Inexcusable.
Foot In Mouth Disease
Metromix. Jackson, protesters blast Imus comments: "On his Wednesday show, 'Imus in the Morning,' the host referred to members of the Rutgers team as 'nappy-headed hos.'"
At the same time radio provocateur Don Imus was appearing on Rev. Al Sharpton's show to discuss his controversial comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team, protesters gathered outside NBC Tower in Chicago calling for his ouster.
Led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other members of his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, about 50 protesters held signs reading "no apologies, no forgiveness" and chanted, "Imus must go" while walking on the sidewalk outside the high-rise building on Columbus Drive.
Nasty Fellow
I do listen to Imus sometimes. I've never liked the man, though. Imus is always mean-spirited, and, of course, he is mostly liberal, which makes him doubly unlikable to me.
He is almost as vicious sometimes as Keith Olberman.
Mel, Michael, and Don
Still, most of the time I stick up for people who make the mistake of putting their foot in their mouth—ala Mel Gibson. (Gibson's gaffe.) As you may remember, though, I did not defend "Kramer" (Michael Richards), because of the sniveling, racist way he apologized. And now, I cannot stand up for Don Imus. My reason is that his comment was so over the top that it is unforgivable. Yes, it makes it easier for me to condemn him since I don't like the man anyway. Yet, I believe I'd denounce anyone who would make such an insensitive remark.
Even Senility Would not Justify It
There is no excuse for the remark, period. The man is getting old and so might not be in charge of his faculties so much anymore—he comes off as a crotchety old curmudgeon anyway. Yet, still, and again, this cannot be an excuse. If he can't control his mouth to this gross extent, he doesn't deserve to be on the air.
Me and Jesse
So, for the first time in my recent life, I find myself in agreement with Jesse Jackson. Imus must go. I don't want anyone on the air who can say such hurtful things, even on a bad day.
Rock
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)
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The only problem I have with this is when people rely just on this language and don't develop also proper English. Again, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton are adept at both "languages," which is a good thing.
Church Cadences
Another interesting consideration is the "church cadences," which blacks get into in public events. This cadence is a beautiful thing. The crowd gives their "Amens" etc. showing they are in sync with the speaker. The only problem I have with this is that it doesn't matter what the speaker is saying. The rhythm is the thing. He could be saying, "Brothers and sisters, I want you to go home and fry your hamsters," and the crowd would be yelling, "Tell, it Brother." We tend to turn off our brains when we get into these flows. Still, this was a funeral, so church cadences were appropriate. I was just making a global comment.A Great Show
A Bit Messy
Overall, it was a great show. This is part of the problem. Part of it was seemly, and part of it unseemly. In case you think this is just another white guy critiquing a black event, you could hear members of the audience actually saying real-time some of the things I'm writing now. You could actually hear one person complaining, "This is so egotistical," and there were other comments too. Several members of the audience told certain people to "get off the stage." For example, there was some animosity for James Brown's companion of many years, Tomi Rae Brown.So, again, it was a great show, if a bit messy. Even the messiness of it all, though, I don't think would have necessarily bothered Mr. Brown. Part of the reason for Mr. Brown's genius I imagine was an attempt to deal with the messiness of life. He had been in and out of marriages, four of them, and in and out of jail. Overall, I'd say he led a good life, and the good he contributed to the world far outweighed the bad, but you have to admit it was a bit "messy." So, the funeral celebration was apropos.
Show or Funeral?
My second critique of the "show" was that it was just that, a show. I couldn't figure out at times if I was listening to a New Orleans' type funeral where the participants "celebrated" the life of the now deceased rather than mourn his passing. Nobody seemed sad that James was gone. Many of the "performers" were just that, performers. They were there to show off their talents, with songs often that had nothing to do with James Brown. It seemed like a chance for them to shine, rather than an opportunity to make James Brown's memory shine. This is the second time I've seen an African-American funeral where (the first time I actually attended) the "mourners" were competing, it seemed, to give the best "performance" at the funeral. I of course will make no generalizations from this, but I do think the center of attention ought to be the deceased, not the mourners. If you're at a James Brown funeral, sing a James Brown song, mention James Brown, tell a story about James Brown. Don't get up there and start reviving your singing career.Again, oddly enough, the ones who steered away from this kind of thing, and kept things proper, were Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who were most appropriately somber and centered on James Brown.
Tribalism
My third critique is quite a serious one—one that has little to do with this particular funeral, but one that is directed at the African-American community. I don't suppose Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could have done anything different, but their welcoming of Michael Jackson to the event went a bit too far. To Mr. Jackson's credit, he had been urged to sing at the event, but he declined. I don't mind welcoming people back into the community when they are prodigal sons. Forgiveness is a virtue sometimes. But you have to be sorry to be forgiven. With Michael Jackson, there is no admission of anything, and no expression of regret. He has not received any psychological therapy to make him less of a threat to young boys. Al Sharpton, like he did with the fraudulent case of Tawana Brawley, seemed to stand with Michael Jackson against his unjust, and white, accusers.
Mr. Sharpton seems to communicate quite consistently that if you are black, then you are good, period. This is tribalism. This is what happened with the O.J. trial, where a black man was defended by his race simply because of his race, despite mountains of evidence. I don't hate Michael Jackson. I can understand why he would be included in this funeral. James Brown loved Michael Jackson. Yet, don't make Michael Jackson, or O.J. Simpson, or Tawana Brawley, out to be heroes, heroes who are slandered by the white community. Even if Mr. Jackson never did all the things he was accused of, his behavior with children has been inappropriate, and this ought to be recognized. Don't treat the guy like a returning hero, a victim of society. The children were the victims.