksean]

I do not understand why bringing up some other racist comments excuse this racist episode. Prejudice exists everywhere and in everyone. No one is ever really prejudice free - but we all ought to constantly examine our lives and our hearts to try and purge ourselves of prejudice.
I do find it tragically ironic though that a guy who has made a living off of saying horribly shocking things gets nailed for being a racist, but the Savages and Limbaugh's get away with far worse. Their racist diatribes don't even hide behind the mask of humor.

Agreed.

I really don't know what else Imus can be expected to do. He apologized. . .he seems to have really made an effort and hasn't resorted to trying to defend his remarks (which some of his fans might support him doing). We can't judge whether his efforts are sincere or he's just trying to hold on to his job.

Based on some of the other things I've heard that Imus has said, it sounds like he crosses the line a lot. Like Coulter, Imus makes hay out of saying outloud the things that many people think but won't say aloud--rude, cruel, insulting etc things. For this reason, alone, I personally wouldn't be interested in listening to him because this kind of thinking should be challenged not indulged.

I'm not about to make judgements about Don Imus as a person. I don't know him. I know that people are always more complex--a mix of good and bad--then we'd sometimes care to admit and this certainly holds true for Imus.

I do feel that once an apology has been made, and his superiors have taken whatever action they're going to, the media needs to let it go. There's nothing else to say or do, as far as I can tell.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

nm

 

[Irvine511]

Yeah, I do.
Until very very recently (i.e. within my lifetime ) Black women and girls were portrayed in the media, in literature, and in many non-Black people's minds as maids/Mammy's or as whores. Images of Black females as teachers, as mothers, as students, as achievers, as the cute kid on the cereal box, or even as a Disney princess were few and far between. These stereotypes persist. And it's this persistence that may make Imus's comments particularly painful for these women .

and i bet you none of them were even listening to Imus when he made his racist comment.

i didn't cry myself to sleep when Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot." i thought, "what a fucking idiot." we all agree that the comment was racist, we all agree that the comment was degrading, but we do not all agree about the severity of the harm done nor the over-the-top media circus that has followed (and which took several days to build).

i always go after the Right and their addiction to what Phillip Roth calls "the ecstacy of sanctimony." we're all prone to it.

really, what are we accomplishing by beating Imus up? what are we learning? what's the value in this other than getting to extend a finger at Imus and screaming "sexist! racist!" and then rushing over to protect a group of delicate, sensitive women who have somehow suffered grevious harm from three words?

 

[BVS]

this is a good man. a good man who made a mistake. and when he comes back, i will listen.

I'm of the mind that good people can still be racists and vice versa. I regretfully say that I have racists in my family, very good people, just extremely ignorant in some aspects of life.

I also wouldn't put him in the same shell as Chapelle or Mencia, for the same reasons I said before, he's not an equal oppurtunity "humorist". I think he suffers from some misguided issues with women, race, and sexuality and a chronic foot in the mouth disease.

 

[Justin24]

Here is an observation I have noticed. Anyone of any color(except white) can say anything about pretty much anyone and you will hardly hear the word bigot, racist, anti-semite. A caucasian says it and boom, The NAACP, La Raza, and more will come at you. So why no equality. You all keep saying how racist words should be long forgotten but you laugh when it's being used on stage, so I guess that means those words are acceptable because their being used in a funny way???

 

[ntalwar]

but we do not all agree about the severity of the harm done nor the over-the-top media circus that has followed (and which took several days to build).

i always go after the Right and their addiction to what Phillip Roth calls "the ecstacy of sanctimony." we're all prone to it.

really, what are we accomplishing by beating Imus up? what are we learning? what's the value in this other than getting to extend a finger at Imus and screaming "sexist! racist!" and then rushing over to protect a group of delicate, sensitive women who have somehow suffered grevious harm from three words?

