Imus Shouldn't Have Been Fired

Ok, there are a lot of people that will disagree with me posting this story, but I believe Imus shouldn't have been fired. The Author of this article sums up what I was thinking perfectly and makes a pretty good case of the whole ordeal.

I would invite you all to read the story throughly because he makes excellent points.

Enjoy!

Chicago Sun-Times





[edit on 15-4-2007 by Realtruth]

I saw a video a few hours ago that shows the real reason Imus was fired. He would call Bush and Cheney war criminals about 2-3 times a week and said that they should be hanged for their crimes. I guess they were just waiting for him to mess up so that they could get rid of him.

I didn't feel his comment was enough to warrant him getting fired but he should have been punished. O'Reilly and all those other neo-cons spout worse stuff on a daily basis and are praised for their behavior just because they blindly support the Bush administration.

[edit on 15-4-2007 by DraconianKing]

I am just wateing to see XM radio pick him up as there counter to Howard Stern.

Originally posted by WOGIT
I am just wateing to see XM radio pick him up as there counter to Howard Stern.

XM already has a show that has more listeners than Stern. Although I suppose Imus would be icing on the cake, and he would be a more even match when compared with the 40+ age demo of Sterns audience.

However, if the FCC allows a merger it doesn't matter anyway. And in five to ten years when we can stream internet radio in our cars it REALLY won't matter. That's when sat rad will become just another arm of commercial radio because no one will be willing to pay for it.

XM is going down unless they merge with Sirius, & Howard totally caused the downfall of XM......



Just wanted to bring a point up: Why is Rosie not fired when her comments are just as edgy as Imus'?

Here is another excerpt from the article, that I believe makes some sense. There seems to be a double standard these days. Imus did make a stupid statement, but does the punishment fit the act? No not at all.

I believe that there is a deeper reason to all of this and I believe that the above posts are touching on the subject. This particular issue was the reason needed to silence him, just like Clinton and Lewinsky affair. Someone step on the wrong toes and the power that be used a Red Herring.

Also- I can not believe that Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson are on his tail, they are just a bunch of money grubbing, racist, extortioners!


But then again Imus caved in and went to Sharpton for a apology which I think was a major mistake

I think Imus has grounds for a serious lawsuit against CBS without a doubt.
How can they fire him for excersizing his right to free speach?
I think if he got to the Supreme Court with this he could break CBS.

I didn't feel his comment was enough to warrant him getting fired but he should have been punished.

This is one of those areas where I think to myself - this guy has been spouting this garbage for years and NOW everyone is outraged?

Personally, for me Imus, Stern, Limbaugh, Matthews, etc. are all exercising their first amendment right to free speech. Like 'em or hate 'em - it is everyone's right to rant and look like a complete idiot to the majority of this country, even if that speech rises to the level of hate speech. Actions are prosecutable in this country not speech.

I watched Bill Mahr the other night sparring with Al Sharpton on getting his "scalp" referring to Imus's firing. Sharpton responded with something that I had to agree with. Imus has the right to say whatever he likes but the black and feminist communities also have the right to respond in kind. If the corporate execs are worried that their advertising revenue stream may be affected by possible boycotts and the like - someone is gonna get canned. Make no mistake here, Imus got the boot over someone's bottom line and Sharpton/Jackson know how to play that game like no one else.


B.

Originally posted by theRiverGoddess
I think Imus has grounds for a serious lawsuit against CBS without a doubt.
How can they fire him for excersizing his right to free speach?
I think if he got to the Supreme Court with this he could break CBS.

The first amendment has nothing to do with this, his free speech wasn't violated.

You have a right to keep the government from silencing you, but you don't have the right to be employed by a company for millions of dollars a year to broadcast your "free" speech on television and radio.

All the sponsors bailed after his "nappy headed ho's" comments. No sponsors for his show along with his comments, and it's bye Don Imus.

Also just because someone exercises their right to free speech, doesn't mean there aren't consequences when exercising that right.

bg_socalif has it. This has nothing to do with Imus' being fired for what he said. Imus was fired because advertisers were afraid they would lose sales becuase of their apparent association with him. They pulled their advertising from his shows, the networks lost money so it became bad business to keep him on. That's it. It's all about money as usual. Those same networks are invested in the music industry that is putting out significantly more offensive material. They don't fire those artists because they are profitable. Imus isn't anymore.

What I find really ironic is the fact that you can tune in your radio to your local hip-hop station and hear women referred to nappy headed hos all day long. When are we going to go after the hip-hop industry for doing the same thing?

Originally posted by DraconianKing
I saw a video a few hours ago that shows the real reason Imus was fired. He would call Bush and Cheney war criminals about 2-3 times a week ...

oh geeze, that's silly.

If that were the reason then he would have been fired a long time ago. IMUS has been making bad comments about everyone ... all the time. There was no need to wait until now.

The REAL reason he got fired was because his bad comments finally caught up to him AND the hypocritical Al Sharpton found an opportunity in the matter in order to make some publicity for himself.

Originally posted by theRiverGoddess
I think Imus has grounds for a serious lawsuit against CBS without a doubt.

