Imus Still in Hot Water

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by macallan25

They (him and Sid Rosenberg) were talking about the Tennessee vs. Rutgers women's basketball Final.

Imus: That's some rough girls from Rutgers...man....they got tattoos and....
Rosenberg:....some hardcore hoes....
Imus...haha...some nappy headed hoes there, haha, i'm tellin' ya......and uhhh....the girls from Tennessee....they all looked cute ya know?

Then they talked about how it was a Spike Lee type thing, the Jigaboos vs. the Wannabees. I think he was referencing Do The Right Thing. Then Rosenberg said that the women looked more like the Toronto Raptors or something like that.

According to the transcript I read, it wasn't Rosenberg. This was posted on the first page of this thread:

Originally Posted by delph998

IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and—

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some—woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like—kinda like—I don’t know.

McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

IMUS: Yeah.

McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes—that movie that he had.

MSNBC has pulled his simulcast from their TV network since the advertisers are pulling out.

I agree that what he said was rude and out of line, but I've heard worse from others. I did think to myself, when I heard that GM had pulled their advertising from his show, that I am pretty sure that GM advertises on the rap stations in Detroit who play the songs that are just as offensive. I do see that as a double standard.

I think all the media attention makes it worse. I also just read that a Pennsylvania DJ was fired this morning for having a contest that involved people calling in and saying "I'm a nappy headed ho". I've not been a fan of shock jocks for a long time, so it wouldn't bother me a bit if they all got fired, but I've definitely heard Howard Stern say worse things and NOT get fired.

Imus will probably end up on Sirius now...

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by AGDee

According to the transcript I read, it wasn't Rosenberg. This was posted on the first page of this thread:



MSNBC has pulled his simulcast from their TV network since the advertisers are pulling out.

I agree that what he said was rude and out of line, but I've heard worse from others. I did think to myself, when I heard that GM had pulled their advertising from his show, that I am pretty sure that GM advertises on the rap stations in Detroit who play the songs that are just as offensive. I do see that as a double standard.

I think all the media attention makes it worse. I also just read that a Pennsylvania DJ was fired this morning for having a contest that involved people calling in and saying "I'm a nappy headed ho". I've not been a fan of shock jocks for a long time, so it wouldn't bother me a bit if they all got fired, but I've definitely heard Howard Stern say worse things and NOT get fired.

Imus will probably end up on Sirius now...

My mistake......I just watched the clip on youtube and the call in gues was Rosenberg.....I just figured it was him.

[jon1856]

Some interesting POV's from around the Nation's Op-Ed sections:
http://cagle.com/news/ImusBigMouth/
http://cagle.com/news/ImusBigMouth/


Lastest News links:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...ers/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265441,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17999196/

[Conskeeted7]

I personally don't believe that many, if any at all, white adults can honestly say they do not know the difference between an offensive comment and one that is not. I think it's a total cop-out for any adults to say they should be allowed to use offensive language just because others may say it.

I believe that white people who use offensive language and then use rap/black people as a reason for it are just making excuses. Don't worry about why black people/females use that language. Just know that you can't. Leave that other issue for the black people to deal with. Since when did white people become so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other?

This 'double standard' talk is pure nonsense to me.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

I believe that white people who use offensive language and then use rap/black people as a reason for it are just making excuses.

Music industry people are not used as an excuse, just an illustration of the double standard.

Don't worry about why black people/females use that language. Just know that you can't.

I never thought I'd see such a great demonstration of the double standard. BS. Either condemn all of it or none of it. If the language is that offensive, it should be offensive when uttered by anyone, regardless of the source.

[jubilance1922]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I never thought I'd see such a great demonstration of the double standard. BS. Either condemn all of it or none of it. If the language is that offensive, it should be offensive when uttered by anyone, regardless of the source.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

Don't worry about why black people/females use that language. Just know that you can't. Leave that other issue for the black people to deal with.

Yeah, definitely - and while we're at it, we can leave poverty issues to the poor, hunger issues to the starving, etc. We're definitely not all in this together, when it comes to fighting off century-old stereotypes and embedded racial issues.

It's not so much that I want to be able to call black women "nappy hoes" - honestly, it should be readily apparent that I already can, should I so choose to deal with the consequences - and I couldn't care less about "double standard" issues, as I think it's a semiotic crutch for avoiding the conversation (for the most part).

However, framing the point like you did is just bizarre - it's almost insulting to any intelligent adult who actually wants to go beyond the surface of racial issues in America. To say "just know you can't" is akin to throwing your hands up and quitting, to my mind.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

However, framing the point like you did is just bizarre - it's almost insulting to any intelligent adult who actually wants to go beyond the surface of racial issues in America. To say "just know you can't" is akin to throwing your hands up and quitting, to my mind.

Most adults aren't that intelligent and certainly not intelligent enough to discuss racism in America as more than "hurt feelings" and "bad people saying bad things." Americans generally have a kindergartener's understanding of social issues. They still believe that the "isms" aren't about structure and power but are about diversity training and educating against bigotry. Then they wonder why the "isms" still exist eventhough so many people "seem so nice and tolerant of others."

So saying "just know you can't" is the most that many of us will say when we're faced with people who won't get it no matter how much we say. Then we move on to focus on the issue of structure and power that goes beyond the actions of individuals who may or may not be bigots.

Originally Posted by AGDee

I agree that what he said was rude and out of line, but I've heard worse from others.

