Richard_Hom said:
I wasn't sure where to put this but how do people feel about Mr Imus' most recent (gaff)?
Imus ranted and raved when Harold Ford Jr recently lost his Senate race due to, as Imus believed, racial reasons. Former Congressman Ford, who is black, was by some folks estimation (including Imus') the better candidate for the Senate Seat in Tennessee. Imus repeatedly has expressed his disgust for the fact that race, rather than ability, seems to have, in his opinion, affected the outcome of this particular election.
Imus also pointed out the racial and social inequities illustrated by Hurricane Katrina. He repeatedly slamented how unfortunate it was that if Hurricane Katrina had struck a rich, white area that the Federal Government and other rescue services would have had a more timely and effective response, while, in his opinion, the predominantly poor and black residents had been essentially ignored.
Not stances you would expect someone who is racially intolerant to espouse.
If you listen (well, listened to...past tense) to his program you would probably get to know that underneath the acerbic and sometimes offensive 'humor', there is a very informative and in depth political and social discourse.
As for the jokes, parody and skits that they feature on their show, they are equal opportunity offenders. Whether they are mocking politicians, celebrities, women, gays, blacks, hispanics, catholics, rich people, fat people, stupid people, or, most importantly, themselves...no one is immune from their 'humor'. He regularly refers to Hillary Clinton as, "Satan" and evil, and Dick Cheny as, "a war criminal". The derogatory comments that each of the show members hurl towards one another, and especially the host Don Imus (they often state how anxious they are for him to drop dead), are as offensive as you can imagine, but they are taken in stride because of their context...parody and humor.
The fact is that what he said was offensive, especially considering that the targets of this gaff were apparently very talented and smart women. But the old saying about 'sticks and stones' may have some place in this discussion. It was not the school president, or coach, or professor, or mentor...anyone who holds sway in these women's lives who said these things to these women. That would be permanantly damaging. It was an aging talk show host who made a flippant and inappropriate comment trying to get a laugh who went too far.
In this day and age, when Rush Limbaugh can call the Duke accuser a 'ho' (and mean it), and Ann Coulter can call John Edwards a fa&&ot [please forgive the uncouth examples, but these two just about floored me when I heard them], and the hubbub dies down in a matter of hours, I wonder where the line is supposed to be drawn, and why we go after some folks, but leave others relatively unscathed.
Were Imus' comments ugly and inappropriate? Absolutely. Do they merit this kind of attention? I didn't think so...But I've been wrong before.
Just my two cents.
AA
) to denounce his racist comments, and indirectly swayed his employer to can him. 
