Don Imus and the Duke Lacrosse Team

Don Imus should have been fired for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team a group of "nappy-headed hos." That's the end of the story, in one sense.

At the same time, we should acknowledge that Imus's tasteless crack is not in the same category as  Michael Richard's apoplectic use of the word "nigger" during his comedy routine, or Mel Gibson's drunken bellowing about Jews at the side of the road.

Imus's apologies were both sincere and insufficient.  Insufficient because he crossed the line by attacking the powerless, rather than satirizing the powerful.  But sincere too, because the white old man honestly believed he was showing some street cred.   Compare Michael Richard's  surreal apology on Letterman a few months ago with the genuine apologies offered by Imus, and the difference is clear.

The heroes in this story are the Rutgers women, who offered a classy press conference and accepted Imus's apology after he and his wife met with them last Thursday.   (On his way to attend that meeting, New Jersey governor Jon Corzine was seriously injured in a car crash.)  The chief villain is Imus.  But Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson aren't too far behind.  In the very same week that their activism against Imus proved successful, their specious case against the Duke lacrosse team officially fell apart.

Let's compare sins.  Imus insulted African-Americans, and to some extent all women, in a mere two words.  For more than a year now, the Reverends have traded in the stereotype that all white males with money are hungry to rape black women. 

DNA testing didn't matter; air tight alibis were of no consequence.  These men of God were on a mission to spread a lie.

Sharpton still hasn't apologized for the Tawana Brawley hoax of 1987, and he will never have the decency to apologize for the Duke slander either.  And as for Jackson, let's not forget his never fully explained depiction of New York as "Hymietown" in 1984.

In a nutshell: Imus received a proper comeuppance, but from people who did not have the moral authority to deliver it. 

Saturday Night Live this past weekend had a hilarious spoof of Jackson and Sharpton, who supposedly have plans to make room for Don Imus at their new "Wings of Hope Racist Rehabilitation Center."  Whenever they open that center, let's hope they check themselves in.

Comments

[Wevbo]

Division I college basketball players are hardly powerless. I would argue that, for their age, they are among the most powerful celebrities in the country. They enjoy a level of privilege relatively far superior to that of their peers and contemporaries. Most Americans do not appear regularly on regional and national television, receive full rides (and usually slush money on the side) to attend university, get featured on the covers and insides of national magazines and newspapers, and live as minor celebrities within their communities. Not to mention the now practically-ritualized investigations and sanctions that affect Division I programs.

Sadly, this fiasco says much more about gender inequality in our country than it does about racial inequality. Imus is an idiot, but his profoundly stupid act was choosing the wrong gender. Had Imus used similar language to describe members of any team playing the 65-team NCAA Men's tournament, he'd have hardly raised an eyebrow because Americans condone (and universities profit handsomely from) the double-standards outlined above regarding "amateur" Division I male athletes, and the privilege and wealth they enjoy on campus (and that 2% of them are positioned to receive as NBA millionaires).

Imus tried to play it both ways--liberal and creep. Conservative and creep (Coulter's "fag" comment, Limbaugh attacking Fox, Limbaugh buying cartonloads of pills, Limbaugh apologizing for said drug problem, Michael Savage ripping into illegal workers and minority privileges) plays just fine in the heartland, but the elites on the coasts, and their advertisers, are much more discerning, and much less willing to wade into the lose-lose politics of standing up to duplicitous opportunists.

[Phillip_Bach]

I think Imus is sorry, in the sense that he regrets losing his radio show. He can't possibly be sorry for saying something vulgar, cruel and offensive. Otherwise, he'd have to apologize for his entire career. He said exactly what he meant to say; it wasn't a slip. It's what his audience has come to expect for years. Why apologize? You got a cheap laugh at the expense of others. Mission accomplished.

Imus should've been fired a long time ago, but so should Howard Stern and other similar "shock jocks." Their whole career is about creating vulgar entertainment, for vulgar people. I don't support government-imposed censorship, but I'm all for market-driven responsibility. That means consumers holding networks and advertisers accountable for this garbage.

After this incident, we started hearing all about Imus's history of offensive statements. He's made degrading comments about Jews, handicapped people, Indians...the list goes on and on. What does it say about the corporate sponsors (or the audience) that all this was acceptable and celebrated, but nappy-head is just going too far. Howard Stern's program similarly degrades women and sex on a regular basis.

It seems like we've carved out a little slice of public discourse - the last frontier of decency. Be as offensive and degrading as you want, and you'll rake in millions, just don't hit on race (or a specific race at that).

I've recently heard Imus identified as a "liberal." I have to say, before this I had no idea what his political views are. I listened to his show once, thought he was a crude idiot, and never listened again. He wears a cowboy hat, and acts like a bigot, but he's a liberal? Whatever, it doesn't matter.

By the way, my comments above also apply to so-called "conservative" shock jocks like Michael Savage. In my eyes, decency, order, civility and restraint are fundamental conservative values. Real conservatives don't go around calling people "fags" and the like.

And yes, I'm glad the irony was noted in Don Imus groveling to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two of the worst hatemongers on the political scene today. Along with Congressman Charlie Rengal, who said the President was "our Bull Connor." I'm still waiting on their apologies.

I've been watching Fox News, and I note that they've really been pushing the "What about hip-hop music?" angle on this story. It's a completely valid point, though it doesn't excuse Imus at all, or prove that he got a raw deal. I have no sympathy whatsoever for Imus, ragardless of how crude 50 Cent is. I do think the latter is more harmful to black youth, to the extent that they idolize him more. But I'm really in favor of promoting civility across the board in society, instead of each side picking their favorite targets to exploit. I hope this incident helps to foster a more general reflection on the way all of us treat one another.

[MarkD]

We have our own version of shock jocks here in Australia. One of the most famous and most powerful, Alan Jones, was recently indicted for encouraging racial riots in Cronula last year. (You may recall hearing stories about beach riots between rival Middle Eastern and Australian surfing gangs – you have to love Australia, what other country would have surfing gangs). For whatever it is worth, Phillip and John, shock jocks are not solely an American problem. You find them the world over. There are always going to be people who hate, people who appeal to primal group instincts – in short – bullies. It is interesting to watch them when they finally go too far (and they always do). The bully, when confronted becomes meek and tearful. “I didn’t mean it” or “I am being misquoted” or “I am not being treated fairly.”

When Alan was indicted last week he went on national television to complain that he was being treated unfairly and that everyone was allowed to speak his/her mind but him. He dressed himself up in the mantle of victomhood - ‘look at me, people are being mean to me.’ “Everyone is allowed to speak their mind but me.’ Imus, Al, Rush, Allen they are all the same. The bully always comes to the same end. Problem is, there will always be someone to replace them whether they be conservative or liberal. I think the thing to remember is that we all have the capacity to be an Imus or a Rush or an Allen. All we can do is seek to control our own base instincts and, as Phillip says, treat each other with decency and civility.

Now I am signing off for a 10 day holiday on the Margaret River. Catch you when I get back.