April 12, 2007

"I've dished it out for a long time and now it's my time to take it. That's fine. Bring it on."

Drudge is collecting things Imus is saying on the radio today about his predicament.

And here's a summary of what Howard Stern has said about it:
Artie said that when you've been on the air for that long, you should have the ability to argue that he's been on the air for 40 years and he's really not a racist. Imus doesn't even have that as an excuse. Howard said that he could never think in his mind that those girls on the basketball team are ''nappy headed hos'' like Imus called them. He said Imus really screwed up by wearing that cowboy hat that he's been wearing for years now. That gives people a warning that he's a redneck.
It's annoying to read summaries of the Howard Stern show! You have to hear it. But anyway, I think Howard was making an argument like one I made about Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic comments. Mel was drunk, and some people said that meant we should brush off what he said. But my position was that the ideas have to be in your head. Drink lowers you inhibitions, so that things flow out that you held back when you had your sober caution intact.

Now, Imus wasn't drunk, but he was doing ad lib comedy. How can you do that but to let go of the inhibitions that allow ordinary people to function in social situations? He's got to take that risk to give a comic performance. But what comes out must in some way be in there. He's funny -- when he is -- because he's got a mix of interesting things in his head, some of which are the bad and unkind thoughts that may make us laugh because they are things that we hold in too.

We are all flawed, and we do need our comedians. We should talk back and express outrage about some things, but when is the censuring too much? How long must a man abase himself and apologize? How much do we want to see a man grovel?

Here's Amba:
Does anyone catch a smell of human sacrifice?

And whose sins has Don Imus been chosen to die for? What is going on here? The reaction seems so disproportionate to the offense...

I mean... go read this and then come back and tell me Imus is a capital offender. He's just a jerk! He should apologize and make amends to those basketball gazelles, sure, but why is he, of his whole populous class of offenders, getting his throat cut on the altar? And Jesse Jackson getting all high and mighty about it, that's funny!

The selective sanctimony of our society is stupefying....

[T]he thing that maybe freaked me out about it the most: I heard someone, I think Tucker Carlson, say solemnly, in almost hushed tones, "Barack Obama said he should be fired," as if that had been the deciding factor, the nod that dropped the blade. Who is Barack Obama all of a sudden? God? King Solomon? Emperor Nero?
Racism and sanctimony. Is there some way to get them to stop feeding off each other?

84 comments:

marklewin said...

Racism and sanctimony. Is there some way to them to stop feeding off each other?

1. Let's make all the pundits shut their mouths and read us bedtime stories from Kurt Vonnegut's works.

TMink said...

"Racism and sanctimony. Is there some way to get them to stop feeding off each other?"

Good point, a thoughtful question. Are racists sanctimonious too? I think so, David Duke and his ilk wrap their hatred in "protecting the white race" gibberish. They present themselves as saviors rather than persecutors.

Are the anti-racism professionals any different? On the face of it, there is some moral superiority to their position as racism is indeed abhorent and bad for our culture. But when you make a living off of "fighting racism," how do you get a raise? I think you get a raise by finding more racism.

And then there is the trend for the "anti-racists" to be, in fact, racist or anti-semitic.

So I think they are all sanctimonious. The best response would have been for the Rutgers team to hold a brief press conference, say they disagree with Imus, think he is a putz for what he said, and look forward to winning a national championship next year.

They come out looking like the winners they obviously are, he comes out looking like somebody who made a stupid, racist comment.

Those ladies do not need the anti-racist professionals to do anything for them. They are obviously quite competent at taking care of themselves.

Trey

Brent said...

Social Justice Test
Hypocrisy Section

Question 1:

"Hell, I milkin' em and I stabbin' em, all the hos on her whole damn team"

a) Don Imus?

b) members of the Duke LaCrosse team?

c) a "rap artist" who happens to be black, not that there's anything wrong with that?

Brent said...

I’m calling for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the president and vice president of Black America, to step down. Their leadership is stale. Their ideas are outdated. And they don’t give a damn about us.

