We told ya so: Imus Fired

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Thursday, April 12. 2007

We told ya so: Imus Fired

Update to the piece below: Imus has been fired by CBS. Another scalp for the race hustlers - and�just in time to cover up the Duke case.

We don't even like the guy much, but he has been railroaded. Imus is no racist. The message is: Be Very Afraid, and don't call anyone a "nappy-head ho," even as an ironic quote, unless you are black - in which case it is just fine.

The Imus Case is a surely a smokescreen as we said earlier this week, effectively covering up the Duke Case outcome. The Imus Case is equally foolish. Imus is an old-time shock jock, and an equal-opportunity insulter from way back - but a guy who regularly offers real substance of value, albeit with a lefty slant.

So you just have to ask "Why now?" Whimsical racial slurs towards all colors have been part of his shtick forever. Imus is just the scapegoat du jour. It could be Rush, or�you, or me, tomorrow: anything to stay in the limelight and to keep the money coming in.

Editor's Note: In defence of the goofball Don Imus, to whom I rarely listen,�here's a quote - not that I agree with it all -�from Cynopsis:

Imus is in the crosshairs.� He put himself there; his producer and colleagues enabled him.� Thoughtless and sophomoric, he made a damaging remark.� Damaging to the stellar young women of Rutgers basketball, and damaging to a long career in radio and on cable TV.� Until Wednesday night, some of his bosses also enabled him.��

What mystifies me is what took me from the broadcast network morning shows to Imus In The Morning on MSNBC. For the longest time, Good Morning America and the Today Show brought me morning news and information.� Unthinking, I tuned into those channels on the low end of the dial.� But, when their soundtrack became disturbingly frivolous and forced, I started searching, sampling.�

I sampled Imus, occasionally at first, eventually adopting an unexplainable habit.� It made no sense. I am decidedly not in the Imus demographic.� The reasons not not to tune in to Imus are considerable:
The adolescent male locker room humor
"Comic" routines that center on genitalia, sexist and ethnic slurs
The Bickersons � Mr. & Mrs. Imus'� sniping at each other, lately echoed on-air by their 8-year old child
Bo Dietl & Sid Rosenberg
Endless plugs for products and services benefiting the Imus Inner Circle
And yet�.

Imus served up the most refreshing, enlightening, provocative and spontaneous interviews with journos, politicos, and I-want-to-knows anywhere on morning tv.� Interviews lasted 15-20 minutes uninterrupted, without deference to title or status.� Imus' shameless on-air campaigns to fix broken parts of America were astonishing, whether for sick kids or wounded soldiers.� The music acts � spectacular!� Well chosen and superbly produced.� And I love curmudgeonliness.

So I weigh the plusses and minuses of the Imuses.� Is the intellectual content so strong that it outweighs the stupidity?� Is this the tradeoff:� tune out "Rev. Falwell", "Brian Wilson", and "Mayor Ray Nagin"� in exchange for Jon Meacham,� Anna Quindlan, and Harold Ford?� There are days when it's the All White Guy Chorus, and that needs to be fixed, as with most broadcasts that pretend to reflect American thought.�

The term "shock jock" is dated and inaccurate.� Imus' claim that it's a comedy show is equally inaccurate.� In 3 years, I tolerated the "comedy" to get to the substance, and the substance was solid.� It's a testament to what we're able to tune out when we tune in.�

Posted by The Barrister in Our Essays, Politics at 13:24 | Comments (41) | Trackbacks (0)

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The organized effort to diminish the role of straight, white old time, non-jewish, males is the reason why. He just happens to be the first opportunity to:
a) attack shock jocks (hate speech is the other organized
movement)
b) dehumanize the middle white group, who used to run
this country
c) continue the attack on straight, white, non-Jewish males
in an effort to de-construct their power base

#1 apple pie on 2007-04-12 13:32 (Reply)

Not at Maggie's Farm!!!!

#2 bird dog on 2007-04-12 13:37 (Reply)

"But I'm us!" said Imus;
"No you ain't!" said the faint.

#3 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 13:56 (Reply)

The interviews are not typical canned, predictable B.S. and though his efforts at humor don't strike me as funny the entire effect is strangely hypnotic. Then again I like the peculiarities that emerge when a little authenticity is permitted. Sure, there is some unpleasantness that occurs when you allow that, but it's preferable to the mind-numbing cattle-feed that the other networks (including cable news) are broadcasting.

#4 Dr X (Link) on 2007-04-12 14:24 (Reply)

I listen to Imus once in a while - his back-up guys can be very funny. I enjoy edgy comedy and don't get offended. For those who are offended - grab the dial and twist.

Nice of MSNBC pulled the show this week while he's running a Radiothon to raise money for charities.

