Imus Fired from CBS Radio Too!

[TheRook]

A couple things that stand out to me. I was never a fan of or against Imus. I knew who he was and heard him a few times but that was it.

I really can't believe he got fired for what he said. There is no doubt that what he said was wrong because whether you think it did or should have, it obviously hurt/affected some people in the wrong way. I saw an interview on Cold Pizza this morning where the guy said "Hey, there is no doubt the comment was wrong but what you had here was a 66 year old white man trying to be hip-hop and use the street, hood and rap lingo that african americans use daily. It came off horrible but i don't think he said it with premeditated intent on hurting people".

I tend to agree with that 100%. The problem in all the arguments here is to me, people seem to be taking their sides based on whether or not they liked Imus to begin with. I could quote many posts while reading here that show me their dislike for Imus played a big part in how they think this should be treated.

IMO there is NO DOUBT that there is a double standard out there with talk of race. Considering a black man can say what he wants about his race and a white man can't without being a racist is unthinkable to me at times. It doesn't matter to me what your skin color is. A racial slur is a racial slur, no matter who says it.

What happened to "Rehab"? Anybody??

A black man on Grey's Anatomy can make gay slurs, which is another hot topic in this country and he does it twice, not once. Why was he simply sent to counseling while keeping his job when the gay & lesbian alliance was on the war path??

Michael Richards can't even be compared (IMO). What he did/said was just a total anger filled racist rant. There is no explaning that one or making excuses for it. The comedy act ended when that rant started and he went on and on and on.

I also can't believe CBS fired him and didn't do it right away if they were going to. It wasn't because of ethical beliefs on their part because they would have done it right away. It was financial pressure and nothing more.

We could discuss others who have done much more and received much less of a punishment. If you hate Imus, you think this is great. I dont like him and i don't hate him but to me, "Nappy haired hoes" are 3 words that didn't by any means deserve a guy who has been on radio for 30 years to get fired. I have seen him apologize to everyone and yes, i know he "Has to" but he seems pretty sincere to me through this whole thing.

The fact they fired him during a great cause while raising a ton of money for kids was almost just as tasteless imo.

that is soooooooo well put

[TheRook]

When the sponsers started to stray after they got pressure from the African Amercian community, that sent up a red flag......CBS probably did the right thing with the suspension and doing it AFTER the radio thon was the right move....but then MSNBC did they're thing, and it was a no win situation for CBS right then and there.

I think if they were going to do it, it should have been done Monday after the radio-thon not yesterday.

I agree Wayne...very classless on CBS's part.

If MSNBC doesn't pull the plug, CBS stands firm IMO on what they were intending to do which was just suspend him, which I think would be fair.

It went toally and completely overboard, and as I was afraid of....it cost a man his career for now.

[Ldawg]

I just as soon they threw the Whole Lot of them in the shit can .... Imus, Stern ,Mancow and Lindbaugh . Matter of fact I wish it had been Lindbaugh that pill poppin' Bastage ....


Give me Paul Harvey anyday ... and now for Page 2 !

[Lsufan]

I just as soon they threw the Whole Lot of them in the shit can .... Imus, Stern ,Mancow and Lindbaugh . Matter of fact I wish it had been Lindbaugh that pill poppin' Bastage ....


Give me Paul Harvey anyday ... and now for Page 2 !

[mgm1977]

There's more Hispanics in the USA now than blacks so I guess they will be making waves next?

thats my opinion its a victory for african americans it proves nothing firing him he has a lot of money and someone will hire him eventually.so really what did all this prove al sharpton is a powerful man and that the hole public fears him.

[GOLDENGREEK]

Chris Rock is a comedian so that's different.

Let us know about the check going to Rutgers from CBS/MSNBC.

STERN AND IMUS COULD EASILY BE CONSIDERED COMEDIANS ESECIALLY STERN

[KazDog]

So you would prefer to accept this double standard then to open dialogues and possibly change? Since you say it's ok for black comedians to say/do one thing, but not ok for white comedians to do the same.
And Imus wasn't "joking" around?
I'm sure next you'll have me supporting slavery too.

Being a comedian is part of creative licensing. People understand that going in. It's why comedians are considered part of the 'performing arts.'. Being a radio talk show host like Rush Limbaugh or Imus does not give you such creative license. You can't compare the two. People listen to comedians as a form of escapism but when people listen to Imus or Limbaugh, they are more apt to believe and ingest their comments as factual and truthful. They have a much greater influence on public perception. When they make racist, hate filled comments, it only fuels division between whites and blacks in this country.

White people who say, "why is there a double standard for blacks and whites?," have not asked themselves one simple question. When were white people slaves in this country and not allowed many freedoms that a certain class of citizens are allowed? How often have white people been discriminated against comparatively?

Now, as far as Imus being fired. I don't believe the penalty fit the crime. His suspension and subsequent apology was enough. Advertisers pulling out was ultimately his demise, for better or worse.

KAZ

[savage1]

Being a comedian is part of creative licensing. People understand that going in. It's why comedians are considered part of the 'performing arts.'. Being a radio talk show host like Rush Limbaugh or Imus does not give you such creative license. You can't compare the two. People listen to comedians as a form of escapism but when people listen to Imus or Limbaugh, they are more apt to believe and ingest their comments as factual and truthful. They have a much greater influence on public perception. When they make racist, hate filled comments, it only fuels division between whites and blacks in this country.

White people who say, "why is there a double standard for blacks and whites?," have not asked themselves one simple question. When were white people slaves in this country and not allowed many freedoms that a certain class of citizens are allowed? How often have white people been discriminated against comparatively?

