Hmm, so Imus got fired. Oddly enough, he got fired for being the Imus that has sat in his chair and blathered all over the airways for-what?-5 million years? An Imus of "you people", "cheap jews", etc, etc, yadda, yadda. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Imus has always belittled people, especially if they were different from him. Did no one notice until April 10th, 2007? Was it because they were athletes and somehow sacrosanct for racist joke fodder? Whatever, I just wish I could ignore my suspicion that this was less a firing due to content and more a tactical removal of an overpaid, underperforming asset.
What's of far more interest to me are the reactions. Black people preaching fire & damnation at this bold use of hate speech on our airways. White people wondering what the problem is, since rap artists use the term. "Hey all my black friends say nigger to each other, why can't
I?" Bitch, please. Sit down my little bunch-pantied populi, I'm about blow your mind.
You're both wrong. Imus can say whatever the fcuk his frizzed-haired, borderline senile, tiny mind. It's called free speech and as long as he doesn't violate any FCC regs, the only consequences are the ones his audience chooses to, or this case, chose to bring. I don't know if the people who listened to Imus are suddenly more enlightened or empathetic or slightly browner, but I doubt they are really behind the groundswell of disapproval. I think the media coverage let all us thin-skinned types who think wrinkled, drooling senior citizens should mind their manners in on the diatribe and we bitched until advertisers pulled some vital green cash from MSN & NBC's wallets. Sure, networks really care about the ethics of their shows and improving race relations. HAH! Get me a beer if you're gonna crack jokes.
The rap thing. How about the black community get a spine where it comes to standing up to each other? Hey, all you gangsta rappers and the slutty types who crowd around them, selling yourself for the barest chance of a little sex, a little fame and worst of all, even less cash. You're fucking embarrassing. You suck, you ruin being black worse than Britney ruined pop music. You're like birdshit on a Rolls Royce, Wal-Mart at an Armani show. IOW, you're bringing us down, chumps. When you look at the numbers for sales of that particular brand of rap, you see a surprising truth, it's mostly being sold to middle class, white or asian youth. So this "gangster rap is the message of the streets thing" kinda doesn't fly. You cater to non-black types with the fantasy of "thug-eriffic" lifestyles. You're their culture porn. Does it make you feel good? Sure, you have money, lord knows, that's important. But the fact is, this is nothing but a minstrel show, dancing to the preset jungle warrior beat where all black men are these deadly predators, black women are willing, enticing,
easy lays and ignorance beats all. You didn't start it, and the concept that rappers are responsible for white racism is utter nonsense, but you are responsible for idolizing the stereotype of violent, misogynist black manhood. You want to really blow the dominant paradigm's mind? Rap about peace loving, black engineers who hold out for marriage and care for their children.
Gangster rap isn't all rap, some of which is quite good. It's just the most profitable kind. White people aren't all racists, even morons who throw around racist terms. They just don't get what it's like every day for your colour to determine whether you'll get help at the store, land a job, or be pulled over for driving a nice car. The slurs on top of all that BS are hard to take. You really, really wouldn't understand. It's a brown thing. And that's a sad thing.
