Bye Bye Don

[Brad Johnson]

I didn't miss your post, this is such a pervasive notion that it needs to be redundantly pointed out.

Brad's analogy is a good one but I think one that is even better are the things you can say to your siblings or loved ones that would under no circumstances be tolerated if uttered by someone outside that circle.

In my analogy, insensitivity would likely be met with physical harm.

 

[Phil Smith]

Sharpton is starting to really boil my blood. He is the biggest racist I've ever seen, and he only fuels hatred. These guys preach love (or whatever the hell they preach) and practice hate. Imus said something really stupid and innapropriate. Sharpton gets on his rabble rousing podium, all hell breaks lose, the guy loses his jobs, the radio and TV station take a huge hit. All because Sharpton wants to HELP the african american community.

A statement like this can only be the product of gross ignorance (i.e. you have no idea of what a racist is), racist thinking or both.

Don Imus is now the victim??? Poor Don, next time he will watch his mouth and understand that he can think what ever he wants but there will be consequences if blurts out those thoughts on the public air waves. Now all that's left is for people such as yourself to stop trying to hold other people responsible for the stupid actions of another. It's all Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's fault??? What a joke.

Why isn't he all over gangsta rap then, why isn't he all over the hip-hop magazines with craploads of gun advertisements that I see kids in my highschool reading, why isn't he going after any of the black DJs that pound out tons of racist black and white hating sexist masogonistic abusive evil crap.

Ah, the ignorance continues...but google is your friend, use it but also read some books first.

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According to Charles Aaron of Spin Magazine, 71% of rap listers are in
fact white:

"Demographically, there's no mystery; the terms majority and minority
are busily playing musical chairs. Between 1970 and 1990, the white
population in the United States dropped almost 10 percent, while the
black population rose slightly, the Hispanic population doubled, and
the population of Asians and other nonwhites tripled. The nonwhite
middle class is now a substantial suburban presence. Despite pressure
to choose "black" or "white," Americans identify themselves more and
more as mixed-race or biracial. Hip-hop, during this period, has
mirrored the country's multicultural shift, becoming a pitched battle
of race and identity. Emerging as the radical (re)vision of pop-rock
that punk never managed, hip-hop is the crucial cultural influence for
Generation X and beyond. The music-industry numbers are undeniable.
According to a SoundScan study, 71 percent of rap music is purchased
by white consumers..."
Source: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Do you think those hip hop magazines with the gun ads(highly unlikely) are owned by black people?

Nope, go after IMUS's one dumbass goof that he even apologized for. IMUS is what causes all the problems. Give ma a break. I'm surprised so many people are with these guys on their decisions.

Fighting racism one fool at a time is not a bad strategy.

 

[slugworth]

Thing is, is that Imus will likely be back someday, somewhere, just as soon as someone figures out there's still a buck to be made off of him, and that there are people who'll still listen. My guess is sooner rather than later. Imus, Sharpton, et, al, etc.... They're all part of the same hypocrisy of complete and utter bunkum.

 

[slugworth]

Believe it or not, there are Af/Am activists in the US that have that have perhaps more pressing issues to address than the nightly slogging of Imus. Take a look at this website:

http://www.uscab.org/

I happen to agree with and respect Ted Hayes. I don't believe he nor his position is racist in any shape or form, but what would be the fallout if someone of a different skin tone than Ted's would have taken his position? Not so simple is it?

 

[Fuzzbass]

The good news is that Imus' firing is not censorship. The gov't was not involved. Evil corporate subterfuge was not at work.

Imus had shows on the public airwaves. The public became offended. Sponsors no longer wanted to associate with that kind of controversy and pulled their advertisements. No one lost any rights, as we would if an obscenity law was passed. Imus is free to take his juvenile, racist, shock humor to other public media outlets, or cable/satellite radio as Howard Stern did.

Imus wasn't doing comedy. He calls his show "political commentary" but these comments were not political. Imus was deliberately trying to offend people and generate controversy to increase his ratings. (Stern is the master of this... Imus tries to imitate Howard's shock tactics but is amazingly inept about it.) Anyway, Imus getting sacked shouldn't concern anyone. Political speech has not been endangered in any way. To the contrary: the average IQ of all radio pundits will probably go up a fraction of a point once Imus is replaced.

