Don Imus Must Be Fired

Don Imus made a racist statement. Therefore Don Imus is a racist. Therefore he cannot be trusted to be on the airwaves, so he must be fired.

That seems to be the sentiment. I have problems with the second and third part of that statement, but in this case, my biggest problem is with number one.

Did Don Imus make a racist statement?

Imus: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and —

McGuirk: Some hard-core hos.

Imus: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don't know.

Where's the racism in that? He is comparing the appearance of one set of black females to the appearance of some other black women. He's not discriminating against a race based on the color of their skin. He's actually giving his opinion on the difference between people of the same race. People who are racist believe that all people of a race are the same, and the reason is because of their race.

The problem is that Imus' statement SOUNDS racist. He uses "racist language" to express something that is NOT racist, and is actually the OPPOSITE of racism. Possibly sexist, definitely classless, but not racist.

Those that are after Don Imus' head for being a racist are simply trying to show that they have the power to get people fired if they get offended by what someone says. He used "hip hop" language, and since he's not a "hip hop" artist he's somehow NOT ENTITLED to use that language. And that's BULLSHIT. All words are up for grabs.

People who are on the lookout for racism in America need to LOOK HARDER before they cry wolf. I'm sure there are FAR BETTER cases of racism out there they can find. As a hint, try looking for statements made out of HATE. Going after lame situations like this just hurts their credibility.

And one final quote, from Dave Chapelle:

The girl says, 'Wait a minute! Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a whore!' Which is true. Gentlemen, that is true. Just because they dress a certain way doesn't mean they are a certain way. Don't ever forget it. But ladies, you must understand that that is fucking confusing! It just is.

Now that would be like me, Dave Chappelle the comedian, walking down the street in a cop uniform. Somebody might run up on me, saying, 'Oh, thank God. Officer, help us! Come on. They're over here. Help us!' '

And I'd say OHH!! Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a police officer!' All right, ladies, fine. You are not a whore. But you are wearing a whore's uniform.