Don Imus is a gold medal olympic idiot.

[cyberdude557]

You got Chris Rock that says the n-word all the time in his jokes. Everyone, blacks and whites, laugh.

You got all these hip hop and rap artists saying the n-word in all their music. Everyone calls that art.

You got Mayor Ray Nagin that says he is going to keep New Orleans a "chocolate city." And he gets re-elected.

Yet Don Imus says the word "nappy-headed hos" and now he has to lose his job???

This country has turned into one gigantic joke....

[Boid Fink]

I am sure the implication of racism is there. 

I would like to see Imus walk into a room full of african-americans and say, man you are some nappy headed people....

The word nappy when used in the context it was is blatantly overtoned with racism.  I am not going to argue about it, because it obviously there.  The country is not a joke, we are only a few generations removed from "back of the bus".  Imus was probably alive for all of that as well.  It is not like this happened in pre-christian days...so of course there is going to be backlash.

Imus is a loser.  It is obvious what he meant.  You can be an apologist, but c'mon.  Feed that line to some idiot who will buy it.  I am not.

[BucJam07]

I wonder while saying "keeping New Orleans a Chocolate City"- Mayor Ray Nagin meant "Keeping it one of the poorest nappy headed cities in the country."

[magicfan39126]

Wow,

Just by looking at this thread and watching the media coverage on this...I can say for absolute certainty that the 1st Amendment is dead.

"I hate what you say, but I will die for the right for you to say it."
-Patrick Henry

If the KKK is protected under the first amendment. Why not Imus? Political correctness is the greatest threat to the constitution today. Im so sick of people filing lawsuits and demanding people be fired because they are "offended." Well you know what my response is? TOUGH! Deal with it. This is a free country. And people are allowed to speak their opinions on anything no matter how offensive or hateful it may be. Unless you want to live in a country like Sweden that has made it a crime to insult homosexuals...I suggest all of you to stop supporting the media bashing that is going on right now.

Nobody is saying that he shouldn't be allowed to voice his opinions, this isn't the issue here. He said something stupid and people have called him out on it, what is wrong with that? The 1st Amendment protects individuals from governmental influence on what they are allowed to say, it doesn't protect from public and private backlash. This 1st Amendment arguement is totally ridiculous but always comes up when someone says something dumb.

And I'm not the biggest Al Sharpton fan on the planet, but people here need to realize that he HAS come out and denounced violent and misogynistic rap music, so in this case, he isn't a hypocrite. AND, if it wasn't for Sharpton, Imus would not have punished and the incident would have gone unnoticed.

[magicfan39126]

You got Chris Rock that says the n-word all the time in his jokes. Everyone, blacks and whites, laugh.

You got all these hip hop and rap artists saying the n-word in all their music. Everyone calls that art.

You got Mayor Ray Nagin that says he is going to keep New Orleans a "chocolate city." And he gets re-elected.

Yet Don Imus says the word "nappy-headed hos" and now he has to lose his job???

This country has turned into one gigantic joke....

I don't want to go back to the whole "n-word" debate from when Michael Richards said it but come on, there is a HUGE difference between a black saying the "n-word" and a white saying it.

[magicfan39126]

Just for the record, I think the backlash against Imus has been way over the top. Al Sharpton was on Hardball and he kept saying that Imus had "denounced an entire race". I must've missed something.

[cyberdude557]

You got Chris Rock that says the n-word all the time in his jokes. Everyone, blacks and whites, laugh.

You got all these hip hop and rap artists saying the n-word in all their music. Everyone calls that art.

You got Mayor Ray Nagin that says he is going to keep New Orleans a "chocolate city." And he gets re-elected.

Yet Don Imus says the word "nappy-headed hos" and now he has to lose his job???

This country has turned into one gigantic joke....

I don't want to go back to the whole "n-word" debate from when Michael Richards said it but come on, there is a HUGE difference between a black saying the "n-word" and a white saying it.

That's a double-standard.

And where does the punishment end? He's suspended for 2 weeks. People are saying that isn't enough. You want him fired? Fine but that isn't much of a punishment because its basically assured that he will be hired somewhere else. The government can't do anything obviously, hate and racial speech is protected under the Constitution.

