Associated Press – April 14, 2007:
Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said Friday the team had accepted radio host Don Imus’ apology. She said he deserves a chance to move on but hopes the furor his racist and sexist insult caused will be a catalyst for change.
“We, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knight basketball team, accept — accept — Mr. Imus’ apology, and we are in the process of forgiving,” Stringer read from a team statement a day after the women met personally with Imus and his wife.
“We still find his statements to be unacceptable, and this is an experience that we will never forget,” she said.
“Can’t we all just get along?”
#16,
Hmmm, I think Imus should apologize at the same time that Al Sharpton apologizes for his comments about the Duke Lacrosse players….
And are you going to apologize for smearing OJ Simpson? Or do you believe that another standard applies in that case?
Let’s put some things into perspective.
Imus smeared some women Basketball players because HE didn’t approve of their looks.
Sharpton reacted to published reports on a gang rape of a black woman by three “privileged” white kids.
Simpson was found not guilty by a jury of his peers.
While Imus’s comment was not warranted, it is nothing compared to what the liberal media releases. Just look at MTV or BET.
Hhmmm, didn’t one of Rupert Murdoch’s companies agree to publish OJ Simpson’s book? Of course they later backed down after the uproar, but that was after the check was cashed. Besides, MTV is an entertainment channel. BET might be better compared to Fox. As well, I guess we should also consider the hate that conservative men like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Weiner (aka Savage), Sean Hannity, and the like put out.
#19 –
Actually OJ LOST the civil case. The standards required in that case not being as stringent as the criminal case. Of course he arranged his finances so the white plaintiffs would never see a cent of his money – Reasonable people convicted him. CONVICTED. No smear there.
Imus was parodying Rap artists. Unfortunately he had a mental fart and choose to rap in the context of the womens basketball team from the night before. Stupid choice, but the rap artists are still selling records and nobody from the Jackson / Sharpton coalition has said boo about it. What this says is if you are a black man and degrade a black women and make money off it – It’s OoooKaayyy with Sharpton / Jackson. Of course what do you expect from a drug dealer / adulterer. .
Sure, Sharpton reacted to published reports on a gang rape of a black woman by three “privileged” white kids. But he still never ever apologizes for ROUTINELY accusing innocents in error – EVER. He does the damage and shuffles off to his next victim. He comes off as being proud of doing the damage irregardless of if the allegation is true or not. HE JUST LIKES TO HURT PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT BLACK..
Isn’t that by definition racism.
Or is it OK if I adopt his philosphy as my own. Because as you no doubt American Indians have been treated much more unfarily than blacks were ever treated, and continue to be so. Or don’t you care?
I suspect most blacks are embarassed by the monstrosity that the simple minded media has created.
The only black leader that came out of the “ho” comment with any sense of decency and fair play was Barack Obama. I only hope that he continues to make Jackson / Sharpton irrelevant, because they are. .
#16
I have never made any comments about the OJ Simpson case. OJ was acquitted in the criminal case but convicted in the civil case. This is not a matter of racism, but of the justice system.
The point that I was trying to make is that Christian ministers (Sharpton and Jackson) , who are supposed to show acceptance and compassion to all persons by default, but do so apparently only in a very selective manner.
The ideals of separation of church and state are such that the government is not supposed to establish a state-run religion. This was established to prevent a repeat of what happened in England. This does, however, work in two separate ways. The government is not supposed to tell religions how they are supposed to worship (within reason, if a religion is organized that blatantly violates the law, then the government can step in), and that religions are not supposed to force their views into the government (proselytization).
I could care less what color somebody is, I care about how they act. If they demean another without applying the same standard across the board, then they are racist, or sexist, etc. Neither of the aforementioned ministers made any damning statements in the recent Kobe Bryant case. The crime in question was rape, a horrible crime against a woman, not a vague comment about appearance. This is not wholly different from the Duke Lacrosse players incident. But remarks were made about one and not the other. This, in essence, is what the entire matter is about.
