Why the Race Card is still being played
Now you know that I couldn't resist. There's no way that I could go off on poor little Kramer (Michael what's his face), and not talk about the old misunderstood radio icon Don I-MUS (be a racist). There's been so much coverage, that I'd be negligent to not mention and give you a chance to give your opinions on the topic.
To recap for those of you that may not have heard the dialogue on every radio and television station around the globe...the "ON-AIR conversation included Don Imus, WFAN show host Sid Rosenberg, Producer Bernard McGirk and show regular Charles McCord. They were talking about the NCAA Women's Basketball finals between Rutgers and Tennessee.
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Rosenberg: Yeah, Tennessee won last night — seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.
Charles McCord: Do The Right Thing.
Where do I begin? Raise your hand if you are tired of watching and hearing women in general and black women in particular being ridiculed and degraded? The way I see it, it's wrong no matter who does it, rappers, directors, radio personalities, whoever. Wrong is wrong. I'm tired of hearing grown folks point fingers and say things like, "well, they said it first" and "how come they can say it and we can't say it"?
Do you think that these images and stereotypes have anything to do with how men view women? How they treat women in the dating world? What about how young girls see themselves and choose to carry themselves and based on that, how they allow men to treat them? I mean really, if you see enough images of women half naked, being passed around like meat, you may not do it personally, but, at some point it becomes an acceptable form of behavior. Our young girls start to think things like, "It they can do it why can't I"? "Maybe that's why I don't have a man?" "Oh, that's what men want"?
I believe in freedom of speech. However, with all rights come certain responsibilities. Any fool with a mouth and tongue can exercise their right to free speech. With no regard to whom they may harm. Words have power and they can hurt. They can also leave emotional scars. I don't really care who's talking, singing or joking about "nappy headed hoes" it's never acceptable or funny to "me".
I feel the need to clarify because I am aware that there are entertainers that have built their careers on "degrading women" under the guise of "keeping it real". And to that I say "do what you do". If people want to pay their hard earned money to hear you "keep it real" feel free...in an arena specifically set up for that purpose.
What I don't appreciate are people that talk first and think later. People that are in influential positions and they use that power to give out hurtful, inaccurate and sometimes hateful information. They put it in a glass and serve it up as entertainment. Because it's not properly labeled, anyone can walk up to that glass see its contents, take a sip and pass it on without regard or the ability to decipher news from entertainment, or reality from reality radio/television. And the public hears it whether they want to or not.
I consider myself to be very open-mined and not easily offended. I don't claim to have all the answers or solutions. I do think that we all have a responsibility to raise society's children and our consciousness to a level that is higher than it's been, not as low as it can go. There is a time and place for everything. Not everything is for everyone. This being said, we must all take responsibility for our words and actions and hold others accountable for theirs too. If you have children or not, it's up to us all to make sure that they are protected from negative images that can have long term effects on their spirit and sense of what's acceptable behavior and language.
We are all connected. That young girl that's being called a whore today could be your future wife, your daughter or the girl your son falls in love with. Maybe the easiest way to control the situation is to ask the question..."Would I say that to my child, my mother? "Would I date or marry someone who thought that about themselves?" I doubt very seriously, that even if Don Imus's child was a "nappy headed ho", he would say so to her face, let alone on national radio and television. So, why say it about someone else's daughter?
But then again, that's entertainment?! One more thing for the record, the Spike Lee movie was not "Do the Right Thing." But who cares if you're accurate as long as you're entertaining, right?
80 responses to "Why the Race Card is still being played"
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cocoadream says:Posted: 24 Nov 07
Race card was pulled on Imus just for press. He is not a racist just because he used words used by many others. Why censor him? Because he is white, no other reason. That would make YOU the racist if you thought that was right. If you don't like the word he used, ban it from the speech of everyone, not JUST white people. Garbage like this just makes black people look like the real racists in current times.
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 18 Jul 07
Biologically, Chuck Norris is his own step-father.
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 18 Jul 07
Chuck Norris has had thousands of lovers, but none of them ever satisfied Chuck Norris. He realized that the only person who could ever satisfy Chuck Norris...was Chuck Norris.
