In front of the microphone, he looks like a scarecrow in a ridiculous hat. The trouble is, his act is just as stiff ... and his character just as substantial. The surprising thing about Imus' recent issues is how people are surprised by his offensive behavior.
Beyond the scarecrow himself, there are more important questions. #1, Why did the networks give him the stage for so long? #2, As unlistenable as Imus is, should all such behavior be removed from terrestrial radio, or does that mean censorship and thwarted freedom?
Original story from WeTheSportsPeople.com
He sits in his chair, dwarfed by a ridiculous cowboy hat, draped in clothes that cover his lifeless, gnarled body. If you looked at a snapshot of him, you might think him a villain out of the Harry Potter movies; but watching him in motion and listening to him live, he is more like a scarecrow. He's a static character. An unchanging dummy with one facial expression, one body position, one set of clothes -- stuck on poles and placed in the center of the field for anyone who chooses to look.
Imus would be lucky if the scarecrow comparison only applied to his physcial appearance. But the stiffness and emptiness goes hand in hand with his true character. That's the truth about the whole Imus story that former co-workers understand, and the rest of the public often overlooks: Don Imus has always been this way. The "nappy-headed hos" remarks about the Rutgers basketball program were not his first bigotted comments. The "what color is he" question was not the first ... nor the second ... nor the the tenth of its offensive kind. Most radio listeners under the age of 40 have never heard Imus live on the air, so it's understandable they are shocked by his rascist comments that end up on Sportscenter and YouTube. But they are all part of his act -- part of the scarecrow's unchanging outfit.
In January of this year, satellite radio mogul Howard Stern trashed Imus on David Letterman's show. "I knew he was a rascist back then," Stern said, speaking of their days as coworkers for the same station, WNBC. "I've been screaming for twenty years the guy's a rascist. He was screaming the n-word in the halls." Stern added that since he left terrestrial radio, the people there "resurrected [Imus] like a mummy. I can't even believe he's back."
People can debate the intent of the most recent comments, but anyone who has ever had the displeasure of listening to the embattled radio dinosaur understands that old Don meant it to be offensive. Need some evidence? A watchdog group called FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting) has a long list of Imus' overt rascism:
Imus himself has referred to African-American journalist Gwen Ifill as "a cleaning lady," to New York Times sports reporter Bill Rhoden as "quota hire" and to tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as "a big old lesbo." Imus called Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed... beanie-wearing Jewboy," referred to a disabled colleague as "the cripple," and to an Indian men's tennis duo as "Gunga Din and Sambo." In Imus' words, the New York Knicks are "chest-thumping pimps."
Imus' on again/off again sidekick Sid Rosenberg was temporarily fired in 2001 for calling tennis player Venus Williams an "animal" and remarking that the Williams sisters—Venus and her tennis player sister Serena—would more likely be featured in National Geographic than in Playboy. Rosenberg insisted to New York's Daily News (6/7/01) that his comments weren't racist, "just zoological." In 2004, MSNBC had to apologize when the rehired Rosenberg referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals."
The list goes on, but I think you get the point. He's a broken record, a tired story. A scarecrow that should have been taken down long ago.
In this author's opinion, there is no debating Imus' ongoing racism. But there are more pressing questions that go beyond the dummy in the ridiculous hat. Number one, why did the networks allow Imus to have the microphone for so long? MSNBC gave him a TV show, for crying out loud. Number two, does ANY offensive behavior have a home on terrestrial radio, or does it warrant corrective action? Put another way, what if Don Imus was a funny young comedian who occasionally dipped into offensive waters. Would that be a different story than if an old white man did it, as he tries to talk politics and bring in dignified guests? These, more important questions, will have to be part of another article. I'm glad I have SIRIUS satellite radio, so I can listen to Howard Stern make a mockery of society's norms without having to answer these free speech and free press questions.
In the meantime, please retire the old scarecrow. He's falling apart.
Original Story: WeTheSportsPeople.com