Considering that so much of the pundit class didn't have a problem with Imus' over-decade of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, he has an odd point. Namely, that CBS didn't warn him to watch it or else. CBS was fine with Imus' bigotry, so long as it brought them cash. And the pundit class had no problem going on his show - and many of them continue to defend him. Hell, John Kerry defended the guy. I don't think there's a chance in hell that Imus will get his job back, fortunately the wrath of the people won out on this one, but it is amazing what it takes to wake people up to the reality of hate in the year 2007.
A growing number of conservatives would have us believe that Imus is just as bad as everyone else, you know, just like people who criticize President Bush. Isn't it really the same thing, criticizing President Bush because he's an idiot, a failure, and the worst president ever and picking on a bunch of women because they're black? That's what conservatives are now trying to allege in an ongoing effort to somehow paint Imus' racism as not that bad. And yes, both are "picking on" examples. But one is well-deserved (and true), the other is racist and unacceptable in civilized society (or should be). One is directed at the leader of a free country (who can defend himself, thank you very much), the other is against innocent young college women.
It amazes me how many people on the right still don't understand what America was founded on, and why. Namely, that we led a revolution to overthrow a tyrannical government. That our freedoms have been given to us, and guaranteed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in order to insure that such a government does not return. The more we are permitted to openly criticize our government, the freer we are and will remain.
The same cannot be said of spewing racism against innocent young women. It doesn't help thwart the return of the king. It does, however, harken back to 400 years of shameful history that we are still, to this day, trying to put behind us. Calling George Bush a liar, or even a criminal, may shock some (while many others would agree), but it hardly is on a par with racism, historically or otherwise (no presidents nor their ancestors were subjugated for being dumb).
This man was a leader of the Republican party. He's still a leader of the Republican far-right. And he thinks racism is a joke. He thinks calling black women "nappy-headed hos" is a joke, and that anyone who has a problem with it is simply being "politically correct." I guess that this Republican leader also thinks calling a Jewish journalist a "boner-nosed, beanie headed Jew boy" is a joke too. That calling gays "homos" and laughing at the murder of gays and lesbians is a joke too. That overturning Jewish tombstones is a joke. That referring to black professional women as "cleaning ladies" is a joke. The list goes on.
The people leading today's Republican party, a party hijacked by the far-right, the religious right, racism, sexism, and homophobia is simple a joke. And if you call someone on their ten-plus years of racism, sexism and homophobia, then you are simply being politically correct and must be destroyed.
This is what the Republican party has become. A haven for racists, sexists, and homophobes. Blacks, women, gays, and Latinos take note. They simply can't comprehend the concept that racism, sexism and homophobia are bad things, per se, and that you don't get the right to revenge because someone held a racist accountable. Only klansmen think and talk like that, at least until now.
(NB Delay made these deplorable comments on his blog and at Townhall, the premiere conservative Web site. I don't plan on linking to either, since I'm not going to give this racist criminal the Web traffic he wants.)
I'm glad that the Rutgers basketball team has accepted Don Imus' apology for his racist crack about them, but will the mainstream media please stop pretending as if this were Imus' first and only bigoted comment. Imus and his team have been making these kind of horrendously bigoted, racist, sexist, and homophobic jokes for years (going on ten years from what I've been able to find). Where's his apology to the black community for referring to Gwen Ifill as "the cleaning lady," simply because she's black? Where is his apology to Latinos for calling singer Gloria Estefan a ho? Where is his apology to gays and lesbians for saying it's okay to kill "homos"? Where is his apology to Jewish-Americans for joking about overturning Jewish tombstones and calling Post reporter Howie Kurtz a "boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jew boy"?
It's all well and good that Don Imus has apologized to the women of Rutgers. Now let's hear him apology to the rest of America. You know as well as I that this man is going to get a big fat filthy contract on satellite radio. He needs to come clean about his ten-plus years of bigotry against everyone, and promise never to do it again, before anyone dares hire him again.
Appearing last night on CNN’s Larry King Live, Al Franken said that firing Don Imus was the “right decision,” but pointed out that CNN has its own anchor who regularly spews hateful and bigoted remarks.
“CNN has Glenn Beck on,” Franken told King. “Glenn Beck asked my congressman, Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, you know, I just want to ask you, how do I know that you’re not working with the enemy? … I don’t know why that wasn’t grounds for CNN thinking, well, maybe Glenn Beck shouldn’t be on. I mean, how dare he say that to a congressman who has just been elected?”
King asked Franken, “With a lot of [controversial remarks] going on, are you calling for other dismissals?” Franken said, “No, I’m not. Just Glenn Beck on your network.”
On April 11, NBC News announced that it was dropping MSNBC's simulcast of Imus in the Morning in the wake of the controversy that erupted over host Don Imus' reference to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." The following day, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves announced that CBS -- which owns both the radio station that broadcast Imus' program and Westwood One, which syndicated the program -- has fired Imus and would cease broadcasting his radio show. But as Media Matters for America has extensively documented, bigotry and hate speech targeting, among other characteristics, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continue to permeate the airwaves through personalities such as Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Michael Smerconish, and John Gibson.
