DON IMUS...Should Don Imus resign from radio? Is the criticism/comments against Imus legitimate...?

Question

Critics Demand Imus Be Fired Over Remarks
He Discusses Racist Statements on Air With Al Sharpton
AP
NEW YORK (April 9) - Don Imus had a hot seat on the other side of the microphone Monday, appearing on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show and enduring more criticism for his offensive comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Imus issued another apology for referring to members of the team as "nappy-headed hos." Sharpton called the comments "abominable" and "racist" and repeated his demand that Imus be fired.

Earlier Monday, on his own radio show, Imus called himself "a good person" who made a bad mistake.

"Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said on his show, which is nationally syndicated to millions of listeners. "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean that it has to be that way for the next five years or whatever because that has to change, and I understand that."

He pointed to his involvement with the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch for children with cancer and blood disorders in New Mexico. Ten percent of the children who come to the ranch are black, he said.

"I'm not a white man who doesn't know any African-Americans," he said.

On the radio show, Sharpton said that Imus' good deeds do not make up for what he said about the Rutgers team, which includes eight black women.

"This is not about whether you're a good man," Sharpton said. "What you said was racist."

Imus said he hoped to meet the Rutgers players and their parents and coaches, and that he was grateful for the appearance on Sharpton's nationally syndicated show.

Answer 1

Imus isn’t the real bad guy
Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.

I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.

But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.

I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.

But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.

In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?

I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?

When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.

No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call [phone] or send e-mail to [e-mail]. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com

Answer 2

Don Imus apologized, why can't Al Sharpeton or Bruce Gordon accept that. Al Sharpeton says he's a Christian, doesn't Jesus preach forgiveness. I think everyone is overreacting. The women on the Basketball team are not asking for a resignation, why are Al Sharpeton and Bruce Gordon. Is it possible that they have their own agenda?
According to the article that I read, above, Al Sharpeton said " It's not about whether your a good man, what you said was racist" Nobody is denying that what Imus said was racist. But are you going after Imus's blood or are you denouncing what he said. Which is the real problem we need to deal with. Destroying a man's career or destroying racism

Answer 3

Hey Lena, you are ignoring the rest of what Imus said -- he said that the the Tennessee women's team was beautiful; also a comment on some of what you describe as the 'black races brights stars'.

All of those women presented themselves to the public with a specific image - an image they chose. Some chose the same 'thug' image that many black male athletes choose. If you actually paid attention to Imus' entire commentary, he was drawing the contrast between the two teams - and it was accurate. Instead of defending the Rutgers women, how about looking up to the alternative - a group of young female athletes performing at their best, presenting an image of class and professionalism. What his words tell young women (and men too) is that how you are viewed is up to you.

BTW, does anyone remember what the 'nap' in Napster is? Yep, it was from a comment about Napster founder Shawn Fanning's nappy head. He is white.

It seems that there is a segment of the black community that is very selective in what offends them. The same term describing a white guy is OK. Remember Eddie Murphy's SNL character Velvet Jones? He wrote the book "I wanna be a ho" Is Eddie a racist too?

Answer 4

i don't think imus should have said what he did... still yet, do i think he deserves to be fired? hell no. i've watched his program in the mornings occasionally, and my husband is an avid fan of the talk show host, and i've heard him insult all kinds of people.

i'm catholic and he did, *cough*cough*, at times insult catholicism. however, i didn't start waving my flag - complete with a picture of the pope - and demand that he be canned for his comments.

racist comment of any kind should be avoided, but coming from someone who tends to throw more than a few insults around... they shouldn't be given any more than a fleeting eyeroll.

if he would have insulted white women... or white men... or hispanics... or the flipping french... would any of those groups have come forward and taken his job? would those groups, in that given situation, even been taken seriously? no.

the sad truth is that the only reason that imus's comments are getting any attention right now is that they were directed toward african-american women. any other group (aside from african-american men) would be given little, if any, air-time to demand apologies or jobs going on the chopping block... and imus would maybe get a brief suspension - not having his job taken from him.

it's unfair.

to the rutger's women's basketball team... you deserved to get an apology from imus. he should never have said such offensive comments. however, he did not deserve to lose his show for you all.

he made a mistake... while you all didn't deserve to be called "hos", he hasn't deserved to have his case jumped so many people and treated like he is a horrible man. he isn't.

damn it.

