Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Imus Issue
Ok I was debating on whether to spaek my pice on this but I can't hold my tongue any longer. Personally I was not offended and why????? Because its something that I hear on a day to day basis on TV, radio and just in the street. Black women have been called bitches and ho's by other black men and women alsmost as long as the N-word has been around. And there is no distinction on the use of the word in our community. You can be a lawyer, doctor, CEO, stripper, or porn star and you will still get called a ho. Its is the new adjective. So forgive me but Don Imus was trying to be 'cool' and 'hip' on his show and I can assure you he didn't get that word from his caucasion background. I don't think we can ask for his head on a platter until we ourselves stop calling each other derogatory words as nicknames and slang on a daily basis. Thoughts on the issues?????? I ill say that it is sad that the focus has been completely lost on the game and the team that actually won the champioonship.
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20 comments:
Oh I have to comment on this. I don't think he should be fired but I do think the punishment was not enough. Ayana I agree that no man should disrespect a lady and I hate the fact that my brothers are disrespecting the sisters and I hate the the sisters are letting the brothers and themselves call them names. I have heard on numerous occasions young sisters calling each other bitches and hos then laugh about it. Now back to Imus. Ayana he is a symbol in the community and with that he has a responsibility. Its funny when you are a football player, actor, or a famous talkshow host you want to be worshiped because of your status and the hard work you do but as soon as you make a mistake, oh I am just like everyone else. Well people like Imus are not like everyone else. A friend of mine at the YMCA told me she heard two white ladies say, "well rappers do it so why are they getting so upset about it." Whether we are white, black, or purple we all know what's right and what is wrong. Just because I hear a white person calling another white person white trash, does that make it ok for me to say it? I don't think so. There is that little thing called respect which americans (can't speak for the rest of the world) don't have for each ohter anymore. Just because Imus might have heard black people say it does not give him the right to say it. I wish you came to myspace. My friends and I are having a nice discussion about it.
I have said too much:). I just want to close with this. No one should every be put down whether they are a lawyer, pornstar, stripper or whatever. We are all people who should get respect. I love that old bible quote. "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone."
I am a Tennessee guy, hey the focus is still on our LadyVols trust me:).
well, It just seems to be the political world we find ourselves in today.
To be labeled a racist, has such a stigma attached to it these days that it is almost political and social suicide amoungst politicians and the so called social elite.
So I don't really think that the bosses at the MSNBC, or whatever, are really offended. I believe that they are only acting in a way to try to keep that label from being thrown at them and their organization.
If they would have done nothing, then they would have been possibly accused of agreeing with racist comments and so forth.
As far as blacks referring to each other as ho's or the "n" word, I don't know what to really say about that.
It is so deeply rooted in the hip hop culture; which lets face it, targets blacks.
In order for that to really change, it will take a change in the heart, person by person.
Otherwise, I suppose it could stop, but it would just be a superficial change.
Kind of like what we are seeing today, with IMUS. Y'know we don't say it, but you can sense that we still feel that way.
addison
Imus use of the phrase took on racist intent, once he put the nappy headed together with HO. Being a man I wasn't offended by him calling them Hoes. By him adding the adjectives nappy headed which identified the ethnicity of the hoes being talk about, then the conversation takes on racial issues. Put it this way we use those words as a way of communication with people of our on race and they are used more as a mental insult, most of the time with no intention to harm, Imus use of those words were a racial insult, I think every black person in America can distinguish the deferrence. Ayana, don't let Imus off the hook, if you do you have to let Nick Saban off the hook for the comments which he made, since it was in a joking manner as well. Imus put himself under the gun, so, let him weasel himself out. I think this is the first time I've ever disagreed with one of your postings. I still love you though.