Now, as far as Imus being fired. I don't believe the penalty fit the crime. His suspension and subsequent apology was enough. Advertisers pulling out was ultimately his demise, for better or worse.

KAZ

Although I agree with a lot of what you say, I do think that in this instance at least, that if there are racial repercussions because of what Imus said, they are NOT because of what Imus said per se but because of the attention brought to it by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Comments like Imus made are made and heard a zillion times a day by every day regular folks in their every day talk;some of it is meant in jest and some(if a person is a real racist) is made seriously.
My point is that if the remarks made by Imus were simply considered in the same way that everyday folks talk among themselves,ie just words emanating from someone's mouth,, they would have been heard and then quickly forgotten, and people would have gone back to their everyday lives.
Conversely, when in this case a few folks of the Black Community make a HUGE deal out of it and broadcast their feelings all over the airwaves, that in effect let a lot more people know about it(remember there are zillions of folks who don't watch Imus and would not have know of the remarks).
If one believes/considers that the Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of the world have a profound influence on the thinking of the public in this case Black Community, then I suggest that they must shoulder a good deal of the blame for any increased racial hatred which might ensue because of the remarks made.
When you consider that Imus was fired because in effect too many sponsors pulled out because of not wanting to be associated with someone like Imus who might now be perceived as a racist, it pisses of a lot of the folks who enjoyed listening to him, many of whom are White.
Many of these people who are angry about the show being cancelled will blame Sharpton and Jackson, both Black, for the show's cancellation, and if anything those feelings will carry over to the Black Community in general.
Thus, in my opinion we have a situation where a dumb, ill founded remark could was blown way out of proportion to its worth, and that those individuals mentioned above as stated earlier are the ones who ultimately are responsible for any increased racial tensions and hatred.

[gbell]

White people who say, "why is there a double standard for blacks and whites?," have not asked themselves one simple question. When were white people slaves in this country and not allowed many freedoms that a certain class of citizens are allowed? How often have white people been discriminated against comparatively?
KAZ

So according to your "logic:, let me pose a question. At what point are the "crimes of the past" sufficiently paid in full? What happened in the past happened. No one is trying to deny that. But to use it as a crutch for every future generation is insane. Will there be a point in time, when according to Kaz, enough "reparations" have been made to pay for white guilt? What is the number of white people(whatever Kaz # that is) that need to be "comparatively" discriminated against for things to be even?

[KazDog]

Actions by past generations validate comments like this that racism and discrimination continue to exist in this country. To answer your question, it can't be paid in full. And should NEVER be forgotten. I don't believe blacks should be 'given' anything they don't deserve. But racist comments by public figures only make matters worse and cause us to go backwards and not forwards.

KAZ

[gbell]

Actions by past generations validate comments like this that racism and discrimination continue to exist in this country. To answer your question, it can't be paid in full. And should NEVER be forgotten. I don't believe blacks should be 'given' anything they don't deserve. But racist comments by public figures only make matters worse and cause us to go backwards and not forwards.

KAZ

Do past actions validate his comments, or does the coarsening of society, as well as the "pity" party CONSTANTLY being played, make things go backwards?

I haven't heard or read of ONE person who has vaildated his comments and agreed with them. Nor have I ever heard anyone deny the existence of slavery.

And since you are ok with the double standard as long as it's used for "creatice license", who decides what is "creative" or not? I find most shows on TV are expressions of "creative license", so according to you, all TV shows can use the same language heard on A LOT of music. (regardless of genre)

And lastly, since you don't believe blacks ( or anyone else for that matter I assume), shouldn't be give anything they don't deserve, is it safe to assume you don't believe in affirmative action, quotas, and scholarships based soley on race?

[KazDog]

So I will ask you this, since you posed the question, At what point are the "crimes of the past" sufficiently paid in full? ....and since you like asking questions.

If you lived in an all black community and you and your family was the only white people in the community. And one day they came and took your two children hostage and murdered one of them. At what point would you or your family or your future generations of families feel they have been paid in full for those crimes or EVER TRUST those black people? Esp. if future generations of black people in that community continue to make derogatory remarks about your family....Assuming that they acknowledge the crimes had been committed.

And I said that PAST generations actions validate comments such as those made by IMUS that racism still exists. I never said people today are denying slavery exsisted...

KAZ

[BettorsChat]

Where did I say/write I hate blacks or Mexicans? You have issues.

You don't have to say it in order for one to wonder by the way you type and actions on this forum.

[BettorsChat]

So you would prefer to accept this double standard then to open dialogues and possibly change? Since you say it's ok for black comedians to say/do one thing, but not ok for white comedians to do the same.
And Imus wasn't "joking" around?
I'm sure next you'll have me supporting slavery too.

Why do you even come to this site? You're the most negative person and most argutive person on this site.

[gbell]

So I will ask you this, since you posed the question, At what point are the "crimes of the past" sufficiently paid in full? ....and since you like asking questions.

If you lived in an all black community and you and your family was the only white people in the community. And one day they came and took your two children hostage and murdered one of them. At what point would you or your family or your future generations of families feel they have been paid in full for those crimes or EVER TRUST those black people? Esp. if future generations of black people in that community continue to make derogatory remarks about your family....Assuming that they acknowledge the crimes had been committed.

And I said that PAST generations actions validate comments such as those made by IMUS that racism still exists. I never said people today are denying slavery exsisted...

KAZ

Should I answer with "No, I would hate every single black person I encounter for the rest of my life, even though they had NOTHING to do with the original crime, and hope that all my future generations would go on to hate every single black person for the rest of our lives"? Makes sense Kaz, nice analogy.
Nice to know that "nappy headed" and "ho" are terms directly tied to slavery.
Now I have answered your, I am awaiting answers to mine.