Enough Imus
By Michael J.W. Stickings
Damn. I didn't want to post anything more on The Great Imus Outrage of Historical Proportions, the story of stories (along with The Great Bahamanian Paternity Test of Our Time), but, just when I thought I'd had my say, I succumb to temptation at this late hour and post more. More. MORE!
But I'll make it quick.
Edwards believes in forgiveness, and is keeping his options open, but Hillary is righteous in her outrage and Obama thinks he ought to be fired.
And he has been. Sort of. MSNBC, lack of integrity still firmly intact, has announced that it will no longer simulcast radio show. Which begs the question: Why was it simulcasting his show? Ratings? I don't know. Money? Clearly. And yet Imus has a long history of bigoted speech. So why now? Because it got too hot for MSNBC. Before, when no one was paying much attention, it was more than happy to take the money and let Imus spew his filth.
Is what Imus said worse that what is, say, rapped? Yes, in a way. On that I agree with Atrios, our own Mustang Bobby over at Shakesville, and various others. This was a personal attack.
And yet this is not to excuse rap and the hip-hop culture. Far from it. On this I agree with Kevin Drum: "A slur aimed at specific people is obviously different than a generic slur in a rap song, but it's not that different. If one is offensive, so is the other, and it's hard to argue that the cesspool of misogyny in contemporary rap has no effect on the wider culture. It's not that this excuses what Imus did. It's just the opposite. If we're justifiably outraged by what Imus said, shouldn't we be just as outraged with anybody else who says the same thing, regardless of their skin color?"
Yes, absolutely.
And that is all. I've had enough.
Damn. I didn't want to post anything more on The Great Imus Outrage of Historical Proportions, the story of stories (along with The Great Bahamanian Paternity Test of Our Time), but, just when I thought I'd had my say, I succumb to temptation at this late hour and post more. More. MORE!
But I'll make it quick.
Edwards believes in forgiveness, and is keeping his options open, but Hillary is righteous in her outrage and Obama thinks he ought to be fired.
And he has been. Sort of. MSNBC, lack of integrity still firmly intact, has announced that it will no longer simulcast radio show. Which begs the question: Why was it simulcasting his show? Ratings? I don't know. Money? Clearly. And yet Imus has a long history of bigoted speech. So why now? Because it got too hot for MSNBC. Before, when no one was paying much attention, it was more than happy to take the money and let Imus spew his filth.
Is what Imus said worse that what is, say, rapped? Yes, in a way. On that I agree with Atrios, our own Mustang Bobby over at Shakesville, and various others. This was a personal attack.
And yet this is not to excuse rap and the hip-hop culture. Far from it. On this I agree with Kevin Drum: "A slur aimed at specific people is obviously different than a generic slur in a rap song, but it's not that different. If one is offensive, so is the other, and it's hard to argue that the cesspool of misogyny in contemporary rap has no effect on the wider culture. It's not that this excuses what Imus did. It's just the opposite. If we're justifiably outraged by what Imus said, shouldn't we be just as outraged with anybody else who says the same thing, regardless of their skin color?"
Yes, absolutely.
And that is all. I've had enough.
Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, music, racism, sexism, talk radio
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
1:07 AM
3 Comments:
Am I the only one who didn't follow this story at all? Imus is a jerk, like we didn't know that already?
Yeah it was ugly, but the world can be a ugly place. It drives me crazy when a stray slur from a die-hard bigot can dominate the news cycle for so long while there are so many more important events that should be occupying our attention.
By
Libby Spencer, at 12:07 PM
That was certainly my point in my first (and only other) post on the Imus slur. He has a history of making racist and sexist remarks. Hence this particular incident should have come as no surprise.
And yet his past slurs haven't gotten nearly the attention this one got. Why? Well, perhaps because of the distinction between a personal attack and a more generic slur. If I may be blut, it's one thing to refer to "niggers" in a rap song. It's quite another to call someone a "nigger". And that's essentially what happened here. His slur was directed at real people. More, it was directed at mini-celebrities. The Rutgers basketball team has been in the news because of its success this year.
Plus, Imus isn't just some random morning shock jock. He's a big-timer, on CBS Radio and (until his "firing") simulcast on MSNBC (whatever its lame ratings, a major cable news outlet). And nor is he someone like Howard Stern. Like him or not, Howard Stern is what he is, knows what he is, and does what he does. He occasionally dabbles in politics, but we all know where his preferences lie. And I respect him for that. But Imus wants mainstream political credibility. Where Stern interviews the usual array of freaks, Imus interviews many of the leading figures in American politics and media: McCain, Kerry, Rich, Dowd, Russert, etc. What does it say about them that they go on his show? Even now people like Edwards and Biden are keeping their options open.
Of course the story isn't nearly as important as Iraq or Darfur or global warming, but in a way it speaks to how the culture of the Washington-New York corridor works. (And this is also why I find the story so annoying -- it's so much an insiders' thing that has little bearing on most Americans' lives. Although I'm impressed at the harsh response Imus has received -- which shows how far America has come with respect to racism and sexism -- it's not like the story has prompted a serious discussion of sexism and racism in American society. It's not OJ.
But the other issue is the one Jon Stewart brought up last night in a hilarious opening segment. The mainstream news media have lost all sense of proportion and self-respect. It's a product of the 24/7 news cycle and the debasement of the culture generally, I suppose, but the import bestowed on this story and the Anna Nicole paternity story show where the media's priorities are. The American people want to be fed trash, as Daniel suggests, and the media are more than happy to oblige. It's the drug that allows us to self-forget, to avoid the serious issues that challenge us and make our lives difficult (but also rewarding and ultimately meaningful). And the cycle is self-reinforcing to the point where real issues like health care and education are relegated to the periphery, or to one-hour specials during which the media can feel good about themselves for doing some seemingly hard news before returning to the eternal recurrence of trash.
Anyway, none of this is to say that I disagree with you, Libby. It is a truly annoying and overblown story.
By
Michael J.W. Stickings, at 12:46 PM
Good points Michael and eloquent as always.
I'm also impressed at the breadth of the public outcry against bigotry certainly but frankly, the First Amendment supporter in me makes me want to defend his right to be a jerk, even an influential one. I want all these hatemongers to be disenfranchised but I want to be because people just stop listening to them instead of making them bigger celebrities by condemning them. I'm thinking it only rallies his supporters and perpetuates the whole hatemongering mindset.
At this point though, I'll just be glad when it blows over. I really tired of seeing his face all over the place. He's always creeped me out.
By
Libby Spencer, at 4:14 PM
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