Imus in the morning: Here we go again

Can anyone say anything these days without having something racial read into it? A few words get skewed. Would this have happened if Imus had not made his other remarks?

It's time for Imus to pack it up and go mosey off to the old-pseudo-cowboy home. I defended him after the his last misspeak since I really enjoyed his show on MSNBC and respect his charity work but his latest comments are not free speech-just plain goofiness.

Who said this? Imus.
Well, there you go.

OK and ENOUGH....as a 32 yr old white male I am completely shocked and embarrassed at this man. Once is horrible and yet possibly forgivable but twice is disgusting and he should be fired.Everyone has the opportunity to act and feel about others as they wish to. No matter how horrible but when you have a way of reaching the masses such as in radio, it shouldn't be allowed.

All Mr. Imus has to do is say "I'm a satirist doing a comedy routine," and apparently he'll get a free pass -- at least that's the excuse that Al Franken and Randi Rhodes use.

The thought police are at it again. Alright you GOP nuts, start blaming the liberal media!

And if this was a black radio guy making the same remark about a white guy, it wouldn't even make the news. Total hypocrisy. Just like white people are racist when they don't vote black but blacks are just "supporting their people" when they don't vote white. If you don't like Imus, don't listen. Otherwise, let the man alone.

Who said this?
Imus.
Well, there you go.

"I meant he was being picked on because he's black.''

And Don Imus is being picked on because he is white.

Don Imus makes another racially charged wise crack.

And his company, Citadel Broadcasting, are his enablers and accomplices.

The Citadel corporate logo should be centered around one of these: $.

Beneath the symbol should be the Citadel corporate motto: "Nothing Else Matters".

I don't see this as an issue of political correctness, but instead, an issue of money, just as it was the first time around.

Imus has been paid to be a shock jock, and shock jocks say offending things all the time. It is not as clear if saying racist things crosses any line.

What may be more clear, however, is if Imus gets canned by his employer, it is NOT a First Amendment issue. The First Amendment is not implicated when a private employer has a contract with its employee, and the employee fails to perform by the terms of the contract. If Imus's has an at will relationship with his employer, the employer presumably has grounds to terminate that relationship presumably on his terrible performance, that will cost the network advertising dollars.

I think this is the situation we might see in the next couple days. Advertisers for the network may pull out, and then NBC or whoever is his employer will release Imus. If he has a new contract with them, they will probably pay Imus millions.

As disingenuous as his defense sounds, it makes sense in its context.
If anything, Imus is guilty of pandering in he opposite direction of the comments that got him in trouble regarding Rutgers.
Now suddenly he's the great defender of blacks that are supposedly treated unfairly, which I don't believe for one minute.
But this particular incident looks more like pandering to blacks than it does racism.
Imus may be a lot of things, but stupid is not among them.
I say he's telling the truth regarding his defense, but that what he said was disingenuous, not intended to be degrading.

I didn't find Imus comment particulary offensive, but it left me wondering:

Isn't his job to "communicate"? And if that's the case, he did a terrible job of communicating his point.

Secondly, Imus has become irrelevant. Once you put your foot in your mouth as he did with regard to the Rutger's team, anything he says WILL be used against him in the court of public opinion. That SO ties his hands that he really can't say anything without being characterized as racist. And so he becomes irrelevant, even if he wants to make an honest point about race. If he's too critical, he's a racist. If he's over the top concerned about the proportion of blacks that are arrested, he sounds like he's trying to hard to be "sensitive."

The truth hurts !

Leave the guy alone.

It should be quite obvious BY NOW what we're dealing with in this mongrel of a human being. I NEVER though Imus had any real talent, yet absent-minded media people keep thrusting this moron on the public. This is a real-life Archie Bunker. We should just let him go to the nearest nursing home and let him rant as long as his feeble bones will allow. Enough already.

Wether it was meant in the context everyone is upset about or it was really just what he said, a sarcastic comment on the way blacks are treated. Get over it people! Here is what is going to happen now. Even though the girls that were involved in his first controversal comment have excepted his apology and moved on that will never be good enough. Will it? Because the media is so blood thirsty for anything controversial that they sit and wait for anything that can be mis-construed. Leave the man alone for crying out loud. By the way I'm Black, and I'm tired of being treating like some delicate flower when hairy comments are raised. Black folks you know we have said our share of "Dicey" things. This time lets just let it go. Please? There are SO many other important things going on in this country. An "iffy" comment that could have meant two different things is the last thing we should be worried about. Thank you.

Cosell drew criticism during one Monday Night Football telecast in September 1983, for stating "look at that little monkey go," when he referred to a play by black receiver Alvin Garrett of the Washington Redskins regarding a run after a reception. While some saw "little monkey" as a racial slur, others who knew Cosell were quick to point out that he used this term routinely in an approving way to describe quicker, smaller players of all ethnicities. Among the evidence adduced to support this claim is video footage of a 1972 preseason game, between the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs, during which Cosell refers to Mike Adamle, a 5-foot-9-inch, 197-pound white, as a "little monkey." Just a little food for thought here in The Swamp!

