Imus in the Morning
I have never been a fan of Don Imus. I think he is obnoxious, and wonder where I can get a job consisting of sitting around for a couple of hours every day, smugly looking down one’s nose at everyone else and criticizing and belittling their every move. But this is America, and I know some of you are fans. Mr. Imus is known for his crude and irreverent remarks. He has made a career out of being outrageous. I would be surprised if Imus didn't make these types of provocative statements
It is ironic that the biggest defenders of Imus are coming from the right. A caller into the Rush Limbaugh program the other day said it best. At the end of the day, who did Imus hurt? Sure, he hurt the feelings of great female basketball players on a great basketball team. But get real. Life is tough, and it won’t be the last time these folks are faced with these types of disparaging comments that we all experience from time to time. They need to toughen up a little bit, and continue to work hard and show that he is wrong.
On the other hand, the accusations made by a true “ho” against the Duke University lacrosse team hurt many people in a serious manner. It nearly destroyed the lives of three young men. It cost the coach his job. It cost the team a season. It will likely cost the wayward prosecuting attorney his law license. It cost the families of the accused lots and lots of money in defense fees ($1,000,000.00 per family). Finally, it will probably cost the taxpayers of North Carolina and Durham County millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements. Yet the silence from the black community, which rallied behind this "young lady" after the accusation was made, is deafening.
What I am hearing is the hierarchy of the Black Entertainment Network stretching to find differences between the comments of Imus and the absolutely disgusting comments made from BET black hip hop “artists” and its comedians. The most vile and racially charged swill can be found on BET, and many of the black entertainment programs on HBO and other pay networks. I don’t know about you, but my Daddy always taught me the world won’t think any more of you than you think of yourself. Is this what the black community thinks of itself?
Imus and the Duke lacrosse incident represent what can happen when political correctness overshadows the Constitution and common sense. Draconian rape shield laws allowed Crystal Gail Mangum to pull this stunt. What Imus said was bad, but it points out the hypocrisy that our society promotes through a warped sense of social justice. If I were Imus, I would follow the advice of shock jock, not the non-Daddy, Howard Stern: apologize for what he said to those basketball players, then tell the rest of the world where to stick it. And that’s the fact, Jack.
It is ironic that the biggest defenders of Imus are coming from the right. A caller into the Rush Limbaugh program the other day said it best. At the end of the day, who did Imus hurt? Sure, he hurt the feelings of great female basketball players on a great basketball team. But get real. Life is tough, and it won’t be the last time these folks are faced with these types of disparaging comments that we all experience from time to time. They need to toughen up a little bit, and continue to work hard and show that he is wrong.
On the other hand, the accusations made by a true “ho” against the Duke University lacrosse team hurt many people in a serious manner. It nearly destroyed the lives of three young men. It cost the coach his job. It cost the team a season. It will likely cost the wayward prosecuting attorney his law license. It cost the families of the accused lots and lots of money in defense fees ($1,000,000.00 per family). Finally, it will probably cost the taxpayers of North Carolina and Durham County millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements. Yet the silence from the black community, which rallied behind this "young lady" after the accusation was made, is deafening.
What I am hearing is the hierarchy of the Black Entertainment Network stretching to find differences between the comments of Imus and the absolutely disgusting comments made from BET black hip hop “artists” and its comedians. The most vile and racially charged swill can be found on BET, and many of the black entertainment programs on HBO and other pay networks. I don’t know about you, but my Daddy always taught me the world won’t think any more of you than you think of yourself. Is this what the black community thinks of itself?
Imus and the Duke lacrosse incident represent what can happen when political correctness overshadows the Constitution and common sense. Draconian rape shield laws allowed Crystal Gail Mangum to pull this stunt. What Imus said was bad, but it points out the hypocrisy that our society promotes through a warped sense of social justice. If I were Imus, I would follow the advice of shock jock, not the non-Daddy, Howard Stern: apologize for what he said to those basketball players, then tell the rest of the world where to stick it. And that’s the fact, Jack.
Comments
Enjoyed reading this blog, and I agree that there is so much hypocrisy in the world, and so much unfairness that it makes the mind spin. I was happy that the three Duke University guys were finally declared innocent, but as you pointed out, they will pay for it, for the rest of their lives! Not just money was spent, but in this day and age, with the computer access for a multitude of people, they will be carrying around that monkey on their shoulder forever. It will be interesting to see what law suits come out of this...........
SK