Are Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson exploiting the Imus issue to promote their agenda?

Question

Imus has apologized. Get over it.

Answer 1

go to...

www.kansascity.com

search for and read "Imus isnt the real bad guy"

writtten by Jason Whitlock, A BLACK WRITER!!!

Answer 2

Of course they are, how else would people notice them. They don't do anything else otherwise. Notice how they always appear out of no where when a big controversy comes up like the Imus issue. They consider themselves the so called "moral" authority and call for Imus to get fired. But have they never made a mistake in there lives? Have they never made a bad comment to someone else? Of course they have, so what right to they have to stand there and say Imus should be fired. They should go back to the hole where they came from and stop using controversy to promote there own political agenda.

Answer 3

Sharpton and Jackson always speak out against these types of things. But the only time the media cover them is in high profile situations like this. As a result, it makes it look like they do exploit this type of thing. Their point in these situations is usually a good one, but their desired consequence is always too extreme, which hinders their credibility.
Personally I do agree with your sentiment in your second line. This is not an offense where Imus should be fired. MSNBC and CBS have put up with remarks worse than this one for years. Imus has always been crude and rude, and I don't really care for it. But he has bee rewarded for the behavior much more than he has been punished. Now that there is some media pressure on them, the networks act like cowards and don't support their employee. That is ridiculous. They should have been correcting this type of thing in-house all along instead of getting outraged when they are forced to deal with it. MSNBC and possibly CBS have no guts.

Answer 4

Al Sharpton and JEsse Jackson will take on any case so that they can get some tv time.

Imus has apologized and is meeting with the team to say so.

my whole thing is when did it become OK with society for the black community and culture to accpet rappers using those terms and it's not OK for any one else to use them? granted that no woman should be called a ho or anything else but come people wake up and smell the double standard

Answer 5

Of course! They would be idiots not to exploit the bad problems that Don Imus caused. I would really like to see America actually grow from this experience and stop the hate that has been going on since the Civil War. The civil rights problems we see will NEVER end in my life time and probably not in my children's life times but that is no reason to have the media blow things out of proportion. Get over it!

Answer 6

Of course they are, and why shouldn't they? They have the same rights to free speech that Imus has.

I don't think Imus was fired because free speech was denied him, I think he was fired because we all have free speech. You can't use the First Amendment to give him the right to say what he pleases and then deny the rest of us our First Amendment right to protest his words. Ultimately, he was fired because over 100 advertisers backed out of supporting the show. If I was an African-American woman advertising with CBS and heard him make those comments, why should I be pressured to ignore it and continue doing business with him? Free speech doesn't mean you are completely free from consequences, it simply means the government can't throw you in jail for speaking your mind.

Naturally, something like this should not be confused with employees being fired because they talk publically about their company's racist or sexist hiring policies or damage the company's product may be doing to the public at large. Sadly, this type of free speech denial is a problem we have not confronted well in our great nation.

I only wish we had demanded by now that our President and his Veep be fired after some of the inane and irresponsible lies they've told.

Answer 7

Of course...that is what they do. They crave attention!

What Imus said was wrong but they are going too far with it.

Also, I would like to see them both come out with a public apology to the 3 Duke University men they spoke out against but they won't because it is not in their interest to do so. They have a habit of not apologizing when it turns out they spoke out too soon and they were wrong!

In Sharpton's case...Remember the Brawley case?

Answer 8

They are flexing their power to influence their own values on all Americans. In conversations for the past few days the dialog has shown the problems they have with their own public figures is out of control. I think you clean your own house before you clean your neighbors. I guess they feel this is all being done as a charity for all Americans. I would like to know what Al Sharpon and Jessie Jackson has done for charity and the public good.

Answer 9

of course they are. both are guilty of similar if not worse remarks themselves. As are many of us. Actually I believe that Mr Imus did that on purpose in order to throw up a smoke screen over the current news about corruption in the white house. he was doing someone a favor. who else wears a hat like that

Answer 10

Kinda yeah, notice how theyre conveniently avoiding the Duke rape case?? Which btw the accuser never apologized, and they never pressed charges against. Funny thing is that Al Sharpton said how you cant expect those student atheletes to be responsible for helping to write legislation against comments like that, but that is exactly what the student atheletes at Duke are working on with their legal team. Double standard yeah, but I dont really want to step in because noone really stepped in when white people did whatever they did to Al Sharpton to make him like that. Maybe a white man killed his puppy

Answer 11

Of course. You have to ask yourself which is worse. Telling an off color joke or persecuting people on a trumped up charge to get yourself in the spotlight when you're supposedly a "man of the cloth". Did Jesse and Al ever apologize to the Duke players? Well, you know the answer to that one.