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 18 Jul 07
Chuck Norris was sanctioned under the UN peace treaty as being a weapon of mass destruction
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cocokisses says:Posted: 16 Jul 07
Sweetnes, girl we aren't talking about him anymore :) We're joking about Mossimo and Chuck Norris :) We've gotten over old what's his name...
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sweetnes20 says:Posted: 12 Jul 07
i cant believe we are still talking about this guy.
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sonu786 says:Posted: 05 Jul 07
chuk norris give us always action,, he was always a racist.
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Cocokisses says:Posted: 04 Jul 07
Moss, maybe Chuck Norris checks under his toupee for the Boogeyman...LOL!
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 30 Jun 07
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 25 Jun 07
Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
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mossimo36 says:Posted: 24 Jun 07
Whats Chuck Norris doing on Afro? He's a tough guy ya know. He uses a live rattlesnake as a condom. There is no chin under Chuck Norris' beard, only another fist,
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unme23 says:Posted: 22 Jun 07
bum, bum, bum. if somebody hires him, they would be stupid.
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sweetnes20 says:Posted: 21 Jun 07
sure you can dream girl, but lets not dream of him.....lol.
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cocokisses says:Posted: 19 Jun 07
I know Sweetnes20, but a girl can dream can't she? He'll probably get his job back.
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Fala says:Posted: 19 Jun 07
Is it just me or does Chuck seem to be a little on the angry side?
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Beckerburnx says:Posted: 17 Jun 07
how ironic that the totality of public outrage is focused on the cornerstone of the constitution, that being freedom of speech. so you claim its a horror of catastrophic proportions that people call women 'whores' and otherwise degrade them because they will be a wife or a mother etc., but where is the public-black and white--outrage of the society that teaches and encourages women to become whores? if only sharpton et al focused their hypocritical energies on the real problem-paris, brittany, music scene, porn, strip clubs etc which MAKE whores, perhaps the realization would arise that some women choose to be whores, and they were whores before being called that. and if someone calling a woman that affects her self esteem well then this will be a very tough life for her. media degradation of women has nothing to do with the constitution, and yet i hear no call for a boycott of the filth that is todays xrated culture, but some people simply wish to make themselves the arbiters of what can and cannot be said in public. well HYPOCRITES every last one of you! many people died to allow us freedom of speech, they DID NOT die so that braindead strumpets could get drunk out of their gourd and pass out in public only to be emulated by the equally oversexed, and underparented preteen consumer. this persecution was a farce.
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nicefella115 says:Posted: 15 Jun 07
they are making an example of him, and i bet there will be more to follow
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unme23 says:Posted: 14 Jun 07
jimmy the greek got fired from abc, for making racist comments about black athletes.
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jody4958 says:Posted: 14 Jun 07
Yes it was wrong. BUT... he who is with out sin cast the first racial slur. the press caught it and it got attention so the press went to extremes and that is part of the reason a bad decision by this guy to open his mouth thoughtlessly just to fill air time, cause he really has nothing important to say, got blown up to more than what attention it should have got, I've never heard of him till then. he is an idiot and now he is famous for being an idiot, wish the press & society would look for more good in life and don't give the idiots all the attention
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Fala says:Posted: 14 Jun 07
Maybe it's not just about race. Isaiah Washington just lost his job on Grey's Anatomy for making derogatory comments about gays. Maybe people are just fed up with all the bigotry and hate - no matter where it comes from.
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Frenchcelt says:Posted: 13 Jun 07
I found so many comments interesting. Firs, I spent 15 years of my life defending the right of American to speak freely, regardless of whether I agreed or not. BUT, NOT on the public airways. I also came home to see the same old racism, espcially between both blacks and whites. I have never particularly liked IMUS per sonally, so I just change the station - that's more effective if all people would do that, too, in the first place. I didn't serve this country to support racism and despise it.
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Jade74 says:Posted: 13 Jun 07
What was said reflects on all women regardless of race.
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nicefella115 says:Posted: 12 Jun 07
has he have a rep for this type of action??
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nicefella115 says:Posted: 08 Jun 07
from what i remember, he was always a racist.