Imus did the right thing in apologizing for his comments. While the comments were unacceptable when taken in the context that has subsequently been blown out of proportion, he at least bothered to apologize. He is well known for making comments without thinking them through beforehand. The Rutgers basketball team accepted his apology. The case is closed. As to his punishment, I don’t necessarily feel that being fired as Al has called for is the proper course of action, but events have been set in motion, and I guess the best thing we can do now is watch them play out.
21 – Mr Fusion – What you said. Hypocrisy always deserved to have its covers pulled.
#22 – Thinking out Loud
“Reasonable people convicted him. CONVICTED. No smear there.”
You’re actually being too kind to the murdering bastard. I think there might still be a few thousand ideologically-blinded, gullible morons out there who truly, sincerely believe that, against millions-to-one odds, OJ didn’t slash Ron & Nicole, that all that evidence was just lies and coincidences.
When it comes to those deluded clowns, it’s interesting to note this: they insist, because the jury, in a court of law, found him not guilty, that that proves that he didn’t do it! A judgement de jure somehow miraculously transforms de facto reality – and after the fact!! “He couldn’ta done it, cause the jury said he didn’t!”
Their absolute, 100% confidence in the determination of a jury is utterly amazing coming from the very same people who spend the rest of their time complaining that juries falsely convict innocent people every single day!!
If all those juries who put innocent people in prison are wrong, because of being corrupted or deceived – and they most indubitably are – then any jury can be corrupted or deceived – including OJ’s.
And if you deny that, then you’re not just a fool, you’re a lying hypocrite.
- – - – - – - – - –
For those who think that’s Imus’ dimwitted wisecrack was as bad as the things Sharpton and Jackson, et al, say -
Imus was making an off-the-cuff, thoughtless crack. Those girls had done nothing to him, said nothing about him; he wasn’t angry with them, he had no motive to consciously decide to deliberately insult them. That’s a far cry from calling all of America’s Jews “Hymies” or “diamond merchants” and provoking deadly violence against them. Remember? Those two were serious, there was no dumbass wisecracking involved, they deliberately slandered all Jews.
And of course, the “Reverend” Al – that sack of shit, after pumping up the Tawana Brawley hoax, publicly, deliberately and repeatedly, called DA Steven Pagones a rapist and a racist – among innumerable other despicable lies.
And that fatass turd has never once apologized.
One set of rules for you and yours, another set for everyone else, right?
Kid yourselves all you want – what Imus said pales into utter insignificance nest to the filthy lies and bigoted smears that those two hatemonging opportunist slime have been spewing wholesale for years without so much as a fucking peep from you “tolerant” “liberal” racist hypocrites.
Doug, it was a goof because the FCC fines big $$$ for stuff like this.
Again someone should be responcible for not hitting the bleep button.
Imus was just trying to be a smarta$$ and it back fired..Sharpton jumped ot any on it as a tool to promote himself. Its not about imus its about Sharpton self promotion.
Nappy hair is a description of the type of hair. its not any different than using the word curley, or straight.
We all used the word whores many times in our lifes.
Actually the term Black people is not a correct description of race.
Most people we refer to as black are not black at all.
Their skin color is different shades of brown. The skin type changed as a way of adapting to the environment over time due to evolution.
After all we all came from Adam and Eve.
Many of the so called Black people who like to be called African American do not come from Africa but other regions of the world such as the islands.
Many of the so called black people have mixed blood with other races.
in addition their roots trace back to many generations of American.
I have personally found that people of color more predudice of the different shades. Lighter skin brown people are more prejudice of blacker people.
But this isn’t any different amongst white people either.
Whites have a cast system of their own based mostly on religion.
Blonde hair Blue eyed Protestants being on the top and Jews on the bottom.
People like Al Sharpton and David Duke are about hate and self promotion.
Thier is good and bad in every race.
I really don’t care what color a person is as long as they are a good person.
#25. And I would not go on the radio to call your mother or your sister or your wife a whore. If I did, you would be very justified in being outraged, and seek to have me removed from the airwaves, free speech or no free speech. Lets keep in mind that this was not some abstract racial insult, this was directed at a very specific group of women.
As far as nappy-headed goes. What if he had called them “thick-lipped ho’s”? Are we getting closer to something that you would consider a racist remark? After all, thick is only a type of lip.
