Never liked Imus but give me a friggin break

[mrgoodtude]

"I don't see US Senators and major political journalists doing guest appearances on rap albums and praising misogynistic rappers as praiseworthy sources of information on weighty topics."

[greg334]

Mrgoodtude,

You know this is my point with the MOB rule mentality I mentioned in my thought police thread.

We as a country have stepped backwards to the early 1950’s with the concept that we should not talk about things due to the need be conformist. Back then it was communism, today it is race.

We should not in anyway fear talking about things in an open and honest manner. We should talk about everything from our own point of view to learn from and to teach others. But there is some overwhelming fear we have of being branded a racist and become an outcast in society if we offend someone by our views and by standards set not by society but by a few self-anointed people who call themselves leaders.

We now have a very clear double standard, a twisted double standard if you want to correctly define it. What we say, what we think, what our attitudes are don’t count unless it conforms to this standard.

It comes down to having our rights removed by MOB rule and the creation of the thought police. If you don’t believe me, take a close look at the public school system (all systems) and how they chastise students for open expression or look at the Confederate flag issues.

Shh… don’t think those thoughts, the thought police will come and get you.

I for one am tired of this mess; I have been called racist, a bigot, a homophobe, a NAZI, race baiter and a lot of other things. It is not for any reason because I have been discriminating against anyone, because I called someone a ‘bad’ name or for any other reason outside of my opinion. I have been told I am ‘true racist’ because I firmly believe that everyone has the right and an obligation to speak about civil rights, not just a black person or not just a Hispanic person or not just any ethnic base entity – everyone. I also have been called a racist because I don’t believe in any way shape or form that one needs to be elevated by laws to get a job, which means that I do not believe in affirmative action in today’s world. At one time this was necessary but it has outlived its usefulness and caused more problems by elevating mediocrity instead of promoting confidence and excellence.

It seems because I don’t live the culture, because I was not born of a certain race, a certain culture I can not speak of equality, and I can not demonstrate equality but I have to have all of that defined by others who are of a certain race and a certain culture.

But today we see problems with our kids and what some believed a bigger problem that cuts across all races. No civil rights leaders are addressing this, surly we don’t see Oprah putting in an effort to teach kids the right path or see anyone else stepping up to the plate to say this has to stop except Cosby. What I see with a lot of today’s kids is a struggle to be included, to be part of something rebellious – hence the promotion of the culture of rap and the criticism of those who do not live that culture. They fail to grasp the real meaning of things, and the history of real struggles, instead they defend the live style of criminal behavior as a rebellious position against the norms. I see it in the recent push for felons and their ‘right’ to vote on campus.

The Imus issue is very one sided and very self-serving to only self appointed leaders of a minority who has been led down the path of their own internal destruction by these same leaders who allowed a degrading culture (hip hop/rap) to take over and become the norm. No where in today’s rhetoric can be found the practices of one man who set a goal of equality and a world without color, that man of course is Rev King. It is far too simple to make everyone a victim of racism, discrimination and other things which is truly part of human nature then to take the hard path of education, hard work and proving worthiness to one's self. It is far easier to force acceptance through guilt and shame than to allow it to properly progress into a more unifying and cohesive bond of acceptance and true harmony.

The biggest problem is power, power of the select few who lead others, the power of the all mighty dollar and the power of oppression. Most if not all leaders in most areas of life have all of this in common, it is not limited to civil rights. The problem here is once we give these self-serving leaders a platform, they are elevated above all of us and their rhetoric is taken as gospel. They want the oppression to continue because that is how they stay in power. Success for all means a failure for them.

With the Imus issue, we have the coach who for some odd reason led the charge to make it a point that she and all the other minorities on the team are victims because of Imus. She took 30 minutes to say something that could have been said in 30 seconds which would have left more of an impact on everyone. The true victims of her rant were the team members who did not stand up for themselves and simply say that it is not acceptable but it is his right to say it.

I think for me the limit was when the NOW got on the platform and weigh in on the issue. I think that they should go after every rapper and a few comedians who denigrate women as part of their job first before throwing stones.

Who are the true victims? We all are. It is not because of what Imus said, it is because everyone kowtowed to the few who have yet to address real issues that plague their race and the country at large. We lost a little bit of our rights and the thought that an offensive comment outweighs the right of the person who says it, is simply wrong.

[mrgoodtude]

Well said.

[RichM]

You know ,every 6 months Jessie and Al need a platform or something to stir the pot so they can keep themselves in the limelight. Why don't they take on rap music which is degrading to all womem and white people. Bet Imus winds up on XM.

