Imus is gone

RDK · April 12, 2007

A frightening precedent, though, if you'd care to include any left-leaning talk show hosts... <_< Does the same rule apply if they "cross the line" as well? I'd hate to see public discourse (not Free Speach!) stiffled out of fear.

Edited April 12, 2007 by RDK

Brownian Motion · April 12, 2007

Show me a left wing comment as vile as Limbaugh's recent characterization of Michael J. Fox.

RDK · April 12, 2007

And whatever happened to "Sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me?" Wish more people were as sensible as me mum.

RDK · April 12, 2007

So you're one of those "free speech so long as i agree with it" types, huh?

Brownian Motion · April 12, 2007

You may think it's a simple matter of free speech, but calling a basketball team of college women "nappy headed hoes" is pointless, despicable, unfunny, and cruel. It is also, in my opinion, slanderous, and I hope Imus gets his ass sued.

jlhoots · April 12, 2007

I don't have any empathy for Imus (here comes the but).

Sharpton = Tawana Brawley as well as many racist, anti-Semitic statements.

Jackson = hymietown as was mentioned earlier.

I personally can live without all 3 of them.

When you spit up in the air you know where the spit may land.

Larry Kart · April 12, 2007

I like this point of view from the Pro Football Talk website:

FAREWELL TO THE I-MAN

The Associated Press reports that CBS Radio has fired Don Imus. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of the Imus show.

It's a stunning development. On one hand, the comments made last Wednesday by Imus took on a life of their own, becoming a flash point for discourse regarding the state of race relations in America. On the other hand, similar comments from Imus have been tolerated over the years, and the chickens finally came home to roost. Still, just as ESPN shouldn't have been surprised that Rush Limbaugh acted like, well, Rush Limbaugh when he was hired to appear on the network's NFL pregame show, it's hard for CBS or NBC to say that they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

Another problem here is that Imus kept talking about the issue, bouncing back and forth between contrition and defiance. His best bet would have been to move on. (Or move out.)

Moreover, we think that the rush to dump Imus was fueled by the influence of media figures and politicians on whose heads the I-man urinated over the years. Shtick or not, he was a miserable person, and folks who inhabit the public eye have long memories.

Meanwhile, his only support came predictably from portions of the nucleus of "I-faves" -- regular guests who benefited greatly from the relationship with Imus and from the exposure his show gave the guests and the books, music, etc. that they were selling. Moving forward, who will pay any attention at all to Tom Oliphant or Levon Helm?

Meanwhile, we hope that the African-American community will use this incident as the impetus for cultivating new leaders who will step forward at times like these. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have way too much baggage of their own, and it's high time for them to step aside for folks who do not have a history of racially divisive words and deeds.

Me again: I haven't been a regular Imus watcher but saw and heard enough when I did partake to have felt from the first and with no prompting that "shtick or not, he was a miserable person, " even when he wasn't being blatantly/cutesy offensive -- another in the long line of the Neros and Caligulas of the airwaves, In fact his saving grace (though it didn't save/couldn't have saved him in this affair) was that his "grouchy old coot with a heart of gold (if you really look closely)" persona was at base such an old-fashioned cornball creation, one part Walter Brennan, one part Arthur Godfrey.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Larry Kart

BERIGAN · April 12, 2007

Quite the liberal at heart :rolleyes: Alexander and Ray back up their liberal, for free speech viewpoints, you seem to want to force people off the air that have viewpoints that don't jibe with yours.

I guess you are a big fan of Jesse and Al, eh???? Sharpton's actions and comments lead to the deaths of several Jewish people, yet he is still on the radio.

a few examples....

1991: A Hasidic Jewish driver in Brooklyn's Crown Heights section accidentally kills Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old black child, and antisemitic riots erupt. Sharpton races to pour gasoline on the fire. At Gavin's funeral he rails against the "diamond merchants" -- code for Jews -- with "the blood of innocent babies" on their hands. He mobilizes hundreds of demonstrators to march through the Jewish neighborhood, chanting, "No justice, no peace." A rabbinical student, Yankel Rosenbaum, is surrounded by a mob shouting "Kill the Jews!" and stabbed to death.

