Don Imus Gets Fired - TV and Radio!!! Options

[burd]

I never saw his TV show. I never listened to his radio show.
But he referred to players of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos".

Al Sharpton called for his termination from NBC & CBS broadcast companies. Advertisers pulled out ... and Imus is now unemployeed! I can't believe it.

I think the comment on the surface was rude, but I don't know if it was taken out of context or not. I've heard every fucking news commentator repeat those words, but I haven't heard one true soundbyte from Imus. Was he serious? Was he joking?

I think a guy old enough to roll over & die any minute should be allowed to keep his mildly rated talk show. I think if you don't want to hear it, you don't have to listen to it. I think there are much worse things being said in lyrics, shown in movies, written in books ... but they have to pick on the little old guy so the big corporate machines won't piss off more advertisers (and won't have to deal with the annoyance of defending themselves against Al Sharpton).

What do you think?

This post has been edited by burd: Apr 12 2007, 5:33 pm

[slainte]

i agree with you janice~if you don't like it, don't listen....and while it was insensitive and derrogatory, what happened to freedom of speech?

[Tina]

I agree with both of you girls. I saw an interview today...two women journalists I believe. The one was saying how most rap songs today have lyrics that are way worse than Don Imus' comment and nothing gets said.

I agree that what he said was wrong but then we go right back to the whole freedom of speech thing. I just don't get it.

[Heather]

I'm confused as well. I don't get why he was fired even though the remarks that he made were offensive. How does freedom of speech fit into all of this? I guess it doesn't because it doesn't seem like there actually is freedom of speech in this country anymore. I think it all started with Janet Jackson's boob. Now all advertisers and corporate type people are scared to death of anything that might cause the slightest bit of controversy. I think he was fired mostly because his sponsors all backed out and he pretty much would have no radio show without them backing him.

[burd]

He has the right to say whatever he wants, but he has a contract that legally limits him. He has to exhibit a certain level of responsibility with the freedom of speech as he is (was) a representative of a major fucking corporation. I think he legally crossed some lines with the broadcast companies. But I don't think he should be fired. I think he should be suspended and/or fined (like Stern was 8 million times) and NOT be forced to apologize (that's the biggest pussy move ever).

He has a big mouth, he slipped, it turned into a whole racial mess once Al Sharpton got involved, and now the man is unemployeed. It's really pathetic.

[tangled]

So here's the thing.
i've never even heard of the guy until this whole flap. And more than the free speech argument, i just wonder what is wrong with him. Apparently this is his thing, saying shit most of us wouldn't dare say, not out of fear but out of common decency and there are people who are into that.
My question is (and yes, i've heard his comment, the whole segment that lead up to it, and it started with TATTOOS, which, yeah moron - but it wasn't a 'slip') what is wrong with him? What goes through a person's head that says "WOW!! That's the smartest thing in the world to say, say it out loud, go on do it!!"

Really? The first thing you think when you look at young women competing and succeeding and triumphing is "Nappy headed ho"? i don't care if he loses his job, cause frankly i didn't know he had a job - but...what is wrong with him??

And, have you seen HIS hair??

Whatever. Any chance to shut up the stupid is okee with me. But that is a war i'll be fighting forever.

This post has been edited by tangled: Apr 12 2007, 10:43 pm

[torcatofan]

I know this may be beside the fact, but there is a huge double standard here. I'm not saying that Imus was right (he was definitely wrong), but ANYONE who uses racist words is wrong. Yet, only the person of one race who says something about another race is punished.

This is the double standard:
"Black people are allowed to say it so why aren't white people?"

That's why parents don't swear in front of their kids - so their kids won't swear. I really don't want to offend anyone, but this is a good example: blacks use the "n" word all the time.

I believe that there are extremes with freedom of speech. Racism is a good example of that, and racism stays alive when someone uses words that are considered derogatory against their own race.

[sandkind]

I know this may be beside the fact, but there is a huge double standard here. I'm not saying that Imus was right (he was definitely wrong), but ANYONE who uses racist words is wrong. Yet, only the person of one race who says something about another race is punished.

This is the double standard:
"Black people are allowed to say it so why aren't white people?"

That's why parents don't swear in front of their kids - so their kids won't swear. I really don't want to offend anyone, but this is a good example: blacks use the "n" word all the time.

I believe that there are extremes with freedom of speech. Racism is a good example of that, and racism stays alive when someone uses words that are considered derogatory against their own race.

you are right that there is a double standard, although i know many black people who do not condone that type of talk from other blacks. were the situation reversed it would not even have made the news.

[SJN1279]

I saw the Rutgers press conference and those girls made me sick. Saying there were scarred for life and it ruined their time of celebration, THEY LOST what celebration? Imus said something stupid, we all do that from time to time. He'll land on his feet but those Rutger "ho's" should feel awful for making a man lose his job. Al Sharpton isn't worth anything.

What's wrong with nappy hair anyway?

[Trathena]

Here's the complete quote:

DON IMUS: So I watched the basketball game last night between a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.

SID ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night, seventh championship for Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by thirteen points.

DON IMUS: Some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they've got tattoos and --

BERNARD McGUIRK: Some hardcore hos.

DON IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there, I’m going to tell you that. Man, that’s some -- ooh! And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so -- like kind of like a -- I don’t know.

BERNARD McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

DON IMUS: Yeah.

