Sometimes I find myself rising to the defense at least partially of something with which I basically disagree. Today is one of those times. I am referring to the furor over a remark made by Don Imus last week when referring to the Rutgers women’s basketball team. I won’t repeat his comment here, but it had racist overtones albeit said in a typical Imus way. For those who have watched or listened to Imus over the years he in many ways is a shock jock but not with the foul language of others but more with sarcasm and offensive (usually political) remarks. A lot of the nastier remarks are directed toward him by other cast members and guests. In short, he is not and never has been politically correct. It is part of his trademark and truthfully he is an equal opportunity offender – I don’t think there is one group he has not gone after in some offensive way over the years. In that I find him unique among others insofar as others go after one ideology or group regularly, for example Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, et al. Certainly they don’t spread their venom in an equal way.
And while his remark was insensitive, crude and insulting – it was part and parcel of his format – a remark intended as crude humor, and while wrong it was no different than many others made over the years by him and others. At the same time, does anyone look at and take notice of all the good done by Imus such as: raising money for the new state-of-the-art hospital in Texas for the wounded returning from Iraq and Afghanistan; the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer, a totally non-profit ranch that gives children with an awful disease a chance to be kids and see that cancer isn’t the end, that they can still be kids, and do physical things like ride horses, compete in rodeos, etc.; campaigning and bringing to light real health issues that normally go under the radar if not actually ignored; and much more.
Others have made similar and worse remarks, and while I think Imus did not mean anything other than making a rather unthinking crude shock remark, others have really meant what they said, and have received a whole lot less attack. What about Rush and his comments (and crude acting) about Michael J. Fox and Parkinson’s, or Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a faggot, or Coulter referring to Helen Thomas as an “old Arab” who should not be allowed within yards of the President, or how about Bill O’Reilly (there are SO many here) when referring to a minority singing group being late saying he hoped they weren’t out in the parking lot stealing hubcaps, and many slurs referring to groups using racist terms, like wetbacks for Mexicans, etc.
Imus has issued several on-air apologies, and being a listener of many years I am prepared to accept his sincerity particularly in light of what I have seen of his actions in so many arenas that are responsible and positive. In addition he is going to Rutgers to apologize in person to the women on the team he insulted. Certainly others have apologized for incautious remarks but the sincerity was lacking in many if not most of those apologies. No, sorry doesn’t make it all better or right, but remorse is not a bad thing if it is real.
And yeah, I need to get politics in here too. While Imus and many others have made remarks that were wrong and insulting, listeners have a choice, they can turn his show off… Troops in Iraq can’t turn off Bush or their orders to march into harm’s way without adequate training or equipment, sooner than expected without the rest needed. Maybe the analogy here is “sticks and stones will break my bones, etc.” – I do not think there is a person out there who has not made a remark that was incautious or insensitive or insulting to someone. My grandmother used to say “when the words are in your mouth they are yours alone, once they are spoken they belong to everyone whether or not you wanted them heard.” Maybe we all need to take a chill pill and look at what really matters in the world. Would Al Sharpton been as vocal about this if the remark were anti-Semitic, anti-gay, et al?
All those who are so vocally attacking this, perhaps they need to go back to the words of someone they all claim to revere and respect, even hope to emulate and remember His words to not cast stones unless they themselves are without sin.
There is so much out there that really needs attention, outrage, and action. I cannot believe this rises to the level of those.
