[Rhodes22-list] On Don Imus

[bobmellor]

i can feel the love ..   time for a beer.
bob m


Brad Haslett-2 wrote:
> 
> 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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