[Rhodes22-list] On Don Imus

[Brad Haslett]

Dave,

Between income taxes and watching my daughter blow bubbles in the back yard,
I don't have a lot of time for this nonsense but I'll rip a few thoughts off
before returning to more important things.

Don't refer to Imus as "my boy".  I could give a shit about Imus - or you.
The only thing we have in common is we're both white, and I don't like all
white people.  You are correct, Imus is not the problem.  The reaction to
Imus is the problem.  Some crotchety old white guy tries to make a joke
using street jargon and it falls flat.  Who cares?  The race baiting
industry does, that is the problem.  If this is the worst thing these girls
suffer in life they'll be fine. Whitlock has no obligation to follow some
ethnic line of reasoning any more than you or I do.  He's already being
called an Uncle Tom on some blogs.  That is shameful.  Frankly, I'm not a
big fan of lawsuits but I do hope the Duke 3 sue Nifong.  Now about that
whitey business community you speak of - they don't give a rats ass about
your color as long as you show-up on time, are sober, and put in a hard days
work.  I'll hire Martians if they can meet those requirements.  Know any?

It is time to go blow some bubbles instead of smoke.  Have a nice day!

Brad

On 4/15/07, DCLewis1 at aol.com <DCLewis1 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> 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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