Michael Savage was fired from MSNBC when he was on the air and said that he hoped a gay caller "gets AIDS and dies." He kept his job with Clear Channel Communications and today he is ranked the 3rd most listened to radio program in the nation. The controversy actually helped him. And he still goes on rants about gays.

Remember what Thomas Jefferson said...
"I would rather be exposed to the inconvenience of attending to too much Liberty than to attending to too small degree of it."

[magicfan39126]

You got Chris Rock that says the n-word all the time in his jokes. Everyone, blacks and whites, laugh.

You got all these hip hop and rap artists saying the n-word in all their music. Everyone calls that art.

You got Mayor Ray Nagin that says he is going to keep New Orleans a "chocolate city." And he gets re-elected.

Yet Don Imus says the word "nappy-headed hos" and now he has to lose his job???

This country has turned into one gigantic joke....

I don't want to go back to the whole "n-word" debate from when Michael Richards said it but come on, there is a HUGE difference between a black saying the "n-word" and a white saying it.

That's a double-standard.

LOL at "double standard".

Okay, go up to a female and call her a "c.unt", notice her reaction.

Go up to a guy and say the same thing, he'll probably laugh.

Certain words mean different things to different people, and people have to be respectful of that.

[klb55]

When a group of young hard working women that are predominately black are playing by the rules to work themselves up the ladder of society are held out for humiliation on national TV by being called whores and racially degraded, that is a legitimate issue and Imus should be held accountable for his words and the meaning behind those words. Looking at the history and struggle of women and blacks in society and it doesn't require a Phd. to realize the incendiary and inflammatory weight behind his "joke". Discrimination in society is real has been for hundreds of years. Words mean things, if they didn't then slander would not be a legitimate legal argument. Imus is a doddering old fool and has clearly out lived his usefulness on the air.

Do you think that Rap Artist's "should be held accountable" for degrading women? They certainly influence more young, impressionable minds then Imus. Rap artists degrade millions as opposed to 8 or 10 people. I don't see people picketing record labels or rap artists. Do you see the irony? This is an issue because of Imus' race and the fact he insulted a small number of identifiable people who can now be paraded around the media. What a joke.

 I haven't heard too many rap songs about Rutgers Womens basketball. In Imus' case he directly insulted a very specific group of indivuals. Rap makes horrible generalizations, but there is a real difference, just ask the parents of one of these girls if you don't think so.

So, do you think insulting 8-10 is more damaging then insulting all women? I think the difference is obvious, regardless of what the parents of the Rutger's womens basketball think. I don't need to call anyone's parents to realize that Rap Artist's have a far greater negative impact on society than Imus.

Let me break it down here. You already know what I think of Imus, now you want an opinion on rap. I think it's garbage, mostly w/o artistic skill, it's garbage on a lot of levels, ok. But you think there's an analogy, I don't. Example, If someone said all women were whores, you might think they are a bitter old fool. But if someone said your wife was a whore you may very well have a different reaction. Generalization vs personal attack.

Well, if my wife or girlfriend were sitting next to me and someone said that all women are whores.  I'd say "excuse me."  If the guy said it again it would be the same thing as saying <insert name> was a whore.  I'm certain of my reaction to either comment.  It would be the same.

[cyberdude557]

When a group of young hard working women that are predominately black are playing by the rules to work themselves up the ladder of society are held out for humiliation on national TV by being called whores and racially degraded, that is a legitimate issue and Imus should be held accountable for his words and the meaning behind those words. Looking at the history and struggle of women and blacks in society and it doesn't require a Phd. to realize the incendiary and inflammatory weight behind his "joke". Discrimination in society is real has been for hundreds of years. Words mean things, if they didn't then slander would not be a legitimate legal argument. Imus is a doddering old fool and has clearly out lived his usefulness on the air.

Do you think that Rap Artist's "should be held accountable" for degrading women? They certainly influence more young, impressionable minds then Imus. Rap artists degrade millions as opposed to 8 or 10 people. I don't see people picketing record labels or rap artists. Do you see the irony? This is an issue because of Imus' race and the fact he insulted a small number of identifiable people who can now be paraded around the media. What a joke.

