Don Imus, now who?

I've been listening alot to the Don Imus contraversy, hearing both sides, and I think I've arrived at the point where I can comment.

Mr. Imus said something that was really insensitive towards the Rutger's women's basketball team. His remarks were hurtful, inappropriate, and at best, in bad taste. What started as a small little blip on the "who said what?" stories in the news, rapidly became front page news, and even made the cover of Time Magazine. Mr. Imus appeared on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show, met with Rev. Jesse Jackson, and appeared on countless other TV shows and radio programs, apologizing and discussing the issues here. He also finally met with the Rutger's team, and spoke to them about what was said.

Mr. Imus has been preaching "context" as the reason he should not be fired. He, and others like Sean Hannity and Opie and Anthony, have said that within the context of a comedy show, like Imus', remarks such as his are acceptable, protected, and allowable in this country. Mr. Imus also has repeatedly said he is a "good person, who said something stupid," and pointed to his charity work, spanning over 18 years, which has raised over 100 million dollars for victims of childhood cancer and blood diseases. He has been supported by few in the public arena, most notably Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Opie and Anthony, etc. These people have said that "unpopular speech must be defended," and believe Mr. Imus' remarks fall under this notion.

Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson took the reigns on calling for Mr. Imus' dismissal. They said they were out to rid the airwaves of racist and sexist material, and that they were defending all people, not just African Americans. They lobbied advertisers to pull their funding for Mr. Imus' show, and ultimately were joined by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Barrack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, and many others. First, Mr. Imus was dropped from MSNBC, who simulcasted his show, but then CBS radio decided to fire him as well.

There is so much to say about this, now that I have laid out what happened. First of all, I'm no constitution expert, and I do not know the Bill of Rights. But I do know that you have a right to say something bad about me, just as much as I have a right to disagree, vocally, if I choose. Mr. Imus comments, though they were in horrible taste, hurtful, and demeaning, HAVE to be protected by the First Amendment. Notice that the FCC, who is the govermental watchdog for the radio, has NOT issued a fine to Imus or CBS. This is because the comments by Mr. Imus were not illegal. Plain and simple. Mr. Imus can say whatever he wants on the air, short of inciting panic or being sexually explicit. He can insult whomever he wants whenever he wants, so long as it does not cross this line. The FCC does not enforce comments that are thought to be racist, because in our country, you can be racist, you can hate someone else and express it, or you can parody someone else.

Now, having said that, Mr. Imus took a shot at a group of women that are not public figures. In the past, he has gone to work on politicians like Hillary Clinton, President Bush, and many others. He is oftentimes brutal, saying terrible things in discussion with his sidekick. But, he took a shot at the Rutgers team that has no agenda, is not in the public or fighting for publicity, and for this, he was wrong. I heard it once, and I immediately thought of how wrong his words were.

However, Mr. Imus should only have to apologize and learn from this. He should not have had his livelihood taken away. Mr. Imus spent about 10 hours on camera or the radio in a span of 3 days apologizing, discussing, and defending not his content, but his right to say what he said. He talked about opening a dialogue on his show, once his 2 week suspension was finished, to have an African-American voice on his program, and even more so, to discussing the reasons why this has caused such a rift in our culture. He was ultimately still fired.

Revs. Sharpton and Jackson are at the helm of all this. They have both had scetchy pasts, with numerous instances of saying hurtful and racist comments. I do not have the time to go into their records on this, but I will say that they have said hurtful things in the past about other races, including Jews, caucasians, and so on. They have also done some wonderful things for the black community, with their advocacy and persistence helping thousands of people.

But, this was a witch hunt by Revs. Sharpton and Jackson. On a logical level, Mr. Imus' speech must be protected, and you cannot pierce that argument. Al Sharpton is not my moral compass, nor is he yours, I'm sure. And even if he is, he cannot go around like the "Speech Police" and tell me or others what should or should not be on the radio. Moreover, if Mr. Sharpton wanted to clean up offensive material on the airwaves, he had better begin to go after the rap music establishment as well. He has not had as much outrage at Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, or any other rapper who routinely refer to woman in derrogatory ways as part of the industry-standard lexicon for rappers. You would think, especially considering its mass appeal and exposure, that such an artform would be subject to the same scutiny as Mr. Don Imus' remarks. Clearly, however, it is not, at least from Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

Now, I will say this, and please be very clear and read this carefully. I support rap artists (they ARE indeed artists) saying whatever they want as a means to express themselves on their own medium. I do not WANT Snoop censored. I do not WANT 50 cent to be without a job or label or new single. Along those lines, I do not want Mr. Imus off the air. He must be protected like any of those I have already mentioned, and he cannot and should not have his livelihood taken away simply to be made an example of.

Rights in the country are on a slippery slope, and once we take away someone's right to free speech, the invasion of privacy, information, and whatever else could happen, can happen very quickly. We need to be clear and concise that although remarks may be hurtful, they must be protected by the law, and those who made the remarks, accountable they must be, should also make the proper steps to make right to those they have offended, apologize, and learn. Or at least hear the offended out.

Love to hear your comments.