Digital Sportspage Blog

Let me begin by saying that I don’t condone, endorse, nor respect the insensitive and stupid comments made by Don Imus about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team. I have never listened to Imus’ show, at least not any longer than a short clip here or there, so I can’t really speak to a percieved character of the man either. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. I’m infuriated by the hypocrisy that surrounds this issue; not because I want a subjective standard of ‘decency’ applied more frequently, but rather because I don’t think it should exist at all.

For Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, the unelected and FAR FROM PERFECT (see: http://www.larryelder.com/ascrimes.html; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/jackson.htm) ‘leaders’ of the black community to lead a charge to get Imus ousted from his job is the height of hypocrisy. Not only do both these men have EXTENSIVE histories of using racial/ethnic slurs against whites, jews, and others, but they say nothing of the MILLIONS of records sold by black artists that feature lyrics far more massogonist and inflammatory than anything Imus could even DREAM of saying. If they want to ‘clear the airwaves’ of biggoted and racially insensitive language, a good place to start is the hip-hop stations playing this music. Of course, they would never do that. Too much money is made by hip-hop artists and record producers; Jackson and Sharpton would never jeapordize those ‘constituents’. If it’s offensive, the same standard should be applied everywhere…but it isn’t.

If Imus deserves to be fired for this stupid comment, then Jackson deserves to be ignored and cast to obscurity for calling NY ‘Hymietown’. Jackson and Sharpton make a living inciting racial conflict; they aren’t in it to SOLVE the problem; they’re in it to get heard and get cash. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of true black leaders in the press, politics, and entertainment industries that don’t prey on the worst in us all in order to make a living, but rather focus on driving the entire country towards true equality. Isn’t it time we stopped rewarding people that seek to divide us?

More importantly, while Imus’ sad attempt at a joke was insensitive, stupid and not funny, he should have the right to say it. He should also have the right to apologize and move on. Outrage at his comments is understandable; seeking to ensure that anyone who says things you disagree with on television or radio is forever muted is censhorship. Personally, I don’t want a media where only the Politically Correct views are shared, because who decides what that is? It’s OK to make fun of your own race? It’s OK to use disgusting racial slurs and massagonistic rhetoric if your rapping, or as long as you’re black? It’s OK to call others whatever you want if your part of a minority that has endured worse? Congratulations, that policy will only re-inforce the double-standard you claim to be trying to erradicate.

My definition of prejudice (Racism/Sexism/Class-ism) is “changing your behavior based solely upon someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation etc.” That includes ‘positive’ behavioral changes. Making a joke at the expense of one race while holding back from another is to reinforce the double-standard. Giving someone a job BECAUSE they’re gay, or DESPITE their being gay, is equally as prejudice as denying them that job. Sure, they get the ‘opportunity’, but they lose the dignity of knowing that it was the “content of their character not the color of their skin” that earned them their opportunity. Equality means treating everyone with the same respect, compassion and dignity you expect for yourself.

Imus shouldn’t be considered a martyr at the foot of Free Speech, nor should his firing be mourned other than by those who recognize that it’s another sign of a significant change in this country. A push toward tapping phones, video-taping everyone’s move, recording every conversation, monitoring every email, and using the power of oppression OR money to control the standards of ‘decency’ for the entire country. You can’t say that; I can. You can’t do that; I can. You can’t believe that. You can’t smoke that. You can’t listen to that. You can’t create that. You can’t show that. You can’t watch that. You can’t hear that. You can’t eat that. You can’t drink that. You can’t sleep with him/her. You can’t love him/her. You can’t marry him/her. You can’t…Freedom hurts. It hurts because it means screaming what we believe at the top of our lungs while granting our mortal enemy the ability to scream the opposite at the top of theirs. Ultimately, it should mean that unless you are harming others (in a substantive way) you should be free to do it.

Didn’t these comments harm the Rutger’s Women? Sure, I know they had their feelings hurt and were stripped of the opportunity to truly enjoy what should have been a highlight of their lives and a crowning achievement in their sports careers. But who really hurt them? The words of a dim-witted, barely breathing, crusty old guy, or the swarm of media attention paid to it because of the protest? Call me whatever you want after reading this; the only way you can really hurt me is to prevent my right to type it at all.