[greg334]

"Why don't they take on rap music which is degrading to all womem and white people."

Degrading to all women and white people?

Ahh, try degrading to all cutting across all parts of society and all levels of income level.

[tallcal101]

Ok,the Sermon from the top of the Greg hill is,well,off base.
As the Father of a one time womans basketball star(yes,Autumn,CNN star as well)I would take any such directed reference to my daughter as "ho",or any of her African American teamates as cause for a bullet throught the forehead.Leo can do it for me.The difference between rap artists refering to women in general as hos and Imus directing the slur against a specific and paticular group of young athletes,some who are outstanding students,should be obvious.But nothing on this slanted forum is ever obvious.It's why I have grown bored with the closed minds that live here.
Ok Greg,let me explain the obvious,just for you my man.Imus is a dried up senile old f##t who has a gold digger young wife.She loves his money.Tells him he's cool.I predict she will be gone from him faster then yesterdays garbage.Imus does not have the intellect(nor does most of his audience)to rise above the kind of red neck ignorant humor that has been displayed morning after morning for too long.Unlike Stern,Imus stays away from any real topics and spends his mornings in the sewer trying in vain to be hip.He's pathetic.Since he really has no message other then to be an a## kissing worshipper of dried up athletes and redneck idiots like himself.Self serving comments like the one he made serve no purpose other then to try to be a 66 year old hip hop dude.Pathetic.
His apologies speak volumns about who he really is.He sounded like a 10 year school boy who got caught choking the chicken in the boys room.He said nothing about his first amendment rights(which I could have respected)but rather turned into a whineing old man seeking forgivness.Give me break,he got what he deserved.Not for what he said,rather for for what he and his audience represent.Morons who don't fit in,so pick on minorities to be cool.
Howard Stern has the b***s to take on any issue,right or left,and put his a## on the line.Imus is silly putty with no opinion other then to stick it to minorities in the name of "just being stupid".That was the first thing he said that made any sense.

[highway star]

Did anyone hear what Snoop Dog had to say? What the rappers are doing is fine because the women they're talking about are "hoes". Imus, however, was wrong to pick on women that are educating themselves and excelling at a high athletic level.

[lanier1]

I don't listen to Imus or Stern. Imus looks like a walking corpse and I have always thought Stern was a vulgar bore. I haven't heard him ring in on much politically, seems every time I've seen him he had some porn star or something equally useless going on. But, like I said, I don't watch or listen to him and could be wrong. I will say that seeing college athletes, male or female white or black, with tattoos and brands covering their arms and legs makes them look like thugs and hoods to me as well. If I had a talk show I would have rung in about it too. If they don't want to be stereotyped then why would they make themselves look stereotypical.

Tallcal, I am bored with the typical response of the poor downtrodden every time somebody expresses an opinion that doesn't agree with their political beliefs. One thing is for sure. Jesse and Al are always looking for a reason to get in front of a microphone.

[cheri1122]

TallCall: please say that you did NOT mean to defend rap or hip hop artists' (and I use the term VERY loosely) references to all women as "ho's".
Whether it's Imus, Snoop Dog, or Howard Stern, the men who disrespect women merely for ratings, publicity, or their own amusement are to be pitied as the fools they are - but only because we can't actually shoot them.

[greg334]

Tallcal,

First thing I want to say is please don’t take this stuff to heart, this is an open discussion about issues that people seem to say needs to take place and I for one am glad you are here.

Got to say I am rather disappointed with your response and understandably concern about the negative vibes here about this great radio star, just joking about the star thing. I am sorry but I know stern, he has been over my parents house several times and has not changed one bit with his show, attitude or real reason behind his need to hurt people. He is the same exact person as Imus is to me and putting any credence into Stern’s show as being anything but entertainment for the moronic crowd is rather a stretch.

I am not a fan of Imus, I do support his charitable work, which he has done more than most on either side of the race fence. You can not omit the actual work he or his wife has done when comparing him to Stern or Oprah and even Sharpton and Jackson. But to make it clear, this is not an issue about defending him and the actual content, but defending the premise that he has the right to say it.

Repeating again this is not about content; it is about rights.

You seemed to have missed the point that there is absolutely no difference where the comments come from, be it from an old fart radio jock or a rap star, they should be treated equally PERIOD. It is so clear and simple - if one is condemned for their comments, all the others should be also condemned. No qualifier can be used to justify the any statements from one group that are intended to demean another, be it on a CD or on live radio opposed to another group. What the real problem is whether you want to admit it or not is the idea that there should be a double standard dividing us because of race as you aptly pointed out.

