In wake of CBS Decision David Brock Calls for 'Broader Conversation' on bigotry and sexism in the media
Washington, DC - In the aftermath of CBS Radio's decision to cancel Don Imus' syndicated radio show Imus in the Morning, David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America, released the following statement regarding the overall tone of talk radio and cable news today.
"I applaud CBS for listening to reason and canceling Imus in the Morning. Viewers and listeners sent the clear message that they would no longer tolerate bigotry on America's airwaves," said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America, the organization first to post on Don Imus' racist comments of April 4th. "It is our hope that this incident will begin a broader conversation about the responsibility that news corporations, journalists, and media figures have to the American public. This is an opportunity for the media to truly raise the bar to a higher standard and return to the fundamentals of journalism."
Examples of Bigoted
Commentary
Rife on the Cable Networks and Talk Radio
Below are just a few of the many examples of deplorable comments by media personalities that Media Matters for America has documented over the past several years:
Limbaugh:
"The government's been taking care of [young blacks] their whole
lives"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200702060001
On the February 1 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh
responded to a Reuters report
on a University of Chicago study that found that "a majority of young
blacks feel alienated form today's government" by asserting: "Why
would that be? The government's been taking care of them their whole
lives."
Limbaugh
handicapped races in new Survivor
series, suggested "African-American tribe" worst swimmers,
Hispanics "will do things other people won't do"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200608240003
On the August 23, 2006, broadcast of his radio program, Limbaugh suggested that
the competition in the then-new season of CBS' reality TV program, Survivor, in which
contestants were
divided into competing "tribes" by ethnicity, "is not going
to be fair if there's a lot of water events." In support of this
assertion, he cited a March 2 HealthDay article
reporting that "young blacks -- especially males -- are much more likely
to drown in pools than whites."
O'Reilly
said Virginia Beach
mayor "should be baking pies, not running a major city"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704100022
On the April 6 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly
stated that Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf "should be baking pies,
not running a major city." O'Reilly made the comment while discussing a
March 30 automobile accident
that resulted in the deaths of two teenage girls, reportedly at the hands of an
illegal immigrant who said he had been drinking the night of the accident.
O'Reilly blamed Oberndorf in part for the accident, saying that Virginia Beach's
"sanctuary city policy" prevented police from detaining and
deporting the driver, despite three previous alcohol-related
convictions.
O'Reilly
to Jewish caller: "[I]f you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200412070004
O'Reilly responded to a Jewish caller to his radio show who objected to
"Christmas going into schools" and explained that he "grew up
with a resentment because I felt that people were trying to convert me to
Christianity." O'Reilly told the caller that America
is "a predominantly Christian nation" and that "if you are
really offended, you gotta go to Israel." O'Reilly labeled the
caller's concerns "an affront to the majority" and insisted that
"the majority can be insulted, too." During his exchange with the
caller, O'Reilly also mistakenly referred to "the seven
candles" of Hanukkah.
O'Reilly:
Abducted child "liked ... his circumstances," had "a lot
more fun" than usual
http://mediamatters.org/items/200701170009
On the January 15 edition of his television show, O'Reilly said of Shawn
Hornbeck -- who was abducted at the age of 11, held for four
years, and recently found in Missouri -- that "there was an element here
that this kid liked about his circumstances," adding that he
"do[esn't] buy "the
Stockholm
syndrome thing." O'Reilly also said: "The
situation here for this kid looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had
under his old parents. He didn't have to go to school. He could run around and
do whatever he wanted." When fellow Fox News host Greta Van Susteren
pointed out that "[s]ome kids like school," O'Reilly replied:
"Well, I don't believe this kid did."
Boortz:
Rep. McKinney
"looks like a ghetto slut"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200603310005
On the March 31, 2006, broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program,
Neal Boortz said that Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) "looks like a ghetto
slut." Boortz was commenting on a March 29 incident
in which McKinney
allegedly struck a police officer at a Capitol Hill security checkpoint. Boortz
said that McKinney's "new hair-do" makes her look "like a
ghetto slut," like "an explosion at a Brillo pad factory,"
like "Tina Turner peeing on an electric fence," and like "a
shih tzu." McKinney is the first
African-American woman elected to Congress from Georgia.
Predicting
Media Matters would flag
his Cindy Sheehan attacks, Boortz also declared Islam a religion of
"violent, bloodthirsty cretins" and called Prophet Muhammad a
"phony rag-picker"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200607200012
On the July 19, 2006, edition of this show, Boortz claimed that "at its
core," Islam is a "violent, violent religion," called
"this Muhammad guy [] just a phony rag-picker," and asserted that
"[i]t is perfectly legitimate, perhaps even praiseworthy, to recognize
Islam as a religion of vicious, violent, bloodthirsty cretins." Boortz
also labeled Cindy Sheehan a "lunatic", a "moonbat", and
a "crazy broad," adding, "I had to give Media Matters something to do."
Boortz
suggested that Katrina victim turn to prostitution
http://mediamatters.org/items/200510240014
On the October 24, 2005, broadcast of his program, Boortz suggested that a
victim of Hurricane Katrina, then-housed in an Atlanta hotel, consider prostitution.
"If that's the only way she can take care of herself," Boortz posited,
"it sure beats the hell out of sucking off the taxpayers." The
woman was featured in an October 23, 2005, Atlanta
Journal-Constitution article; Boortz repeated her first name on the
air.
Boortz:
Islam is a "deadly virus" and "we're going to wait far too
long to develop a vaccine to find a way to fight this"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200610180005
On October 16, 2006, Boortz declared: "Islam is a virus. It is a deadly
virus that is spreading throughout Europe and
the Western world," adding that "we're going to wait far too long
to develop a vaccine to find a way to fight this." Later in the
broadcast, Boortz, who stated that he "would be willing to put money that
Spain will be operating under Islamic law within 10 years," predicted
"that Europe is doomed, and America's going to have a tough time
surviving in anything close to its present form after America falls to Islam --
to the Muslim creeping virus." Boortz also characterized Islam as
"not a very pleasant religion" and "a creeping mold
infestation." He also said of Muslims: "[T]hese people are
violent."
CNN's
Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is,
'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "
http://mediamatters.org/items/200611150004
On the November 14, 2006, edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn
Beck interviewed then-Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first
Muslim ever elected
to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could "have five
minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards up on
the table." After Ellison agreed, Beck said: "I have been nervous
about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove
to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " Beck added: "I'm not
accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of
Americans will feel that way."
CNN's,
ABC's Beck on Clinton:
"[S]he's the stereotypical bitch"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703150011
On the March 15 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Beck said:
"Hillary Clinton cannot be elected president because ... there's
something about her vocal range." He went on to say, "There's
something about her voice that just drives me -- it's not what she says, it's
how she says it," adding, "She is like the stereotypical -- excuse
the expression, but this is the way to -- she's the stereotypical bitch, you
know what I mean?" Beck also asked: "[A]fter four years, don't you
think every man in America
will go insane?" and pleaded, "I'm sorry for being such a pig. But
please, America.
Please. I don't think I could do it for four years. I mean, sure the country is
going to go to hell in a handbasket, but could we make this about me for a
second? I just don't think I could take it from her." He also said that
"there is a range in women's voices that experts say is just the chalk, I
mean, the fingernails on the blackboard."