- Jason Whitlock, Sports Columnist for the Kansas City Star and aol.com, who happens to be black (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Roger J. said...

I do hope Imus hits back, and hits back hard--the santimonious hypocricy of most of his critics, and MSNBC is beyond the pale. The look like bigger fools than does Imus.

J. Cricket said...

We are all flawed

Oh really.

And what are the Althouse flaws -- not jumping harshly enough on anyone who does not fawn over you?!

Beth said...

And then there is the trend for the "anti-racists" to be, in fact, racist or anti-semitic.

True; Jackson and Sharpton have no credibility to comment on Imus.

But I don't see that he's being sacrificed. He's made a good living over the years, and plenty of pundits and players have increased their haul by appearing on his show and playing the "I'm a regular guy" game. The very thing that has him in trouble now has made him, and his inner circle, a big pile of dough over the years. It's not like he made a big mistake; he's been saying stuff just as bad as this remark, week after week. That's the risk he's taken, and he's never apologized for it before. So some tipping point occurs, and the market turns on him. He brought it on himself. I'm not up in arms over what he said, nor am I joining any "Save Imus!" movement.

Richard Dolan said...

"Racism and sanctimony. Is there some way to get them to stop feeding off each other?" No, in part because at their core they share the conviction that "I am inherently better than you;" in part because the racial divides in American society are still raw despite all the progress; and in part because playing the race card can be so useful to various players in many different contexts. Note, too, that there is an inverse relationship at work here: as racism recedes as a major social problem, the sanctimony increases dramatically.

Invisible Man said...

My stand from the start has been for Imus to lose the TV show, and continue on radio. Unfortunately, racist bile is a big part of right-wing radio but you can easily choose to disregard listening to those stations or shows. His show on MSNBC is another story entirely in that it is a mainstream news channel supposedly for mainstream viewing. Let him continue playing in the sewer with the rest of the vermin (Savage, Limbaugh, Beck).

And of course Sharpton is sanctimonious without a doubt. But is he anymore sanctimonious than those who frequently claim that Democrats are "for defeat" or "for surrender" in Iraq?

Joe said...

Don Imus is an unfunny idiot. Always has been. His latest statement was like his entire act; tacky and lame. Like with Mel Gibson, the response has been completely disproportional to what he said.

How about society as a whole develop a bit thicker of a skin.

ShadyCharacter said...

Invisible Man, you ignorant slut! (to paraphrase the late great Chevy Chase)

Imus is no more "right-wing" than Bill Maher or HDhouse, both fervent defenders of the guy. Hint, the fact that you've seen him wear a cowboy had on his show does not mean that he is a republican.

If you had any shame, the idiocy that you just exhibited on this topic would lead you to change your screen name. It won't though. Ignorant leftists such as yourself have no shame.

Invisible Man said...

C'mon, I know Imus isn't right-wing which makes him politically an outliers in the filth that his mainly right-wing competitors spew. I just mean the sewer where talk of monkey chants, halfricans, ragheads is always on the platter, which is generally right-wing. That's the fact, jack (parodying a hypothetical shadycharacter quote).

And shadycharacter: What are you 92? Chevy Chase jokes went out with the Reagan Administration. You should really update your pop culture references, maybe with something more current like the first season of Beavis and Butthead.

Unknown said...

Imus is an asshole...and always has been.

Now he's a has been asshole.

Unknown said...

ShadyCharacter,
Dan Aykroyd used the Ignorant slut" line...not Chevy Chase.

Unknown said...

Joe,
When you say "thicker skin," what color?

And if someone called your mother, wife or sister a "ho" would that be okay with you?

John said...

The right target is condescending whites in the media who laud garbage hip hop as "authentic black culture" like black people are these exotic creatures to be seen in a zoo. The very same people who are piling on Imus right now (that is when they are not on his show kissing his ass pushing their books) thought it was great that the song "Its Hard Out There For A Pimp" was nominated for an Oscar.

