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this is a story about words and the way they're used in a public forum, and it's a story that doesn't seem to be going away. should Don Imus be fired? -joe (or forced to resign) friday
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My instant reaction: Pathetic sensationalist journalism. The tee-shirts will be out soon. If people can't see it for what it really is then in the immortal words of Mr T, I pity the fool.
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Olly, is Imus known in Zild or was this the first you'd heard of him?
I dunno, tsuwm, there's such a fine damn line between free speech and hate speech... guess that's why the only radio I listen to, pretty much, is NPR.
(is this bordering on the political??)
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This is the first I have heard of Imus. There was a similar situation here several years ago with a prominent broadcaster. Some thought nothing of it, some took it to extremes. I won't elucidate but suffice it to say that it was stretched from here to there and ended up being quite funny.
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>(is this bordering on the political??)
maybe, but Imus' act is mostly old curmudgeon who insults everyone.
I noticed Howard Stern's reaction was that Imus should have said to his critics: "ƒµ©k you, it's a joke."
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sure its a joke.
Wasn't it TEd who said, all jokes have hurt as a basis? (except of course, pun!)
Imas made hurtful remarks. they were so hurtful, no one could see the humor.
he pandered to the stereotype of 'beauty' (ie light skin, fair, smooth hair, dainty (ie, not athetic)--oh and let's not forget, 'proper' (ie pure--the classic madonna vs harlot dicotomy of women)
his remarks were sexist and racist. and to some degree he got in trouble for saying them because he is white--some words are racist when used by whites (to talk about blacks) but not when used by blacks to talk about other blacks!
rappers use the word 'ho' to describe women all the time--
but that's OK, but it's not OK for white men to call black women ho's (it's tolerated if they are talking about white women)
it's politicalization of language.
it's been around. boy (ok term for a child under ten, wrong if used to describe a adult man, racist if used to describe a black over the age of 10)
Young lady (ok for girl (preteen) demeaning, for a teen, insulting and sexist used by a man to an adult woman)
words, have meanings--varieties of meanings.
Nappy haired is not a compliment-- the well established western standard of beauty is for smooth hair--that could be described at racist, but its hard to tell (cleopatra used clay to smooth and straighten her hair.. if straight smooth hair is a 'beauty' feature, it is one that predates european standards of beauty!--curly hair (curly to the point of being nappy) has rarely been considered a beauty feature (in us fair shinned and hair folks, its called "lamb wool' hair, and not considerered a blessing either!) (a sure sign is clowns and other charactures often have curly, curly hair) he used a lot of words with negative meanings to describe young women who did nothing but excell. it was mean spirited, and rude. (but then like the AsP, i don't listen to this 'shock jockey' and my radio listening is pretty much QXR (classic music) and NPR.
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the fact is, on the basketball court these women did look tough. sculpted, athletic bodies; many tattoos; corn rows. in their public appearances since the Imus affair, they have softened the look, wearing warmups to cover the tats and muscles, and "normal" hair.
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and 'tough' =amoral?
when male athletes look tough it is good, when female althetes look tough, they are also presumed to be promiscuous?
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addict
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Olly nailed it. The flake press has again produced a four-alarm fire from a struck match. One of the 'victims' was put on the air whining about being "scarred for life". In the immortal word[s] of Mr Weatherby, Egad! It must be a seriously weak mind that can be so horribly damaged by so little. GET OVER IT! Disclaimer: Any snippiness prompted by drift into politics on the wrong bulletin board may be directed to note the use of special phrase constructions [merely as an exercise] in the preceding rant.
ÅΓª╥┐↕§
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Well, I'd never heard of this Imus guy. I guess my feelings about it would vary a bit, depending on the context. Is he a sportscaster, as in reporting the game plays to his listeners? In which case, he should NEVER have made a comment like that. If he's just a DJ, esp. one who specializes in saying things for "shock value", then I can somewhat better understand why he might say that. However, I also think he should have kept in mind that there are ways to "shock" without being politically incorrect in such a high-profile, personalized way. It is my understanding that nappy-headed a.) is usually applied only to black people, and b.) means a condition where it is obvious that the hair has not had any care in a long time; for ex. it might have accumulated lint in it. So I don't think the term would apply to someone with well-kept cornrows, or any hair that is well-styled--er, that shows that at least some care has been taken-- and not obviously dirty.
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