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misotall says:Posted: 06 Jun 07
The whole thing was blown way up by media. They control us all!! Must fire Imus.....must play race card....lol
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SWEETNES20 says:Posted: 06 Jun 07
god, the race card was used agaist me in a softball game.
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NICEFELLA115 says:Posted: 03 Jun 07
because hes representing a radio station, that has guide lines.
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DADA says:Posted: 02 Jun 07
well for me ireally don't know what this people want ,we all wish to make the world a better place,he does not need to be fired,he does not have enough understanding about life and GOD,i believe he needs help,he want attention and he got it,GOD created us all noone can creat an ant so what is the stress,we just have to be greatful to GOD for all he has done for us,and keep praying for the sick minds among us.But this is a very sencetive issue that we all need to educate our children about.GOD HELP US AND PUT US ALL IN THE RIGHT PATH AND PEACE ALL OVER THE WORLD.
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me says:Posted: 02 Jun 07
Defammatory and racists statements should not be acceptable regardless of who makes them . There have been numerous protests by black and women's organizations for more than a decade against several record labels to censor lyrical content in 'gangst'a rap' w/ minimal to no results. Only an enduring circumstance or condition having detrimental effects upon profitability would force multimedia corporations to change their stance. If Imus' show's sponsors had not withdrawn revenue support, coupled w/ some public outrage, ufortunately, he'd still be on the air along w/ his fellow shock-jocks. Its sad, but hatefulness and bigotry are prime hot selling products, a poor reflection of our society. Even more pathetic, we the public, can't get consume enough of it in our entertainment, politics, personal interactions, etc....and don't have the common sense to recognize the deleterious consequences on our behavior and thoughts/perceptions of each other and ourselves.
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Cocokisses says:Posted: 01 Jun 07
Have you noticed that when you get into a discussion about race, how people's true feelings come out? I have read some of our responses on this site, and it makes me wonder why we are all on an INTERRACIAL DATING SITE. I can't change any of your opinions, but I can certainly change mine. I will deal with my own demons regarding race. I suggest people like Jeff and Glock deal with theirs too.
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Cocokisses says:Posted: 01 Jun 07
Oh Glock, so you know how we feel with being on the receiving end of racism, and discrimination, and all the things that come with being a second class citizen? GOOD! NOW YOU KNOW HOW WE FEEL! ENJOY!
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A says:Posted: 29 May 07
I feel that he did not need to fired over it. Why is any different for Imus to say what he said and having rappers say it all the time.
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Glock says:Posted: 28 May 07
To CocoKisses, I must disagree that "you" are still on the receiving end of racism. Regarless of how Jesse,Al, Or Louis wants to define racism, the fact is racism is a two way street. As a white man, I have seen and experienced racism frmo blacks. Especially when I started dating black women! I got more flack from blacks (particularly black men)that I ever heard or saw from whites whenever an interracial couple were around. Dusty Baker, Isaiah Thomas, Charles Barkley, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Malik Shabazz are just a few black men who have made (what would be considered today)racists statements. Yet all of their careers have not only continued but flourished! The only thing about racism in this country is that the consequences seem to be only one sided.
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sweetnes20 says:Posted: 28 May 07
hes a bum, and he now will always have this label on his back.
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To me the saddest part of the whole circus was "The Reverend" Al Sharpton,who has made a living by being a prefessional race baiter (and hater) deciding Imus' future.What Imus did was satire and in poor taste .What happened to him heralds the day when PC will run amuck and rule the land. I agree with the author to an extent.If we start banning lyrics it's only a slippery slope until we start banning books.What's next,the thought police? It all starts with the erosion of our moral fabric and lax(single) parenting.There is no one solution,but firing Don Imus certainly wasnt it.If he was fired,so too should they fire "The Reverand" Al,who profits daily from playing the race card.He and his buddy,Jesse "I've got my pregnant 30 year younger girlfriend waiting for me at the WhiteHouse while I counsel the President on marital infidelity"Jackson. How anyone listens to these 2 is appalling.These 2,along with the late Johnny Cochran,(Rodney King,Michael Jackson 1 and of course the innocent OJ) have almost single-handedly set race relations back to the early 60's and gotten rich and famous doing it.America needs to wake up and Black Americans need to find some worthy role models.