Should DU have a separate forum for MSM non-stories like Anna Nicole, Imus, etc?

[yurbud]

Poll question: Should DU have a separate forum for MSM non-stories like Anna Nicole, Imus, etc?

Some of these stories are shunted off to the Lounge if they are too egregiously vapid, but not enough of them.

After a couple of weeks of reading people hyperventilate about racist fartbag Don Imus, I think more extreme action is necessary.

Nearly all posts on Israel or 9/11 are quickly moved to separate backwater boards. If those stories that have the potential to dramatically impact our lives are moved off the main radar here, then anything that mentions Anna Nicole Smith, Don Imus, or the latest MSM non-news of the minute deserves a trip to their own special dungeon too. Call it Non-news news, and have mods be as swift and ruthless in moving it from general discussion and late breaking news as they are with anything about Israel/Palestine and 9/11.

What do you think?

[jobycom]

1. They do. It's called General Discussion. nt

[DemBones DemBones]

43. Yes, General Discussion-POLITICS is strictly politics, though

I would point out that racism and sexism are political issues.

Use the "Hide Thread" function if you don't want to see any Imus threads.

[babylonsister]

2. I've been on DU awhile; this too shall pass. If more people just ignored

repetitive threads, the topic would go away. The only problem with that thinking is the media whores who have to beat the topic du jour to death before they'll let it go.

[xultar]

3. You consider the Imus thing a non story?

[Lerkfish]

4. sadly, a lot of people do.

I'm more disturbed by the people who defend or miminalize the comments than the comments themselves, actually.

[ellacott]

Me too n/t

[yurbud]

19. I don't defend or minimize, rather question the amount of play it gets

anybody who has even heard of him knows he is a racist douche bag.

If you want to get him fired, great. Just don't give him play along the way.

[Lerkfish]

22. How did I misread this?

"Some of these stories are shunted off to the Lounge if they are too egregiously vapid, but not enough of them"

egregiously vapid is not a minimalization?

I guess my understanding of the human language has suffered lately.

I say again, I'm MORE disturbed by those who minimize or defend the statements than the statements themselves.

[DemBones DemBones]

44. I am also more disturbed by the defense of Imus calling

young college students, five of them only freshmen, "nappy headed hos" because they excelled at basketball and didn't fit into the bimbo niche where he's like to keep women.

I am amazed at the white male politicians defending him, even more so by so many DUers.

[Frank Cannon]

39. And therein lies the rub

Who's to decide whether an LBN item is a "non-story" or not? :shrug:

[Mabus]

7. That just blows my mind

I'm with you. I think it should be considered a major story because it helps highlight the racism that is prevalent in this country.

[morgan2]

18. yes its a non story

he's been saying shit like this for years. Just because someone now decides to make news out of it, doesn't suddenly make it news worthy. Imus is like the crazy racist grandfather on the radio. He's irrelevant.

[Rosemary2205]

31. Unfortunately racism is acceptable to some.

sad ain't it?

[Richard Steele]

5. The "hide thread" function is your friend. I recommend it highly!

In fact, I'll be using again in about 15 seconds.

[Toucano]

37. "Hide Thread" is tedious and impracticle

From Schaivo to Imus, when a topic is hot (regardless of it's merit or perceived lack of merit) it's nearly impossible to hide them faster than they pop up.

"Hide thread" works well for the isolated "circumcision" thread that people just won't let die, but not so well for the all-consuming flavor of the day thread.

[Auggie]

6. There are too many dupe threads on the same subject

Many new thread headers read like comments to previous threads. That's why I voted other.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. The Imus issue is news. It's about much more than Imus: racism, sexism, use of the airways...

and the power of our political and media elite and their role in not only ignoring but enabling hate speech.

[yurbud]

24. any time before 2000, I would have agreed that this story needed to be beaten to death

When the right is literally killing people, including African Americans as it did through indifference to Hurricane Katrina, this story is at best a distraction.

[Balbus]

9. They already do - it's called the lounge.

Try starting a thread on real non-story topics like "What's your favorite color of car..." or "What do you think about Sinjay on American Idol..." and watch where it ends up.

The problem is that you want to be the one who decides what's a story or non-story. And you get to do that also - it's called "hide thread."

There, I've answered all your questions and solved all your problems. Thank me later.

