The uproar over the Imus/Rutgers Women's Basketball Team controversy seems to have subsided, but only temporarily.
In the aftermath, one can only ask, “What were you thinking Don?” Because the Duke Lacrosse Team’s case was dropped, did Imus think was given the green light to break every PC rule in modern society’s conscientiousness?
Look, anyone with even a nominally functioning brain realizes that it’s OK for one minority to use racial denigrations when referring to each other, but if you’re not part of that minority group, don’t do it. Imus’ defense that he was simply quoting a line from a popular rap song is – at best – feeble: analogous to a childhood belief that “it’s OK for me to beat up my sister, but don’t you dare touch her”.
Whether CBS took actions against Mr. Imus for fear of future retributions, loss of precious promotional spending and advertiser support or it realized that Mr. Imus’ words were hurtful and wrong; firing him was the right thing to do.
Already, the ramifications are rippling through the media. With CBS management terminating Mr. Imus’ access to the airwaves as punishment for his improprieties, it appears that every other minority group out there that believes it has been slighted, too, has been given the green light to take action. .
CBS radio’s Elvis & J.V. felt the impact of their thoughtless stereotyping of Chinese-Americans in their on-air spoof of ordering take-out cuisine that included “flied lice”. Asian American Civil Rights groups’ protests prompted a review of the spoof, and then they like Imus, were not only taken off air but ultimately fired.
The Reverend Al Sharpton is back in the spotlight with his call for a unified effort focusing on the detrimental effect of denigrating lyrics and language in the mainstream. Translation: stop using “the N word” and all those other racial slurs when talking to (and about) each other. Many argue that it’s nothing more than bonding among friends. But the other side of the argument is, “If the Black Culture won’t show some respect for each other, how can you expect others to?”
It’s unfortunate that people have lost their employment and have had their reputations sullied by these events; however, some good may ultimately be realized: (1) possibly parents, mentors and role models will again work to instill a sense of personal pride and self-worth in America’s current and future generations; and (2) possibly the “talent” that commands our airwaves will again, take responsibility for the words that pass their lips
