I didn’t want to post anything more on The Great Imus Outrage of Historical Proportions, the story of stories (along with The Great Bahamanian Paternity Test of Our Time), but, just when I thought I’d had my say, I succumb to temptation and post more. More. MORE!
But I’ll make it quick.
Edwards believes in forgiveness, and is keeping his options open, but Hillary is righteous in her outrage and Obama thinks he ought to be fired.
And he has been. Sort of. MSNBC, lack of integrity still firmly intact, has announced that it will no longer simulcast his radio show. Which begs the question: Why was it simulcasting his show? Ratings? I don’t know. Money? Clearly. And yet Imus has a long history of bigoted speech. So why now? Because it got too hot for MSNBC. Before, when no one was paying much attention, it was more than happy to take the money and let Imus spew his filth.
Is what Imus said worse that what is, say, rapped? Yes, in a way. On that I agree with Atrios, Reaction co-blogger Mustang Bobby over at Shakesville, and various others. This was a personal attack.
And yet this is not to excuse rap and the hip-hop culture. Far from it. On this I agree with Kevin Drum: “A slur aimed at specific people is obviously different than a generic slur in a rap song, but it’s not that different. If one is offensive, so is the other, and it’s hard to argue that the cesspool of misogyny in contemporary rap has no effect on the wider culture. It’s not that this excuses what Imus did. It’s just the opposite. If we’re justifiably outraged by what Imus said, shouldn’t we be just as outraged with anybody else who says the same thing, regardless of their skin color?”
Yes, absolutely.
And that is all. I’ve had enough.