I’m sure you reacted the same way I did when I heard Don Imus’ idiotic quote calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”
As soon as I heard the statement I immediately got a nosebleed, punched five holes in my ceiling and ripped the windshield out of my Jeep with my bare hands. (And if you were thinking that sounds like a lie, you’d be right.)
But that’s exactly what I wanted to do after flipping through a zillion news channels for a week, and getting nothing but inflated stories and faux outrage.
I won’t feign for two seconds I know what it’s really like to be on the receiving end of racial bigotry. I’m a white guy who lives in a Middle Tennessee college town, so I don’t catch a lot of heat as far as prejudice goes. However, I do understand the outrage against Imus, but only to a degree.
I won’t say he shouldn’t have been punished or even fired. He represented major networks, and it’s their call as to whom they wish to represent them. What I don’t get is this fake anger pouring from people like Al Sharpton.
Sharpton stands up and fights for what he believes in and has taken an active role in trying to improve society. But when you blow up every issue, and make every injustice your own there comes a point that you actually do more damage than good. Sharpton and Jesse Jackson both have personalities that help to create backlashes upon their own causes.
When Michael Richards gave his apology on Letterman he made a point in saying that he was also worried about people supporting him. He didn’t want people to justify his dumb actions. That’s exactly what happened with Imus. Sharpton and Jackson forced their own personalities into the dumb situation and made the issue much larger. And that might have been their goal, but they also made their own fight seem ludicrous.
When Imus went on Sharpton’s radio show to apologize, we were lucky enough to get treated to the full Sharpton grandstand. After Imus apologized about 100 times, Sharpton brought his daughter into the studio asked Imus if she also looked like a “nappy-headed ho.” Of course Imus said no. It’s a set up question with a built in response.
Throughout the entire week people marched in front of CBS and NBC headquarters demanding that Imus be fired, and he was.
As a side note, CNN reported there was a rain delay in the protests. That shows how true the anger was. If what Imus said is the epitome of racism, and it really deserves every bit of outrage and emotion that’s been poured into this story, then as Bill Maher said, maybe the state of American civil rights is in better shape than we knew.
There are larger problems out there that need more attention. And there are plenty of unabashed racists, and radio personalities worse than Imus. It would be a shame to waste the public’s anger and interest when there are much bigger and more damning issues at hand.