1995: When the United House of Prayer, a large black landlord in Harlem, raises the rent on Freddy's Fashion Mart, Freddy's white Jewish owner is forced to raise the rent on his subtenant, a black-owned music store. A landlord-tenant dispute ensues; Sharpton uses it to incite racial hatred. "We will not stand by," he warns malignantly, "and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business." Sharpton's National Action Network sets up picket lines; customers going into Freddy's are spat on and cursed as "traitors" and "Uncle Toms." Some protesters shout, "Burn down the Jew store!" and simulate striking a match. "We're going to see that this cracker suffers," says Sharpton's colleague Morris Powell. On Dec. 8, one of the protesters bursts into Freddy's, shoots four employees point-blank, then sets the store on fire. Seven employees die in the inferno.

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2411

Brownian Motion, I am sure we will see you calling for Sharpton's removal from the air....

Teasing the Korean · April 12, 2007

Imus should have been canned years ago for the simple reason that he's an intense BORE. The fact that he makes racist statements on top of the fact that he's an intense bore makes him that much more useless. He'll probably find a way to profit off this situation, so he wins either way.

:unsure:

Brownian Motion · April 13, 2007

I know this is going to strain the processing function of your walnut-sized brain, but because I'm no fan of Imus it does not follow that I admire Sharpton. You might have elicited this information from me before you jumped to conclusions and posted all this crap, though I've noticed you rarely miss an opportunity to dump on black people and muslims, no matter how irrelevant your observations might be.

Edited April 13, 2007 by Brownian Motion

jmjk · April 13, 2007

Dan Gould · April 13, 2007

Yeah, well that board member has an even smaller grasp of libel law than he does the first amendment.

Guy Berger · April 13, 2007

1) It's sad that this pseudo-controversy passes for news these days.

2) This isn't a constitutional "free speech" issue -- Imus can make racist/sexist comments whenever he wants, but CBS/whoever has the right to fire him.

3) That said, perhaps this is an overreaction.

4) I wouldn't worry about Imus. People bounce back from these kinds of things.

Guy

Soul Stream · April 13, 2007

I'm all for people that are honestly outraged by an incident like this. But there seems to be a lot of false outrage about it. We really get outraged alot these days with 24 hour news networks.

jmjk · April 13, 2007

Guy, you bring up a valid point.

Same thing goes for all the people who burned Beatles records after John Lennon's misinterpreted comment in the mid-60s, and those who decided they hated the Dixie Chicks a few years ago. People can say whatever they want, but shouldn't be surprised if the consequences aren't to their liking. Free speech doesn't mean everyone has to agree with you. Imus' comments are his responsibility, and though I'll miss listening to his show, I guess MSNBC and CBS feel they need to act on his errors--and it's a shame it has come to this.

Edited April 13, 2007 by jmjk

Big Wheel · April 13, 2007

Hell yeah. As a commenter on a different forum put it,

(slightly edited for anonymity)

BERIGAN · April 13, 2007

Brownian Motion, you only talk about hoping Coulter(Who doesn't even have a regular gig except for a weekly column) and Rush will have a "quick and complete banishment" That a prick like Sharpton is on the air, well, that's just aok with you! You didn't add, I hope Sharpton suffers a quick and complete banishment as well. Oh and since your brain must be at least the size of your typical dust mite, find some posts of me dumping on black folks, I double dog dare ya!

Edited April 13, 2007 by BERIGAN

Guy Berger · April 13, 2007

Boy, do I miss reading the politics forum...

Guy

PHILLYQ · April 13, 2007

Here's an interesting take on Imus from Zev Chafets in the NY Post (the NY Post called him Ignor-imus today):

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122007/posto...fets.htm?page=0

By ZEV CHAFETS

April 12, 2007 -- IT'S been a rotten week for Don Imus. On Mon day, he was suspended from his radio show. On Tuesday, Proctor and Gamble and Staples announced they'd stop sponsoring his his show. Yesterday, General Motors and American Express joined the boycott, Sen. Barack Obama called for him to be fired - and then he got canned by MSNBC. And it's only Thursday.

It couldn't happen to a more deserving victim - and we all owe the Rev. Al Sharpton some thanks.

I know Don Imus - and so do you. Everybody went to school with him.

There's an Imus in every class - a weird, nasty kid with a smart mouth and an instinct for the emotional jugular. If you stutter, he can imitate it. Wear a new suit to the dance, and he'll make sure everyone knows your mom bought it on sale at JC Penney.

Got bad skin? Walk with a limp? Afraid of heights? Imus has a nickname just for you.

Just like he had for the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team.

The playground Imus always has a sidekick, a big dummy who laughs at his insults and watches his back. The radio Imus has Bernard McGuirk, an on-air "producer." Usually, his job is to repeat whatever Imus says, but last week he ventured a thought of his own: "That's some rough girls from Rutgers," he said. "Man, they got tattoos."

