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Apr 14 07 5:46 PM
As I said, I think that Imus should have been fired long ago ... I only listened to him a couple of times and that was way before there even was an MSNBC ... he just had a syndicated radio show back then ... he was pretty much a Howard Stern type of personality ... no where near as vulgar as Stern is ... but basically the same type of mean-spirited-demeaning-others-to-inflate-petty-egos kind of humor. Basically trash entertainment ... pollution of the mind.
That having been said ... I agree with you Angie, I don't think that there would have been any kind of outcry if he had said similar remarks about a group of white women ... and I don't think that anyone would have kicked up a fuss if he had been black saying those exact same words. It became an issue only because he was white and the women were black. So that makes me wonder why? Why do demeaning words become more demeaning when different races are involved?
Being white I don't understand racism in the same way that blacks do ... I could never possibly feel the same way and I don't pretend to. What I do see is the way we separate ourselves based on color about some things we should all pretty much agree on. I don't necessarily think that what Imus said was specifically racist ... it was just more of his shitty demeaning humor that has earned him millions of dollars in his career.... he could just as easily have talked about bimbo blonde ho's in another context. Would that have been any less offensive to whoever he was talking about?
I think as a society we need to stop using race when it shouldn't be about race. Some things are just wrong. Period. Whether it's Imus saying it ... or rappers spewing their filth ... the words are demeaning ... doesn't matter if they are directed to a specific person ... or sent out to encompass every anonymous woman ... the words mean the same thing. A ho is a ho is a ho ... no way to pretty that up.
Words have power ... and some words carry more power than others because they have an essence of degradation that hangs about them. Ho is a word like that ... a shortened form of whore. Rates right down there with nigga....
A lot of people are talking about this right now ... my intention would be that the dialog continues ... it's not all about people taking sides. I saw Al Sharpton on the Today Show and he was asked the question about why he hasn't criticised rappers and the music executives for the same kind of language. He said that he and others have tried to call awareness to the issue and it didn't go anywhere. He said that perhaps now because of this the people in the entertainment industry will begin to listen. He said that there are 10 non offensive rappers for every one offensive rapper but that they don't get the same kinds of treatment in the business. Hell let's face it ... sex & violence sell ... and demeaning women is both. I'd like to be optimistic and think that some actual good will come out of all of this ... but in all honesty by this time next week I doubt that much of anyone will be talking about it anymore.
... until the next time there is a black/white flashpoint ... in the meantime whites will merrily degrade whites and blacks will demean blacks and that's all somehow ok.
I'm not sure how to change things ... I think all we can do is change ourselves and speak up... stop using words we would be offended by if certain people said them ... if it's wrong for one it's wrong for all ... that's why I don't like it when I hear women call each other bitch in a friendly way ... it's not a friendly word. I rarely say it but I admit that I have ... I'm a work in progress heh
I wrote this in a comment on a MySpace blog but thought I would post it here too ... while I am tired of Imus I am also glad that people are at least talking about the issue. We have to remember that 2 wrongs don't make it right ... just because one person says something and no one says anything doesn't mean it's an ok thing to do so people should stop saying things like "rappers say stuff like this all the time" as if that makes it ok. It doesn't.
~Cathy
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