Beck has a warning for Muslims
"who have sat on [their] frickin' hands" and have not
"lin[ed] up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200608100016
On the August 10, 2006, broadcast of his radio program, Beck warned that "[t]he world is on the brink of World War III" and that "Muslims who have sat on your frickin' hands the whole time and have not been marching in the streets" will face dire consequences. Beck made his comments toward Muslims who he claimed "have not been saying, 'Hey, you know what? There are good Muslims and bad Muslims. We need to be the first ones in the recruitment office lining up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head.' "
Beck called Hurricane Katrina
survivors in New Orleans
"scumbags," said he "hates" 9-11 families
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509090003
On the September 9, 2005, edition of his radio show, Beck referred to survivors of Hurricane Katrina who remained in New Orleans as "scumbags." Also, after acknowledging that nobody "in their right mind is going to say this out loud," Beck attacked victims of the disaster in general and the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying: "I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims."
Coulter
refers to Edwards as "faggot," has smeared Dems in similar fashion
many times before
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030002
In a March 2 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC),
right-wing pundit Ann Coulter
said she "can't really talk about" Democratic presidential candidate
and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) because "you have to go into rehab if
you use the word 'faggot.'
" The CPAC audience applauded her comment. Coulter's
comments, which aired on CSPAN, were also documented by the weblog Think
Progress. It was not the first time Coulter has smeared a prominent
Democrat with a homophobic epithet, and it is not the first time that Coulter
has ridiculed Edwards.
Plugging
new book in latest solo Today
appearance, Coulter attacked liberals, 9-11 widows
http://mediamatters.org/items/200606060006
On the June 6, 2006, edition of NBC's Today,
Coulter criticized the widows of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks for "speak[ing] out using the fact that they're widows" and
"using their grief" and "the fact that you lost a husband"
to make "a political point while preventing anyone from responding."
She further argued that "the Left" exploits a "doctrine of
infallibility," and that "[i]f they have a point to make about the
9-11 Commission, about how to fight the war on terrorism," they
"put[] up Cindy Sheehan ... put[] out these widows." As a result,
Coulter said, conservatives "always have to respond to someone who just
had a family member die" and appear to be "questioning the
authenticity of the grief."
Carlson referred to Canada as "retarded
cousin"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512160012
http://mediamatters.org/items/200609250002
MSNBC host Tucker Carlson twice referred to Canada as a "retarded cousin": First, on the December 15, 2005, edition of MSNBC's The Situation with Tucker Carlson (later renamed Tucker), he stated that "Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving and sort of pat him on the head. You know, he's nice, but you don't take him seriously. That's Canada." Then, on the September 22, 2006, edition of the show, Tucker purported to point out the "incompetence of Canada," saying, "It's too easy, Willie. ... I feel like I'm beating up a retarded cousin almost." Geist hurriedly added: "I'm going to move on quickly. Maybe nobody will notice you said it."
Carlson:
"[G]rouchy feminists with mustaches" control the Democratic Party
http://mediamatters.org/items/200411230009
On the November 22, 2004, edition of the now-defunct CNN's Crossfire, Carlson stated: "And that's about the era [the 1970s] that still defines the Democratic Party, the era of Our Bodies Ourselves [women's health book collective], of solar [power], not nukes. ... You know what I mean? ... A time when grouchy feminists with mustaches controlled the party, and they still do."
Savage:
CNN's Blitzer and King "would have pushed Jewish children into the
oven"; "curry favor with the turbanned hoodlums"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200608080010
On the August 7, 2006, edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael
Savage declared that CNN hosts Wolf Blitzer and Larry King
"look like the type that would have pushed Jewish children into the oven
to stay alive one more day to entertain the Nazis."
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We've just witnessed the de-construction of a false media icon that should've been taken down a long time ago. He is so unrepentant...even this morning--on the day his ill-fated radio show was dedicated to raising money for charity--he offered an apology of sorts to a black female "Ms. Jackson" (who was there strictly to support the charitable fundraising) in false humility over the awkwardness of the timing of her appearance given the recent controversy. But only moments later, he uttered the same phrases "nappy-headed ho's" and "bitches" when opining how its others on the cultural that are responsible for defaming black females in general, let alone the Rutgers Womens Basketball Team. He needs rehab!!
I've dugg this, but someone else do it first next time--my headers are bad.
Everyone DIGG this!
I guess I am in the minority that is not rejoicing over the firing of Don Imus.
The Mob Mentality won this time. Racial ambulance chasers Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson dictated to CBS and NBC how to handle the Don Imus controversy, instead of letting the network honchos decide how to handle it.
CBS and NBC didn't do this out of concern for racial harmony. They dismissed him only because they were concerned about their bottom line and the two leading self-appointed "civil rights" leaders who could yell and scream the loudest were the networks' biggest financial threat. The two "leaders" even succeeded in intimidating advertisers to pull their advertising dollars out as well until Imus got canned.
What Don Imus said and did last week was highly innappropriate and insensitive, but not a firable offense. He apologized, he took responsibility and he owned up to his mistakes. He even made arrangements to meet with the Rutgers team this evening to explain himself.
Yet, none of his actions prevented the two leading racial charlatans from demanding his ouster. We seem to forget that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are guilty of making anti-Semitic comments in the past. Yet, both apologized and expected the rest of us to forgive them. Neither offered that to Mr. Imus.
Where was Jesse Jackson when Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan called Judaism a "gutter religion"? Also, didn't Jesse Jackson once refer to Jews as "hymies" and New York as "hymietown"? And where was Al Sharpton when black actor Isaiah Washington of ABC-TV's Grey's Anatomy refer to white co-star T.R. Knight with an anti-gay slur? And where was Al Sharpton when that 101-year-old woman in Queens, New York was mugged and it was caught on tape?
Finally, to this very day, Al Sharpton still thinks Steve Pagones raped Tawana Brawley.
Today is a very sad day in America and an even sadder day for race relations in general. Martin Luther King must be turning over in his grave.
CBS and NBC dropped Imus because he lost advertisers. Full stop. Blaming MMfA, Jackson or Sharpton for it is laughable.
Actually, they claim they did it for moral reasons after hearing outrage.
And you believe that?
Oh, us liberals are soo intimidating.
BOO!
What really bugs me about Sharpton and Jackson is they never condemned the Romans for crucifying Jesus. Those guys are such Jesus haters and hypocrites, and the last people to pass judgement on Imus.
Your post literally drips with hatred. Please go somewhere and get a life.
You did recognise the sarcasm dripping, and were returning that sarcasm, when you claimed "hate" dripping? I certainly hope so, else you may shortly be wearing one of those restrictive jackets with the sleeves that strap 'round behind you.
You know who is at fault for Don Imus being fired? Don Imus and no one else. Please.
Amen!! Free speech should be protected. Those who have never followed what Sharpton has done here in NYC would be shocked that this guy has any credibility with anyone. Every word you wrote is true. Libs seem to be humorless here. And they fired this guy in the middle of a charity fundraiser that he has hosted for 18 years. The libs are dead wrong on this one.
The only thing that's "dead wrong" are people like you who are grasping at straws to defend Imus. He's been offending people for years, and finally went too far.
Now all we have to do is get people like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity, Savage, and Beck canned....
Free speech is not absolute. You can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. And you cannot legally threaten bodily harm to another person.
..yeah but it's probably over this ill conceived Iraqi war, and yes I'm sure he also would be appalled at the crassness that passes as acceptable in our society including the vile gansta rap. I don't even think in MLK's day you could even say whore on the radio, but Blacks and other minorities were maligned all the time in the media in his day. He probably would feel pretty good that we have decided not to allow the public airwaves to be abused.
Actually, calling anyone a "nappy headed ho" is a firing offence at my job and any job I can think of. Why should Imus be held to any different standard to any working American. I don't feel sorry for him in the least...
