Imus Suspended for 2 Weeks after Racist Remark- Page 2

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:27pm

Superb blog entry on the issue from Hulabaloo

[pab]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:28pm

"I don't know him personally, but he is pretty savvy when it comes to what is SAID."

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"On Friday morning’s Imus in the Morning program on MSNBC, Andy Rooney, from CBS, interrupted the I-Man’s positive description of Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., to state that he doesn’t like the term "African-American" and considered "Negro" to be "a perfectly good word."

Imus described Ford as an "African-American" prompting Rooney to interject, "I object every time I hear the word, words ‘African-American.’ You know? I don’t know why we have gotten caught with that." After saying he doesn’t want to be called an ‘Irish-American,’ Rooney went on to state his preference for another term, "The word ‘Negro’ is a perfectly good word, it’s a strong word and a good word. I don’t see anything wrong with that." Video Available: Windows Media or Real Player

Dictionary.com offers a counter view of Rooney’s feelings about ‘Negro.’ In reference to the ‘usage note’ under ‘black’ it states that "It was not until the late 1960s that black (or Black) gained its present status as a self-chosen ethnonym with strong connotations of racial pride, replacing the then-current Negro among Blacks and non-Blacks alike with remarkable speed."


Andy Rooney: 'Negro' Is a Perfectly Good Word

Updated On: 4/10/07 at 12:28 PM

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:35pm

Oh, don't take what I said as an overall defense of Rooney. He's certainly proven himself as no friend to the gays, either.

But the fact that email thing is still floating around is just plain sloppy. And attaching Rooney's name to it just gives unnecessary gravitas to something some dude at a Ruby Ridge knock-off banged out on a Commodore 64.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:53pm

Wait. Don Imus gets punished but Rush Limbaugh, Glenn beck and Ann Coulter go UNPUNISHED?

I'm not signing on to this.

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:09pm

It was quite apparent that the coach saw it as both a racist and sexist statement.

"It's not about them (players) as black or nappy-headed. It's about us as a people," Stringer said. "When there is not equality for all, or when there has been denied equality for one, there has been denied equality for all."

At one point early the the Q&A Essence Carson, the captain said -- where were you all during the season?

A question which barely got followed up and deserves to be taken into account-- but there is truth in that...women's sports especially at the college level are often overlooked or play second fiddle to the men's programs. Having a female athlete in my house -- I have a robust understand the amount of time and energy, sacrifice, dedication it takes to be successful.

Updated On: 4/10/07 at 01:09 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:11pm

Oh please, he's a pig with a pig's foot in his mouth, but all this gaspy "outrage" du jour from a 15-minute-focused culture that loves nothing more than to demonize and glorify the miniutiae of the African American culture, depending on the mood or what can best be exploited.

I direct the tsk-tsking society's attn to the "Pimp" song that won the Oscar only last year. Be ye a playa or a pimp, sing ye of bitches... The last word was Joy Behar today, commenting on the BACHELOR blondes: "limp-haired ho's."

Foot stamping about firing egomaniacs always strikes me as convenient -- fairweather -- PC-speak. (Better we should worry about the creation of scholarships for stellar women to play b-ball. Or get health insurance--things that require action.) Stay outraged, but mostly, just turn your radios off; you best a get vomiting narcissists like Imus to go away by demonstrating a sustained lack of interest.

Updated On: 4/10/07 at 01:11 PM

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:16pm

They all should be punished. Particularly Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter, and O'Reilly.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:25pm

I loathe Imus, and I loathe Sharpton...How he became the grand poobah, taking over for Jesse Jackson is beyond me. He freakin' lied about Tawana Brawley...doesnt anyone remember?!? It's like Marion Barry being re-elected.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:25pm

I thought it was a joke when I heard it on a news. He should be prepared for the ramifications. These are kids he's talking about and it's not something that was going to get swept under the rug.

I think NBC and CBS have a responsibility to serve the public. You often hear the GOP saying things about how Hugo Chavez, and Middle Eastern government's control their media. The governments run the media. Well in the UK and Canada the government does the same. In our country the FCC is supposed to regulate media outlets to serve in the interest of the public. It has not done that since Clinton was in office. The regulations are not to confine the media, but rather create balance and a free system. The Right obviously objects, and the left at it's best still serves special interest groups and their parent companies.

I think it is irresponsible for CBS MSNBC to keep in its employ talent such as this. It is just not in their interest. He is free to say what he wants and should be able to. The problem is public interest. It is also possible Imus offended coworkers.


The media has failed the people in this country in many ways. With political influence from both sides, racial inequities. Commercialism, war mongering, and ethnic slants. Remember when the NY Times and WPost backed the invasion of Iraq? That is propaganda my friends. Everyone in the independant media new it was based on lies and said as much.


No I don't want a sterile media. I want a fair balanced media. Look at the way the media attacked Rosie O’donnel the last few weeks. It was absurd and she didn’t say anything remotely harmful. That was not fair.

Imus is disgusting anyway, why is he on tv? He has a face for radio.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:38pm

Imus has called Cheney a "war criminal." Rosie's views are left of center (or left of left).

NO ONE ON THE RIGHT GETS PUNISHED.

Only those who criticize the administration get punished.

If you jump on this bandwagon, you're falling into Karl Rove's trap.

First rule of the right wing: DIVIDE THE LEFT.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 1:53pm

^^^and them nappy haired ho's all agree that this has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with punishing a critic of the administration.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 2:01pm

Who you calling a nappy-haired ho?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 2:09pm

Two points of view to consider:

Talk radio host Armstrong Williams:

"I can never forget during the time of Hurricane Katrina that he [Imus] was one of the few people who had a national audience in this country who spoke out and said, 'What is wrong with America? Why are they singling out these people for this kind of treatment and this kind of neglect?' He said there's only one conclusion that I can come to is the fact that they have black faces. And this is not right. This is not who America is. And I've got to tell you, I can't forget that. You can be outraged with him, and you should be outraged with him, but you've got to take the man's life in balance. He's one of the few people who brought attention to the plight of those people in New Orleans, and they happened to be black" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 4/9).

MSNBC's Dan Abrams:

"People have every right to be angry, insulted and hurt by Imus's comments. And Imus himself has said they have every right to call for his resignation. Those opinions are heartfelt, and I can tell you they have been heard loud and clear by MSNBC and NBC News. The one set of instigators who should be ignored are our friends over at Fox News, who have made this part of an ongoing political campaign against MSNBC over everything and anything they can find. Now, I understand why they're doing it. It's a good strategy to attack a network that's suddenly offering up a challenge to them on a number of fronts. But one would hope another network would attack with clean hands. We all know that's not the case over at Fox, not even on this sort of issue" ("Scarborough Country," 4/9).

[pab]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 6:08pm

Don Imus' Fantasy Basketball Draft Roster

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 11:39pm

So I gather we can assume that Sharpton will come to Durham and apologize to the Duke Lacrosse team? Or is he "standing by his story" there as well?

>> And before ANYONE comes out of their mouth with the "oh well rappers say this type of stuff" argument, THAT ISNT COOL EITHER!

So where is the community-wide outrage at that? Did I miss the protest? Was Jesse there? I'm sure Al was; is there a video clip at YouTube? Has anyone demanded that the thug-rappers do anything at all to make amends?

Gee. Didnt think so.

C'mon, people, wheres the outrage at those within your own community who make these kinds of remarks on a daily basis while you sit on your hands and do nothing about it? What Imus said was wrong, no question about it. But how is it so very different from any of the hundreds of "rap artists" who say the same thing and get away with it?

Victimhood is one thing. Victimhood with a measure of hypocricy is something else altogether.

Updated On: 4/10/07 at 11:39 PM

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 1:14am

Hi, it's reallylongscreenname. I checked out the Snopes site, and you were right. Sorry for the mistake. Sorry, Andy Rooney; too bad you can't get credit for a fabulous essay like that. Whoever wrote that, kudos!!!!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:26am

I'm offended and outraged by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. How did they ever became so-called community leaders? They are alleged "Reverends" but they don't have the capacity to forgive. It's all about how much publicity they can get for themselves.

Imus made a mistake. He apologized. He needs to stop apologizing already and everyone needs to move ahead.

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 11:16am

Sean Martin, there have been NUMEROUS articles, protests, outrage, etc. at what is put out and supposedly called hip hop or rap. The outrage is there and has been! You obviously aren't looking at all the media and commentary out there.

[pab]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 11:18am

"For all their grit, hard work and courage, the Rutgers girls got branded “nappy-headed ho’s” — a shockingly concise sexual and racial insult, tossed out in a volley of male camaraderie by a group of amused, middle-aged white men. The “joke” — as delivered and later recanted — by the radio and television personality Don Imus failed one big test: it was not funny.

The serial apologies of Mr. Imus, who was suspended yesterday by both NBC News and CBS Radio for his remarks, have failed another test. The sincerity seems forced and suspect because he’s done some version of this several times before.

I know, because he apparently did it to me."

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Full article here:
Trash Talk Radio By GWEN IFILL

[Carl Magnum]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 11:22am

Interesting side note. Opie and Anthony did a simulcast phone call with Whoopie's radio show yesterday. And they were trying to have an intellegent debate with her. All she could do was bash Imus and then they brought up the Ted Dansen incident from years ago, not to be dicks but as a legitimate debate point. Whoopie immediatly hung up.

Oh and go track down the Patrice O'Neal interview on the whole thing from HANNITY and colmes. It's on TheTube. It's worth a listen.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:01pm

>> Sean Martin, there have been NUMEROUS articles, protests, outrage, etc. at what is put out and supposedly called hip hop or rap. The outrage is there and has been! You obviously aren't looking at all the media and commentary out there.

Oh, I've seen the occasional screed, but nothing even close to what we saw in the last few days with Imus. Apparently, all the in-house stuff in re: "rap artistes" isnt terribly effective, because it seems to just get worse and worse every year. I mean, please, ever watch the MTV Music Awards? Did anyone scream at MTV about that? No, the silence was remarkably deafening. Where were your community "leaders" when that was going on, taking a cigarette break?

Sorry, I dont buy for one minute that there's any *real* concern about words like this until it gets uttered by an old white guy. And cut through it, and it wasnt all that terrible, certainly not in light of what I can find on any album by Fifty Cent, available in countless record stores across the country -- and not one single record store chain has been held to the same level of accountability as this seventy-year-old shock jock. His was at least meant as a mindless piece of humour that backfired. The record companies and the "artistes" make *millions* with lyrics that are offensive to a far greater degree... and you say the community is concerned about it???

Prove it. Let's see the outrage and the accountability.

[nmartin]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:20pm

People like Al Sharpton keep racism alive and well in this country.

[Carl Magnum]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:29pm

Say word nmartin. That's the truth right there.

[pab]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:56pm

The Daily Show Tackles Imusgate

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:58pm

The past few days, I've been searching for what these girls did to inspire such a phrase as 'nappy-headed hos'. Did they act like raging lunatics when they lost the championship? Did they destroy a hotel room...or dorm room? Were they caught in a gang-bang with the the men's team?

Turns out, I can't find a single action they could have done to cause Imus to use such a hateful, racist, sexist phrase. From what I could find, it was casual...as casual as such a phrase could be when broadcast into millions of homes and cars and offices.

I'm in complete shock that people here could actually just brush this off...or deflect it by calling attention to Sharpton...or insist that it doesn't matter because he's against the Iraq war...or because he wondered aloud why the response to Katrina was so tragically dismal.

He said something disgusting. He's been suspended and is losing sponsors, as it should be. The public is talking about it. As it should be.

I'm much less disgusted by what is actually happening then by the non-black people on here who are looking for any reason to deflect what was said.