the wrongs he has committed? It's not like the first time he's done this, and we Kossacks have attempted to assail him and get his ass off the air.
But now, watching the press conference of the Rutgers University Women's basketball team, there are faces, names of the individuals Imus has insulted. And, while we're heaping this disdain for Imus, one also wonders why Bernard McGuirk (who often imitates and initiates those insensitive, bigoted comments and slurs)and Charles McCord are suddenly hiding, or as Imus himself would say, "tryin' to weasel out" of this scandal? Does he think because he works for Imus, he's protected and that it's Imus' responsibility to take the heat?
If Imus is truly sorry and if he means what he says that the climate of his show is going to change, losing your mind on Al Sharpton's radio show isn't cutting it:
During yet another contentious outing for the radio jock - suspended for two weeks starting Monday - Imus said on "The Today Show" this morning that Sharpton had "tried to change a couple of things on me and knew that" while adding, "he didn't have the same kind of courage that I had when I walked into that studio by myself."
Left unsaid was what exactly Sharpton had changed though Imus's ire was clearly directed at the fact that he had first asked Sharpton to appear on his show first, but that Sharpton had declined.
Nevertheless, it was abundantly clear that Imus - cranky, outspoken and in-your-face even in the happiest of times - remained even more upset by the national radio smackdown with Sharpton than the two-week suspension levied a few hours later. Imus was alternately contrite and combative during the Sharpton radio show, and at one point charged that "You people still don't get it."
When Sharpton challenged Imus on the comment, he angrily told Sharpton he was referring to "you two people" - Sharpton and guest Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the Michigan Democrat and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus who was also a guest. While the radio show was a virtual disaster for Imus, it was unclear whether it had anything directly to with the suspension, first announced last night on "Nightly News with Brian Williams."
The last time someone said "You People" in referring to African-Americans, it somewhat tanked his consideration for President with African-Americans. I'm talking about Ross Perot. And it sounds like Don Imus is the one who doesn't "get it", if his comments about Sharpton, on Sharpton's show, no less, are anything to go by.
It only started with the Rutgers' Women's Basketball team. His appearance on Sharpton's show only made it worse, And why should Sharpton go on Imus' show when he knows that Imus' audience don't want to hear "in-your-face" from the Rev. Al? This was no time for Imus to try and deflect. Man-Up, as my good friend, Skeptical Brotha, would say.
But here's what I want readers of this blog to do. List each and every instance Don Imus used a racial, sexist, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobic slur against anyone of notoriety, and didn't get called on it by his sponsors, Les Moonves or Jeff Zuckerman, and list them in the comments. I plan on giving them to Color of Change, NOW, the NAACP and any other organization that's calling for Imus to be fired. The evidence of how he has provided haven for Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Glen Beck and other bigoted pundits should not go unchallenged, and if we succeed with Imus, the above named gang will finally be placed on notice that their days in the sun, insulting without impunity and consequences, are over.
They don't understand disdain. What they do understand is the cutting off of their paycheck that funds those lavish lifestyles they lead.
