Jason Whitlock Weighs in on Imus

[spain]

http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/66339.html

 

COMMENTARY

Imus isn’t the real bad guy

Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.

By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

 

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

 

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

 

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

 

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

 

The bigots win again.

 

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

 

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

 

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

 

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

 

It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.

 

I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.

 

But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.

 

I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.

 

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.

 

But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.

 

In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?

 

I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?

 

When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.

 

No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.

[polksalet]

yep

[wiegie]

As noted by yours truly here:

 

http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?s=&s...dpost&p=1997251

[Chief Dick]

He's getting a lot of run right now for that column. One of his best pieces of work IMO.

[Puddy]

I've noticed a ton of white people love that article.

[wildcat2334]

I've noticed a ton of white people love that article.

 

 

 

yes, the crackers are loving Whitlock's piece. BUT he nails it, this whole thing is an embarrassment white/black/male/female. The whole Rutgers press conferences are a joke.

 

Whitlock is on the money, and he should be gettin props for his take on this.

[H8tank]

Sharpton was stabbed in the chest by Michael Riccardi on Jan. 12, 1991, as the Reverend was leading a protest in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. Sharpton later filed suit against the city accusing the NYPD of failing to protect him. The two sides eventually settled.

 

 

In 1999, Sharpton came to the aid of the family of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant who was shot to death by NYPD officers. Sharpton claimed that Diallo's death was the result of police brutality and racial profiling. Diallo's family was later awarded $3 million in a wrongful death suit filed against the city.

 

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_104002437.html

 

How long til these black nappy headed h0's sue CBS and MSNBC?

Edited April 14, 2007 by H8tank

[wiegie]

I've noticed a ton of white people love that article.

 

The main part about it I like is when he calls on people to not let other people who they don't know and have no connection with somehow take away their happiness with an idiotic comment. (I'm not sure if my being white plays any part in why I like this sentiment.)

[Bill Swerski]

[Puddy]

The main part about it I like is when he calls on people to not let other people who they don't know and have no connection with somehow take away their happiness with an idiotic comment. (I'm not sure if my being white plays any part in why I like this sentiment.)

 

 

 

I'm not sure what characteristic of mine finds this site humorous

[Sox]

yes, the crackers are loving Whitlock's piece. BUT he nails it, this whole thing is an embarrassment white/black/male/female. The whole Rutgers press conferences are a joke.

 

Whitlock is on the money, and he should be gettin props for his take on this.

 

 

 

Crackers?

 

You call us crackers?

 

I for one am offended and demand an apology,along with immediate dismissal from your job.

[wiegie]

Crackers?

 

You call us crackers?

 

I for one am offended and demand an apology,along with immediate dismissal from your job.

 

You're not just any cracker, you're a Hi-Ho Cracker.

[Chavez]

yes, the crackers are loving Whitlock's piece.

 

That's because people look at the tempest in a teapot over some washed-up hack's "humor" and wonder why the black community isn't directing some of their anger at those who do far more to shape the mentality of young black people.

 

Don Imus doesn't affect my life, and I could not care less about him. The inner city is a place I have to work (at times) and the violence/standard of living there DOES affect me - or at least, could alter my life in a very short time period. My vested interest in that is far less than that of a black person who lives in that area.

[Azazello1313]

I've noticed a ton of white people love that article.

 

 

racist.

[Puddy]

I've noticed a ton of white people love that article.

 

 

 

racist.

 

 

 

I'm just saying

 

 

I forwarded that article to a very succesful black friend of mine because he called me and asked my opinion on the whole ridiculous situation. I thought that article was a nice reply. I haven't heard back yet.

[spain]

I'm just saying

I forwarded that article to a very succesful black friend of mine because he called me and asked my opinion on the whole ridiculous situation. I thought that article was a nice reply. I haven't heard back yet.

 

He is probably still in shock that a black man would have the temerity to call Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton what they really are.

[Chief Dick]

Today's column by Whitlock from the KC Star:

 

 

JASON WHITLOCK COMMENTARY

COMMENTARY

IMUS ‘fight’ is over money, fame

 

When I criticized his and Jesse Jackson’s irresponsible and divisive methods of seeking social justice Friday morning, Al Sharpton dismissed the attack by questioning my credibility to lodge a complaint.

 

“There are always guys that are not in the ring who want to call the fight,” Sharpton said. “You know that going in the ring; you’re going to have critics … You can’t satisfy people who are not in the ring.”

 

It’s a clever response. It ignores the obvious.

 

Jesse and Al don’t want anyone else in the ring. They’ve turned the fight for racial equality into a money and fame pit, a place to wrestle for camera time, “consulting” jobs and handshake deals that would make NCAA investigators blush in astonishment.

 

If people with a modicum of integrity were allowed in the ring and, more importantly, allowed to choose the opponents and the length of the battle, the money would run dry and Jesse and Al would be forced to look for real work.

 

Fighting bums is easy. Just look at what Jesse and Al James did to Don Imus, a washed-up, recovering drug addict. They knocked out Imus in a couple of rounds.

 

But at what cost, and what was the real purpose?

 

The young women on the Rutgers basketball team are now targets, the recipients of death threats and harassment, according to East Coast media reports.

