Well, yes… and probably get them both fired.
Personally, I’d like to see Imus, Trent Lott, Michael Richards and Mel Gibson go on a nationwide Apologipalooza '07 tour together.
I imagine he was strongly “advised” to apologize by the people who air his show.
And Isaiah Washington. That’s five guys; same number as the Traveling Wilburys.
Right you are! 
Wee Bairn, in our exchange yesterday, I took back my assessment of what I thought you meant by “Al and his ilk”; I’m now thinking I made a mistake. It would have been good if you were only “channeling” the I-Man, but I think perhaps you were channeling something much deeper – psychically and historically. It is my impression that you clearly have some continued problem with Al Sharpton (though you wrote upthread that you liked him) and, by extension, black people. I also now think your comment was written in your own “voice,” based on your own thoughts.
Before I continue, I’d like you to know that these are only my impressions and I’ve attempted to use as many qualifiers as I can to reflect that. Also note my use hyperbole here and there – nothing personal. I additionally don’t want you to think I’ve begun “following you around” in any way. It’s just that a few of your posts in the last couple of days have stood out for me. I also hope the similarity in our humor (as reflected is your characterization of your “ilk” post yesterday) can end up being our common ground.
I was, and continue to be, troubled by Sharpton’s involvement in (and never-issued apology for) the Tawana Brawley incident. I think you and others may fail to understand that, though ultimately proven to be in the wrong, he is human and got caught up in something that he truly believed in. This was just something that ended up biting him in the ass. What happened way back then seems to clearly be a case of someone who was younger and inexperienced and who just did not know how to issue a much-needed mea culpa. I dismissed him at the time to the extent everyone did – what a charlatan, I said.
However, I do think that his actions since then have balanced the books more than a little bit. Sorry; for those who still hold that against him, he just wasn’t lynched.
I understand the us darkies adn other downtrodden people have been told that the old days are gone and racism and bigotry just don’t exist anymore. That’s just not the case. Witness the recent Michael Richards incident, the Isaiah Washington brouhaha, the Tim Hardaway imbroglio; hell, the Joe Biden soundbite about Barack Obama. (I’m not so sure about the Billy Packer “fag out” exchange. I think he meant what he said he meant but just thought he was being clever in the way he said it.)
As you can see from the cited examples, racism and bigotry do still exist.
I also get the impression that some people don’t think these issues merit being highlighted and pointed out. But they do, and Sharpton has taken up the cause to do that, at least when it comes to Black people living in Amerika. Is he also personally seeking the limelight? Yes, he is, but what person (white, black or polka-dotted (who the hell is polka-dotted?)) who intentionally puts himself in the spotlight, isn’t? Does he do any good? I, and many others, think so.
Somehow, seemingly, just because people think there are issues that they deem unimportant, part of the past, issues which don’t affect them, or are something that they’ve told those nappy-headed pickaninnies and namby-pamby pansies to just get over, they think these issues don’t need to be brought to the public’s attention.
I won’t list all of the causes Sharpton has taken up over the many years since Brawley-gate (it’s been at least twenty years), but most of them I’ve felt, as a Black man and a gay person, deserve to be forced to the forefront of New York City’s and, sometimes, the nation’s consciousness. Do you, Wee Bairn, think so? Apparently not – and that is your right.
But I have to ask you, in this misguided world, where everyone who makes a deliberate misstep has to find some public forum in which to apologize for that misstep (I think it’s silly for the most part, but that’s the world we live in), what do *you * think he should do to atone and where do *you * think he should go to do it? And if he ends going to someone who has also made a misstep in the past (and never apologized for it, I acknowledge), why does the issue for you then become about the host (despite your saying you like him) and not the incident that’s being ameliorated?
FTR, Jesse Jackson should never have made that Hymietown comment and should also have been (and was, and, apparently, still is) severely taken to task for it. But if that was not enough, perhaps we can arrange a lynching.
I find it ironic that Imus is in trouble for using slurs that black entertainers use. I haven’t noticed any real live black people using them, but Eddie Murphy, Dave Chapelle, etc. have made millions off this kind of crap. What I’m saying is, it’d be nice if someone called black entertainers on the carpet for their insulting characterizations of black people. I think they do real damage.
Imus was just being a dick. AFAIK, that’s what he’s always been paid to be. I guess he gets a bonus for being so damned boring.
The Rutgers press conference is in progress, however, I’m stuck on a Very Unimportant Conference Call and can’t listen. Can someone fill me in?
5-4, as I said, I like Al- think he’s funny, witty, loved him on SNL, and think he does and has done a lot of great things for the black community. He is one of the few black leaders, or white for that matter, to publically speak up on behalf of gay rights- a big deal, in my book, especially since it appears to me from the outside that the black community seems to be less tolerant of gays- I could be wrong on this, just an opinion. But saying that, the TB incindent is a big thing, if it true as reported that he knowingly covered up facts. If he did not, then yes, you are entitled to a mistake, everyone makes them. My point was, I think, why does it seem now to be the thing to meet with Al? Why not be interviewed by Tavis Smalley (sp?) or someone like that, you know a journalist? As for the hymietown comment, is that as bad or worse than nappy headed ho’s? Who knows? Jesse Jackson deep down could be a bigger bigot than Imus, for all I know. I actually can’t stand Imus and wish he was off the air, but I don’t think it fair that society be pressured to act based on what these two individuals feel should be done in a given situation, especially when they have made “mistakes” in the past. Was JAckson “punished” in any way for his comment- I don’t recall.
