Olbermann… you piece of shit
I used to liked you. But you’ve proven that you’re an ass. You are a fucking ho cunt bag! How can anyone who makes their living freely expressing their thoughts and opinions support the firing of Imus. You suck. And Spike Lee, just lost respect for you as well. CUNTS!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
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OpenCritic
I haven’t had time to fully read into the Imus story, but I did read a NY times editorial yesterday which seemed to suggest Imus has a long history of making racist remarks, much worse than the Rutgers incident in one case. So maybe it was a long time coming. Hope you don’t hate me for thinking that maybe if the guy has a real problem he doesn’t deserve to be in the position he’s in. I never gave Imus a fair chance, but the little I’ve seen/listened to him he always rubbed me the wrong way. I’m interested to know more about why you feel so strongly about defending him.
Because there is a double standard at work here. Apparently a white guy like Imus can get fired for saying “nappy headed ho,” but Dave Chappelle can get $50 million a year for it.
Ask yourself this: where did Imus ever hear the term, “nappy headed ho?” I’m sure he didn’t invent it himself.
Also, the way it was done was shameful. MSNBC and CBS radio dropped the show the day Imus’ yearly telethon to help kids with cancer started. They could have at least waited until Monday.
And guess what, Imus, Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, and probably every other white “shock jock” has made racist remarks throughout their careers. Why? Because it’s not about hate, it’s about humor. People who don’t listen to these shows never seem to get that.
Imus’ comment was said in a humorous context.  It was not hate speech.  And that makes all the difference.
Roger, you nailed it here:
“Ask yourself this: where did Imus ever hear the term, “nappy headed ho?†I’m sure he didn’t invent it himself.
Imus has worked in comedy radio for 40 years.  He’s quite aware that these three words coming out of a 70-year-old white guy’s mouth is funny. He’s humorously referencing 20 years of hip-hop music and street talk.  I don’t see the reverends protesting outside of the music labels. Â
Okay, so he offended a few people.  I guess the day has come when TV and radio personalities can be fired for offending people.  But that’s what happens when we allow Reverend Al and Reverend Jackson to play “speech police.” Â
Remember Rosie’s “ching-chong-ching” comment.  I personally consider that comment tens times worse because it was said out of ignorance.  Rosie wasn’t even aware that her comments were insensitive while Imus was using an established term intentionally.  Am I saying that I believe Rosie should have been fired?  No.  I just feel that there is an incredible amount of hypocrisy going on here….  a witch-hunt… and we are getting dangerously close to losing freedom of speech.
I never really cared for Imus that much – but this is really digusting what’s happening. What’s next? Taking Jar Jar out of Episode I??
Wait – umm, scratch that. Reverse it. Thank you.
Oh, and, i mean… wasn’t Imus kinda right?
Yeah, I’m not sticking up for him cause I’m a fan.. prob listened to a whole 10 minutes of his show over the last five years… I’m sticking up for him cause this is wrong.
Again, all good points, Bake. All very good points.
thanks Bake for writing this..I’ve been listening to Imus since the early nineties and am thoroughly depressed by this whole incident. The fact that Al “Tawana Brawley” Sharpton and his ilk have managed to whip this one silly quote making Imus out to be some hate filled racist who uses the Turner Diaries as gospel is astounding. Imus apologized, that should have been the end of it.
The fact that those girls have said repeatedly “we are not nappy headed hos” (snicker) should prove the absurdity of the quote and the whole situation. They went on Oprah to clarify that they are not hos, (Oprah! who opened her school in Africa because American inner city kids are quote “more interested in ipods and sneakers than education.” Whoa! My dad grew up in the projects and he’s offended! Where’s his apology?) As a woman I’M offended that these remarks are deemed sexist. Awww the delicate little girls got their feelings hurt, don’t make jokes about the girls they’re sensitive. The women’s movement didn’t include being exempt from sarcasm and comments about looking “rough.”
