Imus Alone On “Hos”?
by Jeff Crouere

By now everyone knows controversial shock jock Don Imus is gone from MSNBC and CBS Radio. This was his penalty for his now infamous remarks about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team. On his show, Imus referred to the team, which had just lost the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, as “some nappy headed hos.”

The broadcaster’s 30 year career has finally reached a turning point. If Imus continues on the air, it will never be the same; it will never be as good, as he will always be second guessing his irreverent ways, his acid tongue. At this point, there is a real question as to whether he has any type of career to salvage. Yet, he is fighting desperately to hang on to his lofty status, making the apology rounds and even appearing on the Rev. Al Sharpton radio show yesterday.

This was the path followed by the disgraced comedian Michael Richards after he repeatedly used the “n” word to insult African-Americans in his audience at a club in Hollywood. After Richards apologized to every show and civil rights leader he could find, he has basically disappeared, his career is history. Will the same fate befall Don Imus? Most likely, Imus is destined for the same cultural ash heap for what advertisers or broadcasters will want to be associated with someone so tainted? What politicians will come on the Imus show now?

Civil rights leaders like Rev. Sharpton are not going to forgive Imus. Even after Imus apologized on his radio show, Sharpton still called for his firing. In fact, Imus got into even more hot water on the Sharpton show during an exchange with a female caller. Imus said “I can’t get anywhere with you people.” This outraged Sharpton who asked, “What did you mean by ‘you people’?” Imus claimed he was only referring to the caller and Sharpton and not all African Americans, but it certainly brought back memories of that nutty presidential candidate Ross Perot. At a NAACP convention during the 1992 presidential race, Perot referred to the crowd as “you people.” After that remark, Perot’s candidacy was never the same, as his poll numbers fell dramatically and a major controversy ensued.

Imus has a long history of insulting different ethnic groups and individuals, which is why he is known as a “shock jock.” Now the tables have turned and the heat is on Imus who is just trying to save his career. Hopefully, this incident will mark the end of the shock jock era, in which foul mouthed disc jockeys and talk show hosts insult people ruthlessly in the name of entertainment. A much better brand of broadcasting is to treat all callers and guests with respect, even those who have a different point of view. It may not be as “entertaining,” however; it is certainly more enlightening and interesting. Imus, although he is a legitimate talent, is a relic and the sooner that the radio and television industry moves on, the better for everyone involved. Hopefully the time for such hosts has passed for good broadcasting and shock jocks do not go hand in hand.

Despite the valid criticism of Imus for his comments, he alone is not responsible for what has occurred. Part of the problem is the entire culture that we all live in. This incident is part of a much larger dilemma, just like the Richards controversy last November. When he used the “n” word seven times during his rant, Richards was mimicking the type of insulting language heard everyday on inner city streets, in rap music, music videos, movies and even television. As it was wrong for Richards to use the “n” word it is also wrong for African Americans to use the word in conversations and in songs. It is an insulting comment, no matter how or why it is said and the sooner it is excluded from our language, the better. 

In the Imus situation, he used the derogatory word “hos,” but he did not invent the word. It is taken from the popular culture, heard often in movies and rap music as a way of degrading women, particularly African American women. Imus should be condemned for his use of the word, but so should rap artists who enjoy insulting women in their music and videos.

Such comments and behavior should be consistently criticized, no matter the source, not only when old, idiotic, washed up white men use the terms.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 8:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and Noon till 2 p.m. weekdays on several Louisiana radio stations. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com.