Do you feel or have you ever felt discriminated against?
simianpower -- No
Maybe you answered "no" because you hadn't felt discriminated against due to race, gender, sexual orientation, education, or socioeconomic status. Other than ageism, weight, or handicap (which I managed to leave out of the poll), I don't know what other social axis could have been bent against you. Perhaps you'll enlighten us.
"The verbal abuse was a little over the top, but as for the rest I can't see what else he could've done." Note there was no "might have been". If you're going to quote me, at least don't MISquote me.
I apologize for misquoting you. However, to me, the difference is six of one, half-dozen of the other. "A little" approximates "might have been," especially in context. And if the flagrant use of "nigger" counts only as "a little over the top" for you, I can see why you don't see the Imus controversy as important.
My reaction to the topic of racism/sexism is that I'm against anything that treats one person differently than another, whether that be a law (women having the advantage in child-custody cases in many states), a handout (affirmative action), a tradition (I can say X but you can't), a clique, or something else. (emphasis mine)
How many times have we gotten into discussions about feminism and your response has been, "That's just the way things are"? What else is that but tradition, or the status quo?
And please don't make me into the strawman of allowing Black people to use the word nigger and others not. I don't like the word at all. When I was growing up, I could have used that word in its current Black slang manner. But I didn't, and I don't. It comes out of my mouth when I'm speaking in an academic manner, or when I speak from personal experience (like the one referenced above).
Comedians who use their talents to examine racism and expose it for the hairy creature it is? Yes, I find them funny. I suppose I shouldn't blame anyone else for the fact that I listened to Richard Pryor as a child, then Eddie Murphy. But yes, I respect Dave Chappelle's sketches (particularly the black white supremicist and the Niggar family) that try to explode racism from the inside out. Like sarahmichigan said, that's what Lenny Bruce tried to do, too. There is a big difference between examining race and participating in racism.
And, the other strawman comment you have in this thread: I don't listen to hardcore rap/hiphop with liberal uses of "nigger" or "bitches" or "hos." In fact, it was when that language started showing up more and more in rap that I turned away from that form of music. I like old school rap, like stuff from 1985. You won't hear language like that during that era. (At the same time, I don't agree with this movement to ban the word "nigger," because banning speech is impossible.) I don't support the use of such language in rap music. I vote my conscience with my pocketbook, and I can only hope others do the same.
But none of that has anything to do, really, with what Don Imus said. At best, they are tangentially related. What is at issue is racist speech going out over radio waves and television. Imus may have been trying to make a joke, but it's obvious he's not a comedian, nor is his show marketed as comedy. He wasn't trying to examine race; he was an active participant in racism. He should no longer have a job.
no subject
Maybe you answered "no" because you hadn't felt discriminated against due to race, gender, sexual orientation, education, or socioeconomic status. Other than ageism, weight, or handicap (which I managed to leave out of the poll), I don't know what other social axis could have been bent against you. Perhaps you'll enlighten us.
"The verbal abuse was a little over the top, but as for the rest I can't see what else he could've done." Note there was no "might have been". If you're going to quote me, at least don't MISquote me.
I apologize for misquoting you. However, to me, the difference is six of one, half-dozen of the other. "A little" approximates "might have been," especially in context. And if the flagrant use of "nigger" counts only as "a little over the top" for you, I can see why you don't see the Imus controversy as important.
My reaction to the topic of racism/sexism is that I'm against anything that treats one person differently than another, whether that be a law (women having the advantage in child-custody cases in many states), a handout (affirmative action), a tradition (I can say X but you can't), a clique, or something else. (emphasis mine)
How many times have we gotten into discussions about feminism and your response has been, "That's just the way things are"? What else is that but tradition, or the status quo?
And please don't make me into the strawman of allowing Black people to use the word nigger and others not. I don't like the word at all. When I was growing up, I could have used that word in its current Black slang manner. But I didn't, and I don't. It comes out of my mouth when I'm speaking in an academic manner, or when I speak from personal experience (like the one referenced above).
Comedians who use their talents to examine racism and expose it for the hairy creature it is? Yes, I find them funny. I suppose I shouldn't blame anyone else for the fact that I listened to Richard Pryor as a child, then Eddie Murphy. But yes, I respect Dave Chappelle's sketches (particularly the black white supremicist and the Niggar family) that try to explode racism from the inside out. Like
And, the other strawman comment you have in this thread: I don't listen to hardcore rap/hiphop with liberal uses of "nigger" or "bitches" or "hos." In fact, it was when that language started showing up more and more in rap that I turned away from that form of music. I like old school rap, like stuff from 1985. You won't hear language like that during that era. (At the same time, I don't agree with this movement to ban the word "nigger," because banning speech is impossible.) I don't support the use of such language in rap music. I vote my conscience with my pocketbook, and I can only hope others do the same.
But none of that has anything to do, really, with what Don Imus said. At best, they are tangentially related. What is at issue is racist speech going out over radio waves and television. Imus may have been trying to make a joke, but it's obvious he's not a comedian, nor is his show marketed as comedy. He wasn't trying to examine race; he was an active participant in racism. He should no longer have a job.