This sad situation has played out to its inevitable end this afternoon, with CBS radio firing Don Imus from his show. I will stress again that I am NOT a fan of the I-Man, or the sycophants on his show. However, how what happened to him can be seen as anything other than a witch hunt is beyond me. That two racist, race-baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson can be considered arbiters of anyone else's behaviour is beyond me. That Imus' foul comments merited his losing his job (while he was in the midst of raising money for a ranch where he hosts kids who have cancer no less) while black rappers and comedians use language that blows away anything Imus ever said is beyond me. That Keith Olbermann did everything but cackle with glee as he announced Imus' firing by MSNBC and then listed "who's next" and no one said a word to him is beyond me. That all of the various talking heads--Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, Andrea Mitchell, Pat Buchanan, etc., etc.--who used his show to promote books, appearances, and the like, watched this whole circus over the last week and said nothing is beyond me.
All in all, I am completely disgusted............
P.S. For a viewpoint that is out of the mainstream (but does come from an African American), see this great piece from Jason Whitlock, a sportswriter in Kansas City and a semi-regular on ESPN's The Sports Reporters: http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/66339.html
2 comments:
I'm still waiting for Jackson to get censured or otherwise admonished for leading the witch hunt against the Duke Lacrosse players. While I think Nifong will ultimately get what's coming to him for ruining these three players' lives, Jackson seems to be getting off scott free. Talk about teflon coated....
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton seem to get away with saying and doing things far worse than what Don Imus did, but that has always been the case. And if you try to say that they should be accountable, well then, you are OBVIOUSLY a racist.
Sigh........
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