Imus Fights for Job in Wake of Insults — This protest is being fueled by YouTube which everyone now has to consider when doing risky material. If this guy gets fired, then it’s officially the YouTube Age.
After a career of cranky insults, radio star Don Imus was fighting for his job Monday following one joke that by his own admission went “way too far.”
Two of the nation’s biggest media companies — CBS Corp. and NBC Universal — will ultimately decide the fate of Imus’ daily program after he referred last week to members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.”
It amazes me that guys like him and that other tool, Stern, have an audience to begin with.
No, John, it’s not the official start of the YouTube Age. Now get your somewhat blond-haired nappy-headed ho self back to work.
Heaven forbid you be allowed to make fun of people anymore.
For once I would like to see somebody standby their words, regardless of how stupid they are. Imus is loaded, why not say screw you. Giving Sharpton more press isn’t worth it.
3-
Make fun of people? Calling someone a ‘nappy head ho’ isn’t making fun of someone, its a racial slur. I guess you’re a big Imus fan, eh? or just a fan of racist ‘humor’ as a whole?
Look, the guy was way out of line, and this isn’t the first time he’s used racist comments. He needs to go. This isn’t about freedom of speech, this is about reckless speech and ending the career of a habitual racist speaker.
Imus, just go away.
Fire a guy for that? Has this country turned into a bunch of pussies or what?
He is not a racist. Why is everyone that makes a joke a racist?
Al Sharpton is more of a racist than Imus. Al Sharpton objective is to divide people by race and profit from it.
I don’t even like Imus I just hate pussies that cry racism whenever a white person doesn’t refer to a black person by the newest politcaly correct term or makes a joke!
#1 mark, I had the exact same reaction. The only appeal I’ve seen in the few times I’ve watched Imus’ show is his ability to attract interesting guests, especially other media personalities that normally do the interviewing themselves, but converse with Imus in a much more freewheeling manner.
And speaking of Howard Stern, I remember reading an interview he did where he referred to himself as a comedian. Never before had it occurred to me that he belonged (or even wanted to belong) in that category of performer.
So the club grows by one — we have Michael Richards, Mel Gibson, and now Don Imus. I always wonder, what the f*ck was their state of mind at the time. Temporary insanity? Geez.
There are times when the PC policia go too far, but referring to certain African-American college athletes to as “nappy-headed hos” is far outside any boundaries of common decency. If I want a dose of rap lyrics, I can listen to the radio where I’ll expect to be outraged within the expanded boundaries of artistic license. Imus ain’t no rapper, and “nappy-headed hos” shouldn’t be a part of his vocabulary.
8. The only reason these guys have been popular is because of the shock element. I am not a prude, and I think Stern is an extremely intelligent person, but I have always found their humor on the scale of the immature batthroom type. Sterns TV show was unwatchable.
Yes #6 this country has indeed turned into a bunch of pussies. It’s tragic that these kids got their feelings hurt. Actually, it’s not tragic at all – it’s just life and these kids probably don’t give two craps about what Don Imus says. The NABJ (a racist organization) is just using this issue to push it’s social agenda into the mainstream.
I read the comments over at HuffPo earlier and one thought kept bugging me – ain’t it wonderful how the freedom-loving, militantly “tolerant” liberals are the ones most stridently calling for Imus’ head on a platter… How totally fucked these people’s minds are; Soviet Russia would suit their mentalities just fine.
Since no one has to take Civics in jr. high any more, they grow up to be adults with the most un-American, freedom-denying, repressive, fascistic attitudes this side of the Third Reich.
Hint: It’s offensive speech that must be protected from censorship, assholes. INoffensive sentiments have no need for protection. Is it really that hard to grasp? The solution is, if you don’t like what someone says, then how about don’t fucking listen to them?
Oops, I forgot… PC censors, exactly as with religious fundies, have granted themselves the right to decide who should be allowed to express themselves and who shouldn’t – because, being driven by dogma instead of reason, they know for a obvious fact that they alone are correct!
Here’s something else they never learned, already knowing everything, as they do:
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
~ Evelyn Beatrice Hall, summarizing the belief of Voltaire
Too deep for slackjawed, self-righteous sheeple who want to punish anyone who dares say anything they’ve been programmed to disapprove of.
(Psst! a=an)
I could care less about Porn. After searching for half of an hour this is the first place I have found that I can access, Almost like customer service at AOL in India.
Well I have a question about phones, comparison needed on phones with tv and comuter access and COSTS.
2. Ever tried to sign in when you don’t use the list serve for a while? I tried to enter my normal password, nope not valid, so I went to register, no can do you are already registrated. On top of that i could not find how to get in to get it straight.