Yeah portraying women as bitches and whores is disgusting and wrong. When Black rappers do it white elites and media types sit around point and say "oh look at the dangerous negro expressing his authentic culture and the world around him and subverting our racist bourgeoisie standards of conduct". When Imus does it they all have a fainting fit at how anyone could be so cruel and horrible. The hypocrisy and bullshit over this thing is stacking up pretty quick.

Jeff with one 'f' said...

Richard Dolan said...
"Racism and sanctimony. Is there some way to get them to stop feeding off each other?" No, in part because at their core they share the conviction that "I am inherently better than you..."

NICE!

jimbino said...

The airwaves belong to the people. Imus should fire MSNBC for speech suppression and take over their frequencies.

hdhouse said...

I wonder next time Minem does his thing about Ho's if we will feel the outrage? What person calling black women Ho's?? John's point (above) is well taken and on target.

OHHH and by the way, Imus raised over $1million in 3 hours this morning for a Children's hospital in New Jersey..like he does every year for the past 19 or so years.

Drudge raises how much for whom?

reader_iam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe said...

And if someone called your mother, wife or sister a "ho" would that be okay with you?

I wouldn't give a shit.

That doesn't mean I approve of or even like the word, but I'm not a wimp who suffers great mental distress from comments by assholes. Good God, if I did, I'd be hospitalized by now.

Fritz said...

Imus didn't make racist remarks, his mistake was to allow himself to be beholden to racists. Imus has called Vice President Cheney many mean things, but Cheney appeared on the program, gave Imus a package of pork chops (Imus's pet name for Cheney). That is class.

reader_iam said...

His show on MSNBC is another story entirely in that it is a mainstream news channel supposedly for mainstream viewing. Let him continue playing in the sewer with the rest of the vermin (Savage, Limbaugh, Beck).

How is MSNBC mainstream but not CBS radio? Because it's TeeVee (cable) but not radio?

Far more people listen to Imus on radio (millions*) than watched him on TV (something like 350,000, though it was more earlier this week, of course).

Think about that for a minute.

(*I'm having a hard time getting an exact figure, especially in an apples-to-apples comparison, that is, weekly to weekly, or daily to daily. [When stories like this break, I miss the days when I had access to detailed Arbitron and Nielsen reports via an employer!] One source today puts the radio listeners at 10 million, but doesn't specify per what. Others have a far lower figure, but it's still in millions, and still much more than the video broadcast.)

reader_iam said...

The first paragraph of my previous comment should have been italicized, since it was a pickup quote from one of Invisible Man's comments earlier in this thread.

Bill Wyatt said...

As a high school reader I was horrified by the consequences of winning Shirley Jackson's "Lottery". The older I get the more it seems an accurate description of communal life.

GM Roper said...

"Let him continue playing in the sewer with the rest of the vermin (Savage, Limbaugh, Beck)."

Other than it is not a racist comment, how is this one whit less an ad hominem attack than what Imus said?

trev said...

Paying the Price
April 12, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By BOB HERBERT

You knew something was up early in the day. As soon as I told executives at MSNBC that I was going to write about the “60 Minutes” piece, which was already in pretty wide circulation, they began acting very weird. We’ll get back to you, they said.

In a “60 Minutes” interview with Don Imus broadcast in July 1998, Mike Wallace said of the “Imus in the Morning” program, “It’s dirty and sometimes racist.”
Mr. Imus then said: “Give me an example. Give me one example of one racist incident.”
To which Mr. Wallace replied, “You told Tom Anderson, the producer, in your car, coming home, that Bernard McGuirk is there to do nigger jokes.”

Mr. Imus said, “Well, I’ve nev — I never use that word.”
Mr. Wallace then turned to Mr. Anderson, his producer. “Tom,” he said.
“I’m right here,” said Mr. Anderson.
Mr. Imus then said to Mr. Anderson, “Did I use that word?”
Mr. Anderson said, “I recall you using that word.”
“Oh, O.K.,” said Mr. Imus. “Well, then I used that word. But I mean — of course, that was an off-the-record conversation. But ——”
“The hell it was,” said Mr. Wallace.

