Don Imus
I am sure that most everyone has heard about the Don Imus issue for MSNBC. If not just go to MSNBC.com and look up Don Imus. An overview of the situation is that the morning after the Rutgers women's basketball team lost the championship game Don Imus made some comments about the Rutgers team. He said that the Rutgers players were "rough" women with "tattoos" and that they were some "hard core hoes" "some nappy headed hoes". Well these comments obviously offended the Rutgers women and many other people so after consideration (and a lot of companies threatening to stop advertisements with MSNBC) Don Imus no longer has a show on NBC but apparently the CBS radio program is still considering what to do.
I don't think it should have ever even been a question what to do with Don Imus. There is a video on MSNBC that shows him saying that he wanted people to know that he "is a good man who said a bad thing". Sorry Don, but that just not going to work. Your a racist. If you say racist things you are a racist. I don't understand why it is so hard for people in this country to understand that. Apparently he has said some racist comments in the past as well and it is about time that he sees some reprecussions. I was impressed by the people who organized right away to set the standard that this kind of language in the media is not okay in any circumstance. Al Sharpton said to Imus that "this isn't about if you are a good man" but that this is about "setting the precedent" for what kind of language can be used. In a more general sense if I was NBC I would fire him simply becuase if your job is in the news media field and live, if you have not learned to think before you speak you are just straight bad at your job. He is a liability and I would have fired him a long time ago. In the end I think that is is unfortunate that the Rutgers team had to be in the middle of this but it sets a great example. I am just so happy to see that this type of language was immediatly tagged as sexist and racist and that people demanded results and we got them. The more "i'm not racist...but" people of society who we can make the statement to that, yes you are racist, and no we will not tolerate it the better off everyone in society is.
Comments
I agree that Don Imus made offensive remarks which were sexist, racist, and unacceptable.
What I have a major problem with, however, is this statement: "I was impressed by the people who organized right away to set the standard that this kind of language in the media is not okay in any circumstance."
I disagree with that sentiment whole-heartedly. We have a first-amendment right to free speech and free expression. That includes unpopular language. When you start making distinctions about whether the content of someone's message is appropriate to air, that's a slippery slope. It's fairly easy for that type of policy to turn around and be used against other causes too. Just because the political climate leans one way today doesn't mean it will continue, and it's a bad idea to start censoring speech because it offends you.
It's fine if that sentiment isn't the sentiment of CBS or NBC and the want to fire Dan. In fact, they probably should due to PR issues, if nothing else. However, if he wanted to go fund his own program or find a network that was willing to air his views, regardless of what they are (racist, sexist, fascist, conservative, liberal, crazy), that shouldn't be moderated. People have a right to voice their opinion in America.
I know that's not the thrust of your argument (which I agree with, by the way), however, that is the implication there. People can voice their opposition to Dan Imus. People can ignore him and call him a moron, a bigot, a sexist and racist bastard, in public. People can shout him down until he hides in shame and doesn't want to go on the air. But if he has stuff he wants to say and has the infrastructure that allows him to voice it, he shouldn't be prevented from doing so because you don't like him or don't like his views.
Posted by: Cam | April 12, 2007 11:49 AM