We've been through this crap before, and clearly Don Imus isn't going to go through it again.
Blowhard Al Sharpton said the I-man's comments "plays into stereotypes", and will decide over the next few days whether or not to protest.
Bring it on, because guess what, Al?
This is a witch hunt. And Imus isn't going to take it again.
This morning, Imus came on the air and firmly defended what he said as sarcasm. This time, there are no apologies or appearances on Sharpton's show.
If any of you have been listening, you'd understand the drill. But you don't - you just all want to judge and assume without having a clue.
The other day, I called my brother "a son of a bitch." It was a joke and we were all laughing. Now, if that had been printed, or only used as a sound byte, you could infer that I was seriously chastising my idiot sibling. See the difference? The people around us knew that Doug and I were doing our usual routine - yet taken out of context, you can spin the whole thing into some kind of attack.
People want blood again, and this time, it isn't happening. Go away...nothing more to see here. I'm sure there's another ambulance to chase somewhere else.
Stephen Kaus provides a solid defense here.
2 comments:
This story has the potential to become really big - and maybe even bigger than the last time!
Why? Because with an election coming up they - being the media - are going to bring up John McCain's appearances on the Imus show and will undoubtedly compare those to Barack Obama attending the church of Rev. Wright. Fairly or not, they will try to make an issue of it.
This stuff is really all subjective though, because Imus didn't say anything that the FCC can come down on. So that's where Sharpton/media come in and how much pressure they can mount against corporate. Time will tell on that end...
By the way, if anyone has ever turned on WBAI and heard some of the bile that comes out of that radio station...then the whole staff over there would be constantly getting fired if you applied the same rule of thumb that cost Imus his job from WFAN/MSNBC.
The problem in all of this is that how radio stations have responded to remarks that upset people is always done on a case by case basis.
Rob,
The big difference is you didn't get grilled for calling your brother an SOB in the past, and aren't under the microscope.
Had Soupy Sales gone back on the air and told the kids in the audience to send him all the money in their daddy's wallets...
OK, maybe more like if O&A had someone dry hump someone else at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Even the tiniest bit of sarcasm isn't going to slide.
Lord knows I've said worse though in my lifetime :)
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