Was Imus canned because of his remarks or because he was an opportunity for the Jackson/Sharpton spotlight?

Question

Certainly the whole issue wouldn't have happened if he hadn't made the comments. And the comments were clearly inappropriate. But the magnetude of the response seems WAY out of proportion for the comment and subsequent apology. What is your take on this circus?

Answer 1

It is awfully strange. Normally Mr Imus is a bit more circumspect than that, but I suppose anyone can screw up badly. Imus and the Rev Al Sharpton have known each other for perhaps thirty years now, and the relationship has never been very good. Imus took Sharpton to task during the Tawana Brawley incident years ago.

Ms Brawley, a young black woman, claimed that she'd been attacked by a racist gang in a town in upstate New York. Sharpton went wild with the publicity over this--you've seen how he operates--but the prosecutor discovered that the incident had been faked. An infuriated Sharpton then attacked the prosecutor, who ultimately collected a libel settlement from the good Reverend; the details were never revealed.

Imus is not the least bit of a racist. Like many wide-ranging humorists he tends to parody the language in which his listeners--black and white--hear and use. In this case, I think we're hearing the voice of the black underclass, their fury misdirected once again. There is a portion of lower-class blacks who have been increasingly isolated as the Oprah Winfrey's, Clarence Thomas's and Spike Lee's depart for the upper class, and their better-educated neighbors abandon their old culture for good.

I'm sure that we'll be hearing from Mr Imus soon enough. He's vastly brighter than his detractors, and lots more talented than anyone who'd replace him in broadcasting.

Answer 2

Yes this is an important issue, just like Anna Nicole Smith. So what, he made a mistake in bad taste. He apologized. I never liked the guy to begin with but he is getting screwed. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson need to get real jobs and actually work for a living. If Imus would have called Sharpton and Jackson nappy headed ho's he would have received the Pulitzer prize.

Answer 3

I don't think that one comment was enough to fire him but Imus has been crossing the line for a long time. There are reports of him calling a black sports columnist "New York Times quota hire" and a black PBS anchorwoman a "cleaning lady". He also called the heads of CBS "money grubbing Jews" and frequently refers to Arabs as "rag heads". He allowed members of his staff to make comments such as Sid Rosenberg saying about Kylie Minogue's balltle with cancer “it ain't gonna be so beautiful when the b*tch got a bald head and one titty", and about tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, saying "they would be better suited for National Geographic magazine than for Playboy". Rosenberg was eventually fired but only after numerous complaints.

Although he is a shock jock I think this was this comment was the one that broke the camels back

Answer 4

I totally agree with you. The greatest irony of the whole situation is that Imus probably made his firing inevitable by appearing with Sharpton. Sharpton had nothing to do with it by all rights, but by going on his show Imus legitimized Sharpton and his campaign to have the Imus show canceled.

Answer 5

Imus is held up nationally as a political spokesperson. He often has political guests on his program and frequently has political discussions. He represents a white majority population that in the not too distant past, horribly repressed the Black population. To allow a man like Imus to promote racism on such a forum is to allow the potential for the abject racism and repression of our past to begin to creep back into our society.

Racism is a right-wing attribute (which is quite obvious on this forum) and Imus speaks to that audience. He knew his audience would appreciate those comments and he was more than willing to cater to their racist whims. A decent society must put a man like Imus and his right-wing Archie Bunker followers in their place.

Answer 6

Maybe the outlandish tolerance for crude language that we have been suffering under for some years now, is finally coming to an end. Maybe the airwaves will be more civil.
Sure, it gave Sharpton and Jackson a chance to spout off. But the public reaction was what caused the firing.
Neither Sharpton, nor Jackson, nor Imus are very important to our daily lives anyway.

Answer 7

When Jackson and Al Sharpton got into the picture, Don Imus was toast. But Don Imus was warned before on radio not to make racial slurs.
Did you hear of the incident with Robin Quivers when she introduced herself to Don's wife? He mutterred under his breath, why are you talking to that (censored) and the wife was dumbfounded. Robin Quiver's said, "What did you say?" It was mentioned on the Howard Stern show this morning on Sirius Satellite radio.

Answer 8

They are feeding the liberal propaganda of anarchy & subversion that liberal democrats have created ever since the dust of 9/11 settled and was scooped away . It's more than a circus - this has been an all out war on the American people by democrats who seek to strip away freedom & democracy as we know it . They are getting ready to take over America by laying the foundation for communism anyway they can . Anarchy seems to be the most popular . They get nitwits like Sharpton ; Jackson; Cindy Sheehan ; Al Gore ; Rosie O'Donnell & Michael Moore . They slipped up when they attempted to put blatant traitor John Kerry in the driver's seat . Americans saw right through him . Imus is the test case Hillary Clinton has been looking for , ever since she uttered the words; "We have too much free speech". Imus was never my cup of tea ..too much like watching grass grow ; but I undestand he did a take-off on blowing up a picture or likeness of Hillary Clinton ..so , obviously , he has to go . I seem to recall MSLSD setting up radio talk-show host Michael Savage in an attempt to shut him up . Known for being outspoken , Savage was hired on MSLSD - translated : (MSNBC)..then MSLSD had a vicious caller bait him and aired his response live when he thought he was off the air .Of course they fired Savage . He was the first & last time I made it a point to tune in to MSNBC. After they fired Savage , I wondered why he was so obviously set up ; baited & fired . Learning later of Hillary's plan to clip our easy Internet access to info - and her ripping "too much free speech" .. it all ties in to the fact that liberal democrats do not want any info that exposes their plans for America or leaks their dirty deeds before they have a good cover in place .And who better to carry their "football" ..but a few wacky narcissistic kooks who love the limelight .."The Justice Brothers" .

Answer 9

Its ridiculous. CBS and MSNBC should be ashamed for pandering to idiots like Sharpton. I had listened to Imus for years, and he was not a bigot. He was a troublemaker, and was full of insults, but those insults were spread pretty evenly.

Answer 10

Opportunity. The good reverends were on an attention-grabbing mission. And the country groveled.