The transcript was pure poison. A source very close to Don Imus told me last night, “They did not want to wait for your piece to come out.”
For MSNBC, Mr. Imus’s “nappy-headed ho’s” comment about the Rutgers women’s basketball team was bad enough. Putting the word “nigger” into the so-called I-man’s mouth was beyond the pale.

Imus has a long history of making these kinds of comments. His ranch foundation or whatever is coming under scrutiny. To deflect this to what Sharpton or Jackson said years ago is ridiculous. To blame this on rappers or hiphop is also ridiculous. Imus did not make his comment about a political or media figure, he made it about innocent girls playing basketball and he deserves to suffer for it.

DeanSMS said...

Mark Shea tells us what this mass media hype is about, see
http://markshea.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html#8740571109640749596



All this hype is another example of a culture of hate where we call anybody who disagrees with our 'facts' must be a liar. Not wrong, but a liar. It has been six years of this nonsense with no end in sight.

Unknown said...

Joe,
I asked you how you would react to someone calling your mother, wife or sister a "ho"...and you said:

"I wouldn't give a shit."

Well, if that is indeed the case, you're one hell of a guy...and you might want to run it by you mother, wife and sister...I'm sure they would be as proud as punch.

Unknown said...

Fritz said...
"Imus didn't make racist remarks, his mistake was to allow himself to be beholden to racists. Imus has called Vice President Cheney many mean things, but Cheney appeared on the program, gave Imus a package of pork chops (Imus's pet name for Cheney). That is class."

Including the word "class" in the same comment as the name "Cheney" is truly classless. (Do you read newspapers or books?)

Unknown said...

jim said..."The airwaves belong to the people. Imus should fire MSNBC for speech suppression and take over their frequencies."

Are we to assume, that if a radio hack broadcast an "emergency" message that was totally false...resulting in actions that lead to deaths...that would be okay with you...because "the airwaves belong to the people?"

Get real.

reader_iam said...

Media companies own the cable. MSNBC is on cable.

reader_iam said...

a radio hack broadcast an "emergency" message that was totally false...resulting in actions that lead to deaths.

That hack, Orson Welles (though there has always been a dispute over whether several people committed suicide or not).

reader_iam said...

Invisible Man, before you ask: No, I'm not 92. But not only do I get cultural references to SNL & Ackroyd's character, I can also be spontaneously moved to think of one of the most famous broadcasts ever, itself a cultural event and reference, from 1938.

Invisible Man said...

Other than it is not a racist comment, how is this one whit less an ad hominem attack than what Imus said?

The problem with Imus's statements weren't that they were ad hominem attacks, hell he does about 50 of those a show. The problem was that they were racist and misogynistic ad hominem attacks on innocent victims. I'm sure that a guy like Limbaugh who obviously doesn't hesitate to call people like my niece some made up slur like "hafrican", shouldn't be to upset with me calling him vermin.

reader_iam said...

As for "up-to-date" cultural references, look where that got Don Imus (the asshole).

Joe said...

Luckyoldson said...
Well, if that is indeed the case, you're one hell of a guy...and you might want to run it by you mother, wife and sister...I'm sure they would be as proud as punch.


No, it's because I'm a mature man.

Furthermore, I didn't debase myself by marrying a woman who would take pride in a husband who plays the victim over silly verbal insults.

My wife, mother, sisters and oldest daughter would agree with my stance. They are strong women who don't turn into whiny, crying victims because someone flung a verbal insult at them.

(I haven't asked my 19 year old daughter yet what her response would be, but I'm pretty sure it would be along the lines of "Fuck you and the horse you road in on." and leave it at that. You see, my daughter doesn't base her self-worth on what other people think.)

Unknown said...

reader_iam,
I would never include Wells in the category of "hack," but his radio broadcast does illustrate my point of what can happen when people can say whatever they want.

