So way too many people are giving Don Imus way too much publicity by talking about him, and I'm sorry I'm adding to that. The last (and only) time I saw Imus in person was as an audience member of his thankfully-cancelled television show, the name of which I can no longer remember. I do recall that weatherperson Mark McEwen was his sidekick and, while I didn't think the two had any chemistry, neither did I sense any race-based animosity either.
[Incidentally, while I was looking for the name of the show I came across this blast from the past (2002):
Anyway, I had been invited to the taping by Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman, who were guests on the show, and wrote about it here. At the time I thought Imus was creepy and craggy and probably a drunk, even though (or especially when) he addressed me directly in the audience Q&A portion, and nothing I've seen since has changed my mind.
So nothing he says surprises me, but I fail to see why he keeps getting airtime -- both to spew his unfunny and unshocking prejudices and to have those same prejudices talked about 24/7 on cable news shows. It also saddens me that so many people aren't getting why the black community is upset over his latest remarks and his bad "apologies" that make things worse. Is there something that clicked with Michael Richards that hasn't clicked with Imus? Did the former incident remove the white privilege blinders more clearly because it featured the "n" word so prominently, while the latter only featured a euphemistic "n" phrase? Or because many people always thought of Imus as somewhat idiotic so him acting true to his perceived character is no big deal, whereas Richards may have been held in slightly higher esteem due to his Seinfeld connections?
[Incidentally, while I was looking for the name of the show I came across this blast from the past (2002):
Perhaps shock radio is behaving a little bit better these days. But how long will that last? asks the New York Times.So, you know, none of this is exactly new.]
The Times' question has been raised by Infinity Broadcasting's firing last month of two star radio hosts - Gregg Hughes, who is known as Opie, and Anthony Cumia - after they broadcast a live account of a couple having sex in the vestibule of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan last month. The incident was part of a contest to see who would have sex in the riskiest place.
The piece does not address the racist rants on shock-jock Don Imus' show, a favorite of well-known journalists. Imus-watcher Philip Nobile tells Journal-isms that Imus sidekick, producer Bernard McGuirk, discussing the CBS NFL pre-game show today says of the African American Deion Sanders, Boomer Esiason and another white ex-player: "Basically, you have a pimp and two meatheads."
Anyway, I had been invited to the taping by Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman, who were guests on the show, and wrote about it here. At the time I thought Imus was creepy and craggy and probably a drunk, even though (or especially when) he addressed me directly in the audience Q&A portion, and nothing I've seen since has changed my mind.
So nothing he says surprises me, but I fail to see why he keeps getting airtime -- both to spew his unfunny and unshocking prejudices and to have those same prejudices talked about 24/7 on cable news shows. It also saddens me that so many people aren't getting why the black community is upset over his latest remarks and his bad "apologies" that make things worse. Is there something that clicked with Michael Richards that hasn't clicked with Imus? Did the former incident remove the white privilege blinders more clearly because it featured the "n" word so prominently, while the latter only featured a euphemistic "n" phrase? Or because many people always thought of Imus as somewhat idiotic so him acting true to his perceived character is no big deal, whereas Richards may have been held in slightly higher esteem due to his Seinfeld connections?
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