I've listened to Don Imus on & off since I lived in New York back in 1996-1998. I think that he came into my consciousness because I was in New York and he broadcast his show from that town. I don't think his radio show is carried in Cincinnati. In any case, I don't listen to him on the radio. However, I do watch his MSNBC simulcast on a semi-regular basis in the morning. I watch the show more regularly during political campaign season as he brings some good gues
ts ... including political candidates ... on his show. I enjoyed his overt campaigning on behalf of Harold Ford in his run for the U.S. Senate.On the April 4 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team, which is comprised of eight African American and two white players, as "nappy-headed hos" immediately after the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team "hard-core hos." Later, former Imus sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, who was filling in for sportscaster Chris Carlin, said: "The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the [National Basketball Association's] Toronto Raptors."
McGuirk referred to the NCAA women's basketball championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee as a "Spike Lee thing," adding, "The Jigaboos vs. The Wannabees -- that movie that he had." McGuirk was presumably referring to Lee's 1988 film, School Daze (Sony Pictures), though co-host Charles McCord misidentified it as "Do the Right Thing" (Criterion, June 1989)."
Personally, I feel that anytime white folks try to pit us against ourselves it is in line with the message from the Willie Lynch letter many moons ago. Imus and his cronies try to pit us against each other. It won't work this time.
This isn't the first time Imus has pulled this kind of nonsense.
NBC had to apologize for Imus in 2004, after he called Palestinians "stinking animals" and referred to an Iraqi executed by a U.S. soldier as a "bobby-trapped, raghead cadaver." Imus' awful racial remarks, included calling the highly-regarded black journalist Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady" when she was sent to cover the White House for the New York Times. Imus admitted to 60 Minutes that producer Bernard McGurk was brought on "to do nigger jokes," called Patrick Ewing "the missing link," Shaquille O'Neal "a car-jacker in shorts," and the Knicks "chest-bumping pimps."
NABJ called for us to boycott his show. But, in my view, Imus should either resign or be fired from his radio show. There is no place in the media for a bigoted jerk.
I see that MSNBC and CBS Radio suspended him for two weeks from the simulcast television show. In my view, a two-week suspension isn't enough for the repeated pattern of racist comments that come from Imus and his colleages. Methinks that Imus' career in radio and television is over. Any good that he does with causes such as autism, cancer or care for our veterans is overshadowed by his continued degradation of African Americans. Period.
- Trash Talk Radio - Gwen Ifill
- Misogyny in the Morning - Eugene Robinson
- Don Imus and Barack Obama - Joseph Palermo
- What the Media WON'T TELL YOU - Post on Highbrid Nation blog
Imus should be fired. That's my view. Apparently, Bigelow Tea, Procter & Gamble and Staples agree with me. They pulled their advertising from the show!
What are your comments on this situation?