#5 NJSoldier on 2007-04-12 15:50 (Reply)

I've been pondering this off and all morning (in between figuratively walking out of a virtual sh*t fight with a bunch of gorevictims on IRC, watching the (real) turkeys (wild turkeys, that is) sorting through the "global warming" that covered the ears of dried corn we throw out for them and the deer, watching the LBB's doing the same, and the myriad cardinal roosters wooing the ladies) and came to the conclusion that arguing with the academics is likely to be as fruitful as the periodic trips our to bark up the various trees where she saw a squirrel once. (I'm beginning to worry a bit that the juncos ("snow birds") have yet to move back north.)

Anyway, I'm not so sure that the analyisis here of why Imus got used as chum (did I do that right?--I'm not a fisherman).

That he is being used as a smoke screen is probably correct, but I doubt that the MSM can put together the logic necessary to mount an intentional, reasoned attack on short notice.

I think rather we have a fairly ordinary reaction to a genuinely unpleasant truth--turn on the nearest victim and blow the story all our of proportion to deflect the worlds attention for a bit.

#6 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 16:22 (Reply)

BoyHowdy, not even fluent Typo is going to help hat one.

Up there it was supposed to say: "...came to the conclusion that arguing with the academics is likely to be as fruitful as the periodic trips our DOG MAKES to bark up ...."

#6.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 16:54 (Reply)

I figgered that. I sometimes words, too.

#7 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 17:33 (Reply)

As dumb as some people say I am you wouldn't think that thinking faster than I can type would be that big a problem.

But as poor a typist as I am, .....

I will say that over all the years I have NEVER said I could type. (When I started at the Telephone company years ago, only the females had to that the typing test at the employment office.)

#7.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 17:36 (Reply)

My juncos still here in CT. They tell me they are concerned about global cooling, and want to wait a while. Snow and sleet today.

#8 bird dog on 2007-04-12 17:36 (Reply)

That's a HUGE rotation headed your way, BD. I'd guess your winds are out of the North about now, and gusty--

#9 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 17:46 (Reply)

Yep. It's cold.

#9.1 BD on 2007-04-12 19:36 (Reply)

Not to put too fine a point on it, the the "It could be you" is true a lot of ways.

It could be you who is fired because somebody took offense at what you said.

Or what they thought you said.

Or what they thought you thought about saying.

It could be you that is victimized by some bozo taking a slanderous shot at you and being paid zillions of dollars to do it to you.

It could be you that is in the room when somebody calls the cops and says that everybody in the room is guilty of some heinous crime.

It could be you that has to work through a year trying to salvage your school work and your reputation, only to be upstaged by the bozo when you finally get your figurative day in court.

On any given day, it could be you.

#10 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 18:22 (Reply)

Its times like this that Imus and other token lefty's will learn who there friends are. All his buddys are piling on the hate bandwagon. People on the Left are self centered suckjobs.

#11 sean on 2007-04-12 18:41 (Reply)

Truth to Power my ass. More like, whats in it for me.

#12 sean on 2007-04-12 18:43 (Reply)

Yeh--much more like, Power-to-Truth.

I say that in general--not in re Imus. Could be Imus was brought down not just by the usual race-hustler bandwagon, but by lots of ordinary folks hearing the words, realizing that he was talking about girls--young ladies--kids, basically, in a real ungood way, and made themselves known to the moneymen--the advertisers.

IOW, could be it was actually the content this time, for a change.

#13 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 18:53 (Reply)

Juncos are starting to get acquainted with the Robins in Campbell NY. Maybe global cooling will play a roll in the evolution of a new bird species.

#14 sean on 2007-04-12 18:54 (Reply)

We have robins most of the year--'bout the only time we don't see them is when thee is snow on the ground (and sometimes then we see them on the feeder-table on the deck) and when the ground is baked worm-proof in the summer.

Juncos arrive about when the first snow does, and sometime after the snow is gone, somebody will say "I have not seen the juncos in a while".

Grackles are our real harbingers of spring.

#14.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 20:05 (Reply)

What is most interesting is that the language that Imus used
has been commonplace among his side kicks, on that show,
on a daily basis, for years.

Isn't it that he betrayed his usual schtick, of balancing or chiding them for those comments, which actually led to the outrage?

It was because he said it...not because it was said.

#15 Anonymous on 2007-04-12 18:57 (Reply)

it is time to be afraid in America again. Remember Joe McCarthy ? Well , let's just say we have seen the blacklisting happening again except this time it's affirmative action. I don't see anybody taking South Park off the air and that is as racist as you can get.

#16 mp on 2007-04-12 18:58 (Reply)

Somewhere, sometime, somehow, I learned that "right" and "wrong" where not subject to democracy. A thing was "right" even if nobody acted like they believed it, and another thing was "wrong", even if everybody did it.

