‘Imus’t say

I have never liked Don Imus. His show sucks, his sidekicks suck, his brain is clearly addled. Five minutes of it is usually all I can ever take, and that’s usually by accident, although my sister and her husband did play live during one of his radiothons a few years ago and I suffered through the show that day purely out of familial loyalty. But the point is that whether I like him or not is irrelevant. What he says on a daily basis doesn’t directly affect my life because I ignore the fact that he exists.
But here’s the bottom line. He said a particularly stupid thing. The world + dog called him on it. He apologized for it. And that should have been the end of it.
But no, Al “Freddy’s Fashion Mart/Tawana Brawley” Sharpton and Jessie “If I can’t make it rhyme, it’s not worth the time” Jackson piled on along with the NAA(L)CP and forced apology after apology after apology until the MSNBC simulcast was cancelled and CBS Radio suspended Imus for two weeks (starting after his current charity radiothon ends).
This is unAmerican. The constant apologizing and taking blame and wearing sackcloth and ashes until you complete some kind of reeducation course (rehab or psychological counseling or what the hell ever) that seems to be the norm now if you dare to utter the “n-word” or make any other derogatory remark — even in jest — has to stop. An apology should be taken at face value. Imus said he’s sorry and he’s going to meet with the Rutgers team to apologize in person. That should have been the end of it (acknowledging also that yes, the suspension is not only fair, but entirely proper).
The counterpoint that has been made, of course, is that the black community tolerates much worse from its rap and hip-hop musicians. And that’s very true. You don’t promote civilized discourse between the races or the sexes when you’ve got rappers out there dissing women, whitey, and the cops, and half the teenagers in the country — including white teenagers — are buying into their thug culture.
But isn’t that a lot worse than what Don Imus said on the radio? Calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos” sure seems a lot less inflammatory than rappers glorifying the rape of young women and the killing of cops. Why aren’t we seeing rappers called to account for the filth they’re producing for our kids’ consumption? Why aren’t we seeing the black community calling those rappers to account? What the hell are you people afraid of?
Ignoring these people like I ignore Don Imus is not the answer. Eventually they will bury us. And we will have done it to ourselves.
UPDATE: “So Don Imus did what? Used a couple of commonplace black-cultural terms. If you don’t want people to use these words, guys, stop promoting them.”
Werd.
MORE UPDATE: “For Al Sharpton, a rampantly infectious venereal disease that masquerades as a man, to lead the charge against anyone for poor behavior ought to be enough to give everyone at least a moment’s pause.”
Werd to the max.