ONLY IMUS?

Last month, radio talk show host Don Imus was fired from MSNBC and CBS for calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos.” It goes without saying that I think his remarks were rude, deplorable, outrageous, wrong, stupid, misogynistic, immature, horrific, sickening, moronic, unthinking, insensitive, racist, sexist, mean-spirited and practically every other epithet you can throw at them. That he should have apologized is a given. That he should have pleaded for mercy in front of African-American and women's groups is unquestioned. That everyone should object, and be outraged and call him out and call the words out and bring attention to the evil that was spewed is common sense. However, I have a question: Why have other radio and television hosts, rappers and others whose misogyny and racism have been more clear-cut, more fully-intentional, more hurtful than Don Imus' comments not been boycotted, suspended or fired? Why only Imus?

I realize that Imus’ slur, aimed specifically at the young women, is obviously different from a generic slur in a rap song, but it’s not that different. If one is offensive, so is the other; and it’s hard to argue that the cesspool of misogyny and racism on the airwaves and in contemporary comedy and rap music has no effect on the wider culture. This in no way excuses what Imus did. We are justifiably outraged at what he said, however, shouldn’t we be just as outraged with anyone else who says the same thing regardless of their skin color?

Pulling Imus’ show from MSNBC and CBS eliminated a radio program that often offended those who were targets of his ignorant rants, however, it does not guarantee that no one will ever be called a “nappy-headed ho” in print or on air ever again. While I was saddened that the young Rutgers players had to deal with all this drama during a time when they should have been celebrating their remarkable accomplishment of making the National Championship, I cannot honestly say that I was shocked by what Imus said in a culture that has accepted and defended such commentary.

So again, against the backdrop of a society where African-American teenagers are beset on all sides by dangerous myths about race, I ask the question, why only Imus? In a culture that defines middle-class normalcy and achievement as “white,” while embracing violence, illiteracy and drug dealing as “authentically” black, why only Imus? When racism and sexism rear their ugly heads in films, literature, politics and the media, why only Imus? With racism and sexism’s most virulent expression in rap music, which has evolved into a medium for worshiping misogyny, materialism and murder, why only Imus?

Advertisers were challenged to pull their sponsorship from Imus’ radio show, which pressured his employers into firing him, however, African-Americans have yet to meet the challenge of the music and media industry with our purchasing power to effectively deal with the dirty, inappropriate, inadequate, unhealthy and polluted racist and sexist messages sent out on a daily basis. If it is wrong for Imus, it is wrong for some rappers to refer to women as “bi___es” and “hos” in their music. Right? If it is wrong for Imus, it is wrong for black comedians to refer to us by using the “N” word. Right? If it is wrong for Imus, it is wrong for politicians to use racist code words in campaign speeches, literature and legislation. Right? If it is wrong for Imus, it is wrong for Wendy Williams, Rush Limbaugh, 50 Cent and Ludacris, too. Right? If I’m right, and I believe I am, our concerns must extend beyond Imus. n