If this was a one time thing, and he was truly repentant for it, then yes, it wouldn't be grounds for a firing. But Imus has done this before along with many other conservatives. These guys are holding the airwaves hostage. They want to be allowed to defame whatever socio-economic groups they don't like sans any recourse. It needs to stop. Imus' termination is just one little skirmish.
Look, I don't think that these young women should give a rat's dropping about what some guy like Imus thinks of them. But people like him poison the airwaves. They create racial tension. It sends a really negative message to African Americans if we allow people to slander them over the radio.
I'm glad Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson went after him. Imus deserved it.
As a white male, it's been really uncomfortable for me to see other whites reserving more venom for Sharpton and Jackson than for someone like Imus.
This is what I've been hearing today.
"Ok, ok, Imus went over the line, but that <insert expletive> Sharpton..."
Imus started it, ok? If he hadn't have called a bunch of young female athletes "whores" with a racial overtone, Sharpton and Jackson wouldn't have anything to be angry about.
Yes, Jackson and Sharpton have said offensive things also. I'm not saying that either of them is without a checkered past. But I think both of them have gone out of their way to atone for what they said and did 20 years ago. Imus just shoots his mouth off.
"Actually, they claim they did it for moral reasons after hearing outrage."
As well they should have.
I'm embarrassed and a little nauseated at the thought that I have several times contributed cash to Media Matters.
Sanctimonious, self-righteous, humorless, priggish -- there is certainly no shortage of terms that apply to, first, your indictment of Imus, and now, your gloating.
You set out, supposedly, to uncover the lies and distortions of the far right, as well as big media. Get a clue -- Imus is neither.
Now it turns out your greatest victory is in getting a comedy show cancelled because that show's parodies hurt your feelings -- or, more precisely, hurt the feelings of minorities, women, Catholics, Protestants, millionaires, famoush jocks, newscasters, politicians, Latinos, Jews, gays, Muslims, journalists, to mention a few.
In fact, with 365,000 viewers, Imus hardly qualifies as "big media." (O'Reilly's dwindling audience is about 8-times larger!). Its that relatively paltry viewership that has left Imus vulnerable.
You're so bound up in sanctimony, you can't even see that the dude you just persecuted is an equal opportunity comedic basher. And, in fact, he's about the furthest thing from the conservative prevaricators that you set out to unmask and hold accountable. He's incredibly, searingly honest -- and incredibly distasteful at times.
Hurt feelings are unfortunate. Free speech, however, is invaluable, and it requires a clear mind and, occassionally thick skin. Neither of which, it turns out. are defining qualities of the people of Media Matters.
This entire episode just confirms some of the more outrageous claims people like Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Levin, Hewitt, Prager and Medved routinely make about the left and liberals.
This entire episode has left me disgusted.
Bo ho ho. Poor Imus! And poor free speech! What is this country going to do when idiots who make racially offensive comments are no longer paid millions of dollars to do so? The founding fathers who penned (actually feathered?) the 1st ammendment are turning in their graves.
Hey, copy-and-paste troll... if it had been your daughter he called a dirty prostitute, you'd have been the first screaming for him to be fired. Quit acting like butter doesn't melt in your mouth just because it wasn't your kid.
Now go finish your webpage.
What is the website,defendhate.com?
If you don't understand why this was so egregious, then you have lost your way. Don Imus got himself fired and this has nothing to do with "free" speech. That's a tired canard best left for the right wing blogs.
JMA has it right. I cannot believe liberals want to shut people up that they don't like. I wouldn't have voted for Obama anyway, but when he came out against Imus, that solidified my Kucinich support. Those who are listening to the mass media on this one are being misled. I find myself agreeing with people I've never agreed with on ANYTHING. If you libs think the FCC is going to go after ideas you don't like, you've got another thing coming.
The FCC wasn't involved in Imus losing either of his jobs. What are you ranting about?
Now that Imus is gone there should be more action to get rid of all the bigots who pollute the airways. I wish I could get a list of all the sponsors for the bigots (Hannity, Limbaugh, Michael Salvage...) so that we can boycott their products until they stop supporting hate speech.
False-flag troll.
I don't quite understand by your term "false-flag". The closest definition that I got from the urban dictionary is that of someone who is wearing the wrong gang colors. What are you trying to say?
As far a being a "troll", I take no offense. After all we are here in this forum for a reason - to get others to see my viewpoint! If I'm emflaming you with my comments then I guess the comment is serving its purpose.
My comment was directed at osangri4991, and I'm not sure who you are, as I am pretty sure you can't change the screen name on this system.
Since Brock posted his original response to the news of Imus's firing, we had a flood of previously-unknown commenters here with names like BLABLA678923 either "resigning" their "subscriptions" (which don't exist) or posting extreme things like "As a liberal, I think we should go after all the people we disagree with" in order to make it look like there is some liberal witch-hunt afoot.
Hence, 'false-flag.' I don't agree with everying David Brock says, but I am a member of a community here and I will defend it.
The overwhelming majority of the regulars here really like opposing comments that are well argued, and give as good as we get. Welcome!
False flag ALSO means that one's government perpetrates a terrorist act on their own country (while making it seem like another outside entity attacked) and using the ensuing outrage to attack the country they SAID perpetrated the attack... check out TERRORSTORM on dvd...
Sorry David Brock. Your idea of bigotry is anything that you disagree with.
That doesn't fly. There will be no speech codes, no return of a bogus fairness doctrine, no campaign to smear conservatives as racist. This is all your agenda really is.
If you think destroying Imus is some magnificant achievement, you are dead wrong. The pendulum will swing the other way. Free speech will reign and you will be swept awy in its wake.
As ususal LH, you got nothing. If all the usual suspects on corporate radio and TV didn't behave badly on a daily basis, they wouldn't be painted with the racist brush. These guys/gals lie, smear and disinform for a living to keep the status quo (money in their pockts and out of yours). That's cretainly not doing you any good unless you're a millionaire. Are you a millionaire LH?
fee speach: the right to get paid millions of dollars to say ugly, bigoted things.
This is America. It is that land. People keep ruining it for the people who understand the meaning of freedom.
"Ruining it?" Why do you hate America, man?
I love America, because it supposedly protects free speech. However, that is apparently only true in the court of law and not in public opinion. The fact that a majority of people agreed that an apology and 2 week suspension is very disheartening about the state of things. However, its my personal favorite country that I know much about.
Trying to teach certain people "a lesson" for pushing the lines of comedy in America, something done every day, just shuts people up and makes us afraid of each other.
Umm.... how was that comedy?
"You &^(*$%$&(*$%%$*#* !"
Haha, I'm so funny...
If some guy called your kid a dirty prostitute, you would probably punch him in the nose.
If he said he was "pushing the limits of comedy," I would probably punch him in the nose.
So violence is OK, but words aren't. This is what's wrong with America, people who have no respect for others right to be idiots and ass*oles. Hitting people in the face... Jesus. You think that is justified, but shock jock humor is not? I am the opposite. If someone calle my daughter a nappy headed ho on television, I would not even have to confront that person. If they said it in my personal space, I would use words to defend child, not violence. You high horse parents (and yes I am a parent) think that "protecting our children" is an excuse for violence. These basketball players were not "children". Did you know that porn stars also can be 18 years old, and they too have parents? 18 is old enough to be independent. And college sports figures ARE public figures, not that it matters who a shock jock pokes fun at. It's all in good clean fun.