 I haven't heard too many rap songs about Rutgers Womens basketball. In Imus' case he directly insulted a very specific group of indivuals. Rap makes horrible generalizations, but there is a real difference, just ask the parents of one of these girls if you don't think so.

So, do you think insulting 8-10 is more damaging then insulting all women? I think the difference is obvious, regardless of what the parents of the Rutger's womens basketball think. I don't need to call anyone's parents to realize that Rap Artist's have a far greater negative impact on society than Imus.

Let me break it down here. You already know what I think of Imus, now you want an opinion on rap. I think it's garbage, mostly w/o artistic skill, it's garbage on a lot of levels, ok. But you think there's an analogy, I don't. Example, If someone said all women were whores, you might think they are a bitter old fool. But if someone said your wife was a whore you may very well have a different reaction. Generalization vs personal attack.

Well, if my wife or girlfriend were sitting next to me and someone said that all women are whores. I'd say "excuse me." If the guy said it again it would be the same thing as saying <insert name> was a whore. I'm certain of my reaction to either comment. It would be the same.

Imus didn't say all black women were "nappy-headed hos." He said the Rutgers women's basketball team is... So your analogy doesn't fit.

You got Chris Rock that says the n-word all the time in his jokes. Everyone, blacks and whites, laugh.

You got all these hip hop and rap artists saying the n-word in all their music. Everyone calls that art.

You got Mayor Ray Nagin that says he is going to keep New Orleans a "chocolate city." And he gets re-elected.

Yet Don Imus says the word "nappy-headed hos" and now he has to lose his job???

This country has turned into one gigantic joke....

I don't want to go back to the whole "n-word" debate from when Michael Richards said it but come on, there is a HUGE difference between a black saying the "n-word" and a white saying it.

That's a double-standard.

LOL at "double standard".

Okay, go up to a female and call her a "c.unt", notice her reaction.

Go up to a guy and say the same thing, he'll probably laugh.

Certain words mean different things to different people, and people have to be respectful of that.

That's not a good analogy either because the guy laughs at that fact that it is obvious you dont know what a c-nt is.

[klb55]

cyberdude557:

My post was a response in a series of posts.  I originally asked Gulfshore if he or she thought that rap artists should be "held accountable" for degrading women.  Imus degraded these Rutger's women.  Rap artists degrade women.  I'm sorry you can't see a reason to compare those two cases but a comparison is warranted.  You seem confused.

[cyberdude557]

cyberdude557:

My post was a response in a series of posts. I originally asked Gulfshore if he or she thought that rap artists should be "held accountable" for degrading women. Imus degraded these Rutger's women. Rap artists degrade women. I'm sorry you can't see a reason to compare those two cases but a comparison is warranted. You seem confused.

But you see, those rap artists are NEVER held accountable. Same thing when they use racial slurs. There is never any controversy.

Thats the point. Then all of a sudden, a radio shock jock makes a comment and it dominates the news for an entire week and leads to protests. With all the problems in this world and this country...and this dominates the headlines?

I mean this is just stupid... The man apologized, he has been suspended... Its over... Someone needs to be the better man and just say MOVE ON! Studies show that debates on racism actually increase racist feelings...it doesn't suppress them or change any opinions.

[spartan]

It's not, but because he's a white guy the media has made it racist speech, and so has the black leaders in Rev. Jack and Al Sharpton. Like I said before, it's all quite amusing. It's like a circus performance live on TV. Though I would never watch it anyway.

Ding, ding ding. Damn! it took a long while to get here

[ufojoe]

I mean this is just stupid... The man apologized, he has been suspended... Its over... Someone needs to be the better man and just say MOVE ON! Studies show that debates on racism actually increase racist feelings...it doesn't suppress them or change any opinions.

Well, if you want the debate to end on this message board, just stop replying.

[ufojoe]

Michael Savage was fired from MSNBC when he was on the air and said that he hoped a gay caller "gets AIDS and dies." He kept his job with Clear Channel Communications and today he is ranked the 3rd most listened to radio program in the nation. The controversy actually helped him. And he still goes on rants about gays.

I think this says more about his listeners than anything else.