So what do you think of the Don Imus Radio situation?? Just in case you're not up to date on the issues, here's a recap:
According to the website Media Matters:
"On the April 4 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team, which is comprised of eight African-American and two white players, as "nappy-headed hos" immediately after the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team "hard-core hos." Later, former Imus sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, who was filling in for sportscaster Chris Carlin, said: "The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the [National Basketball Association's] ,Toronto Raptors."
McGuirk referred to the NCAA women's basketball championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee as a "Spike Lee thing," adding, "The Jigaboos vs. The Wannabees -- that movie that he had." McGuirk was presumably referring to Lee's 1988 film, School Daze"
The National Black Journalism Association Response:
Bryan Monroe is president of the National Black Journalism Association (NABJ) and also vice president and editorial director for Ebony and Jet magazines in Chicago.
Monroe stated the following in a NABJ press:
"What he said has deeply hurt too many people -- black and white, male and female," said Bryan Monroe, NABJ president. "His so-called apology comes two days after the fact, and it is too little, too late."
Imus has had a history of racial insults on his program, having called award-winning journalist Gwen Ifill of PBS a "cleaning lady" and referring to columnist William Rhoden of the New York Times as "a quota hire."
"These were nothing but hard working student athletes — young women, just trying to do their best. After 40 years on the air, it is clear that he has lost touch with all that is decent and honorable in America," said Monroe. "It is time for him to go"
The Former Secretary of State of New Jersey responded:
The Rev. DeForest "Buster" Soaries Jr., called for the resignation of nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus, spelling out plans to protest his New York radio home, WFAN-AM, with a boycott of advertisers and petitioning the FCC to yank its broadcasting license. "We are not going to tolerate that kind of disrespect," Soaries told a standing audience.
Blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend:
This isn't about School Daze and socio-political commentary; this is about Imus and Co. demeaning those women using a common racist denigration of hair texture -- nothing more needs to be telegraphed -- kinky hair=bad, ugly, animalistic, straight hair=good, attractive. And to top it off, those nappy-headed gals at Rutgers are therefore 'hos as well. Nice.
And people wonder why so many black women have a complex about their hair, gooping it up with nasty lye relaxers, frying their scalp with hot combs? The self-loathing is so culturally ingrained, so pathological, and it's reinforced by the messages like the ones Imus and friends are having a great laugh over. It's toxic and ignorant.
Imus is just the latest idiot to take a racist swipe on the air like this. Look at the furor caused by radio host Neal Boortz last year when he made comments about former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who chose not to wear an acceptable, in his eyes, "assimilationist" hair style.
Blogger, Jasmyne Cannick of www.jasmynecannick.com
The reality is that what Imus said was despicable, and downright deplorable and yes he should be fired for it.
But the door was opened a long time ago for the degrading of Black women, and it was opened by us.
When Black men began to make a living, and a good one at that, off of calling us hos, bitches and other derogatory terms, sooner or later it was going to become ok for others to do it.
And I am not blaming us for Imus' racism and stupidity, but I am pointing out the fact that many Blacks, including Black women support rap artists who degrade them and in fact refer to themselves as "hos" and "bitches" much in the way that a large number of Blacks refer to themselves as "nigga."
So again, what do you think of the Don Imus Radio situation??
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Comments: 4
it is NOT a black thing: if i have to constantly have to hear NIGGER and HO, and WORSE on every damn record a black rap artist makes and PROFITS from then they including SHARPTON have no right to complain.
lets' hear SHARPTON attack a rap artist for using the same and worse???? never, he is the biggest rasist around!!!!!
was it a bad thing for him to say?? yes, is it unforgivablt, NO!!!
GET THE RAP ARTISTS OFF THE AIR, then we don't have to hear that language over the air and these thugs making money off the people.
You can't blame the rap artist for verbalizing what they saw while they were growing up. Those same capitalist that run the country are the same one's placing minorities in these neighborboods, and then earning money off them when they become Hip-Hop artist.