I don’t think “ho” is on the FCC’s list of naughty words. It is an indication of the bizzare cultural standards we have that talking about sex or excretion will get you in government trouble, but referring to college athletes as whores just gets you in trouble with the likes of Al Sharpton.
Thanks for fighting the good fight, Doug. When the racists are on a roll there’s a tendency to look away because it is like some twilight zone where rationality is dismissed.
I think the reason for the bigots’ attempt to change the topic to Al Sharpton, Anna Nicole Smith or the weather is that they know there is no real defense for what Don Imus said. Those young women did nothing to deserve the disgraceful treatment he dished out. So, Lauren the Bigot and his ilk must evade the facts to defend Imus and his viewpoint. They mistakenly think they can do so by changing the topic.
On the previous thread about the Imus situation, I decided to accept the ‘freedom of speech’ Lauren and his
fellow Aryan Nations membersfriends say they are defending, So, I took the liberty of saying that Lauren’s mother, sister, wife or girlfriend are stringy haired hos — with lice. Strangely, neither Lauren or his friends have applauded that remark. Could that be because that they know it is not a decent thing to say?We are far better off as a society to allowing people top speak freely.
“UNCENSORED”
No matter how outragous thier comments are they have a right to self expression.
“Communist and Facist restrict free speech.”
Messages of hate are not good, but its worse if we don’t know they hate.
Take away free speech and you take away the root of democracy.
#29. Thanks, Podesta. Yes, the uniform tactic of the pro-Imus crowd has not been to defend what he said (which is indefensible), but rather to attack some of his lead detractors. And good on you for exercising your freedom of speech to impugn the scalp hygiene and sexual mores of Lauren’s female relatives. It does rather shock me that he has not applauded your vigorous contribution to the debate
#30. Richard, if the FCC tried to take Don Imus off the air, I would be among the first ones to denounce it as a violation of the First Amendment. But no government moved to shut him up, his employer, the owner of his podium did. Every media outlet has the ABSOLUTE right to exercise editorial discretion to determine whether they want to be associated with such behavior. And these outlets decided they did not.
Lets put it this way. If I am a doctor, I get to decide what magazines to put in my waiting room. I decide on the Weekly Reader rather than Penthouse Forum because I do not think the latter is something I want my medical practice to be associated with. Am I censoring all those fine people who wish to share their sexual exploits with the world – including my patients and their families? Not at all. I am merely exercising my right to decide what speech I want in a venue I control.
That is exactly what Don Imus’ employers did. And good for them.
For the enlightenment of the white-hating bigots like Podperson, I’d like to share the thoughts of someone who feels exactly as I do, another “racist;” Mr. Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star .
The full column is here. What follows are choice excerpts, which, exactly like the points I and others have made, anti-white racist clowns like Podperson and Mr Confusion will go to any length to avoid answering.
. . . . . . . . . . .
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.
[snip]
…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.
[snip]
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.
(NOTE: Poor, poor Mr Confusion is highly upset that I said allowing his 7-year-old daughter to listen to hip-hop is irresponsible child abuse.)
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.
[snip]
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$.
[snip]
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.
. . . . . . . .
I can’t wait for the pathetic contortions the local self-hating white suspects’ll twist themselves into in order to once again avoid these real issues…
C’mon, Podperson. Call me some more irrelevant names. That way (you hope) no one’ll notice you can’t address my points – because you and your kind are the prejudiced ones, the lynch mob.
Oh, you said something about my female relatives? Boo-hoo. They’re grownups. They’ll survive.
Unlike you and the professional victims you love so much, I’m a grownup too; your infantile namecalling can’t hurt me. They’re just words. Just like the dumb shit Imus said. One day, when you grow up, you might figure that out for yourself.
Poster #1, that’s stupid. You call the Rutger’s players racist, but thay cannot be racist! They are Black! Only whites can be racist. Blacks and other people of color have never enslaved the world like whites. Destruction of the enviroment, war, and racism are the legacy of whites. Whites are the virus of this planet. End of story! We must all work for peace.
Thousands and thousands of hours spend talking about this and will whites learn anything from this?
Not much, if anything. Just like the OJ case. We American’s talked that one to death but hardly anybody was listening.
