They're both bad. The fact that hip-hop lyrics are worse, doesn't mean that Imus' comments are OK.
Posted at 2007-04-12 05:51:14 [PermaLink]Well Imus is an arse but he rather got railroaded. Hip-hop lyrics are ott and they get away with it merely because of their race.
Posted at 2007-04-12 06:30:03 [PermaLink]I wonder if irony means anything to NBC. They fire Don Imus (rightly so) but the following day have the race baiter and antesemite Al Sharpton on the Today show. The difference between Imus and Sharpton is that Sharpton's words do real harm to people, e.g. Tawana Brawley case, Crown Heights, Duke lacrosse player "rape" case etc. etc.
Posted at 2007-04-12 07:16:05 [PermaLink]I agree with Colino. Both are harmful to African-American women and simply because on is worse, does not mean the other is any more acceptable.
Posted at 2007-04-12 08:11:23 [PermaLink]"They're both bad. The fact that hip-hop lyrics are worse, doesn't mean that Imus' comments are OK."
Sure, but which of them got censored? The black rappers have yet to be called on their horrific misogyny and antisemitism. And they probably never will be.
Anyone remember the '06 Oscars when that black rap-group came out and sang "Its Hard Out There For a Pimp"?
A few Black media commenters actually condemned it, with one journalist from PBS saying it was the '06 version of step'n fetch it.
The misogyny, too, was over the top, with 20 year olds gyrating around in skirts so short you could almost see their asses.
Reminded me of the more outrageous elements you often see at Gay Pride parades.
It seems Snoopy doggy dog clarified what "ho" means.
They don't qualify, they're in college.
Ellie,
If rap were to be played in Don Imus' time slot or any other timeslot on an NBC station, you can bet it would be censored, if those songs would get played at all.
Also, as I remember from the past 20 years or more, rap has been called out on its offensive content, it has just never made any difference. Given the amount of money thrown into producing, publicizing, and distributing it, and the draw of controversy with the children who are its primary demographic, that is not a surprise. Those black stickers on the packaging sold more records than any explicit lyrics ever did on their own.
Rappers get away with it because of their audience/market, not because of their race. Eminem has made more from his misogyny than most recording labels have from their entire talent pools.
But why does one person get fired while another gets an Oscar? That's all I'm askin'.
Posted at 2007-04-12 14:41:55 [PermaLink]