Answer 5

Imus is no more guilty, than Howard Sterns for his terrible comments he made about People in General and his degrading of Women was allowed. Anytime the Race Card is used, Jesse Jackson pops up. Does the Man even have a Job?

Answer 6

Freedom of speech, if you don't like Imus you don't have to listen to his show, plain and simple. Getting fired is way overboard. Sharpton and Jackson are hippocrates. Blacks are crybabies about the whole situation. This whole country is going down the tubes with this "sensitivity" crap. This country is not a democracy, but caters to the minority fringe element of political correctness. You're free to say what you want, but only if nobody can hear you . . . I don't think that's how the founding fathers imagined the first amendment to be interpreted.

Answer 7

This entire thing is ridiculous and no, he shouldn't be fired!!! Big deal what he said! I'm a white female and if a black reporter or comedian called a group of white ladies cracker b*tches or something else derogatory, I'd just laugh!

Whatever happened to the saying "Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"?

I was watching CNN news and saw that preacher screeching about Imus's remark and fueling peoples anger over this entire rude incident. He's keeping this alive and dividing people by race!!!!

Answer 8

I am quite disheartened to hear that Imus was reprimand in any way. I am confused why it is that if an African American makes a derogatory comment about another African American then it is considered to be "O.K.", when an African American makes a derogatory comment about a Caucasian then it is considered to be "O.K.", but when a Caucasian makes a derogatory comment about an African American then it's a controversy. Whether I agree or disagree with Imus, he has the same freedom of speech that we all do, regardless of his skin color, or influence. His comment's although distasteful are no more racist than what you hear from Chris Rock or any other African American comedian, but yet you never hear about their comments in the news's media? Why hasent Sharpton come out against influential African American's who make racist or racial comment's?

Answer 9

I feel Imus should be fired. If you listen to the conversation the person he was talking with also went on to call the women jiggaboo a racist term that has been used for many years to tear down blacks. I am not the type a person to constantly be looking to throw the racist card but this time it is pretty evident. He was talking about some of the black races brights stars. Women who are at college trying to be productive members of society. They deserve better than to be called "nappy headed ho's". It was offensive to women and blacks and very painful for me to hear. His words tell young black girls that no matter how hard you work you will still be viewed as something to be mocked and not revered. Others may disagree but is this something you would want your sister or loved one to be called.

Answer 10

He should not be fired..but he should be fined heavily and he has already made the proper apologies for what he said and has taken his mistake to heart. His show is one of the original shock-jock shows and he has been given full reighn to say what he wants in the past. In this day and age, public figures can not speak out in a racial way or they will get slammed for it. I believe that he kicked himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth..but if you listen to the tape, he was not the only person in that booth and there was a lot of laughter afterwards. He should not lose his carreer over this, but I bet ya he will think before he says anything funny at the expense of others again.

Answer 11

Personally I think there is freedom of speech..
Yes he did say something he should not have but he did appologize for it now..
And after all that now they are taking him off the show completly.. fireing him!!
I think it is a bunch of bull to be honest.. I am a woman and no i dont like hearing these sort of things but people do let things slip out sometimes on the radio and he has appologized for it many of times!!
No i believe he should have his show back and i personally love his show..
No i dont think he should resign from the show unless he feels it was necessary, but now he dosent have a choice..
I hope he gets picked up by another station, and gets better pay... Maybe that would make alot of people think!!
Just my oppinion but i am a bit upset on this subject!!
Deb