It is not up to Sharpton, Jackson or anyone else to say what you or I should think, feel or say unless we act upon it with malice. This leads to the thought police with the very people who like to damage others to gain more power and oppress people. If you don't agree, read Sharpton's comments and see what he feels about going after every talk show host on the air and then read about the 1950s and McCarthyism. You should be able to put it all together then.

Now I see you seem to be rather emotional about the issue and seem to blur everything together. This is the behavior that the people like Jackson and Sharpton want, they want no logic, no sensiblity involved with anything - just plain emotion. This is an emotionaly charged issue only because Sharpton and Jackson wanted it that way.

Give you a clear example, in this case we have Jackson who has pretty much stepped in to this Imus issue full force but he has fully supported someone who falsified a charge that resulted in pretty much ruining other’s lives for no real reason except for a possible monetary gain. No where do we see Jackson coming forth and say that it was a mistake to support her after the charges were dropped or appoligizing for his part in ruining lives but instead he still supports the person who caused all of this grief by providing tuition to college. This case ruined the lives of many people, not just the people being charged but what did Imus ruin?

What real damage did he do? Nothing – absolutely nothing.

What really gets to me is the preaching that many have about Rev. King and the injustice we have today. These same people who are crying out about the injustice by Imus and how dare he is allowed to say this failed to see the real message of Rev. King. I truly think that Rev. King would not be happy with what is going on here today and would agree that the right of speech and expression far out weigh the censorship that has taken place.

But here is something that I really wonder about, why would you harm someone over words? I mean taking one’s life because they showed disrespect is somewhat harsh and too emotional and further somewhat of a step down in evolution so to speak. I find it difficult to understand someone who could go beyond a reasonable limit to put so much effort to hurt someone over a comment about something that is said to a group and not an individual but fail to put that same effort into solving the problems which led the comment in the first place or put effort into teaching their children that the person who made the comment is insignificant part of their lives. Make sense?

[Tennesseahawk]

It all comes down to rights... Imus has a right to say what he did. But the government didn't take it away. Sharpton has a right to be the race baiting pimp he is, and threaten certain sponsors and broadcasters, which he did. The majority of the American ppl can agree with Oprah on the issue. The basketball players have a right to cover themselves with tats, most likely listening to the same dribble that calls them hos, but with a different skintone than Imus. CBS and PMSNBC have a right to fire Imus cause they're cowards and kiss Sharpton's butt anyways.

Here's what I see. Craka can't say what the black man says. He can't criticize him. He can't dictate law or policy to him. He can't pull him over. He can't fire him.

Kinda sounds like revenge from not so long ago. Black man can't look at white women. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The only difference is the whip is in the hands of the politically correct and aimed at whitey. Should my generation be punished for what ppl did in the past? Jesse and Al seem to think so while their racist pockets get filled.

-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

[RichM]

Good post Hawk,as long as Bucks can be made by Whites and Blacks ripping each other over miniscule slights it will continue.Last year I worked for 4 months driving for a local GrayBar Electric warehouse.
There were 4 white drivers,4 black drivers and a Hispanic supervisor.
Guess what,we all got along and respected each other because we all were essentially working men. One day my car would not start,a black driver offered to drive me home not knowing where I lived. Kinda funny how the races get along at the working level in society but have problems when the media get involved.
When you think about it the media in this country have one mission,report BAD news and stir the pot for tommorrow's news.

[vandecamp]

Imus should have just made one public apology and shut his mouth and sat back and waited for the storm to blow over. If he had done that people would've been able to just be inundated by the single sided blather of the the two self serving reverends who pop up with glee at any media op. Holy sh** can anyone actually understand what that marble mouth Jackson is babbling? Where is the indignation of black community leaders? REAL community leaders interested in NOT widening the racial rifts in this country, by letting the rest of America know that Al and Jesse Don't speak for the black community as a whole? The white apologist PC liberals in this country are just as pathetic. WE are turning into a country of spineless amoeba.
We are truly witnessing the decline of civilization. Greenhouse gases are the least of our worries.

[Tennesseahawk]

Just told my wife I feel sorry for our son. He's gonna grow up as a majority minority.

What I meant in my last post is not so much that Imus has a right to say what he said, but he should have no fear of repurcusion. If one person has the "pc" right to say something, everyone should have that same ability.

Funny... Hillary had a fund raiser at a college the other day. One of the songs played was a hip-hop rap full of the garbage we're talking about. Guess it doesn't matter, as long as you have a D after your name. The press won't mention it.

-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

[LDB]

A molehill that was made into a mountain.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
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