CBS announced Thursday its decision to cease broadcasting the Imus in the Morning radio program, effective immediately, on a permanent basis.
Imus initially was suspended for two weeks for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his programs.
"From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent," said CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, in announcing the decision.
"Those who have spoken with us the last few days represent people of goodwill from all segments of our society – all races, economic groups, men and women alike," added Moonves.
I just got an email update from the far-right Republican activists at the Family Research Council, and I've been noticing a growing amount of gay-bashing in their literature of late. Their latest? Using the homophobic code "San Francisco values" to bash Pelosi. Now what are those "San Francisco values" the FRC is talking about? Baking Sourdough? What the FRC means is that San Francisco is full of fags. And why say that outright when they can turn it into some kind of subliminal bigoted slur.
In a later installment, we'll show you how the Family Research Council, the Concerned Women for America and the American Family Association are currently promoting a known hate group (we're talking a group akin to the Klan and white Supremacists). Not very Christian. Stay tuned.
You see, it was only one incident of Imus being a racist. He's really a good man. Well, other than all the other racist, misogynist, homophobic, anti-Semitic stunts Imus has pulled over the years. Read and listen to Imus and friends talking about black bitches and their boyfriends in jail. It's a classic.
I now hear that Imus says he's willing to hire a black person for his crew in order to help him with his racism problem. Great, does he plan on hiring a Jew, a gay guy, a woman and every other minority he's ever degraded? I don't care who Imus hires, I care who he gratuitously attacks. Let Imus keep his show, but the next time he broadcasts a bigoted segment, he's gone.
Next up: Imus as a symptom of the greater problem. CNN's Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, all of FOX News, and every other broadcast that loves to pander to hate and bigotry for ratings.
- Beating up faggots. - Knocking over Jewish tombstones. - Setting homeless bums on fire. - Anderson Cooper taking it in the poop chute. - Obama as a colored man. - Homos. - Wishing that some "sissy" on American Idol be the victim of a vicious hate crime. - Shaving Rosie O'Donnell's bush, you'd need a weed wacker.
Note that it's Imus' usual shtick to let his producer be the bigot, with Imus repeatedly saying "no, no, no." Yeah - no no no - then doing the same shtick over and over and over again for years. Imus has been doing bigotry for over 7 years now that I've been following his show. His racist comments about the basketball team were the latest offensive, not the first.
Don Imus' friends in the media and politics have been rallying around him. Apparently, all the rest of us don't really know what a good guy he really is. See, if you're not in the punditry club, you might not get understand. Of course, if you're in the punditry club, you're most likely a straight, older white male who has never been the brunt of hate and bigotry. Pam Spaulding has the quintessential post explaining why Imus has to go:
This is why Imus has to go. There will be no self-policing. "You probably can't do it anymore." Jesus. I guess [Newsweek's Howard] Fineman means you can't do it on the air, but in the clubby band of journalists and media figures, this kind of racism and misogyny is still worth a belly laugh among friends. It sounds like neither [The Boston Globe's Tom] Oliphant or Fineman would call him out on this in private conversation. They'd chuckle and just say "oh, that's just the I-Man."
After all, they're not the target of the "nappy headed hos" comment, and I doubt there are any decisionmakers of color (or racially aware, non-POC) at MSNBC or CBS who would have telegraphed years ago to Imus that he couldn't continue years of making a living tossing off racist and sexist comments for a profit. This time he wasn't picking on media stars or politicians, he was slurring a women's basketball team. They aren't public political figures; Imus and his clowning colleagues were attacking black women with the worst stereotypes imaginable.
Why cater to the most base elements of society while at the same time offering a program up as a platform for legitimate political discussion?
UPDATE: CBS Radio has suspended him for 2 weeks now as well. That's good. But the man has been an intolerant loud-mouthed jerk for over 7 years that I've been hearing about him. And MSNBC has the nerve to say he's turned over a new leaf? Really? After 7+ years of people complaining about his racist radio show, suddenly this week Imus apologizes for ONE incident and everything is a-okay for MSNBC. By the way, how is CNN resident racist, homophobe, misogynist Glenn Beck doing? And how is the entire FOX News network doing?
That's nice, but a 2 week simulcast suspension - oh no, don't throw me in the briar patch! It's a bit of a suspension without a difference - I doubt his MSNBC simulcast was the most lucrative part of his radio deal. Still, it's a very small step in the right direction. Let's see what happens after 2 weeks.
He called a female basketball team, made up of a large number of black players, "nappy-headed hoes."
But hey, so what if this is his umpteenth racist remark on the air over the years. CNN host Glenn Beck is a racist, homophobe, misogynist and that's why CNN hired him. Then there's FOX News - the entire network is bigoted, but the Congressional Black Caucus Institute is sucking up to them big time, wooing them for a few presidential debates.
Bigotry sells. It is ironic, though, that a media so concerned about not offending George Bush has no problem hiring racist bigots. More from Media Matters.
