Do you think Imus should have got fired?

Question

They say he is just an older white man that was just trying to be "hip" with his comment, but I do think his comment was a little crazy. Im african american and I know many people of my race that talk like that, so im thinking that since he hears people of our race talking like that i guess he felt like it was okay. But i also do think that people of my race shouldn't talk like that to each other because the minute a white person repeats what is said most blacks are ready to fight back when their the ones saying it too. What do you think?

Answer 1

Yes, he should have gotten fired. No matter who he was, black or white, he shouldn't have said what he said. He called those girls "nappy-headed hoes." That comment was sexist and racist. It was just plain old unneccessary.

That wasn't being hip. Only an ignorant person would just be sitting around and say look at them nappy-headed hoes play. Maybe someone would say "them bitches got skillz", but even that is unacceptable. When is it right to call a woman a ***** or a hoe? It is sad that our black americans do this to themselves, and it is wrong no matter how it goes. However, it is worse when he did it, and if he would have gotten away with it, where would we be.

Answer 2

I personally don't think he should've been fired. People say these things all the time. Look at Carlos Mencia! All races love him, because he makes racial remarks, and he is on air. I also think that Sharpton and Jackson need to calm down. Its not that big of a deal. If a black man had said something like this about a white person, there would be no problems, for real. For instance.. CHRIS ROCK! I laugh when he makes fun of white people, i dont take it personally. And I'm not saying racism is okay, believe me, i know its terrible. But jokes that are just for fun shouldnt be such a big deal, because i dont consider that racist. If he would've made threats, or talked about how much he hates black people, then it would be a different story. So to the people offended by this, you have the right to be upset, but don't blow it our of proportion, theres no reason to get worked up about what one person says.

Answer 3

I think the fact that they fired him is a little harsh. He apologized and admitted to be wrong for coming out of his mouth that way. But why do we as black folks get mad when somebody outside of our race uses the same derogatory terms that we use to address ourselves even though it's wrong? I feel that he had his moment, he's trying to set things right and in a few years when he's still unemployed nobody will even remember. There are other ways they could have handled this, for instance like everybody else the girls could have sued him or had him pay for their education so they wouldn't have to worry about student bills and whatnot's. Then I think society is being to harsh because Kramer actually said the n***** word but he didn't receive half the reprimand that Imus is getting. Nappy is a texture of hair or are we mad because he said hoes? If that's the case I'd be in trouble to because I've put them two words together in the same fashion many of times.

Answer 4

I in no way liked Imus yet whilst Kanye West makes use of the comparable words and sells platinum information - the companies provide him extra funds for his platinum information. the comparable companies who additionally sponsor the females's very final 4 adventure have been the comparable ones sponsoring Imus. So, Imus indignant those companies who backed a basketball adventure. yet, whilst 15 3 hundred and sixty 5 days old females %. weapons, connect gangs like the Bloods and Crips and function babies - no one seems to word or maybe care whilst they're slurred interior the customary song. carry on with the money....

Answer 5

Personally, I think many people are missing some huge points!

First of all, this case has very little-if anything-to do with his constitutionally-protected right to free speech. Imus exercised his right to free speech and no one from the government tried to stop him. The people who felt that his word were inappropriate also excercised their right to free speech and the government, once again, did not intervene-per the constitution. His employers excercised their rights to free speech when they fired him! Once again, the government stayed out of it. His job is NOT constitutionally protected.

He was hired to produce revenue for his employers. His ability to do that was shot when he offended so many listeners to the point that sponsers started pulling out, and his words were upsetting other employees.

Almost everyone here seems to be assuming he was fired because so many people were outraged by his comments. Well, he was hired to make offensive comments in order to get strong ratings and produce revenue for his employers. That's what shock jocks do. But his actions last week, worked against the company which hired him, so they had to let him go.

Answer 6

No, he shouldn't. What he said was not nice or kind but he has every right to say it. Our Constitution guarantees us Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion just so we can prevent oppression. When you stop one person from saying what they believe or what they want to say, you are also oppressing the other side to the view because the freedom to talk about an issue, right or wrong, good or bad, offensive or not, politically correct or not, or whatever, we are agreeing that none of use should have the right to speak freely. When that happens, select groups of people will determine what we can and cannot say or do and we will be back to communism, fascism, and all the other "isms" that the Constituion -- the law of the land -- was designed to prevent.

Answer 7

I agree 100% with your statement. If blacks don't want people using those words, then they should stop using them too or they are hypocrites themselves. No, Don Imus had a constitutional right to free speach. What he said at worse was a bit mean, but not racist. It became a racial issue when the racial bigots Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson stuck their racist noses into the issue and made it a racial issue. If they would have minded their own busines and stuck with preaching about God instead of stirring the race pot, the non-issue would have died off as the non-issue that it was. But that didn't happen, and Imus had his rights violated, and lost his job. If good black folks want this racisim to go away, then your going to have to 1.) convince your people to come out of denial, 2.) come out against people like Jackson and Sharpton and Farakhan, and 3.) stop having a double standard.

Answer 8

Here's what Hugh Hewitt says:

"Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson didn’t kill Don Imus’ show. It was a suicide, and that the vultures showed up shouldn’t confuse us about what happened. When Imus took an off ramp and drove forty blocks out of his way to run over the Rutgers women hoopsters –and then backed over them again while turning the car around to get back—he did himself in. It just took a few days for him to bleed out. The vultures always show up, but make no mistake. Imus has Imus to blame: His sponsors wanted nothing to do with his brand once that brand got recognition outside of the relatively small world that watched or listened to Imus. That’s the market, not the P.C. police."

By the way, are you saying whites as a group and blacks as a group are culturally the same? LOL

P.S. Some answerers here are talking about freedom of speech. That only applies to when the GOVERNMENT stops you from saying what you want to say. The government had nothing to do with Imus this week. Or are you guys saying he has a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to his job? No way ... lots of people don't understand what freedom of speech really means.

Answer 9

I think he should not get fired. He apologized and feels sorry about it. I seriously did not think what he said was that offensive. A Little bit stupid but not racist. I hear rappers and stand-up comics say worse things. I can walk down the street and hear many back people say these things. He was just trying to be cool. If he is not allowed to say these things, I think all people regardless of race should live up to the same standards.

Answer 10

I think he should be publicly berated just like anybody should be when they use innapropriate terminology. The problem with that is, people selectively berate when they can benefit from it. Listen to the radio, so much crap coming out of mouths when they sing songs. But people don't make a scene about that. It's a double standard that people use to make a name for themselves. The only thing they are bringing to the table is themselves. Anyway, public outcry, suspension, and he personally apologized to the Rutgers team. Don't worry about Imus, if he wants to he will be able to find some more work. A lot of radio personalities have built their careers out of deliberately saying things that push the envelope. Imus is just, kind of moronic I guess. No bad intentions on his part.