[yurbud]

23. the trapdoor to the lounge isn't being opened often enough

[Catherine Vincent]

29. Snicker!

:)

[SarahB]

10. I think it could go lounge or GD.

It's pop culture, yes, but the story with Imus has broader issues in terms of race and gender relations which is most certainly political and worthy of discussion. Part of why the GD Politics forum was created was to have a GD forum devoted entirely to politics and related news stories. If I remember right, it was a child of sorts of the primary 2004 board as well?

[RedEarth]

11. We need a Tabloid Forum......

for the Anna Nicole type discussions, for the sensational murders, and "news' such as that. As far as Imus is concerned, I thought the first day or two was okay for GD, but now it has grown quite tiresome. Start a few smoking threads and that would knock Imus onto the back pages.....lol

[NightWatcher]

12. that would be hilarious..a DU tabloid,

[LiberalHeart]

38. I like politics, hard news, technology, science, health & tabloid stories--

...and I love the folks who frequent the general discussion topics. If a topic doesn't interest you, pass by it, but please don't try to dictate to others what they should or shouldn't be interested in. It would be a pain in the rear to have to hop around to various forums to get a mix of news and discussions. Breaking news has stringent enough rules for the purist.

[peacetalksforall]

13. Are you serious? Non-story? You are not looking deep to even

form that question.

This is about what we speak about every day on DU as far as domestic problems we are experiencing.

This is about a Republican netowrk (GE Microsoft NBC) who does the bidding of the WH and PNAC and all the other foundations and organizations - doing what they did with the vote of minorities - crap on it.

This is about a mega conglomeration of operatives allowing 20 hours of targeted insults over decades to get by once again.

If you enter 'Imus bigotry and any 199x or 200x year' in a search engine, you will find plenty to know that this is ongoing, but never have minorities been under attack as in the 2000's.

Instead of burying the story, end the story. End this program by ending McQuirk and Imus and maybe even Abrams (since it is a news program of sorts).

They targeted real people, innocent people - just like they did with votes.

C'mon. Bury this as if this is nothing.

This is politics and money to the Republican Party. You have a perfect gift to finally do something and you take a poll about burying this?

Anna Nicole Smith has nothing to do with the Republican Party - go ahead and bury stories like that.

Don't bury the demeaning of certain populations within this country.

This is about racism, sexism, homophobia, and hate of Hispanics and Muslims - all targets over all these years - facilitator for the Republican Party - and hate spreader.

I'm sorry you all don't recognize the opportunity. I'm very sorry.

[yurbud]

20. If people were going after this as a "divide & conquer" story, I'd be on board

Instead, people are simpler spending a lot of time calling an obvious dirtbag a dirtbag.

[dogday]

14. Call it the General Discussion Diversion Forum

look over there.....

[karlrschneider]

15. Absolutely. Call it the "I am REALLY CONCERNED!!11!1!" forum.

:eyes:

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. While ANS and the diaper stories are stories

that properly belong in entertainment news, Imus is about who controls what and the message that is accepted (racism), if you think this is a non-story I can't help you there.

For the record, he's done a lot of good too, but his racism is not unlike that of Mr. Wiener or Mr. Beck, or Mr. Limbaugh or the whole Fox Noise channel

[yurbud]

21. Read Milton Friedman's "The Social Responsible of Business" to see why business & celebs do good

It is to buy goodwill.

[Lil Missy]

17. I really hate to see the Imus story lumped in with the ANS saga

What Imus said hurt a LOT of people, most importantly, African Americans and women.

ANS is more like a train wreck, and more of an infotainment story.

[Canuckistanian]

25. I find it hard to equate ANS with Imus

As for topics like Anna Nicole, yes. Get them off GD. There's no issue there, period.

But as for Imus, there is an screamingly, gut-wrenchingly important issue here. The media and what it's become.

The CM is practically an arm of the government for all it's influence. And yet it accepts ZERO responsibility for what it does.

Here is one case that could make a difference. Open a crack into the sleazy world of enabling racists, bigots, liars smearers.

This is worth fighting for.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. They could call it something like "The National Enquirer Forum".

Or, "The Celebrities are Assholes Forum".

[pscot]

27. The Dreck tends to attract lots of comment

so it rises to the top (kind of like pond scum). More thoughtful posts, that might find an audience, given time, tend to sink out of sight.

