[Rhodes22-list] On Don Imus

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Brad,
 
Thanks for your post, I enjoy your ducking and weaving.  I’m part of  the 
problem, huh?  Neither I nor you are remotely a factor in this Imus  problem.  
The Imus issue is going to be played out in the media and  possibly the courts - 
and trust me, nobody will give a tinkers damn what you and  I think about it. 
 We are not part of the problem and we are not part of  the solution.
 
You claim Sharpton and Jackson are racist demagogues.  Could be, I’m  not 
defending Sharpton and Jackson, although I will say that I think Sharpton  did 
the right thing in this specific matter.  I really haven't followed  Sharpton, 
and I'm probably as skeptical re Jackson as you are.
 
You say no one on the list is defending Imus - yeah, right.  Every  other 
poster on this list has been trying to shift the subject from Imus back to  the 
black community by changing the subject. They’ve claimed:
- Oh no, the  real problem isn’t Imus the real problem is rap lyrics
- Oh no, the real  problem isn’t Imus the real problem is Sharpton
- Oh no, the real problem  isn’t Imus, its just entertainment
- Oh no, real the problem isn’t  Imus, the real problem is ......
 
News flash: The problem is Imus.  Stop trying to change the subject  and take 
the heat off your boy.  There are a lot of problems in the black  community, 
there is no one “real” problem, all of the above are real problems,  and 
there is a long list of other real problems but the topical timely problem  on the 
table in this thread is Imus’s gratuitous insult to a group of  accomplished 
young women who are doing all the right things to lead an  upstanding 
productive life.  Read the subject of the thread.  Stop  trying to rationalize what 
Imus has done. 
 
Your comment that black people don’t have to march at Selma to have an  
opinion is completely off the wall.  Of course they don’t.  I  explicitly 
acknowledged Whitelock couldn’t have marched in the early civil  rights movement.  I 
explicitly acknowledged that he was entitled to his  opinion. Nevertheless, 
there are a whole lot of civil rights related things  he could have done over the 
past 40 years (his age as I recall),  but  read his vitae, there’s nothin, 
absolutely nothin related to civil  rights. It's remarkable.  Seems to me this 
should cause reasonable  people to question who his column represents - himself, 
or the black  community.  I don’t see any compelling reason to believe his 
opinions  represent anyone but himself - and frankly, while he's entitled to his 
opinion,  I don’t care what his opinion is if it's not  representative.  I 
would be very interested to know what leaders in the  black community and the 
black middle class think, but I see no reason to think  that he’s tied into them 
at all.
 
Re your rising opinion of Whitelock: Why am I not surprised?  I’m sure  his 
publisher likes his opinions to.  I expect the WSJ will pick him up  because 
they like his message.  But the key factor is not what the white  and business 
communities thinks, it’s what the black community thinks - and I  have no idea 
what his standing is with them.  I suspect it’s not very high,  but I’m not 
part of the black community.  When it comes to civil rights I’d  feel it was a 
lot more likely that he represented someone other than himself, or  the white 
business establishment,  if I saw he was active in black civil  rights 
programs and organizations, or if he were citing persons from those  organizations.
 
As to the women from Rutgers that you admire - that’s the first time anyone  
on this board has said anything positive about the young women involved with  
this fiasco.  Read the posts,  everyone, absolutely everyone, has  ignored the 
impact of the event on the young women and has instead focused on  trying to 
move the focus off Imus and back on to the black community.  I  admire those 
young ladies to, I don't think they deserve all the crap that's  been dropped 
on them.
 
Your comment that Imus is an ass is exactly on target, keep that thought.  Don
’t get distracted with your opinions re Jackson or Sharpton, Kings  
womanizing, the role of entitlements, jihad, global warming, ....., read the  title of 
the thread, the focus is sharply on Imus.  We are in total  agreement.
 
The advice you say you give to every community is exemplary.   Incredible as 
it sounds I completely support your advice.  But I would add  one important 
thing to your advice: they should treat each person and  community with dignity 
and respect.  The dignity and respect issues are the  key issues lacking in 
this Imus affair.
 
As for your advice that the ladies at Rutgers toughen up and face life  - you 
may be surprised, they may do just that.  My guess is that great  American 
institution called The American Trial Bar is circling - vultures on the  wing, 
standby.  If at least one of the young ladies, or their parents, goes  along 
with them you might expect a slander/libel suit on their behalf.   File that 
suit in DC, Gary Ind, wherever, and watch what happens - people on  this list may 
not understand the difference between rappers calling women in  general 
whores and someone calling the child of Mr & Mrs xxxx, of Princeton  NJ a whore, 
but trust me, the courts will.  And Imus, CBS, and NBC will  hear the two 
happiest words that all businesses love to hear - punitive damages.  You may recall 
that a jury in Illinois hit Altria with $10B (yes B) punitive  award, I think 
in 03; let’s see if that record stands if the Rutgers ladies  toughen up (your 
recommendation) and take the matter to a jury.  Seriously,  I would not 
expect a $10B award, but it could be a very large number.
 
You want to understand the worried look on Imus’s face this past week and  
why he traveled to meet with the team?  I think the corporate lawyers  have 
explained the above to him and the network CEOs.  Imus et al’s only  hope is that 
the young ladies and the parents will drop the issue - if  they file charges, 
the ladies and their families are rich for life.  Let's  see what happens. 
 
Actually, it may have already happened.  I recall, Sharpton  brought Imus to 
his knees in less than 4 hours and Imus spent nearly a week  groveling 
apologies.  But I don’t think for a minute that happened because  of the incredible 
respect Imus et al have for Sharpton, the NAACP etc, I  think it was their 
certain knowledge re what the American Trial Bar can do and  have done.  I would 
not be surprised if the networks haven't already  offered the ladies 
compensation for their pain and suffering in exchange for  their signatures on 
hold-harmless documents and no more public  outcries.  I could be wrong.  
 
And I wouldn’t mind the girls and their parents taking Imus et al to the  
cleaners.  The financial damage would begin to set clear limits, and  identify 
the risks, for shock-jocks and the networks that sponsor them.   Clearly, the 
FCC has failed in this area for a long time.
 
Finally, I say again, from my perspective the core issue in the Imus matter  
is not civil rights, it’s decency.  You have no right to slander the women,  
children, or anyone, in my life, and I have no right to slander the women,  
children, or anyone,  in your life - people have been killed over this  issue.  I’
m surprised there are adult men on this board that just don’t get  it.
 
Dave
 
 



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