I know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to we as a people excepting that from ourselves and getting upset when someone from outside of our race says it to us. Don't get me wrong I would get mad if some random white dude came up to me and called me a nigga, but for some reason it's ok when someone black or someone close says it. Now what I didn't like was all of a sudden al sharpton, jesse jackson and everyone else where all up in arms regarding this but they let rappers, actors and just about anyone else call our women this and it's ok, because they're black. It was dispicable to even hear him say "That he can't call our women this" but 50 cent and every other rapper. If you are going to get upset at Don Imus disrespecting Black women, then be upset with everybody that disrespects themselves. I'm off the soapbox, next in line.
I Love You!
Hey Ayana,
Normally, I don't get caught up into the black and white thing, but I don't understand why people are making such a huge deal over this Imus guy either.
What he said about them girls on the basketball team is no different than what any other white person or family would've said behind closed doors. it's nothing more than a mind game that's been going long before any of us were born.
When ever stuff like that happens it just further reinforces how powerful of a race we could be if we stop disrespecting each other. That's not to say that I'm a racist becuase I love and hate everyone equally depending on your personality. Let's dig deep into this thing, whenever a white personality takes the time and energy to disrespect blacks the way Imus did, it's becuase they know how smart we are and they see us as a threat becuase of the intellect we possess. Not to mention whites have this superiority complex as much as Blacks have this inferiority complex. Meaning that a vast majority of whites are control freaks and they will do anything to maintain that control (even if it means putting down antoher race of people). A vast majority of us as blacks don't believe in ourselves enough to be able to realize our full potential. A lot of us have a issue with our self esteem and that's why a lot us will be easily offended by a white man making those comments and we will let our own kind get away with it (a twisted logic if you ask me). If you don't believe me consider this point. It's a lot young black girls with low self esteem who don't mind these rappers disrespecting them becuase they want to be a part of their world at the expense of their own self respect. but when a guy like Imus makes the same remarks, they're ready to call the national gaurd. If the shoe was on the other foot and these same black girls with low self esteem saw Imus as an icon they admired, they wouldn't care about him making those comments either. That's coming from a brother.
I'm trying to make two points. If we want respect we have to respect ourselves and each other as blacks. The whole black and white game is exactly what it is....IT'S A GAME! The only way we could win is by believing in ourselves becuase we are what we think. If we keep those two things in mind, we shouldn't take this Imus guy serious.
From one of your many biggest fans,
Patrick F.
I guess popular concensus has spoken, Imus was fired by CBS. I feel his firing was just, he was careless in his job and just like anyone who is careless on their job, he deserved the boot. Maybe he should be forced to take sensitivity class i.e. Issiah Washington (LOL)
I wasn't angry at what he said but his lame apology.He didn't seem honest with it until his ass was about the get fired.He got defensive rappers and other black use it.Yes they do and like Ms______ said,some brothers call doctors,lawyers,strippers,etc.He called the team which gave a face for his term hoe.Most rappers use the word in a song and most don't get call out a particular person,some do but many don't.This is my problem with it.Focus has left the team and the championship.Rutgers had a good team of mostly underclasswomen,UT won there first championship in awhile.However I have to look at Don Imus ugly ass on TV,Thats a radio face.This came down to the color of green.News pushed the issue along with some others because it was getting rating for there show.Imus was cancelled because sponsor pulled out fearing boycotts if they didn't.Respect is respect treat everyone the same no matter there race,gender or sex.
We have some more pressing issues going on that need to be addressed.
just in case you are wondering I choose Ms_______ as your new name for me.I think of Ayana as the Beautiful,Sexy Vixen on screen.Ms____ is the beautiful,Sexy vixen making moves in the business world.
He deserved to get fired not only for what he said but because of the fact he's stupid. This should send a message to on air personalities that you will be held accountable for your actions. I don't care who you are but if you intefere with advertising dollars then Imus your ass has to go ho.