I have in one name or another for years, I miss the back page having the funnies,
I believe it was here 15 or so years ago that I read about the young lady who loved her coffie cop holder, but it broke and she wanted to know how to get another one.
thank you. would like to see aa real customer service address.
Pauline
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson…Aren’t these the guys who came down to Duke and said the lacrosse players should be convicted BEFORE DUE PROCESS?! And Jesse offered the girl a scholarship whether or not the accussations were true or not? I didn’t see them jump on a plane and go to Minnesota the past few days…oh, that is right, those guys are black and they must get due process.
Don’t you remember Jesse Jackson’s “Heimetown” remark? And Al Sharpton and Tywana Brawley…boy he helped ruin some police officers lives only later to find out it was a false accusation, just like the Duke case is turning out to be.
It seems like we’ve given these guys more than one pass and they can’t even give Imus one. They should be off the air but I guess that violates free speech.
Why can Chapelle, Chris Rock, Recording Artists, and other blacks say Hos, nappy, the other word that starts with n, and it’s okay to laugh but no, not a white boy? Why aren’t they jumping real hard down their throats?
What ever happened to sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?
By the way, I think those guys up in Minnesota are probably innocent but I will wait before I judge them.
And as for Imus, I don’t listen to him because I don’t really like his radio program anyway. He does do some good charity work though.
And finally, the Rutgers women played some good basketball in the NCAA tournament and deserve recognition for that. I was rooting for Tennessee, go Lady Vols!
I listened to him for years. Got sick of the infomercial over the last 18 months for his wifes cleaning stuff and the “Thermerisol link” to autisim.
His apology for these comments is like Gore buying carbon credits so he can splurge in his mansion.
Dump them both.
#11. Lauren, speech has consequences. Unless it is the government imposing the consequences, freedom of speech is not violated. If you are using someone else’s podium, they have the editorial discretion to take it away, for bad ratings or bad taste or no reason at all.
And don’t put it all off on the liberals and the “PC police” as the conservatives tend to. Oh, who was it who jumped down Bill Mahr’s throat for stating that the 9/11 bombers were not “cowards.” And, more recently, who was trying to get Rosie O’Donnell axed?
Finally, when it actually comes to ACTUAL free speech issues, there are free speech liberals, who will truly stand up for free speech and those who are more censorious. Same thing with conservatives. So don’t lump us all together.
Hmmm…
Adj. – nappy: in small tight curls
a.- headed: Furnished with a head (commonly as denoting intellectual faculties); – used in composition; as, clear-headed, long-headed, thick-headed (nappy-headed)
N. ho (whore): a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money
Where is the racism again? I can’t see how describing someone’s hairdoo as nappy is detrimental in any way.
On the other hand, calling someone a ho in such a public way is slanderous.
Hey, tune your radio to something else. Don’t thank me for that advice.
#11 Lauren, even your nightmarish reports of people calling for Imus’ censorship would not represent any impingement on protected free speech. On the contrary, the worst I’ve seen is calls for the same run-of-the-mill censorship practiced for years here in America, where corporate employees like Imus either self-censor or are externally censored by another corporate employee, even to the extent of losing paid access (shock, horror) to the medium that was provided to them by the corporation that employed them. I’m always surprised to hear that described as un-American by anyone other than Rip Van Winkle. I thought America’s corporate character was widely known.
Even if Imus is subjected to the extreme latter form of censorship (losing his job), he will still have the constitutionally protected right to purchase his own medium for spreading whatever message he wants to broadcast. The constitution doesn’t guarantee anyone their own free medium, except perhaps speaking in the public square. He’ll still have the right of free speech, even if he has to buy his own microphone.
That said, I don’t advocate firing him. Rather, his audience should dwindle away just as I “dwindled away” myself after seeing a few of his shows. Unfortunately, some people will be anxious new viewers because his attitude may resonate with their values. That’s would be a real pity, unless he sees this as a wakeup call to re-examine himself with a willingness to change.
A reminder that there are a lot of racists who comment at Dvorak Uncensored, as any thread that mentions blacks is here. Inevitably, Ku Kluxer Lauren takes the lead. The guy hates people of non-white ancestry, particularly of African descent, almost as much as he loves Macs. (Guess he hasn’t figured out Steve Jobs is half Syrian yet.) I hope no thoughtful person is taking the ‘freedom of speech’ fig leaf bigots like Lauren try to hide behind seriously. The only time racists evince a love of speech is when it is being used to express racist sentiments.
