This story pretty much sums up how I feel about the Imus debacle. Essentially, he's a misanthrope who thrived in the radio medium but floundered on, and met his demise through, television. Here's that fount of knowledge and morals, Snoop Dogg, after having just pleaded no contest to weapons and drug charges:
What I don't get is this: How can you call a white man a honkey, cracker, or some other derogatory slang word without feeling just a bit -- just a small bit -- hypocritical? It seems okay for black people to call white people names but the converse is not true. Many will say it's because racism is only a one-way street: Those in power (presumably white) are the only ones capable of racism. That is wrong-headed.
Others might claim it's because of the hardships and cruel conditions blacks have had to endure (the almost 200-year-ago-slavery issue). Both these ideas are old.
Let's call it what it is: A double standard. A "reverse" racism. The over-arching point might be this: We're all a little racist. We've all called a member of a race other than our own some derogatory term, whether it's on the playground, the sports arena, or the car. Some of us just have a hard time admitting it. Furthermore, I think you can be a racist against your own race. Blacks using the "N Word" amongst each other immediately comes to mind. It's either racism or a double standard. Pick your poison.
We're also all a little sexist.
Imus' gaffe was both racist and sexist. Let's not forget that he offended an entire race and sex. From what I've heard from others pontificating about Imus' past, he has always been an "equal opportunity" offender. He just did it on TV; that was his biggest mistake, from a PR point of view. If he had said this only on radio, which nobody other than devoted fans listen to, there would be no flap. For if radio could have brought him down, couldn't it most definitely bring down Dr Laura, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage, to name just 3 out of hundreds of racists and misogynists on the radio today, talking about this very same stuff?
The Blog | David Bromwich: Imus is Gone, Snoop Dogg Remains: Are We Happy Now? | The Huffington Post
It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing shit, that's trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we in the same league as him.So, Snoop, I understand your point -- the women you disparage are do-nothing whores trying to get to you for your money. The Rutgers girls aren't like that. I get that.
What I don't get is this: How can you call a white man a honkey, cracker, or some other derogatory slang word without feeling just a bit -- just a small bit -- hypocritical? It seems okay for black people to call white people names but the converse is not true. Many will say it's because racism is only a one-way street: Those in power (presumably white) are the only ones capable of racism. That is wrong-headed.
Others might claim it's because of the hardships and cruel conditions blacks have had to endure (the almost 200-year-ago-slavery issue). Both these ideas are old.
Let's call it what it is: A double standard. A "reverse" racism. The over-arching point might be this: We're all a little racist. We've all called a member of a race other than our own some derogatory term, whether it's on the playground, the sports arena, or the car. Some of us just have a hard time admitting it. Furthermore, I think you can be a racist against your own race. Blacks using the "N Word" amongst each other immediately comes to mind. It's either racism or a double standard. Pick your poison.
We're also all a little sexist.
Imus' gaffe was both racist and sexist. Let's not forget that he offended an entire race and sex. From what I've heard from others pontificating about Imus' past, he has always been an "equal opportunity" offender. He just did it on TV; that was his biggest mistake, from a PR point of view. If he had said this only on radio, which nobody other than devoted fans listen to, there would be no flap. For if radio could have brought him down, couldn't it most definitely bring down Dr Laura, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage, to name just 3 out of hundreds of racists and misogynists on the radio today, talking about this very same stuff?
The Blog | David Bromwich: Imus is Gone, Snoop Dogg Remains: Are We Happy Now? | The Huffington Post
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