I-man - what do you think about his remarks?

[Guthrie]

... said in the context of a comedy sketch during radio show that mixes comedy/politics/public advocacy ...

Actually, it was said during a sports report not a comedy sketch.

Imus didn't do comedy sketches - he had his crew of comedic characters which he bounced lines off - I've seen his show, never saw a sketch - he had guys come on and do crass imitations of public figures etc

but trying to take a report on NCAA Women's basketball finals and call it a comedy sketch is not just foolish but cognitively dissonant

[GostHacked]

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/11/t...ckles-imusgate/

Always can count on Jon.

[Shakeyhands]

This whole thing is a farce. He's been railroaded by Al Sharpton -- who elected him spokesman for all black people, anyway? -- who needs an axe to grind to stay relevant. Imus might have been offensive, but he did nothing worse than any countless number of rappers.

Anyone who doubts Sharpton is being a selective opportunist want to wager that Sharpton will find other things to do and not picket outside Arista and CBS Records when the next "b*tch and ho"-filled 50 Cent album comes out?

sounds almost verbatim to Delay last night on CNN...

Blacks, and whites for that matter in fact lets say people, have every right to be disgusted by what Imus said.

[Guthrie]

Tom Delay wants to attack Rosie O'Donnel as a response to the attacks on Imus

what a slug!

[RB]

Blacks, and whites for that matter in fact lets say people, have every right to be disgusted by what Imus said.

I can say as a white man Imus appeared more into the black culture that most whites. Even I just learnt what is "nappy-headed hos" meant

I mean I wanted to put foward these argument:

- say a woman is fat, overly big, and lazy - could you not say she is a fat ass - i mean why not

- the black women are called by their black mates nappy-head hos - a culture they encouraged, how can they appear "shocked", we all wish to fit into the melting pot, but conveniently remember we were once at some place in history

- it's strange that the blacks are never particularly doing well economically and all of a sudden a white man snatch their dreams, and vision of happiness

- you think perhaps the black community need to deal with their issues of degrading themselves before they start pointing fingers?

[Guthrie]

except the arguments you put forward are not true

[guyser]

I bet Imus is sorry he talked with Sharpton. Sharpton is the winner here with the threat of boycotts. He didn't even have to deliver on one.

For me, the MSNBC spot was the more important. He is not carried in my area by radio.

A hunch , but do you get the impression that Imus was on Sharptons show just to get this over and done with, not expecting to lose his job and worse?

Knowing what Imus knows about Sharpton , I thought he would fight back to Sharpton's accusations and repeated "you gotta go" statements.

If nothing else Imus could have said, quickly if once, that "Sharpton,what I did was wrong but I do not hold a candle to your discretions. "

Sharpton would have had to counter.But how? Could have been a good old fashioned radio scrap.

I would think Howard Stern would not go down quietly.

[ft.niagara]

Who would ever have thought that Sharpton would have been successful. Imus did put up a fight, but pulled his punches. It was the perfect storm.

Sharpton should apologize to the Duke players, and the Brawley policeman he sullied. But he won't. Nifong has apologized to the Duke players, but probably for a reason other than civility.

[Guthrie]

Did Sharpton call Duke players, 'nappy headed whores?'

I must have missed that one.

[Argus]

Wait: you acknowledge that the term used is "minority slang" but then complain about "play(ing) the colour card?" Somehow, I don't think Imus would have been calling a bunch of white girls "nappy-headed hos". You can't have it both ways.

Let's come out and admit that Black culture has turned Black women into whores. Black cultural values are in the toilet in terms of sex, unwed motherhood, father responsibility, crime, drugs and education. Imus wouldn't invent a term like "nappy headed hoes", he simply took it from popular Black culture, where Black women are generally called far, far worse.

[Argus]

Did Sharpton call Duke players, 'nappy headed whores?'

I must have missed that one.

Sharpton has always done his best to instigate race trouble, and to imply that White people involved in any kind of dispute, disagreement, confrontation etc. with Blacks are racists. His incendiary comments and campaigning on the Duke Lacrosse situation were entirely based on the fact the stripper in question was Black and the accused were White. You would think he would have learned after a similar howling, mob inciting attack against Steven Pagones for allegedly raping Tawana Brawley wound up putting him on the losing end of a libel suit, not to mention with muck all over him when it turned out that she too had made up the allegation.

Sharpton himself, of course, has made worse comments than "nappy headed hos" in his past, which has led most of the Jewish community to term him an anti-semite.

[Liam]

... said in the context of a comedy sketch during radio show that mixes comedy/politics/public advocacy ...

Actually, it was said during a sports report not a comedy sketch.

Imus didn't do comedy sketches - he had his crew of comedic characters which he bounced lines off - I've seen his show, never saw a sketch - he had guys come on and do crass imitations of public figures etc

but trying to take a report on NCAA Women's basketball finals and call it a comedy sketch is not just foolish but cognitively dissonant

You're right -- I was wrong, it was during the sports recap.