True, LH, true. If Brock were balancing the "hate" speech that he picked on from the right, he would have included Hillary's Clinton's racial comment of "Mahatma Gandhi, he ran a gas station in St. Louis for a couple of years." [link to youtube.com] it's ok for Hillary to make jokes, but Limbaugh may not do satire.
Your link is broken.
Leather for the record WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF BIGOTRY? Inquiring minds want to know. So it's Ok to call teenagers that you know nothing about hos on your higly acclaimed radio show that is frequented by the DC power elite because you think it's funny? I mean really what rises to the level of unacceptable to the great Leather brain?
Hmmm.... I don't recall seeing anything in there about race, do you?
Don't know what you're talking about, Off-Topic Troll.... but I'm sure you're dying to explain.
I'm gonna play mind reader like so many hear like to do. I think the above poster means if you want to say n-gger on your radio show it's okay, and the sponsors would be wrong to diassociate themselves from you for doing so. In fact that should be illegal and Imus should sue them for ruining his career.
so many HERE like to do.
I was just watching that standard bearer of truth and morality and (I wonder why )former speaker of the house Tom Delay weigh in on this matter with Anderson Cooper and Al Sharpton.Man this thing is so being blown out porportion that;let me see.1st. Its Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson,2nd.its the rappers fault3rd its my neighbors fault4th its the cats fault.I'm listening to this guy Jason whitlock whose claim to fame is hes a sports reporter,I don't know where this guy is coming from.I must remember all. this so next time I get a parking ticket and I fight it I must remember that even though its my car and even though I parked the car that got the ticket,I going to blame it on hip-hop and the rappers.what do you think? will the judge give me a play?
hey val
this is the last time i will say anything else about this Imus situation this thing gets crazier by the day
True that. I keep trying to stay away but it's kind of like watching a train wreck...
I had no idea this site was so against free speech. When are you roasting weenies at the book burning.
You know, I'm sure the late Erich Kaestner, who witnessed the burning of his own books in 1933 would agree with MMFA.
Airwaves are slightly different than paper ...that you can just dump stuff on. They're actually a series of tubes ;-)
To say hateful things on a top program on prime time is not just a waste of air-time, but a pollution of free discourse. COns always argue against war-protesting, with the "it's like shouting FIRE". Well, to us liberals, hate speech on air is fueling a fire. It's okay anywhere else, and it should always be legal, but it's still wrong. And people may well decide they'd rather see something else.
MMFA just brings the consequences of their choices home to people!
Hi Everyone - I personally have been turned off by Don Imus every time I happened to stumble onto his radio show en route to home or work. His childish comments were just that - childish, part of his act. However, they were not hostile or demeaning, just childish. The politically correct outcry in response to his comments are just as harmful to open and mutual public dialog and his comments were. I am not impressed with his radio show, and I have not been impressed with the outcry that followed his silly comments about the Rutgers Ladies' Basketball Team.
Let's all find ways to communicate honestly and respectfully with one another and not be so quick to get our ego structures involved. I don't know, but I doubt that many of the admirable young ladies on the Rutgers team were in truth "offended," either. I see examples of this "politically correct" mentality at work (social work agency) also, and in my opinion it poisons the workplace. It helps no one.
What all you people don't seem to get is that IMUS wasn't fired for what he said, he was fired b/c he doesn't have an audience (300,000 is nothing), he never had an audience, and now that nobody would go on his show and his advertisers dropped him...he was no longer profitable.
I also find it pathetic that you libs/Communists know you can't win a debate, so you resort to banning people from speaking.
Moreover, MMFA is dreaming if you guys think you could fire someone like Rush Limbaugh, or Savage, or Hannity. Rush has 22 million loyal listeners daily and the advertisers wouldn't drop him no matter what he says.
You sad libs just don't get it.
Your accusation of communism is unfounded, agressive and pointless. If you think we can't bring down Hannity; well, there was once an empire supposed to last a thousand years...
And once more, you have the pricure upside down--Liberals CAN win arguments. Furthermore, WE didn't ban Imus neither did MMFA ask for it; plus he considered himself a liberal, so we actually displayed even-handedness. All MMFA does is repeat what people said, so that there can be no mistake about it, and to draw people's attention. And whether liberals are puny compared to NEOCONS has yet to be seen.
However, I imagine that with people like you on their side, we can't lose...
Come to think of it, he wasn't even Banned. No one is being banned, he's just lost a platform that, say Al Sharpton didn't have to voice his opinions. He can still write books... or hold speeches in public... but it'll require him to get off his a$$, like many liberals do...
Banishment is something entirely different.
"Al Sharpton didn't have to voice his opinions."
http://www.sharptontalk.net/
He has a radio show. Maybe we should ban Sharpton for his anti-semetic comments, or inciting a riot that lead to the death of 8 people. Or the tawanna Braley incident.
When did Sharpton say anything that was anti-semitic or anti-semetic?
Or are you just figuring that all black preachers are pretty much interchangeable?
Sharpton has said many bad things about Jews. He organized protests against a white-owned store in Harlem until one of his looney followers went to the store, shot people-and set a fire that killed 7. Do a google search on the gavin cato story- a car accident that resulted in the death of a little black kid that Sharpie and his gang tried to turn into a black vs. jew issue--complete with anti-semetic protests in Jewish neighborhoods. He is a big Jew-hater with no sense of humor. Liberals are so wrong on this one. Stop being wimps with the "hate speech" accusation.
If you are offended by that use your voice, send letters to his sponsors, advocate for what you believe in and if you can convince those giving money to him that his comments/actions do not fit the type of place the corporations are giving money to, you will gain traction and maybe get him off the air.
Bottom line with Imus: If his sponsors had stayed with him, he would still be on CBS radio
See, Imus still has his radio show. And, as I said, no one's being banned. NTW, if you accuse someone of anti-semitism, you might want to tell us where that came from, since we clearly don't know what you're talking about.
How unenviable is my position in that I might be moved to defend something so unfunny. That I don't want to silence idiots like Hannity, Limbaugh, Imus, et al shouldn't discredit my liberal bona fides. The goal, folks, is to render such opinions irrelevant. What I see, sometimes, in my classroom, is a celebration of victim-hood and a belief in self esteem as existing in fixed quantity. The Rutgers team members should have plenty of self esteem to spare. Does anyone seriously believe that because Imus called them names, reasonable people should now consider them to be prostitutes? Besides, are three words of stupid bs the same as if he strode up to a team member, glove in hand and jumped up to smack her in the face with the pronouncement, "You madam, are of inferior race and a prostitute. In fact, *sung Ben Folds style* Bs ain't nothin' but h--s and tricks. Lick on these..."
If someone called my daughter a name, I'd probably want to hit them in the face. I wouldn't, of course, but I would probably recite for her something about sticks and stones. Anyway, self esteem is earned, is in infinite quantity and requires developing skin, of whatever hue, to become thick enough so as to be impervious to anyones insults.
Firing the man is fine, whatever. Celebrating his dismissal as a victory for justice is a farce.
Amen brother.
I can guarantee you that all of the various media figures that Media Matters listed above will be the next to be targeted by the neo fascist anti free speech movement. David Brock's anti free speech crusade is gaining momentum and power. This is a big victory for the newly formed and scary neo fascist left. I sure hope that all of the traditional liberals out there will stand up and condemn this new form of anti-free speech liberalism.
A corporation chose to let go of an aging, ratings-challenged has-been who became more trouble than he was worth due to his throwaway insult. Sounds like the free market in action to me.
Your overly dramatic, hand-wringing post was quite amusing though.