I do not know whether Imus was insinuating that the guy is being picked on because he is black, or if he was confirming that we have another black athlete acting up.

Instead of attacking Imus as a racist, as everyone will do, do we not have the right to say "what is going on in the African-American community."

Imus first got in trouble for the words nappy headed ho. Well, Imus didn't make that phrase up. Those are lyrics commonly used in African-American music, lyrics listened to by children. What about the song Cop Killer? And has anyone ever watched these rap videos? Yikes!

Then, on a regular basis, we are treated to black athletes shooting each other, brawling with fans, driving drunk, and committing other crimes (i.e., dog fighting.) These men make tens of millions of dollars. If a CEO behaved like any of these men, that CEO would be on the streets and not hireable. The corporate world would not put up with that behavior. Why do we have different standards for our athletes? And why are so many talented African-American athletes throwing away their careers and behaving like thugs.

Rather than focus on Imus who as we all know is a perpetual offender, let's focus on the issues that he inadvertently highlighted.

Bud, I totally agree with you. The few clips I heard during the Rutgers scandal made me wonder to myself "how is Imus still on the air?" All he does is mumble a few words and then his sidekicks jump in. His voice is clearly gone and when you haven't got that you haven't got much else as a broadcaster.

oh the truth hurts.

Also, free speech in America...

and there are plenty of anti white comments in the media but I guess those are ok.

Never liked the man and who care what he said.......

Imus blindly grasps for attention yet again. Ho hum.

Imus' ststement, and they way he made it, are similar to many, many comments posted in this blog, and the comment sections of blogs and articles, all day every day, when the topic is on minorities. Not to mention how it likely would be said in private...

So in other words, Imus is a maroon, but he speaks for many maroons with less exposure.

In adding to my first statement: Pacman should be judged for the person of questionable decision-making that he is, not because he conforms to the unfounded and bigoted generalization of all Black males that several non-Blacks possess, including Mr. Imus.

Why ask about the race of the guest? Why? I don't get it. Why ask about the race of a guest and then the follow-up remark "there you go". Imus is a jerk.

I didn't know Howdy Doody was still on the air !! I thought, since he got so warped over the years, they just used him for timber, one day !! I will say, he doesn't look so bad, for being so old, but maybe he could use another coat of varnish !! In the not too distant future, they should just retire him, next to Pinocchio (Rove), in the Dummy's Museum !!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WELL. NOW.

Let's see if Imus is fired then Fr. Pfleger should be thrown out of the priesthood, Obama should divorce his wife, Ophra should be kicked off the air. That's just to name a few. What's good for the goose is good for the gander,

People need to get a life. Imus is going to say what he want to say no matter what. Should he have said that?- but stupid is stupid. and that is Imus!!!!!!

Jeez, " Clarence ", can you imagine what we would have to do to President Bush and both of his administrations?? They would all have to serve in the slaughter in Iraq !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

What I mostly see here are a lot of Pathetically Correct kneejerk reactions from a bunch of activist loudmouths who obviously did not hear the comment or its context. Much as I have little time for Don Imus and the other 'shock jocks', this seems to have been an attempt, albeit badly worded, to defend a black athlete and his treatment by the authorities. Sadly, a bunch of professional complainers are using it as an excuse to whine and give vent to their own social paranoia. I imagine that if someone were to order a black coffee in their hearing it would be presumed to be a racial, if not actually racist, observation of some kind. These are sad small-minded people with little apparently to justify their existence other than the chance to bray like a donkey about anything they see as degrading even if it is only visible in their own small minds. They do a great disservice to racial harmony and the legacy of people like Martin Luther King and other such social and political giants.

Jeez, " Mark R ", you made a lot of braying sense. Keep up the braying, it's music to my ears and you know, we have big ears !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

DI is paid lots of money to make outrageous and offensive comments. He does an excellent job of it. The fact that he gets an open mike to such a large potential audience doesn't concern me one bit.The fact that there are sooo many people who listen and react to him does concern me. How did they get here?

In a time when america has it's young fighting a war, we don't need to be divided at home. If this man has a problem with other races then he should not be on the air pulling us apart. Let him go, enough already.

Others have said much worse. Who can read Don I's mind to know what he really meant here. Why not fire BushCo for the poor Tx of NOLA and the majority of her residents who were minority. Either listen to Don I or don't. He has his own audience--just as other shows have theirs. I find some other shows offensive-- I just don't listen to them or to their advertisements. Does Al Sharpton monitor all radio shows, or just Imus--which gets Sharpton the headlines.

Im sick and tired of the people of the 21 century. Imus was born in 1940 and so was I. I grew up in San Francisco with Blacks ,whites and Chinese.To me we all had Racial issues,but I grew to understand the needs of whites,Blacks and Chinese. So I respect all Races. And so does Imus. For Gods sake Hes trying to teach you stupid idiotrs about Logic. Dont listen to his every word and try and find issue. Cant you be smart and listen to this intelligent man of the 60,s who has lived a life that YOU will never live.When He speaks you will get a message that will cause you to think. Can you do that or just attact him.Imus and I wont be around much longer. Who will you go after next. Stop being so SELFISH.