Don Imus

[BDBohnzie]

Originally Posted by hooskins

Why did his advertisors start cutting funding? Why did MSNBC and CBS cut him off? Why does the news make such a big deal about it?

It is all about money. Execs dont give a shit about racism, but it makes them look bad if they do not cut Imus. The companies dont care about what people think and society, they know they are losing big bucks if they keep supporting him.

I am sick of the news media especially prominent black sports figures in the media talking about how Imus deserved this, and how they were really upset he didnt lose his job. Honestly the only good thing I heard from a black person was Charles Barkley(yeah I know unbelievable).

He said Imus said stupid stuff, and stupid people say dumb things, but he shouldnt fully lose his job. It doesnt solve the problem of racism. The media, companies, CBS and NBC dont care about how to end racism or deal with it in the US. They just want a quick scapegoat to blame and fix all the problems.

I am saying the majority of this message board probably is content with the same, and that is bad.

His ratings were low anyways. So, Pulled Ad money + low ratings + heightened media frenzy pushing Imus to forefront = fired. It's all about the green in this case...Imus has been pulling this type of ignorance for years.

[Skinner]

First of all Imus is a racist f***. With that said I am sick of people saying " If a rapper said it there would be no problem." No. Rappers do not say i got some nappy headed hoes. Hell, there would be no problem with a white person saying hey whitey or any other white racial slur. A racial comment always comes from another race so there is nothing to back up the rapper argument.

[dmek25]

Originally Posted by Skinner

First of all Imus is a racist f***. With that said I am sick of people saying " If a rapper said it there would be no problem." No. Rappers do not say i got some nappy headed hoes. Hell, there would be no problem with a white person saying hey whitey or any other white racial slur. A racial comment always comes from another race so there is nothing to back up the rapper argument.

you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. the term ho is one of the most frequently used terms by any hard core rapper. and any racial comment, no matter where it comes from , is still a racial comment. one of the biggest problems the black society has today is the lack of respect it has for each other. you will hear back people calling each other the "N" word. but how many times do you hear a white person call another white person a cracker? black on black crime is at its highest peak, ever. it simply is NOT alright to use derogatory words when talking to anyone of any race.

[SmootSmack]

Not a good week for CBS (worst company I've ever worked for by the way). Not only this, but they also had to fire one of Katie Couric's producers for plagiarism-which is like the cardinal sin in journalism.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Exactly. I don't see how Jesse and Al don't feel they have instantly segregated the nation with this crap. This has been the biggest media shitstorm racially in a long time. I'm talking even bigger than Michael Richards.

[FRPLG]

While guys like Bill Cosby who seem to realize that the biggest issue in the AA community is the attacks on each other get railed on whenever they bring it up. How dare a successful person like Cosby talk about things that might actually help the AA community and improve race relations.

[firstdown]

I don't get the whole part of how much this has offended them to the point that they say it has (life time of pain). Yes the remarks where bad but how can a college and coach allow this to cause these players this much sorrow. What would have happend if this would have been a week before the playoffs. Would they have just hung their heads and given up. I would be of the mind set that what one person said is not going to bother me and I feel the coach and school have let them down by buying into all this stuff. They say how much this offended them but I bet if we could look at their CD collection we could find much worse degrading of women. This is music that the younger generation is listening to and watching so how are they going to treat women after all of this negative influence. I talked to my daughter about this and she said she sees and hears this stuff all the time.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I don't get the whole part of how much this has offended them to the point that they say it has (life time of pain). Yes the remarks where bad but how can a college and coach allow this to cause these players this much sorrow. What would have happend if this would have been a week before the playoffs. Would they have just hung their heads and given up. I would be of the mind set that what one person said is not going to bother me and I feel the coach and school have let them down by buying into all this stuff. They say how much this offended them but I bet if we could look at their CD collection we could find much worse degrading of women. This is music that the younger generation is listening to and watching so how are they going to treat women after all of this negative influence. I talked to my daughter about this and she said she sees and hears this stuff all the time.

I take it you've never been called "nigger" out of the blues or had someone tell you "f*ck you, get me a white person." I can go on and on. Shit adds up after a while you know. Emotionally, not everyone is like you. No one should have to put up with that sort of thing.

As for rap it's mostly consumed by white people. People will make whatever sells and white kids sure are buying.

p.s. I just noticed the forum language filter filters out f*ck but not nigger. Nice.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by saden1

p.s. I just noticed the forum language filter filters out f*ck but not nigger. Nice.

Because no one expects anyone to be dumb enough to say it.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by saden1

I take it you've never been called "nigger" out of the blues or had someone tell you "f*ck you, get me a white person." I can go on and on. Shit adds up after a while you know. Emotionally, not everyone is like you. No one should have to put up with that sort of thing.

As for rap it's mostly consumed by white people. People will make whatever sells and white kids sure are buying.

p.s. I just noticed the forum language filter filters out f*ck but not nigger. Nice.

I was watching Inside the Actors Studio with Eddie Murphy yesterday and in a scene from 48 hours they bleeped the "F" word, the "S" word, the "MF" word...but not the "N" word. Weird

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by saden1

I take it you've never been called "nigger" out of the blues or had someone tell you "f*ck you, get me a white person." I can go on and on. Shit adds up after a while you know. Emotionally, not everyone is like you. No one should have to put up with that sort of thing.

