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Women, basketball, hos and radio hosts
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Also, why must a discussion of a white man being racist be reduced to all kinds of character attacks on various individuals and diversions from the topic? What is so threatening about just talking about a white man saying racist things, and why that's bad? The amount of apologia for Don Imus not provided by Don Imus is shocking, and really the most disturbing part of the whole topic for me.
And what's funny is that I read that Whitlock article on another message board yesterday in a post titled "It's official, Jason Whitlock hates black people." This is hardly the first time Mr. Whitlock has taken the conservative line in attacking black culture. For perspective, let's read what someone else has to say to Jason Whitlock, even before this whole Imus thing came about:
Chappelle forces audiences to confront issues of race by bringing them to the forefront with his comedy, often allowing us to examine racism outside of the heated context of an argument or one person directing slurs at another person. He drew the line at portraying racist ideas as truth, or catering to racist audiences (even if they enjoyed his humor solely because they missed the creator's intent).
Imus is just this guy who, at best, thoughtlessly hurls slurs at whatever minority happens to be on his mind at the moment. At worst, he's a genuine bigot who uses the banner of humor to justify his behavior.
So really -- just drop that, because it's a gross and insulting reduction of comedy designed to obscure the point.
edit: not to mention the maxim that the true test of comedy is that you can perform it in front of any audience, which Imus' "joke" so clearly fails.
First off, I keep saying (and so do others) that there's nothing wrong with speaking out against something you don't agree with. Speaking out against Imus doesn't equate to supporting gangster rap, and I never said that it did. I know that Sharpton and many others have said that they speak out against rap culture and the negative stereotypes that it portrays or reinforces.
But I don't believe for one second that the media as a whole would completely ignore it if people like Sharpton and Jackson came out swinging just as hard at rappers and comedians as they did in this case. I just can't believe that they're trying as hard to persecute their own race as they are guys like Don Imus.
Because it's the same thing being done to him. The people calling for Imus's job are guilty of the same behavior, and no one calls them on it.
I was referencing the Whitlock article because his perspective on the insignificance of Imus and his comment was very indicative of my opinion on the whole thing: It just doesn't matter. Things like this are said in the name of comedy al the time and it's not meant as malice or hate. It's just entertainment. To me, what Whitlock says about the damage rap artists are doing to black culture is neither here nor there. They're entertainers, and people are willing to pay for their work, so they have an audience. If people applied as much pressure to record labels and radio stations to get the offending artists stricken from the airwaves, then it would probably happen just like it is with Don Imus, now.
sketchyblargh / Steam!
The Whitlock piece does describe a problem, but one that largely exists within the entertainment industry. Charging that rappers create racism is akin to blaming rock music for devil worship.
Am I the only one who finds it a little offensive that David Zirin is lecturing Jason Whitlock on black history and how he should feel about the current state of black culture? He basically calls the guy an Uncle Tom.
And if Sharpton is anything, he's an opportunist. You think if any media outlet wanted to touch the topic of sexism and lingering stereotype in popular music, Al Sharpton wouldn't be finding a way to stack a soapbox on top of his soapbox to talk about it? Then to top it off, rock, blues, r&b, and pop all feature their share of sexism, yet it's only hip hop which gets mentioned in these discussions? Movies, TV, media has all these subtle and not-so-subtle attitudes exhibited in spades as well, yet we "really" need to focus on the black hip hop artists, the lone pariah that's eating us from within? It's a ridiculous line of discourse, and it's telling in how when confronted with the topic of race, people choose to blame black figures and black culture, saying it's the black people's fault for ignoring the "real" problems of racism, all while these same accusers deny things like the real problems of social and institutional discrimination that they benefit from every day.
The media is very selective in what they pick up on, and if this Imus thing is the one anomaly that snuck through, I still can't be upset if its only result in one less racist shock jock on the air. Yes, it's an overall sad commentary on the popular media and the common mindset, but you still have to do what you can.
I suppose you are right in that, but I think that just saying that is mischaracterizing Whitlock's letter.
He was basically saying that black leaders are acting hypocritically for not going after the pervasive youth culture in the black community which glorifies drugs, violence, and promiscuity (and advances the stereotypes which make words like 'ho' common parliance) and is manifestly anti-intellectual. Whitlock clearly believes that this represents a much greater threat to the black community than an old shock jock talking about a basketball team, but that people like Sharpton and Jackson only go after these soft targets because its easy and popular.