[yurbud]

35. that's the saddest thing

[WinkyDink]

28. Mods should LOCK DUPLICATE THREADS of ANY topic.

[watercolors]

30. I'm ignoring all Iman's treads!

Some peopl need to focus on the real news!

[eppur_se_muova]

32. I can decide for myself which threads to ignore, don't need anyone to do that for me. nt

[blondeatlast]

34. God forbid we should decide for ourselves what interests us

:sarcasm:

I agree with you.

[blondeatlast]

33. Other: Those who complain about the adminstration of DU shoudl start their own boards?

I vote yes.

[yurbud]

74. so no suggestions allowed?

[Oilwellian]

36. Let me get this straight

You lump the Imus and Ana Nicole stories together, complain they're threads are "non-stories" and shouldn't be posted in GD, and then YOU post a fucking poll about it in GD? The hypocrisy is stunning.

Secondly, I'd like to make my own decision insofar as what is a story or "non-story." And we haven't been discussing Imus for 2 fucking weeks. Your drama is duly noted.

What do I think? I think I'll be putting a few people on permanent ignore tonight...something I've never done before.

[NormanYorkstein]

40. Imus is a serious issue, Smith is not

There's no comparison. Imus is a sexist bigot attacking innocent people on the radio with racist comments - he's attacked Blacks, Jews, LGBTs, and possibly a whole lot more. That's a SERIOUS issue - hate speech broadcast by the corporate media daily - paid for by big companies like MSNBC and Proctor&Gamble and others. A BIG DEAL.

I don't know anything about Anna Nicole Smith but I don't think it has any political relevance. :shrug:

[Bluebear]

41. How dare you. Tell the young women Imus called whores they are "non-stories". nt

[Kickin_Donkey]

42. Since when is racism in the national media a "non-story"?

Race is arguably the central issue of American society. To equate this with Anna Nicole -- move along, nothing to see here -- is so ignorant as to apologize for racism. If you're not going to be outraged by racism, maybe you don't belong on DU.

[Bluebear]

46. Thank you.

The more I am here the less calls I see for tolerance, inclusion, equality for all. It is not a "non-story" if it affects our brothers and sisters.

[Kickin_Donkey]

47. What happened to this place?

I used to come to DU to find shelter from the ugly right-wing world outside, and find like-minded liberal souls. But look at all the stealth racists coming out of the woodwork, including some longtime DUers. As a true liberal, I'm finding that I spend less time at DU.

[Bluebear]

48. I will say this about that.

Poster A says "Enough about ____! It's a distraction!"

Poster B, who doesn't have any opinions one way or the other thinks "OK, well that sounds reasonable, it must be true." And so on and so on. The dreadful threads that get an automatic 10 recommends simply because of the subject line alone would knock your socks off. Look at the people who "agree" with this poll, that calling talented young women whores in the national media is a "non-story" that should be in the lounge. It's like people don't read the content but spring to recommend or agree like it's the cool thing to do.

Then there are the trolls.

Then there are those who were trolls or less than progressive all along and we never knew it. :)

[nicknameless]

45. That is what GD is for.

If you want strictly politics, you might want to hang out in GD *Politics*
(Although I disagree with you about Imus not being a political issue, I'd prefer to see fewer duplicate threads.)

(Edited for clarity)

[hang a left]

49. Yes there should be an Enquirer forum for this shit!

All of the tawdry gossip, from nappy headed ho's to dna's of bottled blond women. It is not politics and should not be treated as such. Imus is a friggin nobody in the body politic and should be treated as such. For gawd's sakes we have plenty of battles in front of us and to expend energy on that wannabe cowboy is ridiculous! He is a nothing and certainly not worthy of the attention that he has been given on this site in the last four days (four fuggin days, ridiculous!). Let us move on. There are subpoenas that mandate adherence.

[Bluebear]

50. Sorry, I find your sentiment EXTREMELY offensive.

A team of talented young women one year out of high school were called whores on national TV and to you it's tawdry gossip and shit? Shame on you. Some of us progressives CAN follow more than one story at a time.

[hang a left]

55. Really???

Is it as serious as the 10 men in Iraq that died this weekend?? Hmmmm?