 

I have no problem with young people engaging in battle and suffering severe consequences for a righteous cause. We need more of that. The people who really provided the energy for the civil rights movement were in college.

 

But getting in harm’s way over the ignorant utterances of a shock jock? Getting in harm’s way so a coach could have her moment to tell the world about the troubles she’s known? Getting in harm’s way so Al and Jesse James can flex their muscle by beating up another tomato can?

 

No way. It was irresponsible, self-indulgent and typical of the kind of domestic terrorism Sharpton and Jackson have come to specialize in.

 

Again, I am not defending Don Imus. I shed no tears over his comeuppance.

 

I simply question the motives of the people who pushed the hardest and shouted the loudest for Imus’ demise. Those people are now covering themselves with the fig leaf that they have a genuine interest in stopping the anti-black, women-objectifying language in rap music.

 

According to Sharpton, he’s been working on this issue for a number of years.

 

He’s clever. Fortunately, we’re not stupid. We just watched Jesse and Al sink their teeth in Imus’ rear end and not remove them until MSNBC and CBS put knives in Imus.

 

That tenacity and enthusiasm have been completely missing from their fight to clean up hip hop. Whether we like him or not, Minister Louis Farrakhan is the only leader with a consistent position on that issue. What we get from Jesse and Al are half-hearted public relations ploys, fights that end well before any blood is drawn. It’s a game, a game Jesse and Al have mastered.

 

You can create the appearance of putting up a fight, and that ensures no one else will enter the ring.

 

As an example, talk with black race-car drivers about their feelings about NASCAR’s dealings with Jesse Jackson. I have. Their belief is, if you sponsor the right and enough Rainbow Coalition events, you can avoid Jesse ever bringing his circus and negative spotlight to your organization.

 

You follow me?

 

The ring Jesse and Al are boxing in is just as corrupt as the one where Mike Tyson sparred.

 

In a one-year time span, under the guise of fighting for our equality, Jesse and Al contributed to putting Duke lacrosse players and Rutgers basketball players in harm’s way.

 

For what? Was Don Imus hiding weapons of mass destruction? Were the lacrosse players an international threat to escorts? Or maybe the truth just doesn’t matter to Jesse and Al when it comes to furthering their agenda.

 

Whatever integrity Jesse and Al say our president lacks, you have to wonder if they don’t have the exact same deficiency.

 

If there’s a fight to push Jesse and Al out of the ring, you can sign me up. They’re an embarrassment. They disgrace the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a great man whose efforts caused division so that we could one day come together.

 

Jesse and Al cause division for profit, and demand from others the very things they’re unwilling to do — judge people on the content of their character and follow the truth wherever it leads, regardless of color.

 

Truth is on the side of the righteous. Jesse and Al operate as though they don’t believe in our righteousness. They are far more dangerous than Don Imus.

[Ursa Majoris]

If there’s a fight to push Jesse and Al out of the ring, you can sign me up. They’re an embarrassment. They disgrace the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a great man whose efforts caused division so that we could one day come together.

 

Truth here.

[Azazello1313]

If there’s a fight to push Jesse and Al out of the ring, you can sign me up. They’re an embarrassment. They disgrace the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a great man whose efforts caused division so that we could one day come together.

 

Jesse and Al cause division for profit, and demand from others the very things they’re unwilling to do — judge people on the content of their character and follow the truth wherever it leads, regardless of color.

 

Truth is on the side of the righteous. Jesse and Al operate as though they don’t believe in our righteousness. They are far more dangerous than Don Imus.

 

 

dayum. pwn3d, bigtime. but i guess i probably only think so because i'm white, eh puddy?

[godtomsatan]

While I don't have a total issue with Whitlock's thesis, he ignores the simple fact that Imus is white and the hiphop he takes issue with comes (largely) from blacks.

 

That and his dismissal of Imus as a "washed up recovering drug addict" suits his purpose more than it reflects reality.

[Azazello1313]

While I don't have a total issue with Whitlock's thesis, he ignores the simple fact that Imus is white and the hiphop he takes issue with comes (largely) from blacks.

 

 

so a black person can't do as much cultural damage as a white person, simply because they're black?

[wiegie]

While I don't have a total issue with Whitlock's thesis, he ignores the simple fact that Imus is white and the hiphop he takes issue with comes (largely) from blacks.

I think that that is part of his thesis--i.e. that as thoughtless comment by an old white radio host is a whole lot less harmful to the black community (and black women in general) than the rap music industry is.

 

Edit to add: basically what Az just said

Edited April 15, 2007 by wiegie

[Ursa Majoris]

I think that that is part of his thesis--i.e. that as thoughtless comment by an old white radio host is a whole lot less harmful to the black community (and black women in general) than the rap music industry is.

 

Edit to add: basically what Az just said

 

My thought too. I subscribe to Cosby's line of thinking also.

[godtomsatan]

so a black person can't do as much cultural damage as a white person, simply because they're black?

 

 

Of course not, but Jesse/Al/et al obviously are less offended by Jay Z than Don Imus. Don't you think race is the main factor in that?

[spain]

Of course not, but Jesse/Al/et al obviously are less offended by Jay Z than Don Imus. Don't you think race is the main factor in that?

 

Jesse/Al/et al arent offended at all, dont you get that? This is a money/power/publicity thing.