The Toilet of Racist Language

So, this has now become a nation so immured to viscious language, open bigotry and injustice that a famous radio talker feels he can say the sorts of things Don Imus said on his show April 4th, attaching the rubric of "amusing" to them. I had paid little attention to this whole thing until...yes, it's Amy Goodman once again...I listened to today's Democracy Now hour. Hearing Imus and McGuirk, two slobbering old white guys uttering disgusting "comic" dialogue about young black female athletes almost made me run into a freeway overpass. I couldn't believe my ears. Imus has a ranch out here in New Mexico, and has spent some time belittling and calling our governor, Bill Richardson, names, but I had not even a vague idea that he was this slimy a bottom-feeder. If you haven't heard his remarks, the transcript of them is here thanks to Media Matters. Amy had Al Sharpton and Maretta Short, president of NJ NOW, on the show, just before Sharpton had Imus himself on his own show. The transcript of Sharpton's conversation with Imus is here, through the graces of the NYT, and it's certainly an interesting document.

If this whole thing raises your blood pressure and outrages your soul, NOW has some things you can do to express your outrage. Click here to Take action by sending messages to General Manager Chuck Bortnick of radio station WFAN, which produces Imus' show, to Karen Mateo, Communications VP of CBS Radio which owns WFAN, and to MSNBC television which airs and promotes the show.

Your message to WFAN, CBS Radio and MSNBC? Tell them "You don't have to let Don Imus keep peddling racism and sexism on your airwaves. It's time to Dump Don!"

Imus keeps protesting that he just wasn't thinking when he said those things, no no, he's not a bigot, not a racist, he just wasn't thinking! That's the deal with racism and bigotry...it's not logical, doesn't happen in our higher faculties...it's something so visceral, so ingrained in our lizard brain, that it just comes out if it's in ya, yes indeed. Something we're taught when we're young, either overtly or covertly, don't spend much time thinking about, but, when we've had too much to drink, when we're hee-hawing around with our good ol' buddies, when some of those guards are down, out it comes, nasty remarks or actions against blacks, or Jews, or queers,or women, or any other group we've been taught it's actually okay to despise. That's the messagae Imus is sending to his audience: It's okay to despise and disrespect "tough" young women who don't meet his ideal standard of "cuteness." Too bad Imus let his guard down where everyone in America could hear him. It's not the first time, but it's probably the worst. He has no intention of resigning. Or going to rehab. Or it seems, changing in any real way.

| +Save/Share | |