I was in high school. I have been called a lot of different things. No, I don't think anyone called me a "ho". That wasn't the lingo back then. But, I think I was called a "slut", and a "barbie". It did not wreck my life however. And I am sure those intelligent women will get over the name calling. As we all have and do. It certainly is not worthy of the distraction it has caused. There are much more serious things going on in our country than to spend three or four days obsessing over some name calling for gawd's sakes. IMO you should take all that venom and spew it somewhere where it will be effective. And I don't consider this message board to be the locale.

[Bluebear]

61. Yes really. And keep your snarky "hmmmmm??".

You know goddamn well it's not as serious as the ten men who died in Iraq this weekend and I posted about them too so don't bring them into this. As I said, many of us can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[hang a left]

63. Bluebear really,

why are you pissed at me? I wasn't the one who called those distinguished women nappy headed hos. I just wasn't as offended by it as most of the people around here. I have been called names all of my life. I just don't consider it a major offense. For the love of gawd there are so many other things that are WAY more important. IMO.

[Bluebear]

64. Because the incident upset me and I don't like people minimizing it!

Or saying it belongs in the lounge! Ferchrissakes, we can concentrate on indictments and impeachments and STILL try to keep this racist off the airwaves, k? :hi:

[hang a left]

65. I'm sorry you got upset

:hugs: That stuff just doesn't bother me. I am female and have been subjected to many, many, verbal abuses. They are just words bluebear, they can't hurt you. Always remember, it is about them, never ever about you. You be a good girl now and go fight the good fight.

[Bluebear]

66. OK

except I'm a boy :hug:

[hang a left]

68. I'm sorry.

You are sensitive and I assumed you were female. Grrrrrrrrr, I love sensitive men :evilgrin:

[Bluebear]

69. hehehehe

Watch out for us sensitive ones. G'night :)

[NormanYorkstein]

51. Democratic candidates go on Imus ALL the time, he's not a "nobody"

Kerry and many other Democratic candidates go on Imus all the time - he's not a "nobody" he's the mouthpiece for a section of the establishment - and he spews sexist racist homophobic bigotry on a daily basis paid for by products that you buy.

He should be fired and it's a GREAT thing that people on DU are organizing a boycott to make sure his filth is removed from the airwaves. Imus can write a racist book and hawk it at Nazi rallies, it's his first amendment right.

[Bluebear]

52. Thank you. He can host a white man's retreat at his "ranch"

and have all the free speech he wants. I am not shutting up about this, those ten young women and their coach were assaulted by racist and sexist crap from a serial offender.

[NormanYorkstein]

57. yep - a boycott is the solution, it's already working

He's got two weeks, a number of sponsors have already backed out. If we can keep the pressure up for two weeks he's GONE. Plus it will be a lesson to others that they will be next.

I think it's a huge deal and I'm ready for the fight. I'll be compiling a list of any company sponsoring Imus' show and I will email everyone I know, post on message boards, and call and send letters. Imus' is toast and we'll get the others quaking in their boots in no time.

Personally I'm fed up with this shit and I'm not taking it anymore.

I'm also sending a personal thank you letter to Cal Ripken Jr, the legendary Orioles short stop, who displayed great integrity by boycotting Imus' show before anyone else had the guts to. Cal is a hero.

[hang a left]

60. Guess what Yorkenstein...

I could give a fuck and I have NEVER even heard of the sob before I joined DU. He is NOT a factor over here on the West Coast, not one friggin bit! Quite frankly NO ONE is influenced by what that POS says over here. He is a non entity over here kay. Take that and make some fucking tea, or borscht.

[NormanYorkstein]

67. What are you doing with your free speech?

yeah you've got Michael Savage Weiner on the West Coast - even worse. Think about everytime some women is driving to work, and on her radio she has Michael Savage saying some disgusting comment. Or a Black family at home listening to the radio when Michael Savage starts insulting and degrading Black folks. Think about the Rutgers basketball team - state heros that everyone in NJ, NY, CT, and the whole area was cheering on. These are people's family members and role models for everyone. And then Imus decides to slur them - for no reason? Using filthy disgusting language, racist slurs and sexist slander?

On the public airwaves there are standards. I have no problem with people watching pornography, I don't want it on the airwaves. I have no problem with KKK rallies and Nazi rallies and the like, I support free speech and the first amendment.

I'm using my free speech to denounce Imus and boycott any company that sponsors his show. What are you doing with your free speech?

[hang a left]

70. Quite frankly, I keep it to myself for the most part

I learned the hard way. I now live in freeperville. Came from a beach city and thought all people thunk the way I did. Had a nasty awakening when I tried to alert the PTA and the Little League to the BS claims of WMD in the fall of 2002. I have been off their Xmas card list since.