A corollary rule-of-thumb is that the more people there are trying to get you to do a thing, the more likely it is that thing is the wrong to be doing.

And I damn-sure do not want anybody to think Don Imus and his type are role-models that I admire. I do not and will not watch him or his ilk. (Yes, I did once to see what was going on--the subject at the moment caught my eye. But it did not take me very long to realize that he is all script and no substance, in it for the buck and nothing more. Not a good use of our airwaves.

Those athletes are far better role-models, as near as I can tell.

#16.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 19:55 (Reply)

Well, after all is said and done, much is unfair, and it's a mess, to be sure. But he called a team of 18 to 22 years old student-athletes "nappy-headed ho's" --and that's pretty insulting. So the targets were especially undeserving of an especially ugly comment. Maybe it's just a matter of the degree of the thing.

The First Amendment after all precludes the government from denying free speech.

This is a civil matter. And Imus has recourse under civil law, if he can make a case.

#17 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 19:28 (Reply)

The timing of the DA's anouncement to drop the charges against the Duke three was well known by the race hustlers. Imus has been saying things offensive to all for at least 30 years. He was probably on Jesse and Al's reserve list to go to when needed. Defer the publicity of the Duke case by useing Imus as their sacrificial lamb. Only thing I don't get is that Imus is a lib. I guess they would have preferred a conservative but Imus would do.

#18 sean on 2007-04-12 20:18 (Reply)

So the summary here is:

Don Imus is a fine upstanding man who has been horribly wronged in be deprived of his right to say hateful things about people who made the terrible error of being good at several things and BLACK for god's sake!

The fact that lots of other people say hateful things justifies Don Imus in making millions by saying hateful tings.

For what it is worth, I am more selective about what I let in my house.

#19 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 20:27 (Reply)

I know. But the point is that he is just doing low-life schtick for humor, and lots of folks enjoy that. Not my cup of tea.

#20 BD on 2007-04-12 20:38 (Reply)

Exactly the point Laurence,you don't like what you hear don't listen to him. Change the channel. I haven't listened to him in twenty-five years. My point is that he's a paun in the race hustlers game. That doesn't make him a hero and I'm not saying he doesn't deserve his fate.

#21 sean on 2007-04-12 20:39 (Reply)

I think O'Reilly said it well --that without the b'ball team's press conference, wherein those kids related honest hurt feelings over the public characterization as "ho's", Imus would've skated. The news conference sent the emails flowing from the public to the ad & network chiefs.

That was sorta my feeling, that the symbolism is certainly always with everything in the race realm, but that in this case, an amazingly crappy comment made such symbolism less artificial & more real.

#22 buddy larsen on 2007-04-12 21:16 (Reply)

One last comment on this topic and then I think I am through unless somebody catches me in an error.

I find it interesting that in reading through the list of sponsors that jump out on Imus--many of them were already on my "do not buy if there is an acceptable alternative" list. Most of the entrants on that list are either spammers, or I had the misfortune of being subject to the inhuman treatment of the truck drivers that carry their loads.

#23 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-12 21:25 (Reply)

I also recognized many of those sponsors and already avoid them . They sponsor the View and Rosie O'Donnells filth and fantasy.

#23.1 John on 2007-04-13 06:58 (Reply)

http://catallarchy.net/blog/archives/2007/04/12/guiltinnocence-why-we-care-etc/

Here's a snip--but read it all:

"When those on one side are afraid to speak and those on the other do not hesitate to speak loudly and often, and this is not because the second side is right and the first side wrong, then something is askew. The loud side did not have truth on its side, so to explain the imbalance, it must have had power on its side. Power in some form, and quite a lot of it.

I�m going to say that this is the power of political correctness, and this case demonstrates that political correctness is in no way passe, no way yesterday�s news."

#24 buddy larsen on 2007-04-13 01:01 (Reply)

Given the celebrity status we give to coaches, here was the perfect opportunity for a coach to earn hero status. The coach of the Rutgers team could have given this thing a little thought and made the decision to do the best thing for her girls and for the country. She could have demanded that her girls rise above this with class and grace and laugh it off with knowledge that they knew Imus did not mean to single them out personally. That coach and her girls could have taken so much power away from Sharpton and Jackson and set their victim-movement back decades and shown to the world just what Bill Cosby and a few other realists have been saying: One chooses to be a victim in some cases. This was one of those cases.

Instead she chose to play the victim, we-hate-whitey card for all it was worth. She had the choice, and as a leader, she dropped the ball - for a cheap pun. Just think what a show of grace and dignity and leadership would have done to the MSM. They would have had to dig out dictionaries to find the appropriate words for the courage of rising above the moment into enlightenment of what grace is all about. She carries a heavy burden in my mind. She failed her charges as much as losing the final game did - if not more.

I don't think this had a thing to do with the Duke thing. No one could facilitate the timing like that. Imus did knock the British hostages right out of the ball park, though. What a shabby showing for all concerned.

Jackson and Sharpton are reprehensible characters, and that coach had them. She had a chance to set PC off its trajectory of ruined lives and miserable people in its wake, and she chose not to think.

Imus.... he was just being himself. Those who can laugh at what he said are those who know the full context of the man and who can appreciate that what he did was to try to fight PC in his typical in-your-face manner. Shame on him, I guess. I can laugh at the things he said because he meant no harm. But then, I'm capable of laughing at myself so tend not to look to be offended. I admire his intense, on-going efforts to help children and his unabashed efforts to get help for his charities.

I am a rare individual it seems, but for sure, I would have coached those girls into being worthy of what they are not - victims. Fie on her for not recognizing her power.
.

#25 Phoenix on 2007-04-13 02:12 (Reply)

I can dream. What if that coach and her team stood up and demanded Imus get his job back?

What if....

Wow.

.

#26 Phoenix on 2007-04-13 02:24 (Reply)

Yeah. good plan. He got paid handsomely for the hateful slur, so reward him by having the victims beg for his job back for him.

I'm sorry Iran that those nasty British folk sullied your jail cells.

#26.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-13 12:00 (Reply)

PC Nanny State Dictators: 1

Freedom of Speech: 0

#27 NJSoldier on 2007-04-13 08:35 (Reply)

He got to say what he wanted, felt and believed. And got paid well for it to boot.

Now, I'll exercise my right to intensify my efforts to be sure no body buy Proctor and Gamble products if there is a reasonable alternative (like doing without). Ditto the other sponsors as I find out who they are.

What's the difference between SewerMouth and the car sitting next to me awhile ago blasting the same crap? I can't legally do anything about the car.

#27.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-13 12:04 (Reply)

Mr. Sheldon,

Do you not see that had my 'plan' worked that Imus would have been totally humiliated? He would have been bested by those he chose to criticize - on all fronts.

That is what grace does. Lifts us all above the 'sewer'.

Imus is no racist. The blacks who talk this talk as if it is 'normal' lead him to think it would no big deal if he said it. Wrong - He misjudged our double standards.

And you can't do a thing about "SewerMouth". He has freedom of speech, just as you do. "He got to say what he wanted, felt and believed." How do you know what he believes? You do, however, I assume, know exactly what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are about. They're all about getting YOU. And, look! It worked!
.

#28 Phoenix on 2007-04-13 14:18 (Reply)

I guess I don't actually know what you believe--all I know is what you say.

Are you lying?

#28.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-13 14:22 (Reply)

Right on! MSNBC/Imus used to be the one of the very few
non-FOX channels I watched. They have now joined NEWSWEEK as a media outlet which has 'OUTLIBBED" their welcome in my home.
I, too, will boycott the cowardly sponsors who deserted Imus in a PC fit.

#28.2 unclecj on 2007-04-14 19:01 (Reply)

OK. You boycott them because the finally pulled his plug, I'll boycott them because they plugged him in in the first place.

The much coveted win-win!

Peace. I'm out.

#28.2.1 Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. on 2007-04-14 19:11 (Reply)

unclecj,

Ha. I had to laugh at your remark. I get about five news magazines a week and read them cover to cover. Good way to get both sides of an issue as I got a couple of liberal publications in with the bunch. NEWSWEEK went the day of the Ishikoff fiasco.

The fun will happen when the backlash, which is already in full swing, shows those who dumped Imus as the phonies they are. Did you notice the head of the nappy-headed ho's got told real fast to get out there and tell the world the team forgives Imus? Just the day before she'd preened so in her new glory and told everyone they hadn't decided yet. Pass that wench a plate of crow. The rest of the politicos who used him will feel the heat, and I can't wait. Obama, the mercurial master of the winds of change, waited four days before he dared to make a statement. oops... He should have waited one more day! Same with the sponsors. They will suffer for their abandonment.

Did you see the new "Nappy Head Ho's" teddy bears and t-shirts on sale? All proceeds will go to one of Imus' charities.

Gotta love it. :}
.

#28.2.2 Phoenix on 2007-04-14 23:22 (Reply)

Clearly I am a masochist of the first order.

Pardon me while I go put on my nappy-hair shirt and flagellate myself with my keyboard.

Thank you, Mr. Sheldon, for taking me way down...way down.

I'm blind now..... help!

.

#29 Phoenix on 2007-04-14 01:20 (Reply)

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Thursday, April 12. 2007

We told ya so: Imus Fired