the remark was sexist, not racist.
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.