Imus

whoosh...cough cough. Ugh well I guess it is time to knock the dust off this sucker. Well it sure has been a while. If you're wondering I did forget my password... and login name... and well that's all.

Figured Imus might be a good subject to come back on the blog seen with. A little background. Don Imus - radio host at CBS, simulcast on MSNBC in the morning considered a bit of a "shock jock", liberal, experience ~30 years or so. On Monday or Tuesday 4/09 or 10/2007 he says the Rutgers women's basketball teams has a bunch of tattoos and they look a little rough then he drops the BOMB - "they are some nappy-headed hoes." OOPS. How can 2.5 seconds ruin 30 years of work you may ask, pow right there. It seems like every woman and or black person has jumped on the "I hate Imus" bandwagon as though he raped and shot the Rutgers basketball team. Depending on when you read this it may not seem that way, but let's recap. First CBS and MSNBC give a 2 week suspension. Not overly harsh you may say. Outrage from Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barak Hussein (sp?) Obama, Oprah, and well pretty much everyone. (Self not excluded. Don't get mad, keep reading.) All of the big sponsors decide to pull advertising on MSNBC, so he gets fired from there. No worries still got the radio. Thursday, CBS decides to fire him. Yikes. Also 3 hours later he meets with the Rutgers team at the New Jersey governor's mansion.

(Funny thing happens on the way to mediating the meeting ... The governor is in a car accident, but he is not wearing a seat belt. Uh Oh! A $46 fine under New Jersey law, but no probs he was being driven by a STATE PATROL OFFICER. What, he didn't notice the guy next to him doesn't have a seat belt. I'm sorry but no one in the state of New Jersey should ever get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt again. can i get an amen. Anyway the governor got punished by God - broken leg, six broken ribs on each side, broken sternum ... oh yeah, Buckle up New Jersey it's the law and you will be severely hurt if you don't.)

Overall I would say Imus 'lost' this week, along with the governor of New Jersey. But there are a few things that worry about this episode.
(1) Imus has said a lot of hurtful things through out his career. At one point he called someone a boner-nosed, beanie wearing Jew boy. At another point he called for the Iranians to be nuked at a funeral. Then this latest statement. But when no one has stood up before, why wouldn't he just say whatever he wanted to without fear of repercussions. There is something special about this situation I guess. He targeted more than just one person, so it wasn't a completely singular insult, and it wasn't against some generic group of people. This was specific enough and yet general enough to garner severe attention, but the guy really should have been jumped on beforehand. ...Something here about enough rope...
(2)The backlash from every nook and cranny is very disturbing. Jesse and Al, the NAACP, women's groups and it seemed to happen even before the Rutger girls had a chance to respond. I am sure none of them were listening at the time it was said, I know I never heard of the guy before, but it seems so odd that people were willing to jump on him because of the "great insults" he hurled at the girls. -2.5 SECONDS- and he probably spent less time thinking about the comment before he made it. Something here doesn't add up, but I am not sure what it is. What would have happened if the girls said, "Imus, never heard of him. Whatever some sad little man had to say is far less significant than what we were able to accomplish this year. It doesn't bother us, because he has no influence on what we think or do and definitely not on the people that really support us. Clearly he doesn't know us." End of story. Kudos to the Rutgers' women's team for being the bigger people... but that never happened.
(3) The first amendment. I know this is "hate" speech and all, but when someone is allowed to act in a certain manner for 30 years and he gets paid to do so, it is not exactly grounds to recondition his behavior. ... something about Pavlov here... Someone on the radio said this was retribution for him ripping a congressman the previous week, maybe. But we can't let ourselves forfeit our rights, because of ... well other people? I don't know, it seems like if Imus can go because of this, then really no one is off limits, but where does it end? Will it end? Will all of the free speech on the radio be silenced because some group or person will find it offensive? Maybe. And that is really the sad thing. Probably 90% of whatever is said anywhere is useless, but the 10% that matters is only said at the encouragement of what is said in the 90%. By being free to communicate as much worthless nonsense as possible we also create ideas that further the society. And I believe that is what the 1st amendment is for. Yes people will say things you disagree with, but that is your opportunity to truly further your cause and put your ideas out there. You really can't be afraid that people will hate you and you shouldn't hate others for what they say no matter how bad it is. What if Martin Luther King Jr. had been afraid to speak? What if Abe Lincoln didn't want to talk at Gettysburg? Or Kennedy never spoke out about serving the country? All words are not great, but it can't be up to "groups" to stop ideas because you never know what could inspire greatness. Censorship can't be the way. People have to make up there own minds and in the end if you want people to really live the "right" way then you have to give them the better ideas, the better way to live so they choose what truly is right.

(disengage Soap Box)