Don Imus vs. Black America?

[Max Raker]

Is it just the word nappy that makes it racist? I definetly think it is mean and a stupid thing to say but I am not sure why it is racist exactly.

[tuq]

Al Sharpton is pathetic and honestly if I was a black person in America I would make a point to distance myself as far from him as possible. I don't know how anyone takes him seriously. That's not to marginalize Imus's comments but every time I see Sharpton making headlines I wonder what he is providing other than divisiveness and unintended entertainment.

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it just the word nappy that makes it racist? I definetly think it is mean and a stupid thing to say but I am not sure why it is racist exactly.

[/ QUOTE ]

they made some other remarks about the girls all being kinda mean-looking, having a lot of tattoos, looking like the Toronto Raptors, etc. the other guy called them 'hardcore hos' then imus called them 'nappy headed hos.' the context made it seem very racist to me, just their tone and the nudge-nudge good-ol-boyism of their conversation. we have a lot of code words and euphemisms in our society, we don't need to call people the n word to get our point across.

[Lazy Meatball]

I still don't se the outrage. First off, not enough people listen to Imus to be offended. The only rason I know who of him is becuae I listen to Stern. And insulting female basketball players as ugly or butch or lesbian is a pretty old joke played out by most of late night television and any conversation with guys. However, the apology Imus gave witch Stern is playing is absolutely hilarious. It's like the old "I have lots of black friends" defense times 20.

Don Imus: "We don't just go to the white kid's funerals"

hahahhahahahaha

[bottomset]

[ QUOTE ]
jesse jackson is not the president of black people

[/ QUOTE ]

I told my dad he was

[SammyKid11]

[ QUOTE ]
First off, not enough people listen to Imus to be offended.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is just plain wrong. First of all, the premise is ridiculous. So what if his show was unpopular? How does that impact whether or not his comments are offensive enough to demand apology, suspension, wage garnishment, or termination?

But regardless, his show reaches about 3.25 million radio listeners per week, plus another 335,000 per HOUR on TV...and his advertising rates are anywhere between 130-150% of Rush Limbaugh's and Howard Stern's. [numbers from Business Week online]

Even if it mattered that few people listened, that's just not true.

And to those of you saying it wasn't that bad...this is the 2000's version of saying ni**er. This is what can be gotten away with. If you don't see the "nudge-nudge-wink-wink" aspect of these racially and overall offensive comments against innocent, accomplished female student-athletes, it's because you are choosing not to.

[Lazy Meatball]

I am skeptical of your numbers (give me ratings, market share, etc.), and including Howard Stern's advertising revenue is pretty dumb considering his show is part of a subscription service.

Personally, I don't find saying ni**er that bad either. I don't agree with it, I wouldn't use it, but if some guy I don't listen to says it I'm not outraged.

[sublime]

lol imus

[odellthurman]

[ QUOTE ]
Al Sharpton is pathetic and honestly if I was a black person in America I would make a point to distance myself as far from him as possible. I don't know how anyone takes him seriously. That's not to marginalize Imus's comments but every time I see Sharpton making headlines I wonder what he is providing other than divisiveness and unintended entertainment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Al Sharpton is an unbelievably gifted public speaker. I followed a lot of his comments during the 2004 Presidential campaign, and he absolutely dominated some of the debates. He is weak on economic issues, but he has a lot of insight on social issues.

You might want to check out his speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention - - http://www.americanrhetoric.com/spee...ton2004dnc.htm

Also, his eulogy at the James Brown funeral was fantastic. I can't find a link right now.

[samjjones]

Imus has been doing this same schtick for the last 30 years. I don't see anything that he's said to be out of character for him. Jesus, the guy is trying to do a comedy show.