As most of us have. But just because people are murdered doesn't mean that violent crimes like rape and assault should be ignored.

The "nappyheaded hoe" part was bad enough but he had to go the extra mile with his "jiggaboo vs. wannabe" reference. That shows that he not only knows what he was saying but that he wanted to make sure it was controversial enough to make some people laugh and others cringe.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

As most of us have. But just because people are murdered doesn't mean that violent crimes like rape and assault should be ignored.

The "nappyheaded hoe" part was bad enough but he had to go the extra mile with his "jiggaboo vs. wannabe" reference. That shows that he not only knows what he was saying but that he wanted to make sure it was controversial enough to make some people laugh and others cringe.

I wasn't saying that we should ignore this. I think we need to apply the same standard across the board.

I personally haven't listed to Imus in well over a decade and didn't realize that he wasn't still in the "shock jock" business, because he very much was a "shock jock" when he was being carried by a local Detroit radio station. I think that all shock jocks have said things this bad or worse. His business was offending people for a long time. There are a lot of shock jocks who are making a living by being offensive. If one is fired for it, then all of them should be.

It was his producer that made the "jiggaboo vs. wannabe" reference and who, in fact, started the conversation, but nobody is slamming him at all. I find that odd too. Shouldn't they be equally responsible here? Held to the same standard? I hope that he has been fired also.

From what I've read, particularly on Wikipedia, he has been an equal opportunity offender. Some excerpts:
Don Imus’ behavior has often drawn the attention of the press. He famously called Rush Limbaugh "a fat, pill-popping loser" and Lesley Stahl a "gutless, lying weasel." His exchange of insults ("fat pig") regarding his show’s former news reader, Contessa Brewer, made news as did Brewer's response ("cantankerous old fool"). When Tucker Carlson brought up Brewer on the program in 2005, Imus hung up on him, calling him "a bowtie-wearing pussy." Some of his targets have not been so prominent, and his attacks often display a more vindictive quality; see Controversies.

Imus has repeatedly referred to Arabs as "ragheads."[8] He has berated many female newsreaders, most recently Contessa Brewer, which caused her to leave the show. After she left the show, Imus went on a tirade, saying, “With that fat ass she’s got, she wouldn’t be one of ‘em,” (a beautiful woman). Imus said on the air, "That skank has to spend three hours with makeup in the morning." The tirade was also tied to comments that were overheard of Contessa's calling Imus “a cantankerous old fool” at a dinner in a restaurant in 2005, when she was still newsreader.[9]

It goes on and on. He probably should have been fired a long time ago.

[Conskeeted7]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Yeah, definitely - and while we're at it, we can leave poverty issues to the poor, hunger issues to the starving, etc. We're definitely not all in this together, when it comes to fighting off century-old stereotypes and embedded racial issues.

These issues are not comparable at all. I still cannot believe that white people cannot understand why the connotation when they use 'racial slang' is different than when used by people of the same race. Since apparently most white people are not willing to acknowledge that difference, evidenced by their continued attempts at incorporating it into their dialogues, the best solution for white people is to just leave that language alone. This is especially true since there's such a negative outcry when it's used. Why keep trying? Why worry about it? Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other? I'm not buying the double standard crap. White people don't use that kind of language for any positive reason. Who are we really kidding here?

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

These issues are not comparable at all. I still cannot believe that white people cannot understand why the connotation when they use 'racial slang' is different than when used by people of the same race. Since apparently most white people are not willing to acknowledge that difference, evidenced by their continued attempts at incorporating it into their dialogues, the best solution for white people is to just leave that language alone. This is especially true since there's such a negative outcry when it's used. Why keep trying? Why worry about it? Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other? I'm not buying the double standard crap. White people don't use that kind of language for any positive reason. Who are we really kidding here?

It is called going main stream.
I do not like, enjoy, or think very highly of the anti-women, the anti-cop, the anti-law, the pro-drug messages et al I see and hear in many of todays music. And who is making these songs????? And I am NOT talking per se about the music companies.
And where is the "good" Rev on this issue? Hummm.....

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

These issues are not comparable at all. I still cannot believe that white people cannot understand why the connotation when they use 'racial slang' is different than when used by people of the same race. Since apparently most white people are not willing to acknowledge that difference, evidenced by their continued attempts at incorporating it into their dialogues, the best solution for white people is to just leave that language alone. This is especially true since there's such a negative outcry when it's used. Why keep trying? Why worry about it? Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other? I'm not buying the double standard crap. White people don't use that kind of language for any positive reason. Who are we really kidding here?

I agree, white people shouldn't use that language, any of it.

[_Opi_]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other?

Because it's the latest trend to excuse the racist tendencies of some white tv/radio personalities.

I'm glad that idiot is out of job.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other? I'm not buying the double standard crap. White people don't use that kind of language for any positive reason. Who are we really kidding here?

I don't think any language of that sort is used in a positive way, unless calling your wife a ho is considered classy in the black community. I'm sorry, you can't own a word or stop just certain people from using a word, especially when it's everywhere around you, from music to movies, to overhearing it in the malls and even in school. You can't expect white people to forget that these words exist if blacks won't stop using these words as well.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7

Why all of a sudden is white America so concerned with the language that blacks use toward each other? I'm not buying the double standard crap. White people don't use that kind of language for any positive reason. Who are we really kidding here?

So you are effectively saying that black people use terms like ni*ger, bitch, ho, etc. in a positive way? Right, right, right.