"So I can't get any place with you people, but I can get some place with Jesus" Quote from Imus during an on-air conversation on Monday with Rev Al Sharpton and Rep. Cheeks-Kilpatrick. Take note of Imus use of you people, who exactly are you people, doesn't that sounds a little racy to you. It's great that he's placing his faith on Jesus, but can we believe that he truly depends on Jesus or is that just another one of his antics, kind of like the antic of using the phrase nappy headed hos. Just because we as black Americans use ethnic slurs amongst ourselves, we don't have to stand by and be abused by others who think it's okay to carelessly disrespect us for their own pleasure. I hope Imus really is turning to Jesus, through Jesus, Imus heart will be cleansed and helped to understand what he said is wrong and irresponsible on his part.
There is a difference between someone saying it on the street and someone on a nationally syndicated program saying what he said. If Luda can be fired by pepsi a few years ago when Bill Orielly complained about his lyrics, why is it so bad for Imus to get fired when he has a much larger and powerfull audience than Luda ever did. Anyways, nice blog Ayana.
Well, there is a big difference between saying something on the street and someone on a nationally sydicated radio show saying something like Imus said. Luda was fired when Bill Orielly complained about his lyrics and he doesn't have nearly power and audience that Imus has. It is unfortunate that black women have to be called alot of these names but there are alot of folks trying to change that also but noone seems to pay attention to that.
Imus issue, well as Malcolm said history is best suited to reward all research, and I have heard many argue the same issue as you have and with a lot of truth. But what we are dealing with when we deal with the sister saying they were not offended is the numbing of a certain segment of our people.
This started long ago with the separation of the black man and the black woman, if you want to stop the growth of a people you stifle its ability of reproduce constructively and this was done in the black community by driving a wedge between the man and the woman. When it was decided to gainfully employ the black woman and leave the man out that was the beginning of the end. As time progressed black women gained more economic empowerment, and the black man fell further and further behind. It was easy for the white man to hire and promote the black woman because she was less of a threat that the brothers are. It is just in her nature to follow what she perceives to be power, and in the white male dominated society in her mind that would be him ala Willie Lynch. Of course this in not all inclusive because some of us made it in spite of this because we knew who our enemy was and circumvented him and did what we had to do as black men. The ones who tried to succumb to way of life that was not meant for us to live anyway fell by the wayside and could not dig himself out of the pit he was in. The sisters left the brothers and ran to the white men and thumbed their noses at brothers. Now we have sisters raising boys alone with no help and upon them reaching manhood they have no male role models so they don’t know how to be men. Thus they become weak shells that measure their self worth by trivial things such as penis size and their ability to beat up and control women. Not knowing that a woman was not meant to be controlled, as the bible say she is you “help meet” and that means she helps you meet your obligation that god has put on you, i.e. strong father, provider, teacher, protector of your family.
One can look at the art of a given time period and determine what was going on during that time. In our community hip hop rules and it is unfortunate that since the number of young brothers who know how to love and care for the sisters are few in number, therefore this gives a person like Imus a reason in his mind to disrespect our women, why because a lot of our women do things and say things to disrespect themselves. Goody Mob said it best “you have got to respect yourself before I can” and that goes for all of us.. When a sister call themselves bitches and ho’s of course he thinks he can get away but thus is not the case he along with everyone else must be called to the carpet for this.
Now we have war within house holds and women saying they don’t need a man, men hating women. I tend to agree that a woman does not need a man who won’t be a man. But the truth is Ayana is we need each other to be a productive people. A man draws his strength from his woman and the woman gets protection and guidance from her man. There are certain things a man was not meant to deal without her and there are certain things she must have him by her side to be successful that is how good planned it. I could go on but if you would really like to hear the rest hit me up at thomasogill@yahoo.com I would be glad to go into detail by what I mean here….Much love , Thomas
COMMENTARY
Imus isn’t the real bad guy
Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.
You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.
Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again.
While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.
I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.
I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.
But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.
I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.
Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.
But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.
In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?
When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.
No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.
Hey Ayana babes....