The coach said on Oprah “(Imus) has stolen our dreams.” First of all, if you’re going to let one dumb comment “steal your dreams” that says more about you than the guy who said it. I’m sorry the girls’ season has been overshadowed by this, but look on the bright side, who gave a f*ck about women’s college basketball before? A few of girls are probably going to get their tattoos airbrushed and wind up on a Wheaties box.
This was all started by a media watchdog group that was monitoring Imus. You’d better hope they don’t get a copy of Children of Men, lest the one message they take from it is that even in a world where every woman is infertile one uneducated poor black girl managed to get herself knocked up by baby daddy unknown.
and PS I lost respect for Spike Lee when he sued Spike TV for the fact that 1. they were both called Spike. and 2. Lee rhymes with TV…thus Spike TV was using Spike Lee’s name recognition to promote their channel. Yeah. Imus is defiantly black people’s biggest issue.
Well said. Well Spoken.
– Nicholas Gardenia, Seems Like Old Times
What unfortunately has taken place is an exercise in economics, not a battle for free speech. In the end, Imus was hung out to dry because to fix the problem would cost more than to cut him loose. What does CBS Radio gain if it stands up for free speech, while its advertisers walk away in disgust? It’s integrity?? Do people really care that CBS Radio has more integrity than their competitors? Does that really get more listeners, which equate to more dollars?
No, they care about cash; that’s why, Little Johnny, companies and corporations are the devil. The public come way after the stockholders. It’s a shitty equation, but this is America, the country I love.
And what the hell are we all worried about? I’m sure Imus got paid well, and he’ll end up on some other provider real soon. If he’s popular, he’ll be back on the air somewhere.
Wow. EG gets political! Anyway, I guess I’ll join this convo. (and get my balls kicked.) Okay…I appreciate what everyone is saying here, BUT you wrote “He’s quite aware that these three words coming out of a 70-year-old white guy’s mouth is funny.” Are you sure that’s funny? Are you sure? Because if it’s not funny, then it is racist. (and it’s not funny.) And is anyone in the convo non-white? Maybe Claire, not sure. If so, speak up…
Sssssssss ~ I’m not white!
(and sssssssssss i thought it was verrrrrry funnnnny sssssssssssssssss) ~
Just one question – and this is serious – are more people upset by the “nappy-headed” or by the “ho’s”?
Because, fine. “ho’s” i understand. I don’t understand getting fired for it considering, well, see bake & claire’s comments, but..i mean, the “nappy-headed”…isn’t that….i mean really– isn’t that true? So basically, to me, people are kind of getting bent out of shape by the truth.
I mean you’ve seen them, right? They really all are—even the white ones!
I DEMAND THAT THE CYBERGOSH BE FIRED FROM THIS RACIST WEBSITE AT ONCE!
My fifty cents…
I don’t know what nappy means. Knotted? Tangled? Is a nappy dugout an unkempt vagina? So much for me to learn. I’ll have to take a course in ebonics.
I’m a snob. I used to listen to Howard Stern when I was in late high school / early college because I found the casual conversation aspect of the show refreshing. It was more like hanging with friends than a formal broadcast, which was it’s true innovation in my opinion.
But I grew bored fast. I don’t like Stern much. Don’t like Opie and Anthony. Don’t like Imus. I may have a sense of humor about the mentally handicapped but (maybe I’m a major hyppocrite) I don’t think I’ve ever been outright “mean” in my life.
Anyway, these guys all bore me and I think they’re all the bottom of the barrel humorists. Sure, I liked Andrew Dice Clay for about two years. Then I got bored. I watched the first ten episodes of Married With Children. Boring.
We have so much to laugh at in this world. The hypocrasies and dysfunctions of the human being and the society its created is rife with comic material.
I don’t cower from offensive comedy. I pity it for its lack of imagination, and for what I believe are its negative affects on the simple-minded and impressionable people who make up its audience. You only need to hear some guy from the southeast make a racist joke in casual conversation (without irony) to realize just how impressionable people actually are.
Racism exists in many forms. Innocent ignorance, subconscious fear, and the scarier, more conscious and delibrate forms.
