The Don Imus circus....

[D]

A radio DJ got fired in Northeast PA recently for making "nappy headed hoes" the "Phrase that Pays." Callers had to repeat the phrase as many times as possible in one minute in order to recieve a cash prize.

What a douche.

(700th post)

Calling someone a douche is a sexist remark against women with odor issues.

That's right, D's vagina is extremely offended.

Give a guy ONE yeast infection and u never hear the end of it.

[D]

I don't really agree with him being fired.

Our Freedom of Speech is slowly being taken away from us little by little.

I don't agree with what he said but it is still his right to say it. He was tryin to be funny and fell flat.

Look at the Dixie Chicks on the flip side. They expressed their opinion on Bush and their career still hasn't recovered from a sales and touring standpoint.

Freedom of speech protects all speech regardless. People have the right to turn off the radio if they don't like something.

[SLCPUNK]

It has nothing to do with freedom of speech, but rather big corporate money, which is the bottom line. These corporations don't give a shit what these guys say, as long as it does not upset their sponsors.

[Booker Floyd]

Our Freedom of Speech is slowly being taken away from us little by little.

I don't agree with what he said but it is still his right to say it.

Not exactly.  He has the right to say it without any legal consequences, but he is not guaranteed the right to broadcast for a company.  He can say "nappy-headed hoes" all he wants, but CBS has no obligation to carry his show.  This really isnt a freedom of speech issue.  Its a corporate issue.  Protestors were free to pressure advertisers to drop his show, supporters were free to pressure them to keep it.  The corporation made its decision.  Like I said, I dont necessarily agree with it, but lets not muddy the issue. 

In a way, its good to know that individuals do have the power to affect whats being broadcast; corporations are ultimately accountable for what they broadcast.  I think most would agree that its sometimes justified to take that course of action, so the real issue is when, and the danger is in abusing it. 

I think some are buying into this "poor Imus" angle, that he made a simple mistake, but lets remember that this isnt an isolated incident:

From an NPR broadcast:

            MIKE WALLACE: You told Tom ANDERSON, the producer, in your car coming home that Bernard McGuirk is there to do "nigger" jokes.

            DON IMUS: Well I've n-- I never use that word.

            MIKE WALLACE: Tom?

            TOM ANDERSON: I'm right here.

            DON IMUS: Did I use that word?

            TOM ANDERSON: I recall you using that word.

            DON IMUS: Oh, okay, well then I used that word, but I mean-- of course that was an off the record conversation-- [LAUGHTER]

            MIKE WALLACE: The hell it was!

 
The media has perhaps the biggest role in this.   Al Sharpton wasnt responsible for the round-the-clock "Imus scandal" coverage.  Almost every network superimposed his face at the bottom corner of the screen, a practice usually reserved for major tragedies and the biggest of scandals.  They were as crucial in blowing this out of proportion as the protestors themselves.  They made it the story.

[D]

I think its typical 21st century PC overreaction.


If Axl released "One In A Million" today, He'd be boycotted and wouldn't have a career.

I know racism is a bad thing but racism has become so taboo, the issue will never be solved cause everyone walks on egg shells around the topic cause they are so scared to make any comment for fear of being perceived as a racist.


He made a dumb joke. I don't think it was said with any malice or bigotry. If a black comedian makes the same joke, everyone laughs their asses off.

[Bodhi]

This is a pretty pathetic day for our country...there is no such thing as freedom of speech in this country....The only thing radio stations care about is money, which is understandable because they are in business to make money.  Was Imus right with his statements? of course not...but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants..you are not free to say whatever you think...that is not the way our country works, no matter how much it claims to...The whole Political correctness bullshit in this country is WAY out of control....and even the most left liberals must be able to see it...if you are a white christian male in this country..you are fair game......but if you are a female or any type of race other than white you are off limits..and GOD FORBID we offend MUSLIMS!!..its bullshit...and its only a matter of time before there is a backlash..and you can see it starting now....Ive been reading alot of online polls...MOST people are on Imus's side with this....most people dont believe he deserved to get fired and just about everyone thinks that this situation was blown WAY out of porportion....was it an ignorant comment made by Imus? yes...but it would have been forgotten 10 seconds after he made it if the media didnt turn it into the circus that they did.....

[Booker Floyd]

I know racism is a bad thing but racism has become so taboo

Talking about racism isnt taboo; indulging in it is.  Is this wrong?

the issue will never be solved cause everyone walks on egg shells around the topic cause they are so scared to make any comment for fear of being perceived as a racist.