The women themselves have said they were hurt by the comments. See anitram's post, as well as numerous news articles and the news conference transcript. BTW, at the news conference the coach did most of the speaking and only two players made statements. The other players merely stated their name, class, and hometowns.

Is silence the answer to Imus' comments? Perhaps it is for some, but people have the freedom to express their opinions on the matter, just as Imus did. Perhaps what can be accomplished is a dialogue and the creation of a deterrent to prevent similar incidents in the future.

 

[BVS]

Here is an observation I have noticed. Anyone of any color(except white) can say anything about pretty much anyone and you will hardly hear the word bigot, racist, anti-semite. A caucasian says it and boom, The NAACP, La Raza, and more will come at you. So why no equality. You all keep saying how racist words should be long forgotten but you laugh when it's being used on stage, so I guess that means those words are acceptable because their being used in a funny way???

I'm not sure how anyone on here can make it any clearer to you, we've tried.

Show me a comparable example. Please!!! You are comparing apples to oranges!

And the humor aspect we've driven into the ground, and you've even stated in other threads where you understood the difference. So you've either forgotten since the last time we had this discussion or you're just trying to make an argument again...

 

[Justin24]

Show me a comparable example. Please!!! You are comparing apples to oranges!

For Fucks sake. I showed you a video of a person as bad or worse as Imus and it gets shot down, why because he does not have celebrity status. Thats what I am getting here from all of this.

 

[BVS]

For Fucks sake. I showed you a video of a person as bad or worse as Imus and it gets shot down, why because he does not have celebrity status. Thats what I am getting here from all of this.

No, it's because he doesn't have credibility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Irvine511]

The women themselves have said they were hurt by the comments. See anitram's post, as well as numerous news articles and the news conference transcript. BTW, at the news conference the coach did most of the speaking and only two players made statements. The other players merely stated their name, class, and hometowns.

what else are they going to say once this has become big news and there's a media circus, should they in fact choose to say anything?

Is silence the answer to Imus' comments? Perhaps it is for some, but people have the freedom to express their opinions on the matter, just as Imus did. Perhaps what can be accomplished is a dialogue and the creation of a deterrent to prevent similar incidents in the future.

no one is saying that they had no right to have a conference, and Imus has every right under the sun to say whatever he wants. they will both suffer consequences, and ultimately whether or not Imus stays at MSNBC will be a purely business decision. and, again, Imus is the one who has the explaining to do, not the women, who, in my opinion, have merely validated his comments with the "but i'm not a ho" conference.

we're acting as if a crime was committed here. it wasn't. i'm happy people spoke up and said that the comments were racist and offensive. they were. but let's not treat this like Imus smacked one of the players across the face or robbed them at gunpoint. this is also not an example of someone with actual power -- a Senator, a university administrator -- using derogatory words. and it's quite different from the Macaca comment of a certain former Sen. Allen. when people who actually shape laws and are in positions of real power use racist language, then it becomes a much bigger deal. Imus represents no one but himself, and he makes no laws. we're steering dangerously into thought police territory.

again, as Headache has pointed out, this was in a comedic section of a complex radio program. to me, a fair analogy would be when Mike Meyers made fun of Chelsea Clinton on SNL. it was a bad joke in very poor taste, and she was a minor, and he apologized for it the next week on SNL and that was that.

let's move on and talk about Iran and Gonzales, you know, stuff that matters.

 

[Justin24]

http://thatvideosite.com/video/4208 --the Phelps who were they, No one until the media decided to do a story on them. So lets gang up on them for calling people who support gay people "Fags"

But a man who wants to exterminate an entire race like Hitler started to do, ehh he is no one so just leave him be.

 

[BVS]

I give up Justin, you don't get it. You're bitching about a tree falling in a forest when no one is around.

 

[Justin24]

I give up Justin, you don't get it. You're bitching about a tree falling in a forest when no one is around.

You give up because you don't understand the unfairness that is going on.