I’ve made what could be called racist jokes in my life. Early, they were made out of total ignorance because I did not understand the power of words, and grew up in a farily segregated environment. As soon as I went to college and became more aware, my humor changed to one where any use of “racism” was done (and is still done to this day) out of irony. I’m not proud of the fact that I still find certain words titillating, and I am selective about how and when I use them.
Still I must admit that even that irony may not be as ironic as I would like to think it is. And sadly, this is the kind of humor I might resort to in my most base and uninspired moments. But they are in my mind, they were seeded there in my adolescence. Because they were words I heard in the school yard or on the radio, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to say them. So they became fun to say because they were taboo, just as most curse words are.
Still, the hope is that one day these words could lose their meaning entirely.
Physically, Imus is disgusting to behold – he looks like Jesse Helms with a Garth wig. He has a face for radio.
I did not hear the comment he made but am aware it was said in the context of comedy and I’m quite sure this whole thing was a sad witch-burning.
I heard Imus and Sharpton speak on the Today show and neither of them had a shred of sincerity in their voice. Imus was too busy blaming other people for teaching him naughty words and Sharpton was too busy pinning an entire race’s dignity on the words of some dim crone who is the hero of the lowest common denominator (uh, my EG pals not withstanding of course, you all have immaculate taste…)
At any rate, Bergoch you should shut your button-pushin’ mouth and stop trying to call a spade a spade, it’s creepy. You’re the product of a generation that grew up listening to these idiots, and you’re only helping to make people like Sharpton think they have a point.
snobbishly,
the snob
ps
free speech rocks
rock over london, rock on chicago.
FREE IMUS!
I take offense to that you nappy headed goomba!
Seriously though – i’m really not trying to push any buttons. Who the hell’s buttons am i trying to push, anyway? There’s no buttons to push here! If “speech rocks” then i should be allowed to say what i feel without being charged a button-pusher. Their hair is nappy. My skin is pasty. And that’s just how it is. End of story.
I know that you guys are voicing alot of people with the whole double standard issue, but i don’t think you’re looking at this specific case hard or objectively. you’re looking at it from your well-off whiteboy status. How can you blame black people for not being sick and tired of this shit? nowhere in ‘nappy-headed ho’ do i see comedy. i’m glad the asshole is gone. good riddance.
it’s not about free speech, it’s about public opinion…the government didnt shut Imus down, the corporation did, because people, inside and out of the network, who were sick of the shit on these shows reached a tipping point. You may not like sharpton, but he and others like him clearly have gained more power b/c a lot of people are sick of the imus’s of the world. In general i think it’s a complicated issue without ANY clean or simple answers.
“the government didnt shut Imus down, the corporation did, because people, inside and out of the network, who were sick of the shit on these shows reached a tipping point.”
Disagree. A few people made a stink.  Corporations got scared of being associated and pulled their sponsorship.  The network then pulled Imus because they no longer had advertising dough.  This has to do with money and cowardice. Â
And about mdhuff’s post – I personally don’t think the statement was funny.  My point was that he was going for funny..and missed the mark. Intent is everything here.
if i didn’t know any better I just may think that the person who wrote this:
“you’re looking at it from your well-off whiteboy status. How can you blame black people for not being sick and tired of this shit?”
isn’t a well-off whiteboy.
What i find amazing is how Cell Phone And Imus posts get more comments on EG than the Entertainment ones!
If people were this passionate about the Shia LaBouff debacle than maybe Indy IV could actually be good!!
Bake, looks like you may top the 20+ comment record!…
u miss my point:
I AM a well-off white boy, but i’m not the one bitching about white people not getting to call black women: nappy-headed hos.
‘a few people made a stink’.
-that’s a good one.
” How can you blame black people for not being sick and tired of this shit?’’
Hmmm….judging by pretty much every show on UPN, BET, and every other hip hop song, it hasn’t gotten old yet. I know, I know, black people can make the jokes, whites can’t…yawn.