Yup. I would agree that being the constant target of rascist comments would inevitably anger me to the point of striking back in kind. At some point, regardless of the adage, words do hurt and can cause true anguish.

But that is not what's at work here. Here, hateful comments were made and immediately and universally condemned.

If, when someone called you "nigger" other whites rallied to you and told the ass who said it to f--- off, would that "add up"? If, when someone said, "get me a white person", the nearest white person then said: "Shut the f--- up, he's the best we have. It's him or nobody, and frankly if you choose nobody, we'll be good with that. Have a nice day." would that "add up"?

Doesn't the universal condemnation of the comments say something about a change in the culture of america? Yes, racism exists (it likely always will to some degree) but we do not condone it and, if you try and condone it in a public forum, you will be subject to public scorn.

[100% PURE WHOOP ASS]

Originally Posted by saden1

I take it you've never been called "nigger" out of the blues or had someone tell you "f*ck you, get me a white person." I can go on and on. Shit adds up after a while you know. Emotionally, not everyone is like you. No one should have to put up with that sort of thing.

As for rap it's mostly consumed by white people. People will make whatever sells and white kids sure are buying.

p.s. I just noticed the forum language filter filters out f*ck but not nigger. Nice.

A ****ING MAN......LIKE ALOT OF YOU SAY WHEN THE MODERATORS HAVE A POINT................ WELL SAID

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I don't get the whole part of how much this has offended them to the point that they say it has (life time of pain). Yes the remarks where bad but how can a college and coach allow this to cause these players this much sorrow. What would have happend if this would have been a week before the playoffs. Would they have just hung their heads and given up. I would be of the mind set that what one person said is not going to bother me and I feel the coach and school have let them down by buying into all this stuff. They say how much this offended them but I bet if we could look at their CD collection we could find much worse degrading of women. This is music that the younger generation is listening to and watching so how are they going to treat women after all of this negative influence. I talked to my daughter about this and she said she sees and hears this stuff all the time.

As for your daughter's comments - were the statements directed at her personally or at a group of her and friends? or at some other group entirely? If directed at her, what was her reaction? If at others, did she take offense?

On the "Scarred for life? Aren't we going a bit too far?" issue, I am with you.

The remarks we wrong and (given Imus' history) clearly part of a larger racist (and sexist) attitude he both holds and condones. He committed a wrong and should (and was) punished.

As to the actual harm caused by the wrong - that is a trickier question in my mind. Granted, I am a white male and have not been the target of either historic systemic racism (given the US's cultural history, a near impossibility) or specific individual racism directed against me either by comment or action (i.e. - comment: "white men can't jump"; action: "We won't hire you b/c ur a white male"). Thus, I have no first hand knowledge of the harm caused by either. Being somewhat educated and well-read, however, I am capable of learning and understanding the emotions and feelings of someone who has been the subject of either systemic or direct racism.

I do have experience, on multiple occasions, of people directing hateful, malicious or otherwise degrading comments at me. In some cases, this was done in a very public manner. For each case (even those I considered slanderous), however, I did not consider myself "scarred". Some hurt more than others, but all were simply words, and, in my mind, words can only have the power we give them (i.e. Lenny Bruce's famous routine "niggernigger niggernigger - I am going to repeat this word until it is robbed of meaning"). To allow Imus to scar you with words is to give him more power over you mentally than he could ever have physically. I think this is especially true when it is universally recognized that the words used were hateful and, as such, universally condemned.

In light of the universal condemnation of the action, I don't understand the "scarring": Were you unaware that racism exists? Did you as a female black athelete believe that someone who knew you would actually give credence to these words? Did you yourself give any credibility to the words? Does the fact that the words have been universally condemned have no meaning to you?

Granted, words can cause harm but,when it comes to mental anguish, to a certain degree, that harm is yours to control. It is as the old adage says "sticks and stones can brake my bones, but words can never hurt me". It is only when people act upon words that you can be harmed in a way you cannot control. The mere utterance of hateful speech does nothing but highlight the hatefulness of the speaker.

Finally, a question meant to provoke discussion and not intended as either snarky or aloof: Is there any generic racial comment about a group of white men or in reference to a white man that would cause a black commentator to be fired or otherwise sanctioned beyond a slap on the wrist?

[MTK]

Damn now the vbulletin software here is racist?? What's next?



SGG is right, I never expected anyone to use the N word otherwise it would be censored. Would you feel better if it was added to the list Saden? There was no harm meant by not including it, believe me. My ignorance I guess.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Damn now the vbulletin software here is racist?? What's next?



SGG is right, I never expected anyone to use the N word otherwise it would be censored. Would you feel better if it was added to the list Saden? There was no harm meant by not including it, believe me. My ignorance I guess.

Trust me, I don't care. If there has been one complaints about me it's that I don't really care about anything but the $$$....hehe. What i'm trying to say is I'm never passionate about a particular subject. I'm not an ideologue.

I'm just pointing out things that are not so obvious to everyone might be to others. Things that don't seem hurtful to some might be to others. A lot of little things add up. The vBulletin filter thing is so very little and it doesn't really matter.