Reply #61: watched him grovelling this morning

[frogcycle]

he is certainly falling on his sword

went on about all the good he does (and I assume its true) for kids, and the supportive things hes done and said for African Americans. Admitted to stupidity; says he's going on Sharpton's show and has asked to meet with the Rutgers team.

Sometimes you can't put the genie back in the bottle. I don't know if this will be one of those times or not. Maybe he's learned a lesson (that he should not have had to learn) and will change. Maybe that does not matter, and the lesson needs to go out to everyone else, that when you cross the line there are consequences. Maybe the flap itself is sufficient consequence. He thinks that being "shocking" is funny - and it sure gets him ratings. I guess I'd rather see limbaugh get the "death penalty" than him, if I had my choice.

The fact is, when you are focused more on what something will do for you than on what it will do to others, you are likely to be pretty offensive to a lot of people. It's the same attitude that most of the media, and the whole bushco crowd has. They say things for effect regardless of truth or hurtfulness. Imus' comments were pretty similar to cheney calling 70% of the country terrorists. Said for effect and personal gain, regardless of truth or hurtfulness.

I just don't know if Imus is necessarily the ideal "example" to make. If it looks like he got canned unnecessarily, there could be a backlash.

Then I think of those players and the kind of continuing racist crap people have to live with and say nail the bastard.

I don't know too much about the Rutgers players, but two of the Tennessee players are from New York, and one was very heavily recruited by Rutgers. Pat Summit won out. There is a story that she was shy, nervous about leaving the NY area, playing so far from home. Pat visited her at her home in Staten Island several times. She is 6-5, and a top student. She is carrying a triple major at UT, and is on the academic honor roll, with something like a 3.7 GPA. She does volunteer work in the community; I read once about her singing Christmas carols at a retirement home I am familiar with in the western suburbs - some of my relatives have lived out their last years there. I doubt there are any African Americans living there; certainly not more than a couple. So this player missed being called a "nappy headed ho" on national TV and radio because Pat Summitt pursuaded her to overcome her shyness, take a chance and play for Tennessee. Imus was just outrageously thoughtless, stupid, trying to be cute, and, as I said, sometimes you can't put the genie back in the bottle. There have to be limits. I guess I wish him well in his attempt to undo it. It cannot be forgiven, but perhaps it can be dismissed.

edit: My point in describing the Tn player is that the remarks did not just affect the Rutgers players - they affect EVERY African American as yet another reminder of the racism that lurks barely beneath the surface (when it IS beneath) in our society. It does not just hurt the Rutgers players - it demeans everyone with dark skin, and it demeans those of us with light skin who try damned hard not to perpetuate such crap even inadvertently.