"corporation chose to let go of an aging, ratings-challenged has-been who became more trouble than he was worth due to his throwaway insult"
But this is just the start. It's just one big, long slippery slope. You can bet that Media Matters will go after Rush and Savage and Hannity and all the rest now and try to get them off the air. Liberals know that they can't beat conservatives through the market place of ideas, so they have to try to silence them through censorship. Conservatives are the ones who now stand up for free speech, even though it used to be the other way around.
I am a minority Liberal on this issue. I just can't believe the pandering that is going on. It all has to do with the next election. Disgraceful. Just don't let me catch you ever saying there is anything wrong with the military, gangsta rap, "criticizing the president in a time of war" or anything else having to do with free speech like Hannity and others do. I agree with Hannity on what he says on THIS issue about free speech, but he is a hypocrite when someone like Cindy Sheehan or Alec Baldwin exercises their 1st amendment rights. This has shown me there are just as many left wing hypocrites on the free speech issue.
Imus is free as the wind, he can say anything he wants about anything he wants. He just can't force AmericanExpress to pay for it.
MSNBC has said time and time again, the sponsors are not the reason. Any sponsors were cowards for pulling out anyway. MSNBC showed cowardice to fire Imus after supporting him for years. MSNBC allows sponsors who have done far worse than what Imus has done to pay them, so there is no moral component here except hypocracy.
Whatever the reason is, this false outrage by the public is absolutely the most reprehensible thing about it. Shock Jocks are so popular because in polite society, you have to be careful what you say. Comedians and Shock Jocks and rappers say it in a safe space, and give us an outlet for our own thoughts.Imus didn't even imply an inequality of races or sexes with his comment. He was riffing on a Spike Lee film! He is more black than most black people now. At least one black comedian, Patrice Oneal, is far ahead of any other black person on this subject.
Your advocacy, curiously, is more appropriate and stronger for "thought police" than for "freedom of speech". Particularly since freedom of speech is not in peril here, no matter how many times Imus and ilk are fired for slurring, demeaning and debasing others maliciously, and since you view them (Imus and ilk) as justified in that their racism and sexism serve to "give us an outlet for our own thoughts"; you should examine and mend those awful thoughts.
Those are certainly not my thoughts they mouth. Figure out why it would be necessary for you to decry another being as bad, or less than you, to maintain your own self-respect.
Finally, whether you have any success at determining why you wish to enable extremes of verbal assaults, slights and slurs, please tell us all how the Red-State partisans view antagonistic vernacular directed toward themselves, their families, even just their political persuasion. When I lived there, "them's fightin' words" appeared to be a motto lived to the fullest.
Rino,
If your money was going to someone whose speech you didn't agree with would you stop investing with them? This is not an attempt at censorship, but rather a wakeup call to those who support people who make these types of comments. There is a lot of sexism/racism on the airways and the point here is to bring this to light so that we can have an honest discussion about things. If corporations feel like they support the mission/rhetoric of these hosts, they are free to do it. If they feel, once they have seen all of the facts, that they are no longer willing to pay these people to dispense these types of opinions, they should be able to come out against them, right? How is that censorship?
Rino,
The Bush administration is busy having political operatives editing and redacting scientific studies to better fit their "message"
I'm much more concerned about that "free speech" issue than whether some radio personality gets fired for something that would get me fired in a instant if I said it at work.
You're both right. David Brock is clearly after Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Rielly and so on, more because of their politics than because of their "incivility".
However, Imus was and is an aging shock-jock with very low ratings and very narrow market appeal, and became a lot more trouble than he's worth. Brock and Media Matters may feel all full of themselves because they got Imus canned, but Hannity, O'Rielly, and Limbaugh are orders of magnitude more powerful and more popular.
Folks like Brock have been trying to shut conservatives up on Fox and on talk radio and gone after stuff published by Regnery for years. And years. It's not going to happen. And a clear, anti-conservative speech campaign would result in a backlash even from many liberals.
But best of luck to 'em. I'm sure it'll be good for getting donations!
To David Brock:
This needs to stop...It all smacks of Joe McCarthy. What you are doing is shameful and deplorable and must be stopped.
It is your OPINION that these people engage in "bigoted hated speech", which because your pathetic excuse for all out bullying. You clearly do not listen in context. But to millions of others in this country, it resonates as truth - or at least, as entertainment. You are advocating censorship of all who do not share your opinion and agenda.
You should be ashamed.
You don't know the meaning of the word.
Explain to me the context where calling a teenager a dirty prostitute is OK. Go ahead, I can't wait.
I'll take this one. Its ok because if comedians, rappers, artists and shock jocks are going to be allowed to continue entertain us in any way they have been for years, then we have to permit it. Who cares that they are young college students. Whats most offensive is to list their accomplishments as if there is some heirarchy of who people can make fun of.
Listen to Patrice Oneal's opinion on this as well as the Michael Richards controversy. He is a truly enlightened comedian compared to all these pious false leaders. History will judge this as a gross overreaction, and anyone pretending that this will lead to greater respect will find that things will go on as usual, and maybe even incite more people to test the false limits that you so fear to cross.
Its ok because if comedians, rappers, artists and shock jocks are going to be allowed to continue entertain us in any way they have been for years, then we have to permit it.
That is not an explanation of why it's OK in context, that's the crap false equivalence defense again.
Look, if someone's speech offends you, protest it. If you are so concerned about how rappers disrespect black women, complain to Interscope or Captiol Records and start a boycott.
I don't care about Imus - Never listened. What he said is deplorable and indefensible. And I think CBS and MSNBC have every right to let him go. I also have never agreed with Rosie O'Donnell and her outrageous outbursts on "the View", but I don't think she should be fired.
My problem is with David Brock /MMFA celebrating adn even taking credit for Imus's removal from the airwaves...and MMFA's "hit list" of other media personalities that should be removed from the air.
The word or should I say the elusive thing that people seem to be looking for here is JUSTIFACATION folks I hate to be the one to break this to you,there is none.Sorry Val I couldn't resist.
Brock: "Viewers and listeners sent the clear message that they would no longer tolerate bigotry on America's airwaves".
Me: "America's airwaves sent the clear message that they would no longer tolerate bigotry as soon as they heard from General Motors, American Express, Sprint and GlaxoSmithKline".
I agree 100%. Brock's trimuphalism is a little over the top.
Truth is coming out on Media Matters -- they [media matters and the left wing Soros crowd] hate 1st amendment rights. They are particularily threatened by conservative talk radio and Christians over all because they promote Truth and Morality . God help us if Hillary gets in there. Freedoms across the board will be lost.
Please explain and give me examples of any of these commentators promoting the Truth of Jesus. Please tell me about all of their charitable deeds (can't use Imus, we know he does). Please show me their "turn the other cheek" traits, their compassion for the poor, their statements that reflect that "it will be harder for a rich man to get to the Kingdom of Heaven than a camel through the eye of a needle." Please show me their inability to "bear false witness against their neighbors." Please tell me when they stood up against acts of violence brought by war (other than not wanting to go fight). Please show me examples of the love and compassion these men have shown to those who disagree with them.
I will wait for your answers.
Media Matters seems to be advocating censorship of influential conservative figures in the media.
So you're all for muzzling people you don't agree with? Will you be the first in line to call for Bill Maher's firing the next time he denigrates Christians on his HBO show? Will you call for Randi Rhoades' scalp the next time she says horrible things about military recruiters?
Since the November elections, I've seen a virtual feeding frenzy among left-leaning commentators over the mistakes of one Christian pastor named Haggerty. Do you really believe all Evangelical Christians are closet homosexuals and hypocrits just because one high-profile pastor in Denver was?
