Some people have asked me where my Imus post is.....I guess I've been a little chicken to post anything at all. I guess for a number of reasons. I don't want to be seen as someone who supports ignorance. I don't want to be seen as someone who supports Al
Sharpton or Jessie Jackson either. Most of all, no matter what i say, if the wrong person reads this, I don't want to be called a racist, and to any career, or life for that matter, that can be utterly detrimental. And before I talk about Imus....
I want to talk about the word racist. This has become such a powerful word; such a powerful accusation for that matter. Now, without getting into the origin of the word, or the fact that there are so many different beliefs of this word (for example whether or not you can actually be racist if you are of color), I want to talk about what this has become. This word not only calls out the people who are racist and holds them accountable for their beliefs and thoughts, but it also strikes fear into many. I mean, if you are against open boarders....RACIST! You hate other races! You sick
motherf....r. You must not like the color brown as Carlos
Mencia says (who also has some good insight to the topic aside from this). But what if your family came into the country legally and you are a first generation and think it's the way it should be done? All in all, I just feel that there's a paranoia, a witch hunt, a plethora of finger pointing just not to seem racist. Is this what happened to Imus? I don't know. I mean the shit he said was racist, but was he fired for a drop in ratings? A decrease in sponsorship? Were those sponsors worried about what he said? Were they worried that they would too be called a racist? I mean what he said was stupid and messed up, but did it really offend the people who decided to pull their ads? Or was it because they were afraid too and acted before the worst case scenario happened (when they would be told they supported racism....if that would have been the case). Don't we hear so many racist things about Arabs being said? But no one seems to take too much offense. Not because it's not horrible, but I just think people don't notice all of the time when they aren't worried about having the horrible words associated with them (or when they're comfortable with it).
More than anything, this is a game of politics. Of finger pointing, and of knee jerk reactions hollowed with out thought. So, did Imus deserve to be fired. I would say yes; If and only if the reaction of the sponsors to pull ads was based in logic, thoughtfulness, and based in research as to what their listeners would see fit and then acted on that information. If it was just out of fear not to be called a racist, then maybe they jumped the gun? What he said was wrong. Not because someone told me to think that, but because it was, but could his apology have been enough to let him change the show, learn from his thoughts and share that with others? Should every person of EVERY race lose their job if they say something wrong in a public arena? Or, maybe even someone like Howard Stern could say this and it wouldn't matter to the sponsors because he was making a lot more money than Imus. Tangential this this point, I have to ask: Should someone of Al
Sharpton's character, intelligence and personality be looked at as the authority of what one particular race thinks and feels (on this point, fuck, I hope not)?
Personally, I don't like Imus' show. Never have, in fact, it pissed me off just to hear his voice most of the time, but I have to say that this whole situation smells of smoke.....smoke from the cartilage burning of the knees jerked too quickly in a scramble to pretend that "we're on the right side". I mean this didn't seem like a visceral reaction of horror on the side of "white" people to say this is something that shouldn't be said. It just seemed like a scape goat. To say "he's the racist! Not me. He's the problem, and I'll show you. I'll prove it. This man will no longer have a job. See, I'm not racist so I'm safe, right? We'll have him gone and our profit margins will go back up". If the profit wasn't effected, I think this wouldn't matter all in all. And, maybe I'm wrong about everything I wrote, but I feel that, at the end of the day, all of this from every side just hurt race relations. I have so much more to say about this, but I won't unless I get a comment. I mean this is difficult to convey clearly when it's 1:30 and I have a heafty buzz on. If I'm wrong, or there's something you want to add. please do. Peace.