I was going to do a blog about this on MY site...but I just held it in b/c I knew that what I would say would be more shocking than discussion prompting....
But here goes....
I just so happen to agree with you. I will take it a step further and say that when I saw the interview where he said the statement in question, I actually laughed.
NOT b/c it was actually funny...the phrase itself is something I hear in the black community all the time. But I laughed b/c of the way he said it. I was like "Where in the HELL is this dude from?"
Anyway, I think that its crazy that the black community is getting all up in arms about this, when Luda, TI, Nelly, Snoop (and the list goes on and fucking ON) say things like this ALL THE TIME! They may not say it in the same context as Imus did but its still the same damn thing.
I think that black people need to stop cherry picking the battles we'll fight. If we're going to argue about something, be consistent with it.
AA I LOVE you girl. You'll always be the girl from the biz that I look up to :O)
Kina Kara
www.myspace.com/kinakara
You are right on in your Imus comments, Ayana. Still, he is a fool and why take on young Black women going to college and doing a great job for their school. I am a big fan of yours. Keep on being true to yourself. I want to thank you for great advice you gave me in Cali in 2003 before I moved to the ATL for a public health job. Hope to see you and get to talk to you again some time--though you sound extremely busy with your new gig, etc. Lunch, brunch, dinner, whatever. It's all good. Much luv, and be well, safe, health and happy! Stewart
hey check this link out, in 2.5 min it should bring all of me motivations into perspective.
Y'know why i'm even here and all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw
What type of clothes do you wear to the office? Do the clothes hide your bust and booty? Do your coworkers try to "holla" at you? I know I would. Would you have sex with any of your coworkers at the office?
Is the sex you have in your movies as intense as the sex in your personal life? When is the last time you've had sex? Have you ever had sex with a random stranger in your personal life?
I've heard you speak on a film before; do you really speak in that high pitch voice?
I wish that more people would be able to travel around the world and see what sort of portrayal of black people is being disseminated around the globe. If they knew that they might change what they put out there. I have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us. It's time for us to step up and stop hating ourselves.
Thank you, about time someone spoke the truth and not just jump on band wagon. I didn't really care about the issue until I had to listen to it at work and yea the guy deserved something more but not fired. Hell, I have been called things all my life and I was brought up to ignore and don't let others get the best of me. Some of the people that made a big deal out of this do not realize the can of worms. It is about freedom of speech. Do we want the government telling us what we can say and others what we can't? (Within Reason of course.) Who decides the punishment and is there going to be jail time. That's a little far fetched but in time, if it keeps going this way. Little by little, censorship, bill of rights. I was offended so now I can stay and listen to it or I can choose to leave. On the radio show at work that I had to listen to they were getting a lynch mob together for Imus. Like I said I don't really care but I do care about my rights. There were girls the age of 12 and 14 calling up; I am guessing there parents might have been behind it but, They were crying because someone they did not know was called a ho. That's when I thought it is getting out of hand and becoming more of a band wagon then what it really should have been. But I am glad to see some people can see. And don't forget, I am not saying that it wasn't wrong just blown out of proportion and all that it did was create segregation. You will have to excuse my spelling. I am in a rush and not a good speller. I hope none of you take offense to what I believe and hey hey, if you don't like it, that is your right and you can criticize me all day long and call me names if that makes you feel better. Think of the worst and email me at mhoncho69@yahoo.com I can either take the input or learn and could be wrong, or I could just start blasting. But for those of you who saw this Imus thing just ridicules and not on the racial side. Like I said I don't really care about name calling issues but I had to listen to all the winning and how it dates back and you can imagine. I wouldn't say I don't sincerely care; I do. I just don't care to listen to it for more than what it is worth. Last thought's for those who disagree with me.
Take it for what it is worth. Life is to short (no pun intended) to worry about the small stuff and remember.
STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME..
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the rest of the day or night whatever that may
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