BTW I don't listen to the radio. Never have. Maybe that is what's wrong with these people down here. So I don't know who the hell you are talking about. I come from a woman that taught me that we are all equal regardless of our skin color, or our birth rights. See, I am lucky in that respect. It has always stuck with me. And I feel fortunate to have been taught these principals at a young age. I have passed them on to my children as well, and they will pass those values, I hope.

[NormanYorkstein]

71. that's fine, I wish Imus would keep it to himself

And not listening to the radio? Heh that's probably a very good idea. Last time I listened it was mostly crap anyway. :)

[Kickin_Donkey]

53. Since when is racism in the media a National Enquirer story?

Racism is a major political and social issue in American society. ANS is not.

We have the ability to discuss many issues at one time: Iraq, racism, Gonzales, loss of habeas corpus, etc. Maybe you don't belong on DU if you don't want to confront the racism of American society.

[Bluebear]

56. PS just heard the news, Imus is losing more and more advertisers

So our squawking is having SOME effect at least.

[hang a left]

62. So you don't think I belong on DU??

I really don't give a crap what you think. I abhor racism but Imus is the least of my worries. I was here before you and I will be here after you. There are many more important battles to fight.

[Madspirit]

81. More Important Battles?

There are more important battles than racism? I did not know that and I do not think that.
Lee

[ContraBass Black]

54. Every time there's a dominant story, there's a rash of "put topics I dont' like somewhere else"

Threads.

Ignore and hide thread is your very best friends.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

58. Imus a non-story? Shame on you. This involves racism and sexism in our culture and socially

one of the biggest stories of late. Although I am not black, I am a woman, and it was an insult to all women, IMHO.

[Bluebear]

59. I am not black & not a woman and the whole thing was an insult to me.

:toast:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

72. Bluebear

Thank you for your being you.
:toast:

[yurbud]

75. the odd thing is, as others have pointed out, why THIS story more than worse right winger ones?

Like Bennett saying there would be less crime if all black babies were aborted.

Like all of the right saying blacks in New Orleans couldn't be rescued because they were too dangerous while looting and raping.

or just last week, like Newt saying Spanish was a "ghetto language." He is not be drummed out of public life, but instead still allowed to talk about other issues on talk shows and even act like he is running for president.

Imus is not entertaining, and he has a long history of racist remarks that don't have the ring of someone stepping on a cultural foot accidentally, but of intentional mean-spiritedness. If he loses his job over this, that's fine with me.

He is just an odd choice to get this much focus.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

76. I think the focus of his attack is the true story in this. Here is a team of talented, smart women

(remember, Rutgers is Ivy League), who made it to the finals. They overcame odds of originally being down in the season and to them, this was a great success. Something to savor, to relish. Defeat is hard but just to know that they got as far as they did, was a true accomplishment. He destroyed that moment in time for them.

By attacking them, and he didn't even know them, he attacked all African-Americans, all women, and worst of all, being a parent, everyone's daughters. He took a thing of beauty and debased it with his verbal diarrhea. Listening to what he said, is like witnessing a rape.

Imus, no matter what a schmuck you think he is, had great power, and this could not be overlooked.

[yurbud]

77. I just saw a picture of the girls and it made me take this more seriously

I'm pretty sentimental, before I had been thinking of these girls as thick-skinned jocks. When I saw their photo, some looked just like innocent kids. They wouldn't have deserved it anyway, but it makes Imus look more like a bully.

[LoZoccolo]

73. People would start arguing about what constitutes a story or a non-story. n/t

[Madspirit]

78. Get a Clue

Imus...it's about racism. Sorry if that doesn't rate for you. Racism and the fight against it is EVERY FUCKING BIT AS IMPORTANT AS THE OTHER "REAL" STUFF.
Lee

[renie408]

79. I guess we should have the moderators set the topics for us. That would be MUCH better!!

Can somebody define 'General Discussion' for me. Cause I was under the impression that meant this forum was for, I dunno, general discussion.

[tammywammy]

80. I just wish that DU had

a filter hide thread feature. That was I could do a search for all threads on Anna Nicole and hide them all at the same time, instead of going thread by thread to hide.

But it's just a wish and definitely not a necessity :)