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...

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Well Al Sharpton's stance on hip hop is out there. I guess that's a figment of our imaginations and means nothing, too.

I commend Sharpton and Jackson for not allowing people to interrogate them and turn this issue around. Imus' apology means that he knew he was wrong or at least cared enough to pretend that he was wrong. If it was all about "rappers can say it, what's the big deal" then he shouldn't have apologized and instead told the complainers to choke on it.

In the end, MSNBC and the corporate sponsors have spoken. I really liked Imus at first and was blowing this whole thing off. But now I'm seeing the issue for what it really is and calling a spade a spade.

Answering questions about your own hypocrisy isn't the same as allowing someone else to turn the situation around.

It seems accountability only applies to some. That being said, I'm going to leave the double standard issue alone.

[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.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by AGDee

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

Imus will probably end up on Sirius now...

For what it's worth, Steve Capus, President of NBC News, claims that the decision to drop Imus was not based on revenue (loss of advertising), but rather to protect the reputation of NBC News.

That could be true.

We'll see what CBS, the owner of the Imus show, decides to do beyond a suspension.

Your comment about Sirius has a certain ring of probability.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by AGDee

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...

I think Stern WAS fired by NBC in the early 90's, but then got picked up by another network and made 5x the money NBC was paying him. I think this is all going to play out benefiting Imus in the end, a week ago most people in America never heard of the guy and now he's a household name.

[AKA_Monet]

I'm sorry I am still trying to figure out how Imus even knows what a ho who give head that is nappy? I'm so lost with this issue.

And most of what you all are saying, I think he belittled these women because he is a "little man" and he does not have the dick strength to ride these "jiggaboos" on the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. And does he really ball? And Vitamin V won't work for his "little white wrinkled assed butt" even if he was found to be attractive by some cracky taled ho who is very happy to be nappy. Then when does he use his "stuh"--wait, more like why?

And MSNBC justified a reason to get rid of him... That's seems rather harsh and foul. But they allowed this hype to fester only because they want someone new, young and fresh in the game... And it ain't gonna be a sistah runnin' a show. Hayle they cain't stand Oprah anymore...

Personally, I think homey is like a Ken Barbie Doll.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

I think Stern WAS fired by NBC in the early 90's, but then got picked up by another network and made 5x the money NBC was paying him. I think this is all going to play out benefiting Imus in the end, a week ago most people in America never heard of the guy and now he's a household name.

Stern was fired a few times in a few different cities but always ended up back on the airwaves somehow. When the FCC put too much pressure on him, he went to Sirius and, from what I can gather, that put Sirius on the map. Although, I'm sure people said this when cable TV was first getting popular, I just can't see paying for radio personally... but that's me. I listen to the radio on my way to work and sometimes on my way home. Usually on my way home, I listen to one of the CDs I've made from Itunes.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ann.coulter2

Imus should apologize to the Rutgers women — and those women alone — send them flowers, and stop kissing Al Sharpton's ring.

This wasn't an insult to all mankind, and certainly not an insult to Al Sharpton. Now, if Imus had called the basketball players "fat, race-baiting black men with clownish hairstyles," well, then perhaps Sharpton would be owed an apology.

more of this week's column in the LAU forum.

Lambda Alpha Upsilon

Dale, when did you join Lambda Alpha Upsilon?

If you aren't a member, it's really really offensive to sign your posts with their letters.

But back to the topic - I fell asleep w/ MSNBC on and woke up to "Breaking News: Imus Out" over and over.

I guess it would actually matter if MSNBC was actually watched by, um, people that aren't asleep.

[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 shinerbock

I'm going to leave the double standard issue alone.

Because there isn't one.

[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.