One pastor screws up, and suddenly all Evangelicals get painted with the same brush. Isn't this sort of generalizing and stereotyping considered hate speech when directed at an official victim group?
Shouldn't Hollywood depictions of Southern White males and Evangelicals be considered hate speech too? "Easy Rider" comes to mind, as does "Fried Green Tomatoes."
What about the black Bigots!!! You never publish anything about them!!
David Brock opined:
"It is our hope that this incident will begin a broader conversation about the responsibility that news corporations, journalists, and media figures have to the American public..."
This indeed will be an enlightening conversation if indeed Mr. Brock makes good on his statement and includes ALL "media figures" to include musicians, artists, and comedians.
Seems to me you can't have it both ways. If certain media figures are given a pass it enables a "satirist" or "media figure" like Imus to make statements like he did regardless if they were done in jest or the dreaded bad joke gone bad.
The question now becomes Mr. Brock will you add record companies to the hit list? I'm all for your crusade, just as long as we chase all the windmill's, not just a select few.
I know it ain't exactly calling someone a "ho" but I think this kind of misogyny is more dangerous because it's not as obvious and easily slides under the radar, while making sure to perpetuate stereotypes:
[link to mrdtalk.com]
Brock, Boortz was right about McKinney. If you would bother to look at her list of campaign contributors and then her voting record, you would have learned that. I am glad she is out and my friend Hank Johnson is in.
And these folks are "editorialists," and not psychologists, psychiatrists, or hard news reporters. All they do is op ed. And entertain. There are plenty I can't listen to because they are bullheaded, strident and boring. But I don't want the government to set up the censorship board. We had a movie censor in Atlanta when I was growing up and the idea of wasting my tax dollars on a board of bureaucrats who are as effective as TSA and FEMA and the Corps of Engineers scares me.
And why did Air America fail? Maybe we need to discover why they failed (although I hope Franken becomes Senator from Minn) instead of rewriting the rules so that everyone drowns in pablum.
It seems as though David Brock and some of you have forgotten that this is America. This is a free capitalist country based on a specific set of rights that are undeniable. People are allowed to do what they want within the law, and if there are enough like-minded people to support such activity, then so be it.
People like David Brock and Al Sharpton are all about free speech as long it supports their own causes. The minute someone speaks out against what they believe in, they want them taken down and quieted. This is similar to the Weather Channel meteorologist who wanted the AMS to revoke the license of any meteorologist that didn't agree with her viewpoint of global warming.
It's stupid.
If people don't agree with you, silence them? Is that what you're saying?
No David Brock, you can't have it both ways. You have the right to express your opinion any way you wish within the law, and so does everyone else.
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are just as guilty of hate speech as Don Imus or Michael Savage, but they all have the right to speak their mind. If you want Imus, Savage, Boortz, Beck, etc. silenced for expressing their honest opinion, then logic dictates that your organization, website, publications and media appearances must be equally silenced. It's all or nothing David.
JMA with one of the first few posts here hit the nail right on the head. It is amusing me, a Conservative, how you morons are gloating over what you think is a victory for the liberal side. Imus is not a conservative. He hates both sides equally, but a majority of his guests were liberal politicians/news folk who were (and are) always eager to spew their drivel over the airwaves. You guys are shooting yourselves in the foot and don't even know it. Parody and satire is an art form. Art is not censored, remember? Isn't censorship something that you are against? There will not be a broader conversation. There is too much money on the line. Another suggestion, stop quoting the talk show hosts out of context, someone may find it offensive.
Add to the list these guys to make your argument semi-beleivable:
Jesse Jackson
Al Sharpton
Al Franken
Bill Maher
K, Olbermann (mr. miniscule ratings)
David Brock may be feeling his oats today, but the talk on the street and on the airwaves is one of disgust for the race-baiting hustlers like Brock and his puppets, Sharpton and Jackson.
Brock and his neofascist blogging ilk have seriously overreached on this one. Keep crying wolf David, people are on to your scheme and they're going to turn your oats into breakfast mush!
Read your article. Not impressed. Free speech is a must for our survival. The band wagon on Don Imus firing is just the beginning. The thought police will be everywhere until one day we will have armed military personnel on our street corners. Your list of abusers in your article failed to mention one leftest individual even though this list would dwarf any conservative list. How about Al Sharpton to begin with. His statements and actions have actually led to the deaths of innocent people. Where is Rosie O'donnell, Bill Maher, Sean Penn, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Jane Fonda, Harry Belafonte etc. The absolute worse of course is John Kerry himself that caused the deaths of 1000's of our own troops and the deaths of countless others in South East Asia and should have been tried for treason. Instead he runs for president, as a democrat. Only in America my friends. Remember, it was the left in this country that fought the equal rights and equal voting rights acts. It was Republican led government that saw to it that these bills passed. The far right ring conspiacy. In this country you are free to say anything, unless it pertains to muslims of course. The constant attack on christians is unrelentling by the left. Free press is only free if it comes from the left. Any view other than their view is to be quieted, period. It is time for a complete overhaul of our political system. It has become way to poisoned.
David Brock, are you going to apologize for almost killing Gov Corzine following his crash en route to a dog and pony show of your making?
Are you going to insist that he be cited for not wearing a seat belt, Mr Culture Cop?
Im sick and tired of the hate and lies perpetrated by the Rabid Rightwing Republicans on TV and radio. I am delighted that Imus is gone.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: In the United States, government is broadly forbidden by the First Amendment of the Constitution from restricting speech. Jurists generally understand this to mean that the government cannot regulate the content of speech, but that it can address the harmful effects of speech through laws such as those against defamation or incitement to riot.
By definition: Hate speech is a controversial term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group of people based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language ability, moral or political views, socioeconomic class, occupation or appearance (such as height, weight, and hair color). The term covers written as well as oral communication and some forms of behaviors in a public setting. It is also sometimes called antilocution and is the first point on Allport's scale which measures prejudice in a society. ( Antilocution means a majority group freely make jokes about a minority group. Speech is in terms of negative stereotypes and negative images. This is also called hate speech. It is commonly seen as harmless by the majority. Antilocution itself may not be harmful, but it sets the stage for more severe outlets for prejudice.)
This is what we have been subjected to for 25 years now. Slowly these negative terms have been allowed, accepted by the majority about the minorities and it only perpetuates predjudice.
Thank you Media Matters for keeping us informed.
So does that mean that you referring to me as a Rabid Right Wing Republican is constituted as hate speech? You are insulting me and my political views. I say you stop right now. What a joke. Hold on to your hats, Americans, we're in for a bumpy ride. Hugo the Conservatives need a lobbying group, and we need it now.
Your opinion offends me. Please, stop expressing your beliefs.
Sounds stupid doesn't it?
Interesting. I happen to agree with 98% of the quotes Brock would like to see the speakers hoisted on the petard for uttering. If that's the best he can come up with to counter the shrill, negative rantings coming from the left he's got a pretty weak case. How about coming up with some conservative quotes along the lines of, oh, "9/11 was an inside job."
40 years ago, liberals proudly claimed, "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I'll die for your right to say it."
That mindset is long gone from the American left.
Today, liberals/progressives are nothing more than petty little European state-socialists and neo-fascists who seek to silence those with whom they disagree...and they'll use both the power of the state thru "hate-speech" laws or the "Fairness Doctrine" as well as brown-shirt street rabble like Sharpton to do it.
Shame on the phony "liberals".