For starters, we white people need to get it in our thick skulls that racism is different than bigotry. When we whites face the occasional anti-white bigotry we assume it’s something like what blacks experience with racism.
It ain’t AT ALL the same. Not even close.
Listen to black people. Let your guard down and listen to their stories of what racism is like for them. Most likely, it is NOTHING like the occasional anti-white bigotry you may have experienced.
#1. Believe it or not there are Black people who don’t listen to “rap music singers” or approve of the lyrics.
#34, you’re correct, they are different.
Racism is the belief that one race is innately superior to another. Bigotry is just an intolerance towards a group of people out of some form of prejudice.
Unfortunately for your argument, very few people are actually the racists you and others like to claim.
#32, Fish Breath,
(NOTE: Poor, poor Mr Confusion is highly upset that I said allowing his 7-year-old daughter to listen to hip-hop is irresponsible child abuse.)
I think you really are not only an asshole, but a truly narcissistic one at that. Your idiocy is what is “Hip Hop should not be confused with “gansta rap”. Of coarse, being the drunk and drug addict you have admitted to, I understand your inability make coherent thoughts. That also explains why you love to invent accusations. I don’t know what explains your racism.
Quoting some columnist in near entirety in order to make a point shows YOU can’t make the point yourself. I don’t know who Jason Whitlock is, I don’t believe I have ever heard of him, and couldn’t care less what his opinion is. If he has something to add to this discussion, then let him make his own post.
I’m not surprised that the ahistorical, non-factual and poorly written ramblings of Jason Whitlock appeal to persons such as Lauren the Bigot. The ignorance of a Whitlock allows racists to do one of their favorite things — use a member of an oppressed group to attack that oppressed group. That also explains the popularity of Bill Cosby’s ill-conceived rant against African-Americans despite his own continual problems with sexual harassment.
However, I am not remotely swayed. The inaccuracies in Whitlock’s tirade are numerous. They include:
•Apparently not grasping that ‘gangsta rap’ is a division of rap, but definitely not the whole of it. By blasting rap as a whole he impugns people in the field who have nothing to do with the ‘gangsta’ segment. Dating all the way back to pioneers like Run DMC and up to current artists such as Lateef and the Chief and Kanye West, the majority of rappers have not been gangsta rappers and have often criticized that subset. That is why I have rap on my iPod and SN lets his child listen to rap. We know that all rap is not gangsta rap. The key elements of rap are verbal cleverness, story and rhythmic soul or rock music. Those are not bad things.
•Failure to realize that gangsta rap’s primary purchasers are young white males. They seek it out of a warped celebration of machismo. Often having little real exposure to African-Americans, many of these foolish people believe the stereotypes of gangsta rap. That leads to stupid acts. . .such as referring to black women as ‘hos’ merely because of their race and gender. Meanwhile, most African-Americans buying music by black artists buy neo-Soul, Old School R&B or dance hip hop such as Ciara and Black Eyed Peas. The most popular schools or rap currently are Atlanta’s and Philadelphia’s. Neither is predominantly gangsta rap.
•Inability to realize that many people in the black community have been criticizing gangsta rap since long before he began to write very bad prose.
•If one is going to write a defense of someone, as Whitlock has of Imus, one does his homework first. He didn’t. If he had, he would know that Imus was considered one of the most influential media personalities in America. He doesn’t know that, or, seemingly, much of anything.
It is particularly telling that Whitlock attacks the Rutgers’ women basketball team himself, accusing them of being fans of gangsta rap. He has no proof of that. In reality, one of the players is a classical music prodigy who composes and plays music for the piano. I don’t doubt for a moment that all of them are much smarter than Jason Whitlock and Lauren the Bigot.
Any credibility Whitlock might claim is belied by his own lack of insight and ability
.
For real music fans, not know-nothings whose only interest in the art is attacks on one genre of music, there’s a great interview of Wynton Marsalis in this month’s JazzTimes. Marsalis talks about how his latest release “From the Plantation to the Penitentiary,” is a meditation on contemporary problems in American culture. The continuing eyesore of gangsta rap is discussed in the article and one of the topics addressed on the album. I highly recommend both.