BERNARD McGUIRK: The Jigaboos versus the Wannabes --

DON IMUS: Yeah.

BERNARD McGUIRK: That movie that he had?

DON IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough --

CHARLES McCORD: Do the Right Thing.

BERNARD McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

DON IMUS: I don't know if I’d have wanted to beat Rutgers or not. But they did, right?

SID ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

DON IMUS: Well, I guess, yeah.

LOU RUFFINO: Only tougher.

I heard a tape of this verbal vomit, and yes, he and McCord both meant it. This isn't a "freedom of speech" issue. Don Imus doesn't have freedom of speech on his job. None of us has freedom of speech on our jobs. Don Imus has always been a sexist bigot, so I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by this. But, yeah, the company he works for is well within its right to fire him if he's costing them money or legitimacy. He belongs on Fox, where this kind of thinking would be welcome. He's an asshole. This couldn't happen to a better guy.

[tswart1]

Obviously they felt that his comments somewhat accurately described them or they wouldnt have been "scarred." If not than they should have just shrugged it off.

I'm tired of all the political correctness stuff. If they would have been in a professional environment this debate may have been warranted, but the comments really had no bearing on the outcomes of their lives.

[thekingofspades]

I listened/watched the clip with what Imus said. I think he really was making a joke, but it was racially charged. I do not think he is an aggressive, KKK kind of bigot, but he's said lots of racist and sexist things before. This kind of was the straw that broke the camel's back i think. I'm not sure exactly why the media is maying attention to this specific case, but perhaps in light of Michael Richards (sp?), Mel Gibson, and that guy on Grey's Anatomy, people are extra sensitive.

I fully support freedom of speech. Hell we're using it here. But i think people should be held responsible for what they say. People have the right to say what they want...but take responsibility for it. Should he have gotten fired? I definitely think so. I know lots of people who disagree, but i think someone who makes a living on the radio should know the power and impact of words.

The Rutger's Girls didn't do anything in all this. They just played the game. Everyone else reacted and then they got blamed somehow for initiating this. Imus put HIMSELF in jeopardy for being stupid. Those girls for the first time in ages made it to the finals...an amazing achievement, and its gets sullied by this. Not an insult about their game play or sportmanship, but by insulting their looks and calling them hos.

As for the idea that there is a "double standard" concerning what white and black people say...well i can understand why some people would think it but it just not as clear as that. It's hard for me to explain in the context of this small paste to really explain, but any member of a minority group (black, women, immigrant, hispanic, asian, homosexual, handicapped, etc.) knows how were are constantly mocked and ridiculed in so many aspects of media that just gets ignored by so many people.

I know some people do not really see Imus' words being offensive, but they are. Anyone who has been genuinely insulted knows how that sting feels, an i felt it when i heard it. Bernard McGuirk said some crazy things too. He mentioned jigaboos...which is a really offensive racist term as well. That shocked me even more really, but I suppose Imus is getting some of that blame since its his show.

Anyway...i had to voice my opinion. i'm sorry it ended up SOOO long but i suppose i just wanted to voice somethings i felt were kind of missing from the above posts. I really like that there is a place here to talk about this kind of stuff too. Take care folks!

[thekingofspades]

oh and i hope that didnt sound antagonistic guys. that was completely not what i meant. i know sometimes that the tone of writing can be hard to guess, but just wanted to play devil advocate to you guys with my opinons. gnite folks!

[PearlJamminJason]

as someone who works in the radio buisness i can tell you there is NO SUCH THING AS FREEDOM OF SPEECH! the fcc will fine your ass faster than you can ever imagine.now as for imus' comments this isnt the first time hes been in trouble the guy is a jackass stern is so much better than him its not even comparable.i kow theres alot of stern haters but the guy is very talented and everyone in radio would kill for the success hes had.while i dont commend imus' comments and it was rong what pisses me off even more is these asshole basketball players just using this as leverage for notariaty.being paraded on oprah and crap.what he said was wrong but comeo on ladies im sure youve been called much worse than what he said. get over it already you made it to the championship game, 6 people watched now just go away.youre getting on my nerves more than the whole anna nicloe crap.

[Trathena]

Well, we can think critically about this, or we can complain that it sucks that we can't say rude, hateful things about black people on our jobs because of political correctness.

Labeling someone a sexist bigot because he prefers to use "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun, is PC gone wild.

Labeling someone a sexist bigot because he repeatedly uses sexist and bigoted language is not.

I admit that when I saw the interview with the women from Rutgers, I wondered how many hip hop and rap albums they own. I wondered if they were fans of Snoop Dog. I even wondered how often they'd allowed their boyfriends to call them a bitch or a ho.

But that isn't the point. It doesn't have anything to do with Imus and what he said. What he's repeatedly said. Hip Hop artists being sexist bigots and a mainstream radio personality being a sexist bigot are two different things.

The players being lionized in the media have nothing to do with the fact that Imus--a mainstream radio host who's interviewed members of congress for god's sake--saying hateful things.

However, firing Imus won't "fix this." Just look at some of the responses here. Firing Imus won't change a thing. I mean, has anyone even mentioned that this guy has been saying stuff like this for decades, and he's never gotten a peep of complaint from his advertisers? It's only when they lose money this happens. Firing Imus won't change the fact the most people don't give a shit that he's a sexist bigot.

Everything about this sucks.