The format of Imus' show, the shock jock format, should be done away with. It should never have become as popular as it did, giving rise to Howard Stern, Imus and others.
Still, the outrage by some, not all (the Rutgers basketball team definitely should be outraged), over his comments is clearly hypocritical. In fact, Imus is being held more accountable than elected officials like Trent Lott
then and
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/28/lott-iraq">now. George Allen against Jim Webb is a classic example of this hypocrisy. Allen was a sitting U.S. Senator. Imus is a radio personality. When Allen was
exposed as a racist, black leaders in VA were announcing
support for him. As a result, the outrage was completely downplayed by the media, allowing Allen to continue his campaign, even going so far as to launch a smear campaign against Webb.
Obama has issued a
statement about Imus, but I don't remember him issuing one about Allen.
Imus is d***head by trade, and deserves all the heat he gets for this. I read his statements and think he was making disgusting ghetto jokes (yeah they're out there, and should never be condoned) as opposed to being a racist. He is a d***head. He deserves the pressure. Still, there are so many racists on the air and no one is demanding their heads. As far as media personalities go, why aren't they calling for the heads of racists like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson, and despicable characters like Rush Limbaugh?
George Allen should never have been allowed to continue campaigning. Did Hillary's
Ghandi comment make her a racist? There is a difference between the intentional racist comments, such as those by likes of Lott and Allen, and the stupid, idiotic and insensitive comments of Imus. Doesn't make it right. Imus has been saying this stuff for years. The outrage could have come three weeks or a year ago. His comments are base and always have been. I think it's disingenuous to launch a full assault on Imus when others have been given a pass. I hear racists comment by so-called legitimate journalist damn near everyday. Imus is not Glen Beck, they are not in the same category. The most blunt e-mail I've ever sent to anyone regarding a racist comment was sent to Tucker Carlson during the Katrina coverage. Imus was one of the few calling the Bush admin's response racist. Everyone from Carlson to Scarborough (his coverage later shifted to criticism of the Bush admin.) were blaming the victims, and some of their comments were extremely racist. I'm not defending Imus, he's a d***, and after the outrage, maybe it's best he does go off air. It would be awful if the likes of Beck used him as an excuse for their racism. There are more people outraged by Imus' tasteless comment than were outraged by all the instances in the past year alone that Rush Limbaugh insulted an African American, and the Bush admin is still doing
exclusive interviews with him that is being picked up by all the media now having a field day with the Imus story. Everyone from Fox News to the wingnut Michelle Malkin is piling on because Imus is a critic of the war and Bush/Cheney (whose comparison of a Senate committee as Stalinists caused no stir). No one can seem to mount an effective campaign to get Ann Coulter off the air.
Racism and racist slur shouldn't be a part of our culture. If Imus goes, then I expect to see a few others follow: Glen Beck, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc.
Keep the outrage going