The Imus Scandal, etc.

[richardf8]

Sounds like Imus may have lost his show if I heard the news right this morning.

That's fine, he'll find another venue.

I cannot help but note that its another in a series of similar scandals, whether of racism, anti-semitism, or misogyny.

These things aren't happening because Howard Stern, Don Imus, or Mel Gibson, or whomever are bad people. These things are happening because there is a zeitgeist that eats it up, because there is an audience that is receptive to, and even validated by it.

And when Don Imus finds a new venue it will be because of this infamy, not in spite of it, and the market it appeals to will be even more receptive to a diet of hate. So much so that Imus may find himself in the position of having to ratchet up the volume in order to retain them.

Is this a desirable outcome?

And more pressing: what is this zeitgeist that these speech acts validate it and do we REALLY think we can staunch it by suppression? Sure we can put a finger in the dam where Imus is, but that only increases the flow elsewhere, and I'm not sure who's going to put a finger in Ann Coulter.

When we hear speech we do not like, we are to apt, I think to react with outrage and punish, punish, punish. That makes martyrs, and feeds the perception of oppression held by those who regard their prejudices and perceptions as normative.

I would keep Imus on the air. But I would shuffle McGuirk off elsewhere, and pair Imus with, say, Jeannene Garofalo, a liberal humorist who will only be too happy to call him on his shit in a way that makes him look like a jerk.

Come on - this is Defense Against the Dark Arts 101, guys. The way to vanquish a boggart is to make it look ridiculous.

Comments

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Someone will come along and fill the void. And of course you'll have a sponsor really want to make money off the thirty-percenters, only later to be SHOCKED! SHOCKED, I TELL YOU! at the hate messages their cash cow had been delivering.

If there was a market for disemboweling puppies onscreen, I'm sure a few corporations would look the other way for the sake of exploiting that market.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Every time this happens, someone -- usually a conservative -- objects that certain other celebrities say this kind of thing all the time. Sorry, I don't buy that Chris Rock ever said anything akin to Michael Richards's tirade. That said, I agree that there's something wrong with the more popular response.

Imus is merely repeating the mistake of the Greaseman 8-9 years ago (wow, that long?). The zeitgeist has been around a while, but perhaps it has intensified, at least in the left-wing community.

[debg.livejournal.com]

Yep. To every word.

[jesterstear.livejournal.com]

As I've said before, if it were his first offense I would have written it off as failed humor. It's not that offensive, even. But combining it with his long racist past and history of apologizing and then doing it all over again, it's plain to see that something should be done.

People should tell advertisers "hey, if you're going to pay a racist to advertise your product, I don't want to buy it." That's the proper way of getting someone off the air, speaking with your wallet.

As for people saying that Imus is just a small part of the problem, I agree whole-heartedly... but we shouldn't let him slide just because we're having difficulty taking down the others. Se should hold them all accountable for their words, including some of the race-baiters that are Imus' loudest critics (Sharpton, Jackson)

[locakitty.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what Imus said, I haven't been following the story, because honestly...I don't care. Someone else is going to come along and fill that void.

And since I haven't heard Stern's show since he moved to Sirius, I don't know if he's amped up the misogyny or what, but I can tell you, that's one of the main reasons I never enjoyed his show.

As for Ann Coulter, she always falls back on the ol' "grow a sense of humor" excuse if she makes a comment that is offensive. But, they keep booking her because she sells out the tickets.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps the main positive thing to come from this is that some black leaders and spokespersons are acknowledging that the same criticisms should be thrust upon rappers and stand-up comics and filmmakers, etc... since the verbal abuse isn't solely confined to Imus'es misstep.
But will people really listen?