Still, it doesn't change my opinion about the entire thing. The punishment so outweighs the "crime" as to be almost unfathomable.

[Guthrie]

... said in the context of a comedy sketch during radio show that mixes comedy/politics/public advocacy ...

Actually, it was said during a sports report not a comedy sketch.

Imus didn't do comedy sketches - he had his crew of comedic characters which he bounced lines off - I've seen his show, never saw a sketch - he had guys come on and do crass imitations of public figures etc

but trying to take a report on NCAA Women's basketball finals and call it a comedy sketch is not just foolish but cognitively dissonant

You're right -- I was wrong, it was during the sports recap.

Still, it doesn't change my opinion about the entire thing. The punishment so outweighs the "crime" as to be almost unfathomable.

don't get me wrong --- I agree, the punishment severely outweighs the crime --- but that is up to the advertising geniuses for AT&T GM CBS etc --- they fired him, not me, not Al Sharpton

IMHO Imus will now make a better radio personality than he has ever been before. I mean, he's been tempered by fire and he's learned what it means to be taken down a peg. Certainly, that experience makes for excellant radio.

[ScottSA]

Wait: you acknowledge that the term used is "minority slang" but then complain about "play(ing) the colour card?" Somehow, I don't think Imus would have been calling a bunch of white girls "nappy-headed hos". You can't have it both ways.

Let's come out and admit that Black culture has turned Black women into whores.

Christ, Black culture has turned women into hos, men into niggahs, and the totality into a ghetto culture that proudly refuses to come out of the sewer lest it be mistaken for whitey, all the while cheered on by Blacks activist whores of the worst kind. Talk about a lost race.

[Canadian Blue]

Christ, Black culture has turned women into hos, men into niggahs, and the totality into a ghetto culture that proudly refuses to come out of the sewer lest it be mistaken for whitey, all the while cheered on by Blacks activist whores of the worst kind. Talk about a lost race.

I think blacks have always lived in poverty, if you haven't noticed the schools in Baltimore aren't really that great. Its pretty easy for some upper middle class white guy to talk with disdain about poor blacks, especially since he has never walked in their shoes. I'd imagine people living in poverty wouldn't be granted as many options as your typical white teenager from suburbia.

[bush_cheney2004]

I think blacks have always lived in poverty, if you haven't noticed the schools in Baltimore aren't really that great. Its pretty easy for some upper middle class white guy to talk with disdain about poor blacks, especially since he has never walked in their shoes. I'd imagine people living in poverty wouldn't be granted as many options as your typical white teenager from suburbia.

WTF? Do you know how many "whites" also live in poverty? Do you live in Baltimore?

[Canadian Blue]

WTF? Do you know how many "whites" also live in poverty? Do you live in Baltimore?

I'd imagine more blacks live in poverty than whites. Did you happen to read ScottSA's post, its funny to note that you took no offense to that.

I don't live in Baltimore, but apparently alot of blacks live in poverty, and the schools aren't that great.

[Liam]

I don't know if you're referring specifically to Imus when you talk about middle class white people, but I'm pretty middle class and white-- though three decades younger than Imus -- and my friends and I have been using the word "ho" for 20+ years. Eddie Murphy made it a common term back in 1982(?) with his Velvet Jones "I Wanna Be a Ho" routine on SNL.

[bush_cheney2004]

I'd imagine more blacks live in poverty than whites. Did you happen to read ScottSA's post, its funny to note that you took no offense to that.

I don't live in Baltimore, but apparently alot of blacks live in poverty, and the schools aren't that great.

And I imagine that you ignore the "poverty" around you, instead wishing to jump to easy stereotypes and racist rantings. Many more "whites" live in poverty than "blacks" in the USA because of sheer population differences. You would know that if you went to school in Baltimore.

ScottSA didn't post "I think blacks have always lived in poverty"......always is a long time and that is a sweeping slur. Tell me about the hate speech law again...LOL!

[bush_cheney2004]

I don't know if you're referring specifically to Imus when you talk about middle class white people, but I'm pretty middle class and white-- though three decades younger than Imus -- and my friends and I have been using the word "ho" for 20+ years. Eddie Murphy made it a common term back in 1982(?) with his Velvet Jones "I Wanna Be a Ho" routine on SNL.

Word...Murphy was runnning his 'Ho stchick a long time ago. Thanks for the reminder for oh so short media memory. Even righteous Bill Cosby had a mocking "pimp" character in his variety show back in the '70s at the height of black exploitation films.

[Canadian Blue]

ScottSA didn't post "I think blacks have always lived in poverty"......always is a long time and that is a sweeping slur. Tell me about the hate speech law again...LOL!

Not really, many statistics show that a large proportion of the black community lives in poverty. As well your right wing, why should you care about the poor black man.

