[Rhodes22-list] Don Imus

[David Bradley]

Slim, I agree with your preferences, having outgrown Howard.  And I am all
for freedom of speech but am also for not being stupid.  I think Imus was
just dumb to cross the line so far on this one.  He knows the rules.

I'm actually a bit conflicted on this.  I do think it's all become too PC,
but then again I'm kind of ok with people who get paid a ton of money to be
cool being called out for being jerks (thinking of the string of
self-inflicted wounds from Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, the guy from Grey's
Anatomy who did the gay bashing, etc.)

Howard Stern, rather than backing off from FCC pressure, left the "public" (
i.e., FCC-regulated) airwaves and can say whatever he pleases on satellite
radio.  Imus has watered himself down over the years and stayed out of
trouble.  It seems pretty anachronistic that one medium can be regulated
(censored) and a new medium isn't.  NOT arguing for FCC control of satellite
radio - the opposite.

Dave

On 4/12/07, Slim <StevenAlm at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> What's the deal here?  Don Imus is a shock jock and he's hired to be
> shocking and now has been fired for being... um... shocking.  He referred
> to
> the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" which is
> certainly
> racist and offensive to be sure, and I'm in no way defending that
> rhetoric,
> but he's supposed to be shocking, right?  No less than CBS CEO Les Moonves
> personally caved in to public outrage and fired him for doing his job.
> Isn't this just a sticks and stones thing?  Freedom of speech?  Do shock
> jocks now have to be PC?  Howard Stern (I'm no fan of his either) has done
> much worse.  I really don't like either Stern or Imus and I'm not sure why
> I'm writing this but it seems like a stab at freedom of speech and I feel
> bad that Imus was fired--he shouldn't have been.  I've been known to use
> some very un-PC songs and jokes myself and it's all in the context of
> humor
> and entertainment.  If you don't like it, there's a Chucky Cheese right
> down
> the road--go there and have fun!
>
> Slim
>
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-- 
David Bradley
+1.206.225.7793
dwbrad at gmail.com