 

[redhotswami]

Did anybody watch nightly news last night? Apparently the basketball team is going to have a private meeting with Imus. No details about when/where.

I think this is the most brilliant response to such an episode. Obviously, the guy has done his share of apologizing since the incident. So, I honestly don't think they are expecting him to apologize anymore. Instead, it is a very commendable gesture. I'm tired of the media exploding on this. Both parties have had their weekends ruined due to the media onslaught (esp if any of them celebrated holidays). Now they can finally meet one another and create a positive connection.

 

[Bonochick]

Some debate is fine, but there seems to be kind of a nasty tone here, let's keep it nice.

Since you both say you've given up though, there should be no problem.

 

[europop2005]

i really don't condone what Imus said on air...but it does point out a cruel double standard

Imus can go out and make a passing (but ultimately cruel) remark about a womens basketball team and get suspended for 2 weeks

Rosie O'Donnell can go out and spread conspiracy theories, swear that the government killed its own people, accuse British sailors of basically kidnapping themselves, and still stay on the air week after week

hmmm

 

[Irvine511]

i really don't condone what Imus said on air...but it does point out a cruel double standard

Imus can go out and make a passing (but ultimately cruel) remark about a womens basketball team and get suspended for 2 weeks

Rosie O'Donnell can go out and spread conspiracy theories, swear that the government killed its own people, accuse British sailors of basically kidnapping themselves, and still stay on the air week after week

hmmm

where's the double-standard?

no one gets fired because they said something. people get fired because of the reaction of what they say and the pressure there might be on certain sponsors to withdraw advertising from whatever program.

remember a week or two after 9-11 when Bill Maher said that terrorists were not "cowards" -- he lost his show because of sponsors pulling the plug on their advertising dollars. whether or not Imus stays or goes will depend upon similar economic evidence. and the same would apply to Rosie.

 

[ntalwar]

Rosie O'Donnell can go out and spread conspiracy theories, swear that the government killed its own people, accuse British sailors of basically kidnapping themselves, and still stay on the air week after week

Bill Maher got pulled from the network TV air for remarks about 9/11.

 

[deep]

I wonder what Howard Stern's take on all this is?

oh, here it is \/

"He does nothing. He mumbles, he can't speak English, he can't be understood. He was never funny. You listen to the show, I defy you to laugh."

"He's completely insane."

"Go away. Really. It's time."

"There's probably a 70 percent chance [CBS Radio and MSNBC are] going to have to fire this guy.... He's in for a sh*tstorm because the girl's basketball team is going to have a press conference, and that's going to look real bad."

"I guarantee you the wife leaves him. If he loses his job, she leaves him within a year. [And if that happens,] I will leave Beth (Stern's fiancee) to f**k her."

"If it was me and I did something stupid like that I would just go on and say, 'I'm not going on Al Sharpton's show. Al Sharpton is a piece of s**t. He's just a human being that is bankrupt, and he should pay his bills.... I would rather just leave the radio than apologize to that man.... I like Al Sharpton, by the way."

"I mean, come on, Al Sharpton. Imus, get some f***ing dignity." [Burps.]

"I've never seen a 67-year-old guy look that bad."

"Imus is a moron."

 

[joyfulgirl]

Those who have been called "jigaboos" and "nappy-headed" when the race was enslaved and lynched.

Those are poisonous words. They have no place in the context in which they were used.

I'm with martha & deep on this one.

I work in an office run by women. We're a very professional bunch. We are also not bad looking. A few years ago word got back to us that one of our grantees had referred to us as "those sex kittens." He was--you guessed it--a white man in his 60s. It was such a bizarre and left-field comment as we'd done nothing but help this individual and his business. He literally would have gone under without our aid. We'd done nothing to offend him that we were aware of yet he was spreading this vile image of us. It wasn't hate speech, it wasn't against the law, it was just false and reflected much more on him than us.

He no longer receives our funding and his business is failing.