Agreed. The comments here are frightening and clear evidence of Nazi reincarnated under the mandate of Political Correctness. They ooze hate and drip with hypocrisy. The vile hate manifest on this site leaves the impression that these volk would have no problem doing whatever they must to silence their critics forever. Scary, shrill, mean and hysterical bunch that they are.
Governor Corzine would never had been injured had Imus not said these comments maybe the NJ Attorney General could seek criminal charges against Imus!
David Brock would fit right in in almost any totalitarian Muslim nation which silences free speech...if he wasn't a queer.
You and the last couple of posters are such total wingnuts. Liberals are so horrible!! Why? Because you say so...
>>Liberals are so horrible!! Why?<<
You tell me.
Why do today's "liberals" despise free speech and seek to silence those with whom they disagree?
What happened to your '60's mantra of "I disagree with what you say, but I'll die for your right to say it"?? Huuuummmm???
Of course, you have the right to say it, but you don't have the right to have it broadcast on the public airwaves for pay. These people have the right to stand on a street corner and say whatever they like. They just don't have the right to be paid millions of dillars to have it broadcast.
No one makes you listen. They are making money because people like them and tune in. Advertisers know this, and hock their products where the most people tune in. Talk radio is THE ONLY place left in the media to hear the OTHER SIDE., and millions rely on it for exactly that. \
-And that is exactly why you and your cronies hear want to shut them down so badly. Just as the Brits tried to shut down the press in the 1700's. -And Hitler in the 30's.
Just what we need: David Brock deciding what's offensive.
I heard a representative of your organization speaking this morning on NPR regarding the issue of Don Imus and accountability of the racist remarks made by him and others on the airways and the fact that they should be held to task for their impact on others. He spoke about holding radio hosts to a higher standard that is presently required.
My remark is, what about the media and their inpact on the community. What about holding them to higher standards? The media turned this and many other issues into a new demension. The media harass and terrorize people when a story breaks. When is enough enough? In the name of freedom of the press and free speach, the media take issues and completely blow them out of proportion, stalk individuals, over cover issues. Even the Rutgers players said their victory celebration was ruined by the media constantly outside their houses, yelling for comments, not giving them any breathing room, harassing them all weekend, disrupting their privacy.
Yes, people like Don Imus should be held to higher standards, but so should the media!!!
D Corey
I wanted to point out some things that still seem to be missing from this Imus debate. This did not originate in the black community as Imus implied. As usual it's blame the victim! Let's face it, in the first place the word "ho" is black lexicon for the word "whore", which originally stems from white puritanical, victorian ideas about women - which have traditionally attacked and had issues with female sexuality or found ways of curtailing female sexuality and of making women feel ashamed of their bodies. And on the racial side of the argument again black people did not invent the "nappy-headed" insult either. Maybe now more people will begin to understand what black feminists like Dr. Patricia Hill Collins, Dorothy Roberts, Bell Hooks, as well as persons like Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West have been trying to get American society to be aware off for so many years. I think this is a wake up call - especially to the record companies and the entertainment industry who push this type of negative entertainment and who profit from these historically, negative stereotypes. Well maybe now the rappers and rock stars who disrespect women with their music will begin to understand the damage they do to women. Let's not loose site of the fact that women should never be assaulted with such insults as "whore, ho, bitches", etc. whether they are "young ladies" or old women. The thing that bothers me about this whole episode is that every few years there's some hoopla about the "racial divide" and then it dies down and everything goes back to business as unusual.
I think its about time that someone starts cracking down on these conservative talk show hosts. We can't have them on the air getting the truth out to the masses. Someone needs to shut them up if we are ever going to have a chance to control this country. Our plans for a socialist regime will never take root as long as people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz and all those other conservative statesmen reveal our plans to the public.
The term "Ho" is a very derogatory comment. It does 2 things it makes fun of the way black people speak and makes fun of women. Overall I would say it most offensive to black people - basically saying you can have a short form for the word "whore" - suggesting that the term "whore" must be so common in black community that it has a short form. It is really disgusting humor targeted towards a specific audience. The first time I believe Ho was used in mainstream media was by Eddie Murphy in 1981 on nbc saturday night live. Here is the link for wikipedia: [link to en.wikipedia.org] Murphy did a skit "So you wanna be a Ho".
God forbid we "make fun."
Feelings may be hurt!
I'll be the first to admit that I saw the Eddie Murphy skits in high school and my friends and I repeated them and laughed about it. I would say it is derogatory to a black person and the black community. But I would never say that someone shouldn't be allowed to say it or shouldn't be allowed to joke about it. What I'm saying is that Eddie Murphy and NBC could very well have been the original cause of the word Ho and then NBC turns around and fires Imus for using a term THEY helped make mainstream !
Time to get the rest of them off the public airwaves. Coulter, Limbaugh, Savage Weiner, all of them. Feh. They're obscene.
No matter how often anyone accuses liberals of fascism, you fail to undo the reality of a few important facts:
1. The first amendment does not prevent a corporation from firing emplyees.
2. Neither does it prevent citizens from complaining about the actions and words of such emplyees on television.
3. Since Imus was only fired from TV; he still has radio and can write a book if he wants.
4. Being on TV is a privilege, not a right! Most people are not there, but that doesn't mean their free speech is violated. David Brock, for example, does not have his own TV show.
5. The way you express something in such a limited medium as TV matters very much. If someone can't use some common courtesy, they should be on Comedy Central or a similar unimportant network.
6. Calling someone fascist and pro-censorship instead of making a valid argument is plain cheap.
7. One of you (haters?) discredited himself by agreeing with the opinion (Boortz) that a certain state representative looks like "a ghetto sl*t". He also admitted to liking the guy who replaced her. (Conflict of interests...?)
8. Saying something on a CD (rappers) or a book is very different from saying something on MSNBC!
9. Imus does not disagree with liberals. Therefore, liberals were not silencing him but, in fact, being even-handed.
10. The firing of Imus was based on the two conservative virtues of personal responsibility and free market capitalism. Consumers complained, MSNBC acted. Just because you guys don't agree with it, you call Brock and other liberals fascists!
11. All MMFA did was document Imus' words.
12. You provided no example from thw "shrill, negative rantings" coming from the left. I'm assuming you can't think of any. Too Bad! Maybe there are none (to speak of)...
If I think of more, I'll mention them.
The Imus incident has released a visible uproar in our contemporary society. Finally, the matter of decency in pop culture is being addressed albeit through the serious error of a shock jock DJ who called the African American members of a rising woman's basketball team at Rutger's University in New Jersey "nappy headed hoes." The Imus incident is bigger than Imus himself because his racist and misogynous words touched a nerve exposing vulgarity in pop culture and more specifically in hip-hop culture where said categorization of black women is commonly iterated by rap/hip-hop artists in their lyrics, music videos, and movies. Was Imus an indication of the ongoing extraction of black culture by whites? Perhaps, but the complaint against Imus cannot stop with him as he did not invent the derogatory description of black women himself, but rather echoed the attitude against black women regularly epitomized in rap/hip-hop. So, Imus, currently the product of a witch hunt, and rightfully so, is not the sole violator. The black artists who portray their women and themselves (yes, the black women) in such negative terms have to hold themselves accountable. Otherwise, what is the point of making Imus an example if our own African American community continues to demonize our black women by having them wear scantily clad clothes and excessive make-up, portraying our women as uneducated and emotive, and lacking decency? We all make mistakes and have made mistakes. However, the Imus incident has presented an opportunity to start anew. So let’s keep the momentum going and work on cleaning up our rap/hip-hop act for the sake of our race and our women. As a member of the Baha’i Faith, the only religion to explicitly establish women and men as equals and to proclaim the oneness of humanity and to embrace the unity of humanity through its diversity, I hope that we will all reflect on how to raise the status of African American women and recognize them as viable and respectable contributors of our society. Reflect on this Baha’i teaching:
“The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary.”
