Don Imus was raked over the coals for another day today, and a recent announcement indicates that he has now been relieved of his radio career. Does he leave his post as an Arrogant Jerk? I must say: No.
Clearly the rules state that an Arrogant Jerk is someone who is unapologetic. Imus was actually quick to apologize, and even appeared to be reasonably humiliated while doing it. Unfortunately for him, this was the weak moment the wolves were looking for.
Don’t get me wrong here; I am not really an Imus fan. My Imus listening experience is a total accumulated 15-or-so minutes while channel surfing on the commute. Nevertheless; I was pretty shocked at the overwhelming response at his comment.
What he said was certainly offensive. No one can deny that. But let’s give the guy an ounce of credit for immediately facing the music and sincerely apologizing. He event walked into the lion’s den (Sharpton’s show) and took a beating without so much as a flinch.
I don’t mean, either, to paint this guy as an angel; certainly he has had his moments of Arrogance. But I think the punishment here is going well beyond expectation and the driving force is hard to nail down.
Is it because he is a conservative talk show host and is expected to stay above the name calling? Is it because the ‘left-wing’ media is pouncing on an injured meal? Could it be that this is a distraction orchestrated by Bush to veer our attention away from The Downward Spiral we used to call Iraq? I am sure someone thinks so.
Impressive, also, is the list of people pointing the finger. We can always count on Al Sharpton to jump in wherever he can. Never mind his record of verbal nonsense and race mongering. Jesse Jackson was so expected in this affair that people are hardly noticing him. He is such a fixture in racial disputes he has become like a wedding ring; you notice more when it is not there.
Does Imus deserve to loose his job and be burned at the stake for what he said? Sure, it was nasty, offensive, and terrible poor judgment. But it seems to be nothing worse than what I have heard from the likes of Snoop, Rosie, Tupac, Jesse, Bird, Maher (who was also tied to the stake, amazingly), Hendrie, Sharpton himself (he has offended white people, and either has no idea, or is an Arrogant Jerk—no need to guess out loud.), and Stern, who has caused even me to double take, and I am unoffendable.
This is a witch hunt perpetrated by a duplicitous croud of media hounds hell-bent on lighting the kindling without so much as a consideration. These guys have raised Imus’ awareness about three thousand fold. Imus has been fired for less than any rapper has sung on any random album, and will likely receive a record-breaking contract with satellite radio.
I am not wild about what he said, but then I don’t like a lot of what I hear on radio, TV, and print. That doesn’t mean we should call out the witch hunt, box in our rights just a little more, and throw stones from our own glass houses.