I’d just take the whole “racism must be STOPPED!’’ rants more seriously if I didn’t hear every other kid on the J train calling each other nigga. Sharpton didn’t gain power because people are “sick of the Imus’s of the world”, he gained power because he’s a pretty good public speaker (I saw him speak at my university, so I can vouch for it) who knows how to play the blame game and influence those who seek the easy answer of prejudice to solve all the complex issues of being black in America. Yes, as WarrenTape ever so middle of the roadly puts it, its a “complicated issue”, and crucifying Imus won’t even come close to solving it or even nudge it in the right direction.
Why is “The Snob” attacking Imus physically? Isn’t comments about one’s physical appearance how this whole mess started?
I don’t think Cybergosh is pushing buttons, I think what he was trying to say was that Imus didn’t say anything that was so far out of line that it should be considered a HATEFUL racist remark. Black people do refer to their hair as nappy. Yes it smacks of a bit of good ‘ol boy southern redneck honky vernacular…oh wait that’s racist.
And hey since mdhuff wants EG to be an equal opportunity employer and get a few more voices of color up in here, I’m going to have my maid post her view if that’s cool. She’s from Belize – ohhhhhhh!!!! Racists! Did you assume she was BLACK?
Claire,
All good points.
Warrentape,
I haven’t heard one white person complaining about not being able to call black women “nappy headed ho’s.” That isn’t the issue. The reason I’m upset about this story is that one man had his livelihood taken away for “unpopular” speech. He didn’t break any FCC rules and in my opinion, this was not hate speech. So he was unfairly targeted.
And lastly, about the “well off white boy” statement. Maybe it was the line after that that bothered me. “How can you blame black people for not being sick and tired of this shit?’’ It is this altruistic attitude that is actually racist under the surface. Your stance comes across as you being the “protector.” When it comes down to it, the very idea that one group is going to protect another sets up the protecting group as superior to the protected.
Basically, that’s it. I’m tapping out because Warrentape and I have had this difference of opinion for 15 years now.
My final word: anything short of “fire” in a theater should be tolerated (but CBS and MSNBC are not constrained by constitutional law). They are private and can do as they see fit. And in my opinion, they folded.
“Yes, as WarrenTape ever so middle of the roadly puts it, its a “complicated issueâ€, and crucifying Imus won’t even come close to solving it or even nudge it in the right direction.”
Claire – is it NOT a complicated issue? Do you see it as a simple issue? I don’t see how it’s ‘middle of the road’ to accept the fact that it’s a tough issue b/c it DOES deal with issues of freedom of speech and creative freedom, etc, and i think the amount of responses here point exactly to that fact…and btw, not all black people like UPN, just like not all white people like Hee Haw.
ooooh. Sean just called me a racist! I guess i’m it. fuck this absurd chain.
Before,as you so eloquently put it, “fuck it”, Warren, consider this:
To take a middle of the road stance on the topic does not reflect on the topic itself, it reflected your comments on the topic. Clearly this is a complicated issue. Saying that your comments were middle of the road was my way of saying your posting was merely rhetoric that offered no solutions, it was just a shrug that said “I’m not racist, this whole thing is complicated.”
I never said ALL black people like UPN. Unlike true racists, I don’t make such sweeping generalizations. I said programs on that channel and hip hop music were popular. Big difference. But I’m sure black culture is happy to have a well off white boy defending them, as Bake said, you seem to think they need protecting and are happy to do so, so defend on, my broutha! Hee Haw? Dag money, how old are you?
I wish cybergosh would whip up some more naked harry potter posters and we can all move on. I think we’ve all stated our cases and I’m tired of debating Warren’s nugatory posts.
Stay black.
Cheers, mate!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/02/28/uradcliffe.jpg
glad to hear that u see it that way, C.
and I’ve been playing devil’s advocate to both sides all week on the issue. I think it’s an important topic, not just political but cultural.
p.s. I couldn’t think of any modern day equivalents to Hee Haw now that Imus is off the air