As for what Imus should do to atone- good question. It’s all phony anyway. Why send fake apologies that you don’t mean- becasue his bosses are demanding it,that’s why, but who gets anything out of a fake apology? Imus knows he doen’t mean it, Al knows it, anyone who has listend to Imus since WNBC knows he says stuff like that all the time. He admitted to 60 minutes to having staffers call in with nigger jokes- no apology in the world can cover for that, so why bother with a big charade that no one is buying or will accept anyway. His punishment should either be firing, suspension, or something, but apologies of that type are only good when you think a person may have made a genuine mistake- not the case here. I do think the public embarassment by having to go and apologize to the team is a good idea though, but don’t think he was bothered at all by sitting down with Al- he probably got off on that.
Back to Al- falsely accusing an officer of taking part in a crime that did not exist is a pretty big “oops” in his closet.
Why are people moving the focus away from Imus, and on to Sharpton (and Jesse Jackson? WTF?)?
I have never heard either Sharpton or Jackson proclaim themselves the voice of Black America. How much do you want to be that Imus’ people contacted Sharpton first, and not the other way around?
I have to be honest. I have no idea why some people have such raging hate-ons for Sharpton and Jackson. Are they perfect? Far from it. Have they made addressing issues of racial discrimination the center of their lives? Definitely. But last time I looked, there are plenty of people active in politics, entertainment, and sport who have used racial slurs, made their peace, and moved on.
Say what you want about Sharpton and Jackson - and I will join you in many of the critiques you might level at them - but for poor people, especially poor Black people, these men are able to bring national attention to instances of discrimination and prejudice. They don’t kowtow to governmental bureaucracies or accept platitudes excusing police brutality or racist behavior, for example. I daresay both of these men have done more to comfort people in those situations than most Americans, but they are always in the firing line. America doesn’t like to talk about race, I get it. And I personally tip my hat to those who are willing to grapple with the issue and take the flak that comes with it.
I think this is one of those issues. If you haven’t personally felt the sting of discrimination without recourse, or can’t sympathize with what it must feel like, I expect you see Sharpton and Jackson as media whores, racially divisive, etc. If you’ve never been in a situation where you feel hopeless after being treated in an unjust matter, where you feel you can’t trust that the people elected to represent you in government, then you probably don’t understand the value of Sharpton or Jackson. I’m not endorsing every thing these men have done in the name of promoting racial justice. I suppose there will be a renaissance of their works after these men are dead and buried, and can no longer ask hard questions, and challenge the status quo.
I do recognize that several posters have acknowledged the good deeds of Sharpton, for example, which is fantastic. I just wish more of America would have an open mind.
Just my $.02.
What has Chappelle said that degraded black women this way? I haven’t seen every single episode of his show, but he was usually making fun of people who did those kinds of things.
And when has Eddie Murphy refered to random strangers as “nappy-headed hos”? Was there a joke in Raw or Delirious that I missed out on?
Watching the press conference right now… the coach and members of the Rutgers hoops team are awesome. They are handling themselves with aplomb.
Yes, I’m watching the team members right now. Essence (the “spokeswoman”) is doing a great job. It sounds like they’re going to let him swing in the breeze, though they did say they were going to meet to discuss it. I suppose they can accept or reject the apology two ways; as a school/team and as individuals. It doesn’t look like the individuals are in any hurry to cut him any slack.
Does anyone with Sirius know if Howie S. is having a field day with this?
NY Times says Stern was mocking Imus’ apology, saying he was acting like it was his first gig. Says Stern, Imus should have just asid “F*%$ You, it was a joke.”
You didn’t expect Howard to be helpful, did you?
Well if that’s the way Imus felt (and I’m inclined to think that it is) then that is what he should have said. He’s showing now that he’s a gutless coward who can be brought down to his knees when his paycheck is threatened.
Also, it is rather hypocritical of the company that owns his show to come down on him now. My understanding is he’s been doing this for a while, but the company only took issue with it when Sharpton/Jackosn raised Cain. That sort of behavior is to be expected from a corporation though.
I was unsure of what punishment is apt but after reading the transcript of the Sharpton interview, I think for a bigot like Imus to be grilled for an hour by people who he feels are beneath him, and have to sit there and take it and barely defend himself, the embarassment from that may be punishment enough- I can’t believe Al didn’t call him on the condescending “yes sir” “no sir” schtick.
I actually caught the Stern show for a good portion of their discussion on Imus. He basically said that Imus has always been a racist, he saw it when he worked with him at NBC in the early 80’s. Stern was more offended by the fact, it seemed, that it wasn’t even funny.
FWIW, Sharpton never apologized to the asst. DA he defamed in the Brawley case, according to Wikipedia: Tawana Brawley rape allegations - Wikipedia