It was Irony

[vincent_vega_lives]

He shouldn't have said it. It was stupid and insensitive. As a regular listener of Imus for the great guests he always has on, I have heard him many times insult celebrities and public figures. These college athletes should be off limits to this kind of crass humor however.

In this case Bernard was stating the opinion that the girls looked "street tough" and used "street vernacular" to describe them. Imus took it the description further and laughed after he said it. He was being ironic, in that he would never seriously refer to women that way, but he was caught up in "playing a role".

He has apologized, and I feel he is legitimately contrite. He ranted against the Bush administration during Katrina about how this would never have happened if the population of NO was mostly white. He championed Harold Ford Jr. and has had him on regularly. His Ranch for kids with cancer hosts many inner city kids with debilitating diseases who would never get opportunities that he offerers them. His wife is a champion of environmentally friendly products and an advocate for research in a cure for autism. He almost single handedly got combat veterans' death benefits increased from $6,000 to $100,000 by lambasting politicians he has had on his show. He played a significant role in getting the Intrepid Center for Fallen Hero's funded.

His constant self deprecation regarding his intellect and looks is a regular part of the show and he welcoms it from guests.

At the same time he has been pubicly critical in the past of both Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson.

If the women from Rutgers accept his apology, I think we should to.

[AuntPatsy]

1. I tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt and watched his show

this am in an effort to see if he was sincere, I was left with the only sincerity he possed was being sincere about being upset about the backlash this issue was receiving, you could tell he just wished it would all go away, I am sorry but i don't believe he feels guilty about what he said about those young women, not in the sense that he should, I honestly tried to give him a moment, and he lost me.

He should be fired.

[Ron Green]

2. Imus seems to have gotten what he and his agents want, which is

publicity. From what I know (I haven't recently listened to his show), he's just another running mouth on the radio, a cheap entertainer with sagging ratings.

This is his career's biggest boost, no?

[MistressOverdone]

4. There is no such thing as bad publicity, eh?

[mr_hat]

3. No, no. It was a palindrome.

[VWolf]

5. The palindrome of Bolton isn't Ipswich, it's Notlob!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Spazito]

6. I don't understand why, because he has apologized for his

"bad joke" that there has to be an acceptance that it WAS a joke. It was not. It was a racist and sexist hit on a female basketball team that is predominantly African American.

Couching despicable, unacceptable commentary, when called on it, as a "bad joke" is despicable in itself, imo.

He did not apologize for his racist and sexist comments, he apologized for a "bad joke" which tells me he is and will continue to be a racist and misogynist. At best, he will find other words to telegraph his bigoted beliefs.

[renate]

7. good point... calling it a joke is a lame excuse

I mean, WTH? "Those girls look like nappy-headed hos" is supposed to be a joke? From an adult instead of a middle-schooler? Bwa ha ha, not.

Hey Don, jokes are supposed to be funny. Otherwise... not a joke.

[Spazito]

9. I remember the overwhelming condemnation, and rightly so, of

Ann Coulter's response to the criticism of her "faggot" commentary on John Edwards when she said it was just a "joke". Why would the condemnation of her using the despicable "it was just a joke" excuse be almost unanimous yet not so when it comes to Imus doing the same despicable thing.

[renate]

11. If a schoolkid had said that about a classmate

...he'd be saying Howdy to the principal in no time.

(I was just thinking about what I said above--how "nappy-headed hos" might be a joke to a middle-schooler but not to an adult--and then I realized that even a kid would get in trouble for talking that way, if not with the principal then with the other kids.)

Whatever happens in the long term, Imus has already been punished somewhat by being suspended for a couple of weeks, so at least he's not getting away scot-free. But no unfamous person could expect to cast racial slurs like that and expect to get away with it, so why should he have thought he could?

[valerief]

8. Don't try to whitewash the racism. Everyone knows it was racism.

The people who say it wasn't are supporting the reichwing agenda.

[underpants]

10. .02

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x626086