How is this pertinent to those saying "nigger" and "nappy-headed hoes?"

He made a dumb joke. I don't think it was said with any malice or bigotry. If a black comedian makes the same joke, everyone laughs their asses off.

No bigotry? 

Imus isnt a black comedian.  If a black comedian makes the "joke," its not construed as racist for obvious reasons, so the racist component thats defined this controversey isnt there and its not the same. 

but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants

I dont think youre getting it: He does have that right.  He can rally with the Ku Klux Klan if he likes.  And he could have easily gotten away with what he said this time, as hes gotten away with similar comments in the past, without any government interference.  This isnt a government issue, therefore its not a First Amendment/freedom of speech issue.  The point is that people have the freedom to boycott and protest Imus's show and thats what happened.

[pilferk]

This is a pretty pathetic day for our country...there is no such thing as freedom of speech in this country....The only thing radio stations care about is money, which is understandable because they are in business to make money.  Was Imus right with his statements? of course not...but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants..you are not free to say whatever you think...that is not the way our country works, no matter how much it claims to...The whole Political correctness bullshit in this country is WAY out of control....and even the most left liberals must be able to see it...if you are a white christian male in this country..you are fair game......but if you are a female or any type of race other than white you are off limits..and GOD FORBID we offend MUSLIMS!!..its bullshit...and its only a matter of time before there is a backlash..and you can see it starting now....Ive been reading alot of online polls...MOST people are on Imus's side with this....most people dont believe he deserved to get fired and just about everyone thinks that this situation was blown WAY out of porportion....was it an ignorant comment made by Imus? yes...but it would have been forgotten 10 seconds after he made it if the media didnt turn it into the circus that they did.....

Read Booker and SLC's posts....you'll have a better understanding of what just actually occurred.

Imus can say anything he wants, without legal repurcussion...just not on CBS or MSNBC owned (well, "rented" in the case of CBS radio) airwaves.

Let me ask you this:  If you walked into your place of business, and started doing things that reflected very badly on that business, do you think you'd remain an employee for very long? No, because your antics would likely cost the company money.

That's what just happened.  Imus was fired because he said something that reflects very badly on the companies, and they recognize that to continue their BUSINESS relationship would cost them money. Cost them money by reducing their audience (which is already pretty low), cost them money by losing sponsers (which pay top dollar because of the demo Imus brought in), and cost them money is lost resources put forth to try to clean up his mess.

As for taking issue with the public outcry....Freedom of speech works both ways.  Imus can say it, and those that wish to can express their displeasure at his statement.

[TAP]

Totally agree with Pilferk, on an abstract level the market has won - it's capitalism at work, nothing to do with free speech. The rightwhingers should be happy about that.

On a real level, just about every (white) person I've talked to or read at messageboards, has pointed out the dual standards (rappers, black comedians etc). It's still free speech at work, but it seems to me to be creating a bigger racism problem than the one it's 'solving'.

[Axlfreek]

I can only imagine (pun intended) what John Lennon would have to go through if he released "Women is the nigger of the world" today.


Society needs to grow a pair of balls. What Imus said really isn't a big deal compared to the shit black people say in their rap music.

[journey]

I can only imagine (pun intended) what John Lennon would have to go through if he released "Women is the nigger of the world" today.


Society needs to grow a pair of balls. What Imus said really isn't a big deal compared to the shit black people say in their rap music.

On a real level, just about every (white) person I've talked to or read at messageboards, has pointed out the dual standards (rappers, black comedians etc). It's still free speech at work, but it seems to me to be creating a bigger racism problem than the one it's 'solving'.

The the dual standards? ?Well black people didn't make black people sit at the back of the bus in the '60s. That's the difference. Being treated as lesser people in the past is not something that can be brushed off when the inhumanities continue today, as trivial as they may seem.

As for rappers using that word, I like what Ice Cube said about it, "we?ve taken this word that?s been a burden to us, we?ve been able to digest it and spit it back out as a badge of honor, as defiance."

And the John Lennon song was conceived from a quote by Yoko Ono. The song was about the role of woman's subservience to men.

How's the saying go? When it's happening to you, you can joke about it, make art out of it, etc...

[D]

^
The thing is, When black people,gay people, just whomever glorify a certain word or phrase, it makes the word seem less? harmful and young kids of different races don't know the true horrible meaning of certain words and they think its
"cool" to use the word Nigga or Fag etc.


I know young teenage white kids today that go around calling each other Nigga and 'Hey my nigger" u know why they do this?

rappers have made it cool and they don't know any better.