 

[slugworth]

What's even stranger is the perverse symbiotic relationship between the Sharptons of the world and the Imuses. Problem with the Sharpton types is that they seem to only have race and racism at the forefront of every discussion in which they partake. They are consumed by it. Are there other perhaps more important issues in the Af/Am community? Absolutely. Are there opinions that differ from theirs? You bet, but none seem as lucrative or sensational. The other night I watched Leo Terrell go apoplectic at Larry Elder because he could not be convinced that everybody's life stinks as much as Leo's. What's even more shocking is how cruel the race players get when someone dares to deviate from those race-centric beliefs to which they so tightly adhere. People like Imus are their own worst enemies, and the Sharpton et al. types are clearly out for themselves, and seem to serve no other purpose but to divide. Meanwhile, Ted Hayes on his website is addressing an issue which may ultimately be far greater reaching and urgent, especially when viewed in a uniquely American historical context of the African American legacy in this country. His, I'm afraid, will continue to be a hot potato issue that the race players will not touch, however, because it is one of American unity, and the race players will have none of that. It will also not be addressed nor be acknowledged by the mainstream media or cable news. You'll have to tune in to community access cable for that.

 

[slugworth]

The good news is that Imus' firing is not censorship. The gov't was not involved. Evil corporate subterfuge was not at work.

>>> Nope, just the bean counters. Seems Imus' stock has been relegated to less than junk bond status at least for the time being, for his clumsy foot-in-mouth antics. Perhaps his unintended hiatus might give him cause to re-invent himself and actually come back with a more constructive angle on things. Almost equally as distasteful are the people sitting back gloating, relishing every delicious moment of their Schatenfreude, while all being part of the same wretched hypocrisy.

 

[Brad Johnson]

When the heck did Al Sharpton get all of this power that some people seem to think he has?


Did Sharpton unearth this and expose it to the media? Did he singlehandedly grab the ear of corporate America? Oh, that's right, it was Al AND Jesse.



Some of this stuff is just plain laughable.

 

[Brad Johnson]

A statement like this can only be the product of gross ignorance (i.e. you have no idea of what a racist is), racist thinking or both.

Don Imus is now the victim??? Poor Don, next time he will watch his mouth and understand that he can think what ever he wants but there will be consequences if blurts out those thoughts on the public air waves. Now all that's left is for people such as yourself to stop trying to hold other people responsible for the stupid actions of another. It's all Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's fault??? What a joke.




Ah, the ignorance continues...but google is your friend, use it but also read some books first.

Link Removed

So he did something... why didn't he do something. Oh wait, he did.

On to Plan B

Sharpton could do any number of positive things, for most of these people bitching about him (and curiously enough, far less about the I Man)... they're not paying attention to ANYTHING that doesn't piss them off. Not a real bright way to go through life but there you have it.

Do you think those hip hop magazines with the gun ads(highly unlikely) are owned by black people?

If they can't blame Black people for not fixing the problem, they'd have to blame...

Oh.

Fighting racism one fool at a time is not a bad strategy.

Even one at a time you figure someone will notice that this stuff isn't over.

 

[slugworth]

To the media, Al is a commodity to be traded like any other. Al gets ratings. Al generates cash flow. Al's stock does well. He's a good CEO. Does everybody buy his shares? No. Powerful? To the media, ratings=money=power. A spokesman and/or leader for anything resembling a majority of an racial/ethnic group? Bunkum. Al's prominence, importance or power, is contextually limited.

 

[Brad Johnson]

What ratings? His radio show? The 15 second soundbites?

 

[slugworth]

His show? Who knows. But he is certainly adept at garnering face time as a guest on certain cable news talk shows. Fair and balanced? You make the call.

 

[slugworth]

Another explicit example of the symbiosis of which I spoke.
Again. you make the call. Judge it for what it is, as well as for what it likely won't be.
They report??? You decide. I smell rot.

 

[JimmyM]

I'd go to that if it was free.

 

[slugworth]

.

 

[slugworth]

I'd go to that if it was free.

It is.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Another explicit example of the symbiosis of which I spoke.
Again. you make the call. Judge it for what it is, as well as for what it likely won't be.
They report??? You decide. I smell rot.

This stuff in general has smelled for years.

Hannity has a hell of a lot more exposure than Sharpton. This points out the hypocrisy so well it's not funny. Hannity is among those that complain about Sharpton and his media exposure.. so he has him on his show.

 

[slugworth]

This stuff in general has smelled for years.

Hannity has a hell of a lot more exposure than Sharpton. This points out the hypocrisy so well it's not funny. Hannity is among those that complain about Sharpton and his media exposure.. so he has him on his show.

Bingo.