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the remark was sexist, not racist.
Published on April 11, 2007 By Sean Conners aka SConn1 In Politics
I've been listening to the clamor over 2nd rate jock Don Imus's comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team for days now. I've been hearing the apologies, the arguments, the statements and everything else. And so far, everyone has gotten his words wrong. And I am sure of it.

The worst thing to me about this scandal to me might be that Don Imus has shown unequivocally just how spineless he is in all of this.

1st off, before explaining my point of view and determination of the facts at hand, it is important to say that his comments were unnacceptable. That part, everyone got right.

But just about everything else, everyone got wrong.

1st, Imus's comments were about the girls being ugly. Not black. the term "nappy headed" is a term used in hippy circles (where most, if not all are caucasian) referring to someone with dreadlocks or long hair that is unwashed and matted together and on it's way to becoming dreadlocks. Go google "nappy hippy" if you don't believe me.

Notice in his comments, he 1st calls the girls rough in comparison to the Tennesee team. Both teams had both black and white players. But Imus's comments were about their cuteness, in which Imus comments on right after calling them "nappy headed hoes." He calls the tennessee team "cute." And again, both teams had both black and white players.

Unfortunately, Imus didn't even dare defend himself and took the advised route of "apologize, go to al sharpton, kiss his ass, apologize personally and take the punishment." And in the world of "gotcha" that we live in, one can make an argument of that being the samrter move. But to me, only to a coward if the comments weren't racist at all.

Of course, that still does leave the issue of "hoes" and the derrogatory implications. And correctly, Imus has been scolded for using this term, which has become a cancer on our vernacular in the past decade or so.

Which raises the point that compared to the hip hop world, this was a minor breach. Where is all the outrage from the african american community concerning that? We get occasional lip service, like the Iraqi governement is giving us. While "gangsta rap" that promotes such language as normal is the everyday norm like Americans getting shot in a civil war in Baghdad.

Imus's comments weren't even harsh for morning radio. Where sexist remarks are common fodder. Where whoever teh female "host" is, is always getting prodded about her sex life and "hoedom" outside of work. Where sexism equals ratings.

Scapegoating Imus is a good way for both CBS and NBC to make themselves look responsible to the masses. But tomorrow morning, millions of those same people will tune into an affiliated "morning zoo" or whatever, and listen to women being insulted, degraded and "put in their place" and most of the audience will be yucking it up with them.

If these networks wanted to really change their ways (and i'm not sayin they should nec.) they would be pulling all those local morning and drive time dj's off the air. But they won't. Imus's suspension is a PR stunt, nothing more. CBS and NBC go by what the market tells them. Imus will lose his job only if it is economically opportunistic.

And that shouldn't be a hard bill to fill, at least for NBC, who only put Imus on to put something on after numerous attempts at cometing witht he other morning shows failed. Simulcasting Imus was cheap and filled the void. Finding a replacement, maybe even with a black host or something that would earn em some brownie points, should be easy.

I'm not sure how many stations Imus was on for CBS radio, so i'm not sure how hard it will be to find a replacement to generate an equal or greater amount of ad dollars. But CBS has been around a long time, i'm sure they'll figure it out.

The Rutgers coach pointed to the sexism of the remarks and emphasized them in her statement on Tuesday. She came close, but couldn't resist the pile on over Imus's remarks and the opportunity it presented to make comments concerning race. Or maybe she hasn't known a lot of nappy headed hippies in her life.

I bet Don Imus does tho. Just look at that mop on his head at his age. And i'd be willing to bet if he didn't wash it for a few days, it might get a little nappy. And maybe his wife or those around him might tease him a little.

And I bet he wouldn't think he was just identified as an african american.

Comments
on Apr 11, 2007
Sorry but I don't follow directions so well. I googled 'nappy headed' instead and scoured the first 10 search results pages and in that search came across 2 sites that were not associated with this controversy. Both sites were directly associated with African American culture.

Now look at his statement...
"Them some nappy headed hoes"

If it was not meant to be racist, why use language that is clearly rooted in Ebonics. He didn't say those are some nasty headed whores.

It looks like everyone else got it right and you got it wrong.
on Apr 11, 2007
What a few people seem to be missing is that Imus has been using statements like this for quite a few years. But not one complaint till now?
on Apr 11, 2007
Now look at his statement..."Them some nappy headed hoes"

no, you don't follow directions very well, you also don't quote accurately either.

here's what was said...

From the April 4 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning:

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between -- a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.

ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night -- seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know.

McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

IMUS: Yeah.

McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had.

IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough --

McCORD: Do The Right Thing.

McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

IMUS: I don't know if I'd have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right?

ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

IMUS: Well, I guess, yeah.

RUFFINO: Only tougher.

McGUIRK: The [Memphis] Grizzlies would be more appropriate.

notice all the african american references are made by his side kicks. and it is obvious he is calling them ugly, not black. the spike lee reference is by the sidekick, and if you watch the video, imus isn't really on the same page as the referencers and to me, sounds more like he's "yeah-yeahing" em and trying to regain control of the conversation to make his own tasteless statements.

that's not ebonics, it's just casual speak.

and i'm not even saying imus isn't racist, i just don't think he meant it to be there.
on Apr 11, 2007
It's all just another excuse for two of the biggest RACISTS on the planet to stir some more trouble.

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson just love situations like this so they can continue to keep the divide between the races as wide as possible, how else can they make a living if we learn to get along?
on Apr 11, 2007

I watched it and didn't see the big deal.  If the nappy headed hoes were playing an all white team, well then sure...but both teams were black.

Not to mention Imus in the Morning is a comedy routine kinda thing.

He also started the Imus Cattle Ranch in Texas for kids with cancer.  I know that doesn't make him a non-racist...but if he were truly a racist wouldn't he say "no black kids at the ranch?"  That's not the case from some of the photos I've seen.

I think this is much ado about nothing and the man said he was sorry.....move on for goodness sakes.  (Not you, just the general media).

on Apr 11, 2007
I largely agree with your take on this. The things that bother me about it are 1) Imus has no spine, and 2) the usual race "hoes" (to borrow a phrase) like Jackson & Sharpton have no shame, seizing every opportunity to perpetuate the victimhood of their race using the blunt and intellectually vapid tool of political correctness.

Shame on all the players in this sad little play.
on Apr 12, 2007

I had heard of the Imus snip, but not the whole dialog.  Thanks for posting it.  I never listen to Imus, but agree with your take on this. I still think he was stupid, but then that is a normal state for him.  And I think it is being blown way out of proportion based upon the whole dialog.

If there is any good thing about this, it is the rising voices of the black community (outside of the Sharpton/Jackson Hos) are starting to rebel against the slang in the black community that degrades themselves, and women, as a normal course of action.

on Apr 12, 2007
The directions and the quote were an entirely different matter. Nice of you to cleverly roll them up though.

Nappy hippy and nappy headed are two entirely different things. While the term may have been popular in the 60's to describe hippies, it is clearly a term used in this day and age to reference an African American's hair.

Your impression of the meaning of this conversation is possibly correct but you have to concede that this is easily construed and racial because of the total conversation. Whether Imus said jigaboo or not, it was still spoken and it applies a totally different tone to the whole conversation.

If his comments had to stand alone and apart from the conversation you conclusion might be valid. However they were part of a larger conversation and that makes him guilty by association.