Racism is VERY VERY TABOO. White people are so afraid for the most part to say anything about race.


Air Force's football coach was asked on ESPN what he needed to do to make his team better. He said "We need to recruit more blacks cause our team speed and athleticism aren't at the same level as other programs"


This guy got crucified for something that everyone knows and believes to be true. This statement has been proven over and over on stop watches, combine workouts but yet the guy answers a question, openly, honestly and with no intent to hurt anybody, but yet he was treated like Hitler.

Jason Whitlock is dead on the money in that article of sterlings.

The same people who call for Imus' firing are the same people who help these rappers glorify the exact same thing by buying and supporting them.

The point u guys are missing is:

CBS were only gonna SUSPEND IMUS. They didn't want to fire him but all these people overreacted, Jesse Photo Op Jackson and Al send me a check Sharpton and people like that who desecrate what a true Civil Rights activist is go around causing such an uproar that the big corporation folds.


I hate hearing the bullshit how racism isn't taboo. Most white kids would never have the nerve to discuss anything racial with black people and if they did I guarantee they'd sit around the whole conversation and agree out of fear of looking like a racist.

[pilferk]

The point u guys are missing is:

CBS were only gonna SUSPEND IMUS. They didn't want to fire him but all these people overreacted, Jesse Photo Op Jackson and Al send me a check Sharpton and people like that who desecrate what a true Civil Rights activist is go around causing such an uproar that the big corporation folds.


I hate hearing the bullshit how racism isn't taboo. Most white kids would never have the nerve to discuss anything racial with black people and if they did I guarantee they'd sit around the whole conversation and agree out of fear of looking like a racist.

D, the issue really, I promise you, wasn't about Jesse and Al overreacting. At least not in relation to Imus being fired.  It was about sponsers not wanting to be associated with a public shit storm.   I SUPPOSE you could make the argument that Al and Jesse helped fan that shit storm, but it would be just as correct to say Imus fanned it himself...by deciding to go on the publicity trail and, even more importantly, appearing on Sharpton's radio show (which is when Imus sunk his ship, permanently, I think).  He should have issued a press release saying something to the effect of "I'm sorry, it was a stupid callous offhanded comment.  I'll abide by whetever punishment CBS and MSNBC decide to mete out", removed himself from the studio to await his "sentence" and layed low on his ranch until the "sentence" was over.

But he didn't.  And the sponsers were not happy with what was said, how it was said ("I just can't win with 'you people'".  YOU PEOPLE? C'mon! That's the most un-media savy answer anyone on the planet could have given..talk about fanning the flames!), and even how long it took CBS and MSNBC to formulate a response (which looked too calculated in their eyes to stem the shit storm).  So they left in droves.

At that point, the writing was on the wall.  Because the sponsers write the checks, and without the checks.....CBS and MSNBC have no reason to keep Imus on a mic.

[TAP]

On a real level, just about every (white) person I've talked to or read at messageboards, has pointed out the dual standards (rappers, black comedians etc). It's still free speech at work, but it seems to me to be creating a bigger racism problem than the one it's 'solving'.

The the dual standards?

Yes the dual standards of what is acceptable for white people and black people to say about each other. It's not a question of history or moral right, but the reality of the effect which this is having - and that is that Al Sharpton is creating more of a racial divide with the reaction than Don Imus did with his dumbass comment in the first place.

As for rappers using that word, I like what Ice Cube said about it, "we?ve taken this word that?s been a burden to us, we?ve been able to digest it and spit it back out as a badge of honor, as defiance."

How about the word "ho". Do you like what Snoop said about it:

"It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no
collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and
sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing shit,
that's trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First
of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black
girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls
that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we in the
same league as him," - Snoop Dogg, on the Imus affair.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556803/20070410/id_0.jhtml

[GeorgeSteele]

The Rutgers team met with Imus today and accepted his apology.  He'll be on satellite radio in about 6 months.

[Gordon Gekko]

This is a pretty pathetic day for our country...there is no such thing as freedom of speech in this country....The only thing radio stations care about is money, which is understandable because they are in business to make money.  Was Imus right with his statements? of course not...but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants..you are not free to say whatever you think...that is not the way our country works, no matter how much it claims to...The whole Political correctness bullshit in this country is WAY out of control....and even the most left liberals must be able to see it...if you are a white christian male in this country..you are fair game......but if you are a female or any type of race other than white you are off limits..and GOD FORBID we offend MUSLIMS!!..its bullshit...and its only a matter of time before there is a backlash..and you can see it starting now....Ive been reading alot of online polls...MOST people are on Imus's side with this....most people dont believe he deserved to get fired and just about everyone thinks that this situation was blown WAY out of porportion....was it an ignorant comment made by Imus? yes...but it would have been forgotten 10 seconds after he made it if the media didnt turn it into the circus that they did.....