Today, with the mass media and internet, his broadcast probably wouldn't create a ripple.

MadisonMan said...

luckyoldson: Why should anyone defend their sister or mother from verbal abuse? Mine are more than capable of taking care of themselves. If someone insults my daughter, who's barely a teen, I'd counsel her on how to reply, but why coddle females? She's perfectly capable of ignoring idiots. As if someone calling her a ho is someone to listen to.

shadycharacter: When did Chevy Chase die?

reader_iam said...

To be clear, of course I do NOT view Orson Welles as a hack (and I thought his radioplay of H.G. Wells' classic to be brilliant--go listen to it sometime, folks).

Mike Ballburn said...

Today Welles' broadcast would get him thrown in jail. See what happened in Boston in the Aqua Teen incident. Welles would leave the studio in cuffs.

If nigger (or nigga) and ho are such abhorrent words, then it's not OK for anyone to use them. Black or white. You're not reclaiming it or empowering yourself. Words don't have different meanings according to the speaker's race. Offensive is offensive no matter whose mouth it comes out of.

Fritz said...

Darn, Rush is over, I haven't had my fill of racist and misogynistic ad hominem attacks.

Unknown said...

MadisonMan said..."Why should anyone defend their sister or mother from verbal abuse? Mine are more than capable of taking care of themselves. "

Well, that's wonderful, and I'm glad you have a family that doesn't really care what people say about their loved ones...because they're all "capable of taking care of themselves." (I don't know exactly what that means, but it's YOUR family.)

In my family, if someone insulted my mother, sister or wife, the men were expected to stand up for them.

Unknown said...

Joe,
It's nice to know you're such a "mature" man, but I'm telling you this about ME: If I'm standing in the same room or even hear that someone has referred to my mother, wife or sister as "ho" they can expect a timely reaction...and I'm not talking about a stern warning not to do it again.

To each their own, and if you think it's "mature" to allow an insult like that to pass without an immediate response, that's your right.

Personally I find it to be gutless at best.

Joe said...

(I don't know exactly what that means, but it's YOUR family.)

What it means, Lucky, is that the women in our families aren't a bunch of cowering overly-sensitive women who are incapable of thinking for themselves.

In my family, if someone insulted my mother, sister or wife, the men were expected to stand up for them.

By doing what? Starting a duel? Beating someone up. Suing them? What century are you from?

Were you never taught "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" (Yes, names can be hurtful, but mature, civilized, people get over it.)

Joe said...

Lucky, you weren't standing in the same room. We're talking about a comment on THE RADIO. Do you even grasp that concept.

And, by the way, I don't hang around people who even use the word "ho." If someone called may wife that in my presence, it would be so ludicrous I'd laugh at him.

Your "I'll beat the shit of them" is machismo bullshit. It's also rather misogynistic. Are you seriously telling me your wife/mother/sister are timid and lack confidence.

You know what, I'll bet a thousand bucks that if you were in a room and someone called your wife a "ho" and you made sure it never happened again, you wife would call you an asshole. She'd probably say "why are you always getting in fights on my behalf, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Finally, there is a concept called "turning the other cheek". Radical, I know, I mean, someone might even create a religion on it or something.

I stand by my statement; anyone who picks fights because of verbal insults is and immature asshole.

reader_iam said...

Anyone calls my husband a pimp, I'll tonguelash them into a quivering mass of submission and then wipe off the smiles of onlookers with it.

KCFleming said...

The over-reaction to Imus is the embodiment of the progressive boot on the American neck. The hip hop toughs crumbles to tears when lyrics to rap videos are spoken by a white man. Like the British sailor who cried himself to sleep for being called "Mr. Bean", one wonders how these child-victims make it through the day.

Or how they can explain that is wasn't the words per se, but who said them that mattered. And indeed it is true. White males cannot discuss race or gender. Ever, well, except in self-abnegation.

And Sharpton, the model of class hatred, a man for whom lying is lucrative and easy, who foments discord between the races with remarkable ease and a fox's grin. That Sharpton is the man from whom to beg forgiveness is contradictory and repugnant, yet seemingly no problem to the left.

