Don Imus and the Rap Music Defense

Well, NBC and CBS actually canned Don Imus. On Wednesday night, Don Imus was fired from NBC/MSNBC and on Thursday morning, CBS followed suit.

I’m shocked AND AMAZED at the ridiculous argument being presented by many Whites…that Don Imus “only” used the same language frequently used by rappers to describe Black women, the word “ho.”

Well, that just makes it okay, huh?

Is that the best defense of Don Imus that some Whites can come up with? Well, it’s similar to the workplace tactics that some Whites use to defend other Whites that have made racist remarks or denied Blacks promotions without merit or have engaged in some other discriminatory action. It becomes a bait and switch issue. Whites in the workplace will often bait Blacks into a new “discussion”—on some topic other than race—which allows them to effectively switch from addressing race-related problems, often permanently.

So, Blacks can go into a meeting expecting to have a serious discussion about a race-related complaint they’ve made, but end up discussing or defending an entirely different issue—usually directly at them, the victim! For instance, I attended a meeting to talk about race-based discrimination and retaliation by my supervisor, only to be told that EVERY MANAGER I worked with was suddenly making complaints about my availability to support their projects. This was a total lie and everyone making the claim knew that it was. But, it was the bait and switch. I was lured into a “conversation” about a serious issue, only to have White management switch the topic and to attack me with falsehoods.

The false “rap defense” of Don Imus is ludicrous and I’m not referring to the rapper. Don Imus is now suddenly akin to members of the rap and hip hop communities? Don Imus has some of the heaviest hitters in U.S. politics appearing on or calling into his radio show.

So, my question is…when did 50 Cent sit down for a chat with a Senator or member of the House of Representatives to discuss issues that are important in America, such as the war in Iraq or healthcare or immigration?

When any reasonable person listens to the totality of comments made on the Don Imus Morning Show about the Rutgers University basketball team, it becomes quite clear that this wasn’t a “rap-related” incident. You can’t isolate one word in order to defend the entire point being made by Imus and his cronies. The point they were making was that the Black women on the Rutgers basketball team were UGLY, MAN-LIKE WHORES! Their words were easy to understand.

Don Imus, his producer, Brian McGuirk, and guest commentator and raging idiot, Sid Rosenberg, called these young women:

-- “nappy-headed hos”;
-- “hardcore hos”;
-- “Jiggaboos”; and
-- stated that the women (THE BLACK WOMEN ON THE TEAM) looked “exactly like the Toronto Raptors.”

Do you know what these comments reflected? They reflected an attack on these players simply based on the COLOR OF THEIR SKIN!

Some White people are trying to isolate the “ho” comments as a way to make a connection to rap music and hip hop culture, but this argument only goes to show how indefensible Don Imus and his team are. Don Imus and his team were talking about specific Black women—the Black young ladies playing for Rutgers.

Don Imus and his team were calling THOSE YOUNG LADIES ugly whores! They were called Jiggaboos! They might as well have been called darkies!

So, here are some questions that any White person can answer for me (post in comments section or email blackonthejob@yahoo.com)

1) How is it reasonable that the Black basketball players went from playing in a national championship basketball game to being called ugly whores? That is exactly what Don Imus meant, when he used the word “nappy-headed.” That was his way of calling them ugly—from the hair down! Where is the natural progression from playing in a game to being called an ugly whore? Where did the comment come from? There had to be an inherent belief that these young ladies fit that description! It was completely left-field.

2) Did you notice that all of the Black players on the team were brown-skin to dark-skin in complexion? Are you comfortable with these women being called “nappy-headed hos”?

3) Why exactly is it and was it okay for Don Imus and his team to call these women out with racially insensitive names and sexist remarks? Answer without bringing up rap music or hip hop culture!

4) Did you know that most rap and hip hop music is purchased by White youths? Well, if you don’t know, now you know! So, all of the pondering about why Blacks aren’t fired, losing recording contracts, etc. for promoting certain stereotypes, misogyny, etc. in music can be boomeranged right back to White folks. Why don’t you stop your sons and daughters from purchasing this music? The real purchasing power is coming from your people! Why not boycott the music? Don’t talk out of both sides of your neck about the horrible rap and hip hop music, all while defending a White man whose saying the same thing that many of you or your children are buying on a regular basis.

5) Did you ever stop to think about the legacy of slavery with these comments by Don Imus and company? Why not? During slavery, White men were using Black women for their sexual pleasure for hundreds of years and then had the gall to saddle us with the lasting stereotype that we are sexually promiscuous. They couldn’t keep theirs hands off of us! Do you know how many Black families can trace White blood in their heritage thanks to the rape culture of American slavery? Taken in that prism, can you get why the “nappy-headed hos” comment touched raw nerves, especially because the comments were coming from White men?

6) Is it or would it be okay for me to call your daughters, sisters, etc. “White hos”? Or, “Cracka hos”? Didn’t think so!

In an interesting note, on his radio show yesterday (his last CBS broadcast), Don Imus blasted Former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. for not “supporting him.” According to Mr. Imus, “I received death threats for supporting his campaign.”

So, he had one Negro to call out on his farewell show. It’s all Harold Ford, Jr.’s fault. If he had just spoken up…