Baha’i FaithBlack families have been complaining for years about the lyrics and the slackness that Hip Hop entails. The record labels are doing their utmost to pollute our airwaves with their rubbish. It is the record labels executives’, others in the entertainment industry and other industries that are willing to pay “Top dollar for Top Trash”. They are enriching themselves and a few emissaries while destroying the fabric and the psyche of our children.
Many people in positions of power have heard the lyrics, if not directly, but from their children. Nothing was done and it wasn’t done by design. Instead, we have Carl Rove aka MC Rove mimicking a Black man on stage, receiving laughter and the applause of the media who only advised him to keep his day job. So who was MC Rove imitating on stage, Ludicris, 50Cent, or Lil Wayne? Some will say that a good time was been had, but it was MC Rove giving free advertising and credibility to the torrents of filth found in most Hip Hop lyrics. If the outrageous lyrics were not directed at Black women but at White women, White people or any other ethnic group within the White population, Hip Hop would never be what it is todayWhat Don Imus said and did last week was highly innappropriate and insensitive, but not a firable offense. He apologized, he took responsibility and he owned up to his mistakes. He even made arrangements to meet with the Rutgers team this evening to explain himself.
I would agree with you if Don Imus was not a repeat offender. He is, and it goes a long way back, and it continues despite his pledge to stop. In 2000 he promised a guest, Clarence Page he would no longer make "jokes" using derogatory terms towards black people, female people and people of other races. He could not keep his pledge. Imus insulted Gwen Ifill saying isn't great they [NBC] let the cleaning lady cover the White House. Imus is a shock jock. His termination comes with the territory as does his stick.
I'm not in favor of calling for people's jobs because of bigoted or rude or innappropriate language. I believe every sincere person should get three chances. The reason Imus is different is because he had, over two decades, at least four episodes of telling bigoted and insulting jokes.
While we are all senstitive to the chilling effect of self-censorship due to PC influence, ultimately it is the sponsors who decided whether Imus would stay or go. It's business. CBS radio produces it and the sponsors cover the costs and the profits.
Imus will reclaim his career, he's done it before.
I abhor Bill Donahue's method of operation (CEO of President of Catholic League for civil and religious rights of Catholics.) He is either calling for someone's dismissal or boycotting because he feels they have insulted him. Is that christian? For example, the John Edwards campaign workers and the Jesus sculpture in last Easter.
Let's put this in perspective.
Don Imus' comments were a stupid take-off on a theme from a Spike Lee movie. A very misguided attempt at humor.
He was not doing so from a hateful perspective. That's the way it sounded to a lot of people.
Imus as an experienced broadcaster should have known better and has taken responsibility for that.
Imus' humorous intentions do not constitute an excuse and he has not tried to make that argument.
Let's not lump Imus in with the foul bigots like Mel Gibson and Bill O'Reilly.
Imus's comments were inappropriate, stupid, misguided insensitive and simply not funny. So...
We just had a national uproar over a bad joke. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton got their pound of flesh.
Now get over it.
This may constitute being overenthusiastic, but I assume if no one aswered my post, I made a good point, and the guys I was talking to have no working anwer...
PS. I totally forgot about Mel Gibson
David Brock is the same guy who said Anita Hill is "a little bit nutty, a little bit sl*tty." That was both sexist and racist. Brock is clearly not the right person to be leading this effort.
MMFA forgot to mention that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann compared Kenneth Starr to a Nazi. Olbermann also attacks the troops and their commander and chief on a daily basis. He should be fired.
Believe David Brock at your own risk.
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/col/horo/2002/04/17/brock/index.html
I have a hunch that Brock is secretly laughing at all you liberals who now cite him as an authority. He's an admitted liar. You're being snookered.
Kevin Groenhagen, USMC
Well, Horowitz as far as I know is not the most liberal of people, if you catch my drift. He also seems to have a minor problems with Homosexuals...
and, you know, the line "Brock's gay editor responds" is not really helping.
Furthermore, Brock has admitted that what he did in the 90s was wrong, and he has apologized to the people he lied about (Hill and the Clintons). That's something you can't say about, say, Coulter or Limbaugh.
Besides, we don't have to believe Brock. We can check the facts whenever we feel like it. The only ones we really have to believe sometimes (definitely at our risk) are the Bush administration. However, Congree has now decided to check the facts, which the administration has decided they want to prevent...
Kaleun reveals some fundamental Liberal modus operandi:
1. Immediately discredit the source
2. Liberals are not to be held liable for their transgressions as long as they "apologize"....you know, like a Mike Nifong style it's-not-my-fault apology
3. It's only a lie if you get caught lying.......Nice
April 15, 2007 -- Author, musician and former Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman has been friends with Don Imus since 1975, when they met on stage at The Bottom Line.
I MET Imus on the gangplank of Noah's Ark. He was then and remains today a truth-seeking missile with the best bull-meter in the business.
Far from being a bully, he was a spiritual chop-buster never afraid to go after the big guys with nothing but the slingshot of ragged integrity. I watched him over the years as he struggled with his demons and conquered them. This was not surprising to me.
Imus came from the Great Southwest, where the men are men and the emus are nervous. And he did it all with something that seems, indeed, to be a rather scarce commodity these days. A sense of humor.
There's no excusing Imus' recent ridiculous remark, but there's something not kosher in America when one guy gets a Grammy and one gets fired for the same line.
The Matt Lauers and Al Rokers of this world live by the cue-card and die by the cue-card; Imus is a rare bird, indeed - he works without a net. When you work without a net as long as Imus has, sometimes you make mistakes.
Wavy Gravy says he salutes mistakes. They're what makes us human, he claims. And humanity beyond doubt, is what appears to be missing from this equation. If we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves, to laugh at each other, to laugh together, then the PC world has succeeded in diminishing us all.
Political correctness, a term first used by Joseph Stalin, has trivialized, sanitized and homogenized America, transforming us into a nation of chain establishments and chain people.
Take heart, Imus. You're merely joining a long and legendary laundry list of individuals who were summarily sacrificed in the name of society's sanctimonious soul: Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, Joan of Arc, Mozart and Mark Twain, who was decried as a racist until the day he died for using the N-word rather prolifically in "Huckleberry Finn."
Speaking of which, there will always be plenty of Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons around. There will be plenty of cowardly executives, plenty of fair-weather friends, and plenty of Jehovah's Bystanders, people who believe in God but just don't want to get involved. In this crowd, it could be argued that we need a Don Imus just to wake us up once in a while.
There probably isn't a single one of Imus' vocal critics who come anywhere close to matching his record of philanthropy or good acts on this earth.
Judge a man by the size of his enemies, my father used to say. A man who, year after year, has raised countless millions of dollars and has fought hand-to-hand to combat against childhood cancer, autism, and SIDS - well, you've got a rodeo clown who not only rescues the cowboy, but saves the children as well.
I believe New York will miss its crazy cowboy and America will miss the voice of a free-thinking independent-minded, rugged individualist. I believe MSNBC will lose many viewers and CBS radio many listeners.
Too bad for them. That's what happens when you get rid of the only guy you've got who knows how to ride, shoot straight and tell the truth.
We're becoming a nation of pussies and money whores.
What ever happened to earning your living instead of preying on the mistakes of others?
Grow a pair and say "Words are just Words" and get on with your life.
Jeeeez