And Obama calls for Imus to be fired, Obama now apparently Pope before he is President.

Imus is a liberal and an idiot (but I repeat myself ....joke, joke). So I don't have much love lost for the man, yet I do not hate him for saying something stupid. At least Imus knows that none of his charity work, and none of his support for the right people, none of his works brought him salvation.

Because hell, he was never 'one of them', and just wasn't aware of it. So he was pushed off the bus as soon as he broke a single rule.

Unknown said...

joey & rogie,
I stand by what I said...and believe me, I'm not putting myself forth as some kid of "badass."

I'm merely telling you that I was raised to defend women from assholes who confront them with physical or verbal threats and slurs.

If you two are actually saying that if a man walked up to you and told you your wife, mother or sister was a "ho"...and that you'd merely laugh it off...that's up to you.

*I'll lay odds you mother, wife and sister wouldn't think the comment...or your gutless reaction was the least bit funny.

Unknown said...

What makes you think Imus is a "liberal?"

He himself says he's a Republican and would vote for McCain.

Joe said...

I'm merely telling you that I was raised to defend women from assholes who confront them with physical or verbal threats and slurs.

Don't go changing the subject, Lucky. If someone physically threatens my family, I have no problem dropping them on the spot with a bullet.

If someone were to verbal insults any woman in my presence with the word "ho" or something comparable, I'd speak up and ask for an apology. But what I wouldn't do is make a huge scene nor would I threaten them with physical violence as you've clearly suggested you would do.

Above all, the women in my life wouldn't turn into whimpering, pathetic, victims over the incident. They certainly wouldn't go on television complaining about how their psyche has now been damaged, perhaps beyond repair.

(And, yes, I've known people like you. So have my wife, mother, sisters and daughters. They all really despise your type.)

Unknown said...

Joe,
I asked you what you would do if someone called you mother, wife or sister a "ho" and you said you'd "laugh it off."

That's your right, but I find it to be rather gutless. (And you might run this premise by your father...it would be interesting to hear what he thinks about your supposed reaction to HIS wife being called a "ho.")

And don't give me that bullshit that you mother,wife and sister "despise" people "like" me. First of all you don't know me, and we're only discussing the circumstance of someone insulting our mother, wife or sister.

Oh, and I'll bet I'm more like most men than you appear to be.

Revenant said...

What makes you think Imus is a "liberal?"

Imus is neither a liberal or a conservative. He's just a schmuck.

reader_iam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
reader_iam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe said...

That's your right, but I find it to be rather gutless. (And you might run this premise by your father...it would be interesting to hear what he thinks about your supposed reaction to HIS wife being called a "ho.")

My father do the same. See, he's not just mature but a Christian who actually does forgive and turn the other cheek. I was raised to confront words with words, not physical violence and certainly not with counter threats or acting the victim.

you don't know me

You've made your stance very clear. Your direct female relatives are incapable of surviving being called a "ho". Apparently it will cause a mental breakdown and so you must defend their honor. It's all machismo bullshit.

As usual, this isn't about the women, it's about you being afraid of being perceived as a coward. A real man really does know when to walk away from a fight.

reader_iam said...

This is getting a little silly, maybe?

If I were being physically threatened, I'd hope my husband would jump to my defense--primarily because I'm only 5'1 inches tall, whereas he's 6-feet, and much stronger.

But if someone called me a "ho"? Jeez, I hope he'd stop and see what I have to say, regardless of how he was raised back in the day. (OK, I just asked; he says he would--and I must say, he got a gleam in his eye at the idea someone would be that dumb.) But then, he knows I was raised to stand up for myself, with very explicit coaching from my dad.

Revenant said...

And don't give me that bullshit that you mother,wife and sister "despise" people "like" me. First of all you don't know me

We know that you react to words with violence, because you told us you do.

What more do we need to know? That's more than enough for any member of my family to put you in the "loser" column.

