Not being a fan of Don Imus, I can't say I'll miss his show, though the bald guy who did the impressions was very funny. I will say I've been both amused and disappointed at the publicity this incident has received, and especially at the number of intelligent people who have completely missed the point.
"Nappy-headed hos"
is both racist and sexist, no matter what Imus says. But it is something more, and in my opinion, something worse. It's a bullying tactic, it's meant to be demeaning and oppressive. Imus has been claiming all week that he's a "nice guy". If he's is such a nice guy, how can he justify this kind of remark? He doesn't walk his talk. He spent half of each show patting himself on the back for his charity work, he never shut up about how much he did and what a great guy he was, and then claiming he wasn't trying to brag about himself. Of course he was. If he was such a nice guy, why does he need to remind everyone of that all the time? If he was really a nice guy, it would be self-evident.
He's tried claiming Snoop Dogg and others say much worse in their music. Excuse me, Imus, but didn't your mother ever ask you if Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you? YOU said it, YOU own it. Be a man and stop trying to shift the blame and focus to anyone else. He obviously has no idea whatsoever how his commentary stings and perpetuates the idea that it's ok to talk about women that way. I am so fed up of middle-aged white men telling me I don't have a sense of humor. Here's a clue for you assholes - walk a few miles in my shoes, grow up in a culture that only values women for their faces and their orifices, know that you could have the crap kicked out of you for speaking up just because someone else is physically bigger than you, learn that you aren't safe in parking lots or walking down the street, have a few kids and end up living in a shelter because the "man" has decided not to step up - go do some of that, then tell me how I don't have a sense of humor. Some men get it. Most do not. Imus is in the do not group. I don't understand why this culture of violence against those weaker than ourselves has become acceptable, but Imus has sure done his part to keep things status quo. If it isn't women, it's Jews or gays or fat people. Easy targets for cowards.
As for the free speech issue, it again misses the point. Does Imus have the right to say what he said? Sure he does. Does he have the right to say it on the public airwaves that my tax dollars support? Maybe. But does he have the right to a job spewing his ignorance and thoughtlessness? Absolutely not. He gets to accept the consequences of his right to free speech and he should shut up about it already.
Another defense that has been made is that Imus insults everyone. Are you people completely stupid? You really don't see the difference between going after a women's college basketball team based purely on their looks, and going after Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, the NY Knicks, or Deidre Imus? Even going after the men's college basketball team wouldn't be the same, since 99% of the men playing on one of the final four teams have multi-million dollar careers ahead of them playing a game. It isn't the same for the women. What would Imus think, I wonder, if Rush Limbaugh lit into a diatribe about Imus' kids at the ranch? How would that sit? And Imus is NOT a shock jock, hasn't been for years. I don't see national leaders and politicians going on Howard Stern's show, and Imus prides himself on those guests. He wants to have it both ways, or more to the point, HIS way. Well, too bad. Pick a side and live with your choice.
Imus may or may not be a racist. He is most certainly a sexist, but he is above all else a bully. He had a platform where he was far more influential than he should have been. Too many people get their news from the opinions of people like Imus, or Limbaugh, or even the Daily Show, and never bother to really look at an issue and form an independent opinion. The women of the Rutgers basketball team did not have access to a public forum like Imus does. They have Al Sharpton to thank for that forum, and Sharpton has also missed the point. For him, this is strictly a racial issue, and he isn't one to talk on that score. And who is he to accept Imus' apology? I'm still waiting to hear him apologize for calling those Duke students rapists, though I don't think he will. He's another wealthy asshole who is very quick to blame and just as quick to excuse himself. There is a word for people like Sharpton - HYPOCRITE. While I'm getting on Sharpton, I really resent how he has made these young women out to be victims. That didn't have to be the case, and they have showed a great deal of class in how they've handled this situation, but they could have, and I think would have, done better without Sharpton's interference. At least Jesse Jackson stepped aside when he was reminded of his own racist epithets.
As for Snoop, he's claiming his songs are about women who use the black man to get his money. LOL! MOST black men don't have Snoop's kind of money to go after. He's an idiot who hasn't read the studies and done the math. And even if his claim was true, where are his songs about the men who use women for sex, spread disease, get them pregnant, then take a hike? Well? C'mon, Snoop, what about that? Gutless wonder. Even more disappointing is that so many young women in this country think that music is "kewl". It isn't, but they aren't smart enough to think about the larger picture, they're too busy impressing their friends with their supposed broadmindedness and inclusiveness. The truth is they are being used, but by the time they are old enough to know better, they will have done their part to perpetuate the second-class citizenship of women to the next generation. Thanks, girls. Most of you are ghetto wanna-be's with no understanding of what that life is really like. Go do some volunteer work in the ghetto. Move to South Central LA or Harlem or Roxbury and live that life for a while, and stop thinking you understand because you've watched a few movies or videos on MTV.
I'm happy to have known men with real class and honor. Anhaga is a prime example. Cori is another. But honestly, those men are few and far between, and I'm too old to put up with any more crap from selfish, thoughtless, Y-chromosome afflicted dickwads just because they are bigger than me. No more. It isn't funny anymore.
In other news, the backyard birdwatching continues. I got a couple shots of what I have tentatively identified as a red-shouldered hawk last week. The flight photo isn't good, but there is enough information to lead me to believe my ID is correct. If anyone can tell me for sure what this hawk is, please do. He was a good sized bird, not as big as a red-tail, but big enough.