Zirin responds by taking issue with Whitlocks use of metaphor and calls into question his credentials as a black man. I dunno, something about it just struck me as reactionary. I honestly think that Whitlock has a valid point and Zirin's response was a little inappropriate.
I read Zirin's letter as a response to Whitlock's coverage of All-Star Weekend, not the Imus debacle.
I didn't follow media politics much back in 1994, but I did listen to West Coast gangster rap, and I don't recall hearing at all about this:
http://www.fradical.com/Criticism_of_gangsta_rap.htm
During the mid-90s Operation PUSH also called for a 40-day "fast" of gangster rap.
http://www.drudge.com/news/93082/black-voices-decry-misogyny-few-listen
Ahh! I misunderstood. I'm a dope for not checking the dates I think. I read Zirin's letter as a response to the newest Whitlock article, not the All-Star business. Sorry!
I am still a little uncomfortable with Zirin lecturing Whitlock on race, but even so my previous point regarding his letter is no longer valid. I apologize.
I agree with that. Not everyone can get away with saying the same things. If I get in a fight with my mom, I might vent by saying she's acting like a bitch. If a friend chimes in with "Yeah, your mom's a bitch," I'm punching them in the face.
Most are less than 10 years old, and you should go ahead and put them in context for me. What's the joke?
Yeah. Imus is actually probably the only am morning show in existence I can actually listen to. I understand the context of all those comments, but it is definitely not a context that shields him from criticism for his comments.
They definitely take it too far on occasion, and as far as I'm concerned he's getting what he deserves now. It's a consequence of playing with fire.
I agree to an extent, anyone can be legitimately criticized for anything, even comedy, BUT some of the previous posters made a good point in that the various critics and media outlets are simply quoting the lines without explaining that they were joking around, spoken quickly, and not harped upon. If you did not know Imus and just read it, you would think he was on some sort of racial diatribe or spoke it as if he was making a point.
I think the biggest mistake Imus made was apologizing as much as he did. Saying "I'm sorry" over and over to anyone who will listen only lends credibility to the attack that he meant what he said in a hurtful way, or that what he said was so terrible. He should have simply gone on the air and said that he didn't mean his remarks to offend, he was sorry if they did, that these girls deserve praise, that it was a joke, and left it at that.
When someone told me "nappy-headed hos," I giggled. And then I was like, "no, really, what did he say?" And then, "wait, who is Imus again?"
This is such a fucking turd of a story. The players claiming to be "scarred for life" are on lower moral standing for saying that than is Imus for what he said. I'll have to open my cliche drawer and state that we are such a god-damned culture of victimization these days. Crying victim is like currency.
This has nothing to do with Imus anymore. That was simply a springboard for Jackson and Sharpton to start chasing money and power on the shoulders of ignorance, as they have so often.
Wasn't it Jackson who called NYC "Hymietown?"
or hymietown.
btw, I agree.
stout's Amazon Wishlist | my lastFM
Stern could say whatever he wanted because he wasn't aiming to have Washington elites on his show. Just strippers and retards.
But playing in the adult pool means you're going to be held to a different standard.
Pokemans D/P: 1289 4685 0522
You've missed the point entirely. Where did I say anything about "black culture"? What does "black culture" have to do with what I said? Was that response intended for a different post altogether?
Imus being censured* isn't going to make racists less racist, but it will hopefully make people with public pulpits think twice about making bigoted statements in the future. Few bigots care about offending people with their bigotry, but pretty much all of them do care about losing their jobs.
*Censured, not censored
stout's Amazon Wishlist | my lastFM
Because that was what we said.
Eh. He'll just move over to XM satellite radio, like his pal Howard Stern (BFF!), and get even angrier at the Uppity Negro and the Liberal Media Elites.
You guys keep going on about how this shouldn't be news and it's overblown and what not. To me, it's just sending the message that being an openly racist asshole isn't welcome in this society. You know why all of these sorts of incidents get played up? Because they happen so infrequently that, when they do happen, people are and should be genuinely surprised. If, as so many white people keep saying, things are better than they were and we're pretty much race neutral, isn't it appropriate that we pound down these nails that stick out? If we're as free of racism as we keep saying we are, it shouldn't be a matter of whether we allow people to say these types of things, it should be a matter of how harshly we punish them for perpetuating these racist ideas.
Also, celery77, thanks for writing all the good responses that say more or less what I think.