Fritz said...

CBS just fired Imus. Cowards

KCFleming said...

Re: "Don Imus is fired from MSNBC."

Ah, now we are cleansed.
Let the healing begin!

Anonymous said...

"First of all you don't know me,..."

You're painting a pretty good picture of yourself, lucky.

Jacques Albert said...

Not surprising that the US major media's focus in l'affaire Imus (ee-moose), as ever is . . . itself! That and promoting the pestilential "cultural" (now an omnibus term) sewage exuding its mephitic vapours that goes by the oxymoronic term "pop culture". Kierkegaard says somewhere that if his daughter were seduced he could easily forgive that, but if his son became a journalist, he'd disown him forever. . . .

Unknown said...

Mike / Rogie / reve/ etc.
First of all, I never anything about immediately attacking anyone.

This is exactly what I said: "In my family, if someone insulted my mother, sister or wife, the men were expected to stand up for them."

This is in no way, shape or form a "juvenile, male member measuring exercise," it was a straight forward question regarding what YOU would do if someone insulted your mother, wife sister...or for that matter ANY women, by calling them a whore...period.

And, if I understand you correctly, you would all merely "laugh it off" because that's the "mature" thing to do.

And by the way...what would you "mature" men do if someone called your daughter a whore? Yuk it up, maybe have a few beers with the offending party? Tell them your wife and mother are whores, too?
(Or, hey, just grab her hand and walk away as fast as you can...she'll remember that for quite a while.)

Personally, if someone calls my mother, wife or sister a whore I would do what I can to defend their honor, whether it be via a verbal or physical confrontation...and if you think I'm some kind of macho fool for doing so...you're out of your minds...under most circumstances, I'd do it even if I didn't know the women.

It does make me wonder (if you are indeed men)...where the hell you grew up...and who raised you? Unless of course, you're saying that your father would merely laugh off someone calling your mother a whore. (Why not pose the question to dad...see what he would do.)

I said it before and will say it again: If you merely "turn the other cheek"..."laugh it off" or ignore someone calling your mother,wife or sister a whore you may consider yourself "mature"...but most men I've ever known would consider you nothing less more than gutless.

Omaha1 said...

Ann, you said that "the ideas have to be in your head." This is an interesting point, but I can't tell if you think it is bad to have such ideas in your head. Do the thoughts in your head really matter, if you truly make an effort to treat each individual you meet, based on his or her own merits?

I live in a neighborhood that "looks like America". There are rich, poor, and middle-class; blacks, whites, latinos, Asians, and native Americans. Is it "wrong" for me to feel intimidated, when I go into the corner store, if a group of youths dressed in "gangsta" clothes are standing around the door? Are my fears more or less wrong if the youths are white, or black, or Asian? Is it "racist" for me to observe that black men frequently cross the street against the light, or to wonder, as they stroll slowly in front of my car, if they are trying to antagonize me because I am white?

Racial and cultural differences are real, and need to be discussed freely. The reasons for continued widespread underperformance of certain racial and ethnic groups in America should be researched and addressed in a climate free from accusations of "racism."

I don't excuse Imus' obnoxious comments at all. I just think that the consequences he is suffering are too harsh. If I had to speak off the cuff for hundreds of hours every year I would probably have to stifle a lot of offensive impulses.

Omaha1 said...

...and Lucky, we get it. You will defend your womenfolk's honor by being a manly man! All the other commenters are a bunch of pansies for not instantly reacting to insults, with righteous anger and violence! We stand in awe of your manly manliness!

John Stodder said...

I've about had it with the comparisons of Imus with Snoop Dogg or other rappers. It's a stupid comparison.

There are stickers on Snoop Dogg's albums, and all the other albums like his, warning of explicit lyrics. If anyone bought a hip-hop album and was expecting not to hear all about the constant sex with bitches and hos, then they were misinformed. I doubt it's a mistake made very often.

