[Rhodes22-list] On Don Imus

[Brad Haslett]

Dave,

I'm calling you out just like I do Wendy Thomas from the Commercial Appeal.
You are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.  No one on
this list is defending Imus.  Let the chips fall where they may!  But,
Sharpton, Jackson, et al, are racist demagogues, period.  You didn't have to
march at Selma to have a valid opinion on racial issues anymore than you had
to march through rice paddies in Vietnam to have a valid observation on
military issues (gawd please don't spin this into something else).  There
have been many greats in the Civil Rights movements - Al and Jesse aren't
among them.  In fact, read "Shakedown" about Jackson - he hijacked the Civil
Rights movement here in Memphis at Dr. King's death and has been milking it
for his own wallet ever since. Look at Sharptons long standing (some would
call criminal) battle with the Jewish community in Harlem. No one would have
paid any attention to what some washed-up radio jock said unless these
opportunistic race baiters hadn't rushed to the cameras.  As to the girls
from Rutgers - I admire you for working your butts off to get through
college, been there, done that.  But toughen up girls, life can be tough and
people saying things about you is the least of your worries.  Life gets
tougher.  Contrary to your opinion, I think Jason Whitlock's star is rising
in the black community.  But then again, I don't know shit about the black
community other than they are part of the same human race I belong to.  I
give the same advice to every community:  graduate from high school, don't
get pregnant or married in your teens, don't get addicted to drugs.  An ass
is an ass whatever "community" he belongs to.  Imus is an ass.  Al and Jesse
redefine the meaning of ass.  I'm sick of this whole white/black thing.  I
do not feel one iota of guilt for my DNA or my behavior (which unlike DNA I
have control over).  If I say something mean or hurtful, I'll suck it up,
apologize, beg for forgiveness, and move on.  If someone doesn't want to
reciprocate, that's their problem.  Oprah said it best, "forgiveness is a
gift you give yourself".  I hope Imus remembers that since the so called
ministers Al and Jesse have forgotten the meaning of and forgiveness.  Keep
your white male guilt to yourself!

Here's a good video of Whitlock.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L5ZQXaXmCW4

Brad

On 4/14/07, DCLewis1 at aol.com <DCLewis1 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> Brad,
>
> Actually you realized part of the point I was trying to make - yeah, he
> missed the early part of the civil rights movement.  Take it a
> little  further: he
> also missed the middle parts of the civil rights movement, and
> he's  missed
> any recent parts of the civil rights movement.  To summarize:  he hasn't
> played
> a leadership role in the civil rights movement at all,  ever.
>
> That's not to say he's a bad guy, rather it's to say that he's not
> speaking
> for anyone but himself and his views are agreeable to the publisher of his
> newspaper.  And I think that's a pretty fair statement.
>
> I really don't know the guy at all, but I have read maybe 3 of
> his  columns.
> Seems to me he's hard over against Sharpton and Jackson at
> all  costs.  I'm
> sure he has his reason, he may even be right.  But as I  read his column
> regarding Imus and Sharpton it sure looked like he was being  more that a
> little
> disingenuous, and I would bet he lost a lot of credibility  with the black
> community.  His approach, as I recall, was to say that the  Imus matter
> wasn't an
> issue, the issue was rap language etc.  Now there is  no question that rap
> language etc are issues, but the timely matter at issue was  Imus, and I
> don't
> think there's a black family out there that doesn't understand  that, so I
> think
> the guys credibility is probably zip in the black  community.  In the
> white
> community his column is being floated as  "proof" that Imus is not an
> issue, that
> the real issue is something else (you  pick the topic, it'll change as
> it's
> discredited).
>
> I don't know if the guy intended to write a column that said " the
> Imus  deal
> is OK, blacks shouldn't be upset", I really doubt that he would do that or
> that it was his intent,  but his column has been used that way and so
> he  has
> been party to that effort.  If his column has been mis-used he owes it  to
> the
> black community, and himself, to set the record straight.
>
> As to what charities he supports, that's got nothing to do with the
> content
> of his columns.
>
> He may or may not have a point regarding Sharpton or Jackson, but when he
> tries to divert attention from the denigration of a bunch of black  youth
> and
> their families he does the black community a disservice.  I'd bet  his
> newspaper
> publisher thinks the world of  him.
>
>
>
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