Let me just state for the record that I am sick to death of the Don Imus controversy. I’m tired of Imus getting more free publicity than any bigot and fool deserves. Even more than that, though, I’m tired of the cheap, manufactured outrage emanating from the African-American community. And more than anything else, I’m sick of the double standard in play here.
Understand that I’m not about to defend Don Imus for anything. The man’s a first-class dickweed who’s about as funny as a mortal head wound. What I can’t help but wonder, though, is why Imus is being crucified while African-American rap stars throw around terms like “bitches” and “hos” and “nigger” as if they’re legal tender? Why is a first-class bigot and fool like Al Sharpton allowed to claim the moral high ground when he’s every bit as much as a DUMB@$$ as Don Imus?
What seems clear now is that every African-American public figure has deemed it necessary to prove their “blackness” and their commitment to the cause by demanding that Imus be fired. That’s fine, but where’s the outrage over members of their own community using the very language they’re crucifying Imus over? The hypocrisy in lay here is almost palpable. If they’re going to demand that the head of Don Imus be delivered to them on a pike, how about doing something about their fellow African-Americans? Oh, right; Imus is White. He’s not a member of the club. Because he’s White, he doesn’t have the same privilege of using derogatory language as terms of endearment. When a White person does it, it’s horribly racist, demeaning, and insulting. When an African-American uses the same language, they’re just normally, everyday means of addressing your brothers and sisters.
Look, this language is either insulting and racist or it’s not. If you’re going to crucify Don Imus for using insulting and racist language (and yes, I agree that it was definitely that), then it must be condemned regardless of the color of the person using. If it’s insulting when a White person does it, it should be equally as insulting when an African-American does it. If you cannot recognize that, then you’re guilty of employing a double standard, and you’ve lost all credibility and moral standing.
If Al Sharpton and other African-American leaders are so all fired up about racist language, then they should be working to address the problem in their own community. Then again, it IS a helluva lot easier to crucify a White shock jock so you can get some cheap face time on television talk shows. You can assume an appropriate air of gravitas and play the moral indignation card…and in the end, you don’t really have to do anything else- because people will buy your book, read your newspaper column, listen to your radio show, and in general line your pockets…which is ultimately what this is really all about, isn’t it?
African-American community leaders aren’t stupid. They know which way the wind is blowing, and they’ll do what any politically sensitive individual would do- what’s expected of them. This should be about changing the way we relate to another. It should be about working to ensure that we respect each other and our individualism and humanity. It shouldn’t be about protecting and burnishing careers. Then again, we all know how things really work, eh?
