Just for the record, I didn’t know who Don Imus was until this week. Just in case you are less informed than I, Don Imus has been a legendary “shock jock” for some years, I guess. He is a radio personality with a large listener ship, or so the story goes. Who knew? Don Imus had never crossed my personal radar in my whole life until this last week when a firestorm of controversy came down upon him for a remark which, if it were not highly racist, is still so derogatory in nature that it’s public utterance should be called into question. In an ill considered, flip remark concerning a predominantly African American college girls’ basketball team Imus took center stage in national news and controversy, and entered into my world of knowledge and consideration, as well. I don’t have a lot to say about him or his remark. The public outrage has been so great, that he has become the veritable “sacrifice” our current society demands to pay for our collective sins of racism. Does he deserve it? I'm not the one to be the judge of that. However, to be honest, I don’t think there is any real place in our world for that sort of comment. Imus lost his job over the remark. No amount of apology seemed to be sufficient to dam up the rushing waters of public opinion and reactive sponsor withdrawal. He’s in the media. He’s an entertainer. He has fallen into the Dixie Chicks trap. He opened his mouth publicly without consideration of how his audience would take it or how it would affect his income. In effect they both put their mouths where their money is. One funny thing is that in his own defense, he stated that he was not a bad person. He should have added, “but I may qualify as a complete and total moron.”
With all that said, there is only one main point I truly want to make here. Again, as I said, I didn’t know who in the world Don Imus was until this all hit the media fan this week. How wonderful it must be to have this as his only legacy in the minds of myself and so many others.
"Who is Don Imus?"
"Oh, he’s that racist DJ who is out of work, now."
"Oh. . . yeah."
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Some people have told me what he said wasn't really that bad, considering the context... So, I guess I haven't seen any play by play commentator's use the term "nappy headed ho's" to describe the defense of Rutger's university women's BB team yet either (in or out of context). You are so correct. Imus is a moron.
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