Imus in the mourning

I'm almost as sick of hearing about Don Imus as I am about Anna Nicole Smith. I don't disagree that he deserves to be shut down, but I also agree with this cartoon.

1) He's known for being a sexist, racist jerk- that's his schtick, that's why people tune in, so while yes, he deserves what he's getting, we shouldn't all be so PC and hypersensitive to sexist, racist, jerks when after all, that's their schtick anyway.

and 2) there is a huge double standard because Mike Savage and Bill Bennett are right-wing talk show hosts who are constantly saying things that are as bad or worse (forget about Rush or Howard Stern) Remember when Rush was making fun of Michael J. Fox's Parkinsons's tremors? Oh, did I mention Ann Colter? Did she ever apologize? No? Hmmm. And Glenn Beck, how about this guy? Now, I'm no Rosie O'Donnell fan, but thie Glenn Beck guy talked on his radio show about how many oil lamps we could keep burning off of her fat?

and 3) as this cartoon points out, there are people making OBSCENE amounts of money selling 11-22 year old white kids music by "Gangstas" that really, REALLY purpetuates negative racial stereotypes and sexist attitudes. Now I'm a white, male, middleclass, college eduacted, Midwesterner, so I realize that I don't have a lot of credibility with African-Americans, but I think that before we throw a fit about a old shock jock who made it big like Imus, we should listen to what Doctor Bill Cosby has been saying (and ridiculed by other African-Americans for) for years. What would MLK say? You're right, I don't have a right to say this, but if I were Black, I think I'd be way more offended by most of rap and hip hop music than one crotchety old cowboy who raises a lot of money for kids with cancer- even though what he said was absolutely outrageous and flagrantly cruel and foolish.

Imus is a jerk and he'll probably say things like this again, but he has apologized more clearly, susinctly, more earnestly, more directly and more often then Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Trent Lot, Joe Biden, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Clinton or any other public figure in recent memory. That ought to be worth something.

I welcome your comments.