Don Imus: A True American Hero

Anyone in possession of working eyes and ears has certainly been exposed to the recent incident involving radio personality, Don Imus. His comments in regards to the women's Rutger's basketball team led to a week long string of protests from various civil rights and women's groups, catapulting the incident to headline status and sparking numerous debates over what action would be best to take. In the end, Imus was out of a job and public activism added a win to its long record of innumerable losses. Good prevailed over evil, and society has now taken a huge step forward, right? Unfortunately, this situation has managed to expose the undeniable fact that evolution is real and racism is now proof that over time, certain things can mutate into new forms.

The new form of racism is not outright and clearly displayed like its first generation ancestor; instead it is subtle and much harder to sniff out. Closet racism has managed to weasel its way into the minds and the voices of millions of people, many of which who are in a position to share those candy-coated, rancid-cored sentiments with the nation. But don't be fooled, there is nothing sweet or innocent about racist ideals that are "technically" not racist. Don Imus has been berated, ridiculed and figuratively beaten-although there is always the chance of a literal beating-however, what is most unfortunate about this whole situation is how eager the media was to use, "nappy-headed hos", knowing they could seem morally righteous by opposing the hurtful slur.

Over the past week, the phrase uttered without thought or foresight by Don Imus, has been regurgitated thousands of times by the media, who could simply escape any backlash by putting the weight on Imus. And what's the harm in that? Imus was the one who said it. He should have to bear that weight. Nevertheless, the weight that Imus was forced to bear had a few additional pounds thanks to egotists using this incident as a means to slither their way onto talks shows and into newspapers, garnering however many minutes of fame they could scrounge up. Out of the varied bunch of self-absorbed activists there is Al Sharpton, a man who has been involved in a fair amount of scandals as well as amassing an archive of ignorantly bigoted quotes. To avoid giving Al more publicity than he deserves, the following quote is a fitting way of explaining the kind of person Mr. Sharpton is. "If a black man farts and a white man says it stinks- Al will protest." (Quote courtesy of Anthony Caroto)

While some would contend that the news is justified, and even obligated to repeat the remarks of Imus, it is clear that the excessive use on their part is evidence that closet racism exists. A strange essence of hypocrisy lingers in the airwaves, as a slur, which has been compared to other racial slurs, is repeated over and over by supposedly anti-racist news groups. If Imus had said "nigger" instead of "nappy-headed hos" would the media use the former as much as they did the latter? Certainly not; they would instead water it down to "n-word", but apparently "nappy-headed hos" is offensive enough to flood the news almost non-stop for over a week, but not offensive enough to avoid saying it at every possible opportunity. Like a person who goes to an All-You-Can-Eat buffet and eats more than they can, the media has over indulged.

There are certain terms or ways of phrasing words that appear harmless on the surface, but at the core are truly vile and abject. The term Imus used is just that, and while it might not be the verbal bomb nigger is, it still hits with the same force. Therefore the media, who are a socially responsible entity, should have exercised sound judgment to regulate the use of the phrase. Instead, they exercised the control of the bastard child of Don Imus and Ann Coulter. It wasn't until a week later when the media finally shined the spotlight on rational and good-intentioned members of the black community such as Kansas City Star columnist, Jason Whitlock (To Read Whitlock's Article on the Imus Incident click here). For the media to give people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson a public platform to speak on behalf of all black America, is precisely why closet racism is roaming the minds of Americans like an arrogant Nazi.

Both preach a message of hate and hypocrisy, continuously blaming the mythical white devil and his shylock finger that they claim is holding black America down. It is their misguided message that is seen by white Americans who believe it to be the common ideals help by most black Americans-a severe untruth. Through that connection, closet racism not only lingers on the minds of conspiracy theorists such as Sharpton and Jackson, but it taints the beliefs of white America as well. In Jason Whitlock's article, he addresses the issues that are of real concern for not only black America but white America. How sad it is when we still must refer to separate Americas? The problems addressed by Mr. Whitlock are issues that must be resolved by a united America not just one part of society. Thug culture has poisoned the minds of numerous youths and turned them away from the only thing that will move them in a positive direction: the pursuit of an education.

Reading has never been popular by the youth of America but its popularity is at an all time low; schools are trying to fix the low test scores by training kids on how to approach standardized testing-a tactic of the horrid No Child Left Behind initiative. Unfortunately, some children must be left behind so they can learn the value of catching up. We need to stop babying the youth of this country for it is responsible for their degeneration. Education is and always will be the best tool for squashing heinous monsters like racism, ignorance and the idolization of unfit idols.

In a strange way, Don Imus should be praised for his tongue slip. By letting those hateful words slip out of his mouth, he has exposed the darker side of American society, and it is not the Don Imus'-it is a blatant hypocrisy and a false sense of moral righteousness. Don Imus was merely a scapegoat who got far more than he deserved. He will forever be a symbol for how ignorance and misguided agendas can distract people from the real issues, by focusing on insignificant things such as barely known shock jocks who forget it is no longer the 1950s. America needs to stop blaming and start taking the blame. Only then will progress finally be made.