Originally, I wasn't going to post anything about Don Imus and his "nappy headed hos" comment. To be honest, I haven't paid attention to shock jocks since the
Greaseman (remember him?) made his comment about James Byrd when I was still in high school.
Besides, why do I need to comment? The bloggosphere has exploded, providing excellent posts from Kim Pearson
on blogher,
Al Roker ,
Liza from the Feminist Bloggers Network, and Jill Nelson from
WIMN online.
My favorite posts are from Mrs. J over at
Our Kind of Parenting and the fabulous Debra Dickerson over at
The Last Plantation. However, in discussing the facts surrounding the controversy with some friends, I decided that I would hit on five quick points:
1. If Don Imus is making a sincere apology, the answer is NOT Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.This morning, MSNBC reported that IMUS was going to meet with the Rutger's team.
Tuesday morning, Imus said his focus was on meeting with the Rutgers women who were the target of his barb.
"Next time I apologize is going to be these women, their family and the coach," said Imus, adding, "I need to stand in front of them and say I'm sorry."
Umm, yeah. Why did you bother talking to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson first? I know that they are getting a reputation for absolving racial sins, but come on. If you really thought that you were wrong, you would have apologized FIRST to the people who were hurt by your comments.
To those who say, "It was just a joke!" - yeah, that is what it was meant to be. A joke. But sometimes, jokes hurt people. If you crack a joke, and offend one of your friends, you don't go apologize to a third party. You apologize to the person who you offended.
2. Feminists, as always, are notably absent from this one.Blogger Roland S. Martin
posted about the lack of response from the organized feminist body - which is terrible. It seems that most major feminist organizations are still dropping the ball when it comes to women of color.
While I must give props to the feminist bloggosphere - some of whom jumped on this with a quickness - feminist organizations are still dropping the ball. Don Imus attacked more than just the black women on the team. He made a distinct division between the types of women playing college basketball, and indirectly implied that "rough" girls don't win. What message does that send to girls who might be interested in the benefits of Title IX, but are now worried about being publicly judged for not being feminine? Having their hair texture commented on instead of athletic performance?
Yet again, feminists saw something controversial that happened to relate to women of color, and decided to pass. Thanks for the solidarity in sisterhood.
3. Shock Jocks intend to shock - being an asshole is in their job description.As Ms. J wrote in her blog:
And to whittle it down even one degree further, there are a lot of ignorant racists throwing their hands in the air like they just don't care, 'cause they really don't think they're racists. I'm fairly certain Don Imus is one of those clueless types. The type that thinks that having a couple of black drinking buddies gives them free reign to say whatever and end up getting left at the bar (or in the studio) wondering "Hey...where did everybody go??"
I bet none of Imus's listeners would categorize themselves as racists either. Being a racist is so passe, it's embarrassing. It's much easier to brush it off as political incorrectness, and savor little racist moments when you can get them.
But whatever - that's his job. Imus supposed to be offensive, so that his listeners - people who would probably face severe consequences/a punch in the face if THEY advocated those ideas - can cackle in their cars, feel like they're getting over on "the PC nazis" and hide their true feelings when they go out in public.
Shock Jocks are popular because they have an audience. If Imus lost listeners because of this, maybe he would be worried. But I'll bet that about half his listeners were pulling into their carports, still chuckling about those "nappy headed hos" later in the evening.
4. Would Code-Talking work?Mrs. J also talked about going back to code talking, which amused me greatly. I love that concept - to be able to switch at will into some pre-determined black vernacular when "the others" are around.
Unfortunately, we as Americans can't even agree on a set basic terms. (How many words can you think of as slang for money?)The hip-hop generation makes it harder with regional designations (Are we trying to stack cake, scrilla, cheddar, or bread?)
Plus, codes are meant to be broken. A couple enterprising people with time on their hands will eventually crack the code and have it online faster than we can say www.blackcodetalkdictionary.com.
5. Call me black and cynical, but I'm not surprised.Over on the
Field Negro Blog.As the blogger states:
I can't get all bent out of shape over the Imus comments. Why? Because I have come to expect it from his ilk. I refuse to act like the police inspector from Casablanca and be "shocked, shocked", that such racism exists in America.
...
Here is a news flash; this is exactly the type of shit many of these folks sit around and say when your black ass isn't around. So don't get it twisted; all the marching in the world and all the preaching by Jessie and Al won't change that.
Like I said, maybe I'm just black and cynical, but this is just something I have come to expect from white people over a certain age. It's just one of those things. People think they are superior because you are different. They think they can say whatever they want to about your hair, your skin, your sexual orientation, your ethnicity, and feign ignorance when they say something offensive.
"Oh, I didn't mean it THAT way."
Riiight.
Maybe I should stop assuming that all older white people are just a martini (or a level of comfort) away from sharing their bigotry with me. However, it would be easier for me to challenge that assumption if it didn't keep happening.
*sigh*
I really wish, as a society, we were past this, instead of pretending we are.
So what can we do as black people? I'm going to go with Mos Def on this one:
But I'ma live though, yo I'ma live though
I'm puttin up the big swing for my kids yo
Got my mom the phat water-front crib yo
I'ma get her them pretty bay windows
I'ma cop a nice home to provide in
A safe environment for seeds to reside in
A fresh whip for my whole family to ride in
And if I'm still Mr Nigga, I won't find it suprisin'.
Labels: black, Don Imus, feminism, race, Rutgers NCAA Team