Imus, on the other hand, goes out over the public airwaves and apparently has millions of listeners. No one who watched or heard his show that day was expecting an obscene Snoop Dogg-style rap about hos. This guy is a news personality, primarily known as an interviewer. Most of his listeners tune in to hear the humorous (allegedly) insider chit-chat with the likes of David Gregory.

Objecting to the fact that Imus used his public radio/TV platform to spew his racist bilge isn't the same thing as saying he doesn't have the right to spew racist bilge. It just means he doesn't have the right to spew racist bilge on public airwaves.

If Imus wants to make a CD featuring his favorite racist taunts, if someone will pay for it, and if he slaps a sticker on it, he's free to do it.

John Stodder said...

Is Luckyoldson suggesting that all the men in America should go beat up Imus? Or just the basketball team members' boyfriends and fathers? His point isn't really clear, and its relevance escapes me. But the idea of Imus not being able to take a step without some guy challenging him to a fistfight is pretty funny to imagine. "How dare you, sir!" "Oh, no, not again!"

Unknown said...

Omeeeha-Rogie-Johnny,
Look, just because you weasels are can't come up with a rational or logical excuse for not being able to understand why someone would defend a woman, after being called a whore...that's your problem, not mine. (And no, Johnny, your comment regarding my suggesting men "beat up Imus" has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion or lack thereof. It's just another way of saying you don't have the balls to do what's right.)

And, based on your comments...I have to assume, if and when the shit breaks out, your buddies don't put much faith in any help coming from your direction. (That is, if you girls have ever been in that kind of situation.)

But, hey...here's a battle cry you can use if you ever have the need:

Buck, buck, buck, buck...and be sure to flap your arms and "laugh it off."

Unknown said...

Ann,
Are there any men on this thread?

Jacques Albert said...

Those who include Imus on some "honor" "hit" list might add the "white feather" club of superannuated hipster draft dodgers and cowards of the Vietnam era. . . . Their dereliction is far worse than Imus's, though he's certainly a fool, sans doute. . . . Might get a bit of political diversity in colleges and universities for the first time in circa forty years. . . .

jaed said...

(That is, if you girls have ever been in that kind of situation.)

Ah. Putatively weak people are female. We get it. We get it. You can give it a rest now.

Revenant said...

Lucky,

And, if I understand you correctly,

You don't. Nor do you understand any of the other people who've been sneering at your macho act.

Jacques Albert said...

Sensible and incisive, Omaha1!

Omaha1 said...

lucky, I'm not a man, just a "weasel-ette", but I would be ashamed to call myself a woman if I ever had to rely on the likes of you to come to my defense.

"Omeeeha"

MadisonMan said...

Are there any men on this thread?

(cough)

There's men above
and men below
and men down in the galley,

There's Butch and Spike and Buzz and Biff

and one guy we call Sally!


(And one guy we call Sally!)

Unknown said...

Dear Girls,
And please, don't confuse real women with the chickenshit woosies on this thread,

Being gutless if not easy...is it?

Omaha1 said...

guess Lucky's Mom made him get off the computer and go to bed. Nite-nite, Lucky!

Omaha1 said...

Oops, he's still up!

Unknown said...

Again:
ANN...are there ANY MEN on this thread????????

Omaha1 said...

obviously there are no men here who measure up to Lucky's standards. He stands alone!

Unknown said...

omeeeeeeeha: "obviously there are no men here who measure up to Lucky's standards. He stands alone!"

No kidding??

Welcome to the thread of pussies.

And, am i to assume...WOMEN agree with these chickenshits??

Unknown said...

And back into their coops they go...

HAAA!

Kev said...

"Were you never taught "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" (Yes, names can be hurtful, but mature, civilized, people get over it.)"

I agree wholeheartedly, and it's too bad that the whole PC movement has turned this idea on its side. Now, the prevailing wisdom is more like "If you hurt me with words, I'll break your bones with sticks and stones." (Some of said stones may occasionally be thrown by lawyers.)

I've ranted about this before...

Unknown said...

Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,BUCK!!!

Gutless...one and all.