Here's something you might be interested in.
I've never liked Don Imus. Mostly because he's a horrible DJ.
I think when radio started, you needed to have a good voice. Has anyone listened to this dude? It sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles.
And, the last 15 years of his life...he looks like Jim Ignatoski from Taxi. And seems to have more in common with him than just looks.
But I'm more interested in his recent "racist" remark. He was talking about "Pac-man" Jones (side note: He wants to drop the "Pac-man". Not sure if he wants to change it to another video game that's more current, like "Guitar Hero", or more like his character, and go with "Street Fighter").
The caller was talking about Jones having six arrests, and Imus said "Well, what color is he?" The caller, sounding surprised, said "African-American." To which Imus replied, "Well, there you go."
Imus later "explained" that police always arrest and pick on African-Americans.
To me, and most people, it sounded initially like he was implying that African-American football players always get arrested.
But, I'm curious about something. Had Don Imus had brought it up a different way, would it still be debated. And should it?
Had Imus had said, "Well, it's interesting. Right now, Cedric Benson, an African-American running back, was just cut by the Bears for some stuff. There's another receiver for the Raiders who was with the wrong crowd and got robbed and beaten after partying in a nightclub. And about four others, all black NFL players, in trouble."
Now, just thinking about it...I can think of some white NFL players that have done insane stuff. Heck, this is San Diego. Two words: Ryan Leaf.
Need another crazy white guy? I'll stick with San Diego. Jim McMahan. He blew his nose in a reporters tie, and mooned a helicopter.
And, yet another San Diego story.
When the Super Bowl was here once, I forget who it was, but a white player was on Prospect in La Jolla the night before the big game. He was crying. And having a nervous breakdown (I think he ended up killing himself a few years back).
So clearly, both race of players in the NFL, have gotten into trouble (that Vietnamese player on the Cowboys has been walking the straight and narrow...good for him; he's the only one representing his race! and that's tough to do, if you're playing on the Cowboys these days). But if someone thinks the numbers tilt towards African-Americans, is that a racist thing to bring up?
I also wonder why when hot button issues are touched, it's idiots like Imus that say it in a snide way.
And intelligent people that try to say they shouldn't have been fired. Of course they should. If listeners are offended, and sponsors don't advertise, and the station gets bad press.
Maybe if intelligent people bring up those issues and let other intelligent people discuss them (really, do we need to bring Al Sharpton in on the conversation?), we might actually get somewhere. Bill Cosby speaks more intelligently on the topic then most.
And Cosby is smart enough to realize, he can talk about this one day, and when he performs stand-up, it's jokes and stories people want to hear. Not lectures on how we should live our lives.
Rosie O'Donnel and Margaret Cho could learn a few things from him.
I've never liked Don Imus. Mostly because he's a horrible DJ.
I think when radio started, you needed to have a good voice. Has anyone listened to this dude? It sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles.
And, the last 15 years of his life...he looks like Jim Ignatoski from Taxi. And seems to have more in common with him than just looks.
But I'm more interested in his recent "racist" remark. He was talking about "Pac-man" Jones (side note: He wants to drop the "Pac-man". Not sure if he wants to change it to another video game that's more current, like "Guitar Hero", or more like his character, and go with "Street Fighter").
The caller was talking about Jones having six arrests, and Imus said "Well, what color is he?" The caller, sounding surprised, said "African-American." To which Imus replied, "Well, there you go."
Imus later "explained" that police always arrest and pick on African-Americans.
To me, and most people, it sounded initially like he was implying that African-American football players always get arrested.
But, I'm curious about something. Had Don Imus had brought it up a different way, would it still be debated. And should it?
Had Imus had said, "Well, it's interesting. Right now, Cedric Benson, an African-American running back, was just cut by the Bears for some stuff. There's another receiver for the Raiders who was with the wrong crowd and got robbed and beaten after partying in a nightclub. And about four others, all black NFL players, in trouble."
Now, just thinking about it...I can think of some white NFL players that have done insane stuff. Heck, this is San Diego. Two words: Ryan Leaf.
Need another crazy white guy? I'll stick with San Diego. Jim McMahan. He blew his nose in a reporters tie, and mooned a helicopter.
And, yet another San Diego story.
When the Super Bowl was here once, I forget who it was, but a white player was on Prospect in La Jolla the night before the big game. He was crying. And having a nervous breakdown (I think he ended up killing himself a few years back).
So clearly, both race of players in the NFL, have gotten into trouble (that Vietnamese player on the Cowboys has been walking the straight and narrow...good for him; he's the only one representing his race! and that's tough to do, if you're playing on the Cowboys these days). But if someone thinks the numbers tilt towards African-Americans, is that a racist thing to bring up?
I also wonder why when hot button issues are touched, it's idiots like Imus that say it in a snide way.
And intelligent people that try to say they shouldn't have been fired. Of course they should. If listeners are offended, and sponsors don't advertise, and the station gets bad press.
Maybe if intelligent people bring up those issues and let other intelligent people discuss them (really, do we need to bring Al Sharpton in on the conversation?), we might actually get somewhere. Bill Cosby speaks more intelligently on the topic then most.
And Cosby is smart enough to realize, he can talk about this one day, and when he performs stand-up, it's jokes and stories people want to hear. Not lectures on how we should live our lives.
Rosie O'Donnel and Margaret Cho could learn a few things from him.