You would think that Jesse "Hymie Town" Jackson and Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton aka "The Justice brothers" (as Rush has nicknamed them) wouldn't be so quick to destroy a person's reputation when you look at the fact that they both have their own similar baggage. Yet, even though their careers didn't get derailed for their screw-ups they insist on trying to sabotage others for nothing more than to get their faces in front of the cameras.Once again what Imus said was offensive and completely out of line but this media circus overreaction created by Sharpton and Jackson is absurd. I also find it extremely laughable that Snoop "Drug and gun possession" Dogg and others are saying its okay for them to use these words and worse on a consistent basis because of the context. Hello?? Either the word is wrong to use or its not. I think it is wrong no matter what the context. I actually consider what the rappers do as worse because their songs that use these words are carefully planned out and premeditated. Imus got busted for saying something without thinking it through. Either way its unacceptable but don't tell me that its okay to degrade women as long as you are using it in the "right context". Dogg and the other rappers' arguments seem completely hypocritical to me.
Even though Jackson and Sharpton have succeeded in silencing Imus they have vowed not to stop there. They want to move on and see what other kind of speech can be silenced. Imus may be a liberal casualty but you can bet that they want some conservative casualties as well. Rush brought up today that conservatives never want to silence anyone, objectionable as they may be. It is liberals that scream for all contrary talk to be silenced. Sharