Don Imus Fired! So What!!

When Don Imus decided to call the Rutgers ladies basketball team 'nappy-headed 'hos', and made reference to jiggaboos and wannabees, he had people calling for his head. How dare he say that about anyone. I was shocked. Is free speech really about being offensive? I always thought it was about something more. Although the end result was that his simulcast on MSNBC was cancelled, and he was consequently fired, we have to wonder as a black race whether we are unwittingly encouraging others to disrespect us as much as we seem to disrespect ourselves. I apparently am not the only one that thinks this is the case. Listening to Michael Baisden on his syndicated Bad Boy show, I heard Iyanla Vanzant make a statement about how difficult it is for others to respect us when we don't respect ourselves. She noted that there are many rappers that repeatedly call women 'hos' and B***Hs and often times there will be women gyrating to that drivel in the clubs (Giiirrrlll....that's my SONG!!!). What is happening to us?

Used to be a time that we carried ourselves with dignity, despite the indignities that were forced upon us. We didn't talk down to our women or our men. There was a dignity in our clothes and our walk. Now we walk around half-clothed, acting like strippers at the clubs. We allow men to sit at home and abuse us and our kids because we 'need a man'. Don Imus might have used the words and gotten a reaction, but what if he had been black? Would we have gone after him with as much fervour, or would we just have labeled him an ignorant so-and-so, and let it go? If we are really angry about these statements, isn't it time we started to aggressively attack all those who use the words and portray the black race in a negative light? Forget their color! Forget their race! Just make them accountable for what they say. IMUS them I say! Unfortunately it looks like we as a people (yes I mean black) have a double-standard when it comes to our indignation. What right do we have to ask for Imus to get fired when we walk around talking down to each other. How many times have you been guilty of putting someone down because they are a shade lighter or darker than you? Why are we still using the word 'nigger' when it has such negative connotations. I have heard people say that it is okay when a black person says it to another one in 'affection' but I also think of the history associated with that word, and don't think that we should forget what it stood for. It isn't something we should take lightly.

This isn't just me venting! People were calling in to radio shows and sending comments to television stating that if we don't find it offensive to address each other in derogatory terms, why do we care if others call us what we call ourselves. I get angry with Black Entertainment Television ( I use the word 'entertainment losely--I don't think stripper polls and half-clad, pole dancing women qualify as entertainment) for portraying us as ignorant, loud-mouth, cussing dum-dums who can't seem to do positive things with our time. What happened to celebrating the real leaders in our communities? The people who are making a difference in their communities or are successful in their careers. Our children need to see that acheivement isn't just bouncing around half-naked, or smoking weed and glamorizing violence. I love positive rap music and yearn for the days when they had a real message or talked about realities that they were facing. It was poetry set to music and the brilliance in the expression was music to my soul. This new nonsense just isn't entertainment. Let us take to task all the people that are saying the ignorant things, regardless of the platform or color, and Imus them! Imus them all (read: Fire them). Ask the question, are you black enough? Don Imus was wrong to say what he said. Free speech should protect the right to express yourself, not subject others to your hatred. Anyone talking like him is wrong too. Let us be bold enough to stand up and say so.