And I imagine that you ignore the "poverty" around you, instead wishing to jump to easy stereotypes and racist rantings. Many more "whites" live in poverty than "blacks" in the USA because of sheer population differences. You would know that if you went to school in Baltimore.

Of the blacks in the US, how many live in poverty percentage wise as compared to whites. Lets do the same with crime, education, drugs, etc. Its not particularly racist wanting to help the poor, such is the thinking of many people on the right down in the United States. It's a very Bill O'Reilly type of rant, its racist to believe in supporting social programs, but somehow is more noble to cut social assistance programs in favour of corporate tax cuts.

[bush_cheney2004]

Not really, many statistics show that a large proportion of the black community lives in poverty. As well your right wing, why should you care about the poor black man.

Of the blacks in the US, how many live in poverty percentage wise as compared to whites. Lets do the same with crime, education, drugs, etc. Its not particularly racist wanting to help the poor, such is the thinking of many people on the right down in the United States. It's a very Bill O'Reilly type of rant, its racist to believe in supporting social programs, but somehow is more noble to cut social assistance programs in favour of corporate tax cuts.

A large proportion? Let's see...in the USA it's about 9% for "whites", 11% for "Asians", 22% for "Hispanics", and 23% for blacks, depending on which study is chosen and how poverty is defined. It would appear that a far larger "proportion" do not live in poverty, eh? (BTW, child poverty rates around 23% can also be found in Newfoundland or British Columbia.)

I don't know how your slurs help anybody, poor or rich. Now you want to talk percentages after being held accountable for imprecise, sweeping racist rantings. Fine....we can play that game too...."whites" don't fair much better and in many cases are "worse" when compared to "Asians"....in the USA or Canada. Why do "Asians" tolerate such high crime and ignorance from "whites"?

Simple minded analysis based only on race doesn't cut it any more, unless that is all that matters to you.

[ScottSA]

Christ, Black culture has turned women into hos, men into niggahs, and the totality into a ghetto culture that proudly refuses to come out of the sewer lest it be mistaken for whitey, all the while cheered on by Blacks activist whores of the worst kind. Talk about a lost race.

I think blacks have always lived in poverty, if you haven't noticed the schools in Baltimore aren't really that great. Its pretty easy for some upper middle class white guy to talk with disdain about poor blacks, especially since he has never walked in their shoes. I'd imagine people living in poverty wouldn't be granted as many options as your typical white teenager from suburbia.

Right. You've presumably not "walked in their shoes" either, but somehow you have a deep empathy with poah Negra sharecroppahs entirely lost on vicous bigots like me. And of course an intuitive understanding of why, after several generations of affirmative action, Blacks are still practicing a self-enculturalization of victimhood and poverty. No doubt you'll announce that several more generations of crappy Black loserhood are expected before Blacks can break the angst of slavery imposed by whitey and his imperialistic yada yada.

As on the Indian thread, your paternalistic racist attitude is showing. You seem to think Blacks and Indians need special understanding, because, well, because they're not quite up to snuff like you are. They can't help themselves.

[bush_cheney2004]

Right. You've presumably not "walked in their shoes" either, but somehow you have a deep empathy with poah Negra sharecroppahs entirely lost on vicous bigots like me. And of course an intuitive understanding of why, after several generations of affirmative action, Blacks are still practicing a self-enculturalization of victimhood and poverty. No doubt you'll announce that several more generations of crappy Black loserhood are expected before Blacks can break the angst of slavery imposed by whitey and his imperialistic yada yada.

Agreed.....such paternalism is precisely what has led to current circumstances, including the cycle of dependency and victimhood. Bill Cosby rants like a madman about such things when he remembers what was at stake during the US Civil Rights Movement. Even Bill Clinton supported the dismantling of the welfare state, much to the chagrin of "liberals" who only wanted to help the poor poverty stricken "black" people stay poor and poverty stricken for the voter base.

[Canadian Blue]

Because as we all know, the right wing from the earliest days were always fighting against racism.

Apparently its racist to acknowledge that poverty exists more in certain communities for obvious reasons. First of all, we've seen the effects of budget cuts to education, welfare, and social services. It hasn't done a thing for poorer communities, but it does help people in the upper class.

I believe Martin Luther King Jr. also fought for the poor, does that make him a racist?

As on the Indian thread, your paternalistic racist attitude is showing. You seem to think Blacks and Indians need special understanding, because, well, because they're not quite up to snuff like you are. They can't help themselves.

No, its because people like you are around who think that white people are superior to the inferior poor native/black man.

Even Bill Clinton supported the dismantling of the welfare state, much to the chagrin of "liberals" who only wanted to help the poor poverty stricken "black" people stay poor and poverty stricken for the voter base.

So are you saying cutting spending results in people getting out of poverty. For some reason I highly doubt that.