Piling on
Really not a whole lot I can add to the whole Don Imus debate, other than that I probably haven't thought about the man that much in more than 10 years.
Did he deserve to be fired? I really don't know, but I know that I don't feel sorry for him at all. What does drive me crazy about this whole debate is the people who try to confuse it with freedom of speech issues and the roles played by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Imus has a right to say whatever hateful, racist, misoygnistic things he wants to, just as the private company that signs his paychecks has the right to fire him. As long as the government stays out of the picture, the Constitution, freedom of speech thing doesn't come into play.
Otherwise, I've read a bunch of other articles that articulate some of my thoughts a lot more clearly than I can. You can find them here, here, and here.
There's also a good Ellen Goodman column in the Globe today.
WBZ nightime talk host Paul Sullivan also deserves praise for his recent shows on the Imus subject. Unlike the majority of radio hosts, Sullivan listens to his guests and callers and does his best to inform people rather than spout rhetoric. He uses his everyguy persona well, and is especially effective at being a voice of reason during the discussion of divisive issues, whether it's the Iraq War or the Imus firing.
Did he deserve to be fired? I really don't know, but I know that I don't feel sorry for him at all. What does drive me crazy about this whole debate is the people who try to confuse it with freedom of speech issues and the roles played by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Imus has a right to say whatever hateful, racist, misoygnistic things he wants to, just as the private company that signs his paychecks has the right to fire him. As long as the government stays out of the picture, the Constitution, freedom of speech thing doesn't come into play.
Otherwise, I've read a bunch of other articles that articulate some of my thoughts a lot more clearly than I can. You can find them here, here, and here.
There's also a good Ellen Goodman column in the Globe today.
WBZ nightime talk host Paul Sullivan also deserves praise for his recent shows on the Imus subject. Unlike the majority of radio hosts, Sullivan listens to his guests and callers and does his best to inform people rather than spout rhetoric. He uses his everyguy persona well, and is especially effective at being a voice of reason during the discussion of divisive issues, whether it's the Iraq War or the Imus firing.
Labels: Don Imus, idiotic comments, many links, Paul Sullivan
posted by endangered coffee at 7:18 AM
Hi,
I saw you're comments on Media Nation and just had to check out your blog because I'm a big fan of coffee, lol.
I'm happy this whole Imus circus is over. I've been blogging about it all week, mostly attacking Bernard McGuirk, who is the real problem in this story. But I'm not going to get into it anymore.
Good writing! I'll keep checking back.
I've argued the freedom of speech thing regarding this, but only because I've seen some people calling for force of law as regards racial slurs, etc. Sorry, but as disgusting as some people can be, I have no desire to see The Constitution amended to protect feelings.
And A.J. is right - McGuirk was the one who made the initial nasty comment. Imus just amplified it.