I agree. I am happy to see him gone because I can't stand him, but he DOES have very good ground for a lawsuit. Not for a free speech violation, but because he has been saying this kind of stuff for many years and he hasn't gotten so much as a wrist slap ... and suddenly he's fired. He has said worse before. Others have said worse.


MY OPINION - you will see IMUS back on the air - with either CBS or MSNBC (or both) at the end of summer. He will say that he learned his lesson, and the networks will say that he's learned his lesson and that he does charitable works, etc etc .... After the storm quiets down he will be rehired - that's my prediction.

I'm truly saddened and I have to say, unnerved, that Imus was fired over his comments.
Just like I enjoy my coffee strong and unseasoned, so too I like my Bigots and Racists. I want to know what people, especially those in the public eye, truly think and feel. I'm filled with frustration and mistrust when I hear our Politicians read through their lines for the media's daily soundbites. I see their lips moving and I hear their monotone words, but it's never their truth... it's what they know the majority wants to hear.
I found Imus's words refreshing IN THE SENSE they were his true thoughts. It then allows me to judge if this is a character I want to continue to support and listen to OR if this is another doughhead that is still evolving in the human emotional chain.
Although I've never been a fan of his or his shows and he certainly didn't win my support with his comments, I will always support the right for him to say it (or step in it, in this case.)
The last thing this world needs is more people publicly lying to the masses to win brownie points while privately they spread their hatred and ignorance, all the while laughing at their supporters.

Just my 4 cents
(Canadian exchange rate

-September

Originally posted by nyarlathotep
When are we going to go after the hip-hop industry for doing the same thing?

An even better question would be when are Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson gonna go after the hip-hop industry for the same thing?

They muster up a few statements for the press to digest & make it look like they're trying to do something, but it's all BS.

I don't see them calling for the dismissal of record & radio execs for creating & airing offensive, racist, violent, and degrading to women material for all to hear & see!

If NBC thought his remarks were offensive enough for him to get fired then they should have fired him when they found out about it. No, they wait till ole' uncle Al gets all fired up about it & starts squaking. They wait till advertisers pull their spots to fire him.

Wanna know why???

They don't give a crap about what he said. If the Don Imus show was growing by leaps & bounds, and there were advertisers lining up to pay for spots, then he could say whatever he wanted to and nothing would get done about it. NBC would not allow anything but the almighty FCC to mess with their cash cow. That's how it works. . .

Look at how long Stern was allowed to do whatever he wanted, and it didn't matter what Al Sharpton, or anyone else had to say about it. Stern spoke out against Bush & backed Kerry during the election. He encouraged millions of listeners to do the same. A subsequent vendetta orchestrated by the FCC & Michael Powell is what caused Viacom problems, and finally made Stern dissapear. It was not his remarks, not even the one's about the president. It was the FCC making trouble for Viacom's future business that was the catalyst. Yes they were probably encouraged to do so by someone associated with the White House but-That's how it works. . .

NBC gave up Imus because his show has been gradually losing market share, and because advertisers pulled their spots in lieu of this incident. It was a very opportune way for them to get rid of him. . . Plus with his head on a stick they will probably coax many of those lost advertisement dollars back in their direction.

I agree he has a very good law suit, but the settlement must still be in the best interest of NBC. What reason do they have to fight for him? Principal? HA!

2PacSade-

I agree with you. Imus should not have been fired. I think his biggest mistake was doing the interview with the "RACIST" Al Sharpton, who doesn't look for the equality of all people, but only for blacks. Al Sharpton is an embarassment to the black community. Though he appears to be fighting black discrimination, he also promotes the discrimination of every other race. He is a loud mouth joke. Al Sharpton is an embarrassment to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. Getting back to Imus. A remark about the "Nappy Headed Hos" of Rutger's Women's basketball team was disrespectful and possibly a bit sexist, but not racist. Nappy refers to the way hair looks on someones head. It means "kinky" often associated with blacks, but certainly not limited to blacks, men, or women for that matter. The Ho's comment was edgy, but hardly something to fire someone over. Especially when the same company plays music over their airwaves that degrade women exponentially more severe than what Imus said. The reason he was fired was because Al Sharpton and his followers bombarded sponsors threatening boycotts of their goods. These advertisers in turn, threatened to pull their ads from the corporation broadcasting Imus, resulting in the firing.

Originally posted by Sunsetspawn
\XM already has a show that has more listeners than Stern.

So, you're an O & A fan. Care to back up your statement with any real numbers showing O&A listeners vs. Stern listeners?

Otherwise, I have to agree with the OP, and further feel that this is just an example of how we've let the PC nazis start to take away our freedoms. We obviously now have (self appointed)speech police. Can the thought police be far behind?

I agree that Imus shouldn't have been canned. If blacks don't want expressions from their culture to be used then they shouldn't use them either.

Originally posted by Landis
I agree that Imus shouldn't have been canned. If blacks don't want expressions from their culture to be used then they shouldn't use them either.

AMEN!

It's even worse when this is done because not only is it racist, but it's also quite hipocritical, and ignorant at the same time.

Why isn't Al Sharpton picketing at Chris Rock appearances? Cause it's cool when he calls someone a nigga. What a joke!

If you called my mother a nappy headed ho I wouldn't care what color your skin was & kick your ass!

( Unless it's my grandmom saying it. . . )

2PacSade-