In the world of Don Imus, Don Imus gets the last word. "That's some nappy-headed ho's there," he said.

Of course, Imus has made a career of ugly slurs. But this one rubbed Al Sharpton the wrong way, and he raised a mighty howl for Imus' head.

Sharpton-haters dismissed this as just another publicity stunt. I have a hunch, though, that this time the outrage was real: Sharpton has daughters about the same age as the Rutgers players.

Certainly, when he agreed to appear on the Rev's radio show, Imus must have figured that Sharpton would let him off the hook - one celebrity agitator to another.

Instead, it probably marked the end of his network career.

Imus started off with an apology and an explanation that he was guilty of nothing more than trying to be funny.

"Do you think it's funny to call people nappy-headed hos?" Sharpton replied.

"No, I don't," Imus said in his best Eddie Haskell voice.

This was the cue for the Rev. Al to voice grudging appreciation for Imus' contrition and ability to grow. But Sharpton came up on a different playground: "Did you think it was funny on Wednesday?" he demanded.

What followed was one of the worst beatdowns in media memory. Imus tried everything. He called Sharpton - almost 15 years his junior - "sir." When that didn't work, he grew indignant.

Several times he mentioned how much he has done for people of color. Finally, he was reduced to whining that he couldn't get anywhere with "you people."

It was painful to watch, like the Ali-Quarry fight.

At one point, Imus said that he hadn't come to the interview to be humiliated. But Sharpton didn't just humiliate him, he exposed him: "You talk like a tough guy over at the other station," he told Imus with contempt.

Now that Imus has been both suspended by his bosses at NBC and CBS and declared toxic by corporate America, chances are that the networks will drop him. His posse of Washington sycophants, once they are sure he no longer has the power to help them or hurt them, will ditch him, too.

In a Hail Mary, Imus asked to meet with the Rutgers basketball team. Evidently he hopes to find "ho's" with a heart of gold.

The young women have graciously agreed to a sitdown. But Imus is kidding himself if he thinks he can sweet-talk his way out of this by manipulating some college girls.

They may want to forgive him, but their parents won't. Al Sharpton will see to that.

Zev Chafets is author, most recently, of "A Match Made in Heaven."

zen archer · April 13, 2007

This is not a Black or White issue ..it's Green...once those sponsors jumped ship it was Adios Imus !

Jazzmoose · April 13, 2007

That's right, B.M.; as long as they know their place, Berigan has nothing against black folks...

catesta · April 13, 2007

Sued? That is completely ridiculous. If these young women can't get over this, then they are in for a real rough ride in life.

Like said before, Imus should have been shit canned for lack of ratings or the fact he is a boring asshole. While I won't shed any tears for Imus, but I do think the whole thing is a fucking circus hosted by a clown named Sharpton.

An interesting take....

Imus isn’t the real bad guy

Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.

By JASON WHITLOCK

Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.

I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.

But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.

I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.

But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.

In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?

I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?

When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.

No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.

Edited April 13, 2007 by catesta

JSngry · April 13, 2007

The most disheartening thing about all this was hearing one of the Rutgers players (the team captain?) talk about how their accomplishments had been (and I have to paraphrase here) taken away by Imus' comments.

My Dear Lady -

That is so much bullshit. You & your crew are champions on the court, in the classroom, and, quite possibly, in the life beyond either. Imus is a mere shock jock who misread the cultural climate. If he's able to take anything away from you, it's only if you let him. And why the hell would you let him? If nobody's counselling you as to your true worth and encouraging you to not let it be snapped away from you by any and everybody who thinks that it's theirs to have, then you are being terribly ill-served.

Your dignity is yours. Your value is yours. Your accomoplishments are yours. Your power is yours. Life is a constant battle with those who think otherwise. As long as you realize this and believe it to be the truth that it is, the battle will be with mental and emotional shrimp. But as soon as you start thinking that others can take these things from you, these things that they did not give you in the first place, then you're only setting yourself up to lose. Again - why would you do that, and why would anybody counselling you let you do that?

Imus & Sharpton are both creeps of the highest order. Neither are your friend, and neither have your best interests at heart, no matter what they might say (and even believe). Screw them both, get on with being the badasses that you know (or should know) you are, and don't look back, except to laugh at them.

Tim McG · April 13, 2007

Don Imus is a jackass.

He should have gotten the boot a helluva long time ago, IMHO.

JSngry · April 13, 2007

I see that Jason Whitlock & I are at least partially on the same page.

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