Sorry, but I can't even muster up the energy to get too peeved about this one.
Just months after returning to the airwaves with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by his racist and sexist comment about a women's basketball team, Don Imus is again drawing fire for injecting race into his radio show."Picked on". Riiiiight.
During an on-air conversation Monday about the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones, Imus asked, "What color is he?"
Told by sports announcer Warner Wolf that Jones, who used to be nicknamed Pacman, is "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know."
The exchange came six months after Imus' return to work on a new show on WABC-AM following his firing from MSNBC and CBS Radio for making a racially and sexually charged comment about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. When he returned to work, Imus gave a lengthy on-air apology and pledged to use his new show to foster an open dialogue on race relations.
Later Monday, Imus responded to criticism of his comments, saying he had been misunderstood.
"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black," Imus said in a statement released by his spokesman.
Here's the video, just in case you need to hear it to believe it.
There's the little issue of Pacman Jones, he of the infamous $81k "make it rain" incident. He's hardly a sympathetic character. Hell, I've ripped the man far worse on my own blog. He was Debit To The Race #1 for crissakes! Sorry, but Essence Carson he isn't.
Then there's the I-Man himself. A year and change later, what exactly did the whole "nappy headed hoes" brouhaha really amount to? An Oprah townhall meeting? Some BET propaganda[1]. Bullsh*t promises from Hu$tle Simmons to "clean up the music"? More rib tips for Rebb'n Al? A six month vaca and a raise for Imus?
Seriously, that has to be about it, because the last time I checked, black women were indeed still being referred to as b*tches and hoes, albeit in far more clever fashion than in the past.
What the hell else did ya'll think a "Bust It Baby" was!?!
That said, I'm not sure if this not-so-thinly-veiled subliminal at the lawlessness of Black America will register anything more than a blip. Honestly, with $4.25/gallon gas and Kashi hovering around the $7 mark, I couldn't give a sh*t less.
Firing Imus for this offense won't improve the image of black men as criminals anymore than his last firing improved the image of black women as oversexed
Let Rebb'n Al extort his way to some more rib tips and hair products, though. I wouldn't wanna knock the man's hustle and whatnot.
Question: Are you upset at this latest Don Imus fiasco? What (if anything) should be his punishment?
Imus comments about Dallas' Jones cause uproar [ESPN]
[1] BTW, I will be watching the awards tonight and blogging tomorrow. Forget all the righteous indignation. That sorta extreme coonery just begs for a blog post. How could I let you guys down?