Live by the sword, die by the sword. It was the desire for profit that led to his hiring in the first place, it was the desire for profit that kept him on the air, and it was the desire for profit that contributed mightily to his demise. It's called capitalism -- get over it.

[Bodhi]

This is a pretty pathetic day for our country...there is no such thing as freedom of speech in this country....The only thing radio stations care about is money, which is understandable because they are in business to make money.? Was Imus right with his statements? of course not...but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants..you are not free to say whatever you think...that is not the way our country works, no matter how much it claims to...The whole Political correctness bullshit in this country is WAY out of control....and even the most left liberals must be able to see it...if you are a white christian male in this country..you are fair game......but if you are a female or any type of race other than white you are off limits..and GOD FORBID we offend MUSLIMS!!..its bullshit...and its only a matter of time before there is a backlash..and you can see it starting now....Ive been reading alot of online polls...MOST people are on Imus's side with this....most people dont believe he deserved to get fired and just about everyone thinks that this situation was blown WAY out of porportion....was it an ignorant comment made by Imus? yes...but it would have been forgotten 10 seconds after he made it if the media didnt turn it into the circus that they did.....

Read Booker and SLC's posts....you'll have a better understanding of what just actually occurred.

Imus can say anything he wants, without legal repurcussion...just not on CBS or MSNBC owned (well, "rented" in the case of CBS radio) airwaves.

i am in the broadcast business...I don't need it explained to me...I understand that it is a business...and I wasnt even shocked..some co-workers and I were expecting this for about a ?week...I am arguing that it DOES in fact impose on his free speech...Is he going to get thrown in prison? no(but with the way this country is headed I dont think that is too far off at this point)..The bottom line is that while he might not be prosecuted..his livelihood has been taken from him...doesnt anyone see something wrong with that? ?The bottom line is this..whites are treated completely different in this business than blacks...Al Sharpton can say whatever ignorant racist bullshit he wants, and NOTHING happens.... ?If ALL people were treated like Imus was I would have NO problem whatesover with what happened to him..But they arent, there is a double standard..This isnt so much about the broadcast business as it is a reflection on where are society is ...and it is pretty sad.....

[Bodhi]

This is a pretty pathetic day for our country...there is no such thing as freedom of speech in this country....The only thing radio stations care about is money, which is understandable because they are in business to make money.? Was Imus right with his statements? of course not...but he SHOULD have every right to say whatever racist bullshit he wants..you are not free to say whatever you think...that is not the way our country works, no matter how much it claims to...The whole Political correctness bullshit in this country is WAY out of control....and even the most left liberals must be able to see it...if you are a white christian male in this country..you are fair game......but if you are a female or any type of race other than white you are off limits..and GOD FORBID we offend MUSLIMS!!..its bullshit...and its only a matter of time before there is a backlash..and you can see it starting now....Ive been reading alot of online polls...MOST people are on Imus's side with this....most people dont believe he deserved to get fired and just about everyone thinks that this situation was blown WAY out of porportion....was it an ignorant comment made by Imus? yes...but it would have been forgotten 10 seconds after he made it if the media didnt turn it into the circus that they did.....

Live by the sword, die by the sword. It was the desire for profit that led to his hiring in the first place, it was the desire for profit that kept him on the air, and it was the desire for profit that contributed mightily to his demise. It's called capitalism -- get over it.

I agree with you on your first 2 points...but it was not the desire for profit that caused his demise...Just about every poll taken was in FAVOR of Imus KEEPING his job...His ratings if anything were going to go up for a little bit after he came back...and the sponsors would be there....he doenst have a large audience anyway..and the only people who were pissed about this whole thing probably never even heard of him.....you'll see him on the radio again in a few months.....I hate his show by the way, and Im not too fond of him..so I can care less that he is off the air....its the principle of the whole thing

[SLCPUNK]

Were polls taken from the sponsors or the general public?

[Bodhi]

Were polls taken from the sponsors or the general public?

general public...and trust me when I tell you, as soon as his ratings went up which they definitely would have when he came back, you would be amazed at how forgiving and forgetful the sponsors are.....