So I'm sure everyone knows how Imus called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos". And obviously it is extremely sexist and racist and is really something that should never be said by anyone, no matter the context. But the hubbub over all of this got me thinking about what Don Imus has done in the past. And looking back the guy has run the gamut of racial slurs and just generally insulting people. Let's have a sampling of some of the best of the worst of Don Imus:
-On Janet Reno's Parkinson's Disease: "I don't know how she gets that lipstick on"
-On Jews: "I remember when I first had [the Blind Boys of Alabama] on a few years ago, how the Jewish management at whatever, whoever we work for, CBS, or whatever it is, were bitching at me about it. [...] I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand."
-On a particular Jew, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post: "Boner-nosed … beanie-wearing Jewboy."
-On the New York Knicks: "Chest-thumping pimps"
-On the job description of producer Bernard McGuirk: "To tell nigger jokes"
-On William Rhoden of the New York Times: "He's a quota hire"
A cowboy hat? Really? Way to fit a stereotype Don
There's definitely more where that came from, and as you can tell, Don Imus is not the most considerate man around. And while he's done some noble things like raise money for charity and recently was a leading advocate in calling out the government for its poor treatment of veterans at Walter Reed, the stuff that comes out of his mouth is inexcusable. But my problem with all of this, including the two-week suspension, MSNBC dropping the televised broadcast of his show, and now the complete firing of Imus, is why do it now. This Rutgers stuff is benign compared to past transgressions. How can you punish Imus now after letting him slide for so long with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The fact that he's been on the air for so long and gotten such notoriety on television is because he's controversial. NBC and CBS radio knew this guy was going to say stuff like this, so if you're so against it, why put him on the air in the first place? Imus has been pulling stuff like this for 20 years and no one has ever made this big of a deal about it. So why now?
I feel bad for the Rutgers women's basketball team because they had nothing to do with this and got dragged into it by a racist radio host (For the record I also feel bad for them because they play women's basketball...does that make me sexist? I don't know but I do know that the single worst thing in life is having to watch women play basketball). And don't tell me Imus isn't racist. I don't know if he's sexist but I do know he's racist. This wasn't a one-time deal, he's notorious for this as I showed above with his notable quotables. But the blame for this ordeal should be equally doled out amongst Imus and the people who sign his paycheck.
But I found this little truth nugget courtesy of our good friend Snoop Dogg justifying what is said in rap and how it's completely different from what Imus has said. If there's one thing that's for sure in this whole mess it's this: Snoop definitely loves the cheeba. Now whether Don Imus should watch his back, I'll leave that up to you:
"[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing shit, that’s trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain’t no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we in the same league as him.
I just love putting pictures of Snoop on this blog.
Long live the Dogg.
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