Am I the only person who doesn't agree that Don Imus's comments were racist and sexist?

Question

The only thing that may have been offending is the ho* part. Nappy isn't racist AT ALL!

Answer 1

I wasn't offended at all. I agree with you.

Firstly, Imus is a shock jock. When people were talking this issue into the ground, I was constantly hearing people compare Imus to black rappers and comedians. People made a point to say, "Oh, the rappers and comedians are entertainers. But Imus is responsible for reporting the news, so people take him seriously." Sorry, but, err umm, reporter or not, Imus is a shock jock. If you don't know what a shock jock is then look it up. Imus was no more out of line than rappers and comedians (at least not on the basis of anything race or gender related).

On the other hand, just to be clear, I was equally disgusted with the people who responded by saying things such as, "If Imus can't get away with it then the black rappers and comedians shouldn't either." Well, people are just as free to raise hell about comedians and rappers as they are to raise hell about Imus. So, the people who made such a statement really weren't making a valid point.

Anywhoooo....

Imus' comment was taken completely out of context.

IMUS: "That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some - woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like - kinda like - I don't know."

Imus was contrasting the Rutgers players to the Tennessee players. Both teams were predominately black. So, if Don Imus was racially motivated, why would he refer to one group of black women in a negative manner and not the other? Sorry, but anyone with common sense should know that Imus' comment being directed to one group of black people and not the other is NOT in the character of a racist.

I've also heard it said that Imus' comment was a personal attack since he personally addressed the Rutgers Women's Team. Fine. I suppose I can agree with that to an extent. [[Although I still don't think it's a reason for anyone to get their panties in a knot. People make such "personal attacks" all the time. In my opinion, someone who would let Imus' comment dictate his/her emotions is a weakling]] But that doesn't make his comment racist.

As far as the word ''ho'' is concerned- Well, a lot of people use this word with no offensive intentions. It's often said in reference to women without meaning ''wh*re," "prostitute," "sl*t," or any of the like. Pay attention to context and attitude. If someone is offended regardless, well, then that person is welcome to not listen. It's called changing channels, people! Anyway- No, I definitely don't think that Imus' comment was sexist. If his intentions included offending women then he would most likely have also referred to the other team as "hos".

As for ''nappy''- Look, I realize that it's often said in an offensive manner. On the other hand, often times, it's NOT. While the word "nappy" has come to be thought of by many people as meaning "bad," "messy," "knotted," etc, it's actual meaning is the same as ''kinky''- SMALL, TIGHTLY CURLED HAIR. Sorry, but, ummm, no one should be expected to say "small, tightly curled hair" simply to pacify overly sensitive, politically correct wusses when they can simply say "nappy" or "kinky".

Touchy people, why are you so oversensitive? Do you not comprehend what folks say and "how" they say it? Mental acumen below par?

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Yes, I don't think it was as much racist as just inappropriate. If he had been speaking to me or of me I probably would have been pissed off though. But I mean he is known for being a "shock jock" He was more than likely going to say something to offend some one. If you know someone is offensive, but you listen to them anyway, can you really get mad.

Answer 4

They were more sexist than racist. I kind of got more of a feeling of "women shouldn't be playing sports" than "black women shouldn't be playing sports" from him. I don't think he hates black people. I think he's a more traditional "woman make me a sammich" kind of guy. I really wish the media didn't take Al Sharpton so seriously. His views DO NOT represent the views of the entire black community! He'll protest anything as long as he can get some tv time with his bad perm....

Answer 5

http://www.britkid.org/si-nosuchthing.html
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=No+such+thing+as+race&meta=


"People often seem to think of the world's people as if they can be divided up into three main groups: white, black and yellow. In fact, scientists say it's nonsense because things are really not that simple.

The idea that Africa has only very dark skinned black people ignores the fact that there are many with lighter skins north of the Sahara desert. It also ignores the fact that people from different parts of Africa (while they might all have dark skin) look very different from each other in other ways.

Another example that the 'three different types of people' idea doesn't work is with people from around India. They have dark skin (though it's much lighter in the north, and people in the northern mountains often have blue eyes too) but their faces are very different from Africans. Then there's Australians, who have dark skin but hair like Europeans and Indians. As for Europe, many people in Spain look pretty much like people from north Africa, some Italians are blond and some Norwegians are dark. Confused? Exactly. Genetic differences between people do not fit into neat little boxes that match up to countries. There are no 'pure breeds' of human beings, just lots of blurred edges.

Many people think that people with similar colour skin have similar characteristics. A common example is the achievement of black sportsmen and women and their 'natural rhythm' on the dance floor. This has less to do with biology and more to do with society: black people are not born naturally better at sport and dancing.

Even amongst groups who look pretty much the same, they often have as many genetic differences amongst themselves as they do with some people who look completely different. 'Race' is only skin deep. "

Answer 6

It's not so much what he said, it's the meaning behind what he said and why he thought it was ok to say something like that.

Nappy is sometimes used as a negative word to describe the typical hair texture of people of African Descent. Some people use it in a negative way others use it to simply describe the texture.

Ho is a negative word. Meaning sl*t, prostitute, loose woman, promiscuous woman, wh*re. Very offensive word.

Combine these two words and what race of woman first comes to mind? Why is that so? Answer: The influence of rap music and how it portrays Black women.

Answer 7

I don't think he was racist or sexist. I didn't understand why people were calling him a racist. Nappy means tangled messy hair. I get taggled messy hair sometimes but I wouldn't get offended if someone said "Yo Shaun your hair is nappy". The whole team wasn't black *snickers* was it? lol but seriously, I'm sure most of them listen to rap music where they call women ho's and bitches all the time. And just because Soulja Boy, Little Wayne, or Tupac didn't call them a ho it makes them racist? what the hell? I see white people with nappy hair, I see mexicans with it, black people, blue people, etc. It's not a white person probelm that America associates Nappy and the the word HO to black people. Thats just how the world has come to

Answer 8

Ummm...maybe it's just me, but calling a group of black females that you DON'T EVEN KNOW some "nappy headed hoes" is HIGHLY offensive, no matter who says it(rappers included).

Answer 9

That was Al and Jesse's war and NBC Black employees who hate Don Imus. Most Black folks I know were not home crying or caring about some crusty old fool was sayin on his lame - no black ppl watching - show.

I am so sick of MEDIA DEFERRING TO AL AND JESSE FOR AN EXPLANATION OF ALL THINGS RACIAL. COULD THEY PLEASE ATTEMPT TO GET BLACKS WITH VARYING POINTS OF VIEW. It is called journalism.

Answer 10

He looks like a bird of some sort. That's all I know!