Furthermore, freedom of speech applies only when the government intrudes on expression. That is not what has happened in this episode.
#6
Hint: Who’s in charge of your country? Bush & Dick.
#17 JimR, I agree that “nappy-headed” is a statement of fact regarding the physical characteristics of many African-Americans, but the description and its context somehow make it seem racist. Would the inherent racism be clearer if he had called them “black-skinned hos”? Factual accuracy is probably not the sole determinant.
This might be hard to prove in a court of law, but the court of public opinion would surely convict — they’re allowed to judge by the “feel” 😉
#5, who gives a rat’s ass if it is a racial slur? Humans can be tall or short, fat or skinny, bald or not, different levels of intelligence, and oh my word – have different pigments to their skin too. And guess what, EVERYBODY has prejudices for and against all of these traits and more, but only bleeding heart clowns seem to think they can lie to themselves and everybody else to make it not so. So, if it is perfectly legitimate to make a joke about any one of these traits, it is legitimate to make a joke about ALL of them.
And contrary to people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, there is no evidence at all of “racism” in his little quip… i.e. the belief that one race is innately superior to another. You know, what the word racism actually means, and not what fools who throw it around like a two-dollar whore to smear people and shake them down try to make it mean through their misuse.
So like I said, who gives a rat’s ass… besides those of you who obviously hate the idea that people might be offended by something somebody else says.
Why should he be taken off the air? Because he is a racist? Here is one fact that people seem to forget: It is not illegal to be a racist or to say racist things. He can devote an entire show to his hatred of nappy hos and he should not get taken off the air for it. Unless, of course, the radio station finds it distasteful.
Imus won’t be fired and it’s pretty dronetastic that some people who probably didn’t even know he existed before this want him fired or even care.
Who hasn’t said something inappropriate and why do we need the thought police anyway.
Why not fire Mel Gibson? Oh, that’s right .. he owns his own company and is not subject to the whims of an employer.
Easily solved! All he has to do is participate in an hour of street-pickup basketball with these girls.
#20 Podesta “A reminder that there are a lot of racists who comment at Dvorak Uncensored, as any thread that mentions blacks is here. Inevitably, Ku Kluxer Lauren takes the lead.”
You are way way over board. Yes there are a few racist people on this board. And I noticed these immature minds, like to reference the KKK, as you are!!!
B.T.W Ghoti sounds native to India, i.e. not white, but I could be wrong
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Presidential candidate calls for end to “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
#30 – Jesus H Fucking Christ on a pogo stick…
You could make a Klansman ashamed.
Comment by OhForTheLoveOf — 3/17/2007 @ 1:32 pm
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Dear OhForTheLoveOf , I’ve never had the mind to hang out with Klansman ( I am Black).
I will have to take your word as the authority for what makes a Klansman ashamed, you Bigot.
Comment by noname — 3/17/2007 @ 2:14 pm
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#32, Well, you could start a Black Chapter of the KKK.
PS, I’m in Indiana.
PSS. Aren’t the seals those guys who never leave their buddies behind?
Comment by Mr. Fusion — 3/17/2007 @ 3:33 pm
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13. Pauline- I believe you’ve entered the wrong blog, you want the Twilight Zone blog.
Gary, I’m not convinced that even saying someone is a black-skinned ho is racist. But to say, for instance, that all black-skinned women are hos, would be racist. I’m pinkish white myself, but I happen to think that the rich brown skin of African decent is quite beautiful. So a black-skinned ho could be quite appealing visually to me and personally, I wouldn’t want to feel guilty if I were to describe anyone as black any more than if I used tall or hairy. As an experiment, find a tall, hairy lady and call her a tall, hairy ho… and observe what word she objects to. 🙂
I still think that calling those women athletes hos (with the nappy doos), should be grounds for canceling his show. CBS and NBC can do better than associate with that insensitive, defamatory moron.
1) If speaker were black, would not be an issue.
2) If speaker were Liberal, would not be an issue. Are there any Liberal talk show hosts with more listeners than Imus?
3) If speaker were a Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh, it would be a national crisis covered on Night Line. If Howard Stern said it, well I am sure Howards 10 listeners may care.
4) If the speaker is an ignorant Jerk blowhard it’s 50-50. Since he is probably a liberal, he will keep his job. His attitude is consistent with the news anchors (i.e. news readers), politicians and others who call in to his show. Remember, Imus’s job is to reflect the views of his audience. He expected his audience to find his comments funny, and his audience did keep its mouth shut for almost a week. The outrage only came later after normal people listened to it.
5) If John Dvorak said it on the air, he would have been immediately fired.