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Hypocrisy Wins Again
by Carlos
Imus in the morning is no more. American culture will survive.
I am not going to defend what Don Imus said. But: Has anyone noticed the irony?
Al Sharpton wasn’t happy until he got Imus off the air. Al Sharpton, who never apologized for his role in propagating the Tawana Brawley hoax, who tried to destroy the life of an innocent man (Steven Pagones), who helped incite the Crown Heights anti-Jewish riots, who incited a violent attack on “white interlopers” in Harlem in which seven people died, and who never apologized to the Duke lacrosse players for joining the rush to judgment against them, is still on the air! Who will get HIS program cancelled? Imus’ stupid remark pales in comparison to Sharpton’s catalogue of horrors.
And where is the hypocritical ACLU when it comes to defending Imus’ freedom of speech? They defend Nazis. Why shouldn’t they defend Imus? Is Imus worse than a Nazi?
Imus’ comment was disgusting. Nevertheless, I can’t help thinking that people are playing on it for all it’s worth - and that includes the athletes whom he insulted. It was a stupid comment by an ignorant loudmouth - hardly assault with a deadly weapon. Imus said bad things about Jews too. I’m not whining about it. I’m not destroyed by it. I’m getting on with my life. Maybe that’s what we all should do.
Imus should be disciplined. But there is something happening that’s worse even than Imus. It is a pattern of trying to destroy the lives and careers of anyone who says things that offend certain people. It started with Jimmy the Greek, who lost his job and his career for saying something dumb but that was neither hostile nor even intended as an insult. Now the speech police are everywhere, ready to institute career capital punishment for the slightest offense. A New York Post reporter criticized the extravagance of the funeral of an R&B singer. Not content just to condemn the remark and demand an apology, Sharpton issued a fatwa: "We will bring down anybody who tells us how to mourn our own." In the same article the reporter made a similar criticism of Princess Diana’s funeral. As yet the British have not dispatched agents to assassinate him.
The hypocrisy runs even deeper. Imus would certainly not have used the word “ho” had it not been kept in circulation by black rap singers and gangsta culture. They use it all the time, and even much coarser language including rape threats, and Sharpton does not utter a peep. So much for defending the honor of black women.
Why is it OK for them to say it, for them to demean and degrade women in the most offensive ways, and nobody demands that their careers be ended? If some stupid white guy saying “ho” is so damaging to the health and well being of others, then why isn’t there more pressure within the black community to stop perpetuating this kind of language? Unlike the “N” word, “ho” is not a white invention. Imus did not make that word up. He heard it somewhere, and figured he could exploit it for a cheap thrill because it had already become popularized. Why whack only Imus? Why not cut it off at the root? If it’s not OK for Imus to demean black women, even in jest, then why is it OK for black men to do so, often not in jest?
The companies that are yanking Imus’ program are also not immune to the hypocrisy virus. They claim they are standing up to do the right thing. From NBC News: “What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company.” Baloney. What matters to them most is the bottom line. What matters to them most is not crossing people who can tar them with the stigma of political incorrectness. NBC did nothing until Sharpton pushed the pressure past critical mass.
I don’t think Imus should have emerged unscathed. I do think some disciplinary action was called for. But I don’t think people should be destroyed just because they have incurred the wrath of political pressure groups whose own records are just as bad, if not worse. Has the public not forgiven Jessie Jackson for Hymietown? Is anyone suggesting that he be forever kept off the airwaves? As for Sharpton, his record is well known; he is a racial flamethrower and a bully, if not actually a criminal. Yet not only does his program still air, he is actually treated with respect and even deference.
So here we are in the 21st century, and it seems we still can’t talk about matters of race intelligently and without exploitation. I guess we never will, as long as there are people who believe they can benefit politically by seizing on every opportunity they see to inflame passions instead of trying to heal the polarization that unfortunately still afflicts us.
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