What has happened to good old radio? I remember as a kid in Albany, New York listening to my local radio station WTRY and rockin' out to the music and laughing with the DJ as he told funny stories and took wacky phone calls. And when did entertainment become reality? When Chuck Norris does a movie, do we hold what he does in that specific production as a real-life event news story type of thing or is it just that - a movie!?!?Well late Monday, Imus, the man I used to listen to as a kid on my AM radio from NYC on "66...W-NNNNNN-B-C" got his due. Both MSNBC and CBS Radio announced they were suspending Imus for two weeks for the controversial comments he made. Speaking on his radio show Monday morning, Imus said he was not trying to downplay what he called "the repulsiveness" of the remarks, in which he referred to the mostly black team as "nappy-headed ho's". But he said it was important to understand the context of his comments. Imus, in a statement yesterday said that, "We were kidding around, but that doesn't change it. That doesn't make it any less repugnant."
It's not the first time Don Imus has pushed the limits of free speech. It's why many of his listeners tune in, and why his bosses have kept him on the air. Hell, that's even why Howard Stern is on the air. "People do outrageous things all the time and they're not fired, they're fired if they're not successful, if they don't bring in money for the company," said media analyst Ken Auletta.
The reaction from people around the country is that of shock. When was the last time an entertainer said something derogatory about a person, race or something? Let's see. A month or two ago? I'm reading these news stories and I am just blown away by the way people are reacting to all this. So, let's take a look at a few of these reactions.
For the black community, they seemed to be represented by Rev. Al Sharpton. In a way he bug the crap out of me. Why is it that when something like this happens that good ol' Reverand Al is at the forefront of all the comments fully representing the position of the black community? Who put him in charge. He's got an opinion on any topic that will get him good press and in this case, Sharpton and the head of the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP want Imus thrown off the air. This story is so huge and is so important to our country (are we still in Iraq? I forget.) that the Rev. Jesse Jackson planned a protest in Chicago for Monday.
Imus said he hoped to meet the players and their parents and coaches, and he said he was grateful that he was scheduled to appear later Monday on a radio show hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has called for Imus to be fired over the remarks.
"It's not going to be easy, but I'm not looking for it to be easy," Imus said. Rutgers womens basketball coach Vivien Stringer called for Imus' firing. Sharpton is calling for a nationwide boycott of Imus' sponsors, hoping hitting companies' bottom lines will finally silence the shock jock. Like that would work. Who silenced Howard Stern? Oh, I guess it was Sirius Radio!!!!
The reactions from other high-profile people has been coming in in droves. In a comment made yesterday, via telephone from his seat behind in the pearly gates, Peter Boyle, formerly known as Frank in the hit series Everybody Loves Raymond said this about the situation with Imus. "HOLY CRAP!"James E. Harris, president of the New Jersey chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, demanded Sunday that Imus "resign or be terminated immediately." Allison Gollust, a spokeswoman for MSNBC, said the network considers Imus' comments "deplorable" and is reviewing the matter. Karen Mateo, a spokeswoman for CBS Radio said the company was "disappointed" in Imus' actions and characterized his comments as "completely inappropriate." Okay, we get the point. You want him fired!
Is this the first time we've heard this stupid kind of crap? No. Legendary sportscaster Jimmy Snyder, known to millions as "Jimmy the Greek" saw his career go down the crapper when he made a comment about a certain basketball player. Where was XM radio then? This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last. If someone makes a comment about white people, r asian people, or poor people, do we have protests all over the country about it? Nope. There will probably be more protests over this than over the war in Iraq!Sharpton is calling for a nationwide boycott of Imus' sponsors, hoping hitting companies' bottom lines will finally silence the shock jock. Like that is going to work. I never stopped eating Nestle Crunch bars because of the boycott over Nestle's baby formula. Let's see, what can we do to move on. I'm thinking here. It's not easy. Imus should be punished. Maybe the Rutgers Women's Basketball team could face him and call him a "stupid white cowboy wanna-be who looks like someone who's been on heroin for the past 50 years." No, that's not it. I got the answer.
Forget about it!
