“Don Imus At It Again”

Just when you think we’ve all heard the last race-related commentary from elderly shock jock Don Imus, it’s like one of Brittany’s old hits, “Oops, I did it again.” This time, White America’s whipping boy for racial insensitivity has made yet another politically-insensitive statement about African-Americans; this time about NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones. Imus made an off the cuff remark about Jones arrest history on his radio show mentioning that Jones is ‘Black’; implying, Now let that be the reason. Of course, Mr. Imus doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from African-Americans and quite a number of White people based upon his previous commentary about the starting players on the Rutgers Girls Basketball team being, “Nappy-headed Ho’s.”

In this case, it is not quite sure what his intended meaning is because a disproportionate number of Africa-American males between their mid-teens and possibly late thirties are incarcerated. Blacks make up less than 15% of the general population in America and yet over 50% of jails and prisons are persons of color. Be that as it may, certain self-appointed guardians of the Black race will be offended in behalf of all Black people, voice their grievances in public before the eagerly anticipating news cameras and microphones, while at the same time securing private, back door, and secretive financial donation fruits-of-contrition from the offending party. Anyway, what Imus said, then and previously, although one could vigorously denounce it, nevertheless it is “protected speech” under the First Amendment of The Constitution of the United States.

If Blacks really want to deal with ‘racism,’ then the first thing to do is, “get real.” The culture that influences our youth to emulate the many images in rap videos has to change with more positive messages instead of misogyny, profanity, sexual situations, violence, and especially using the ‘N’ word. Rapper Ice-Cube once said that it doesn’t bother him if someone [probably not White] called him a “Niggah,” but don’t call him a ‘Bitch,’ or it’s “Goin’ Down.” So I guess it’s cool for all those White kids driving down the street blastin’ their loudspeakers and repeatedly using the ‘N’ word or even when they greet one another, some will say, “What’s Up My Niggah, or Niggaz.” The ‘racist’ White promoters, distributors, and industry power brokers make billions of dollars behind all of the CD’s, music videos, concerts, tours, MTV, VH-1, BET, I-pods, and yet, we are upset when a nobody like Don Imus says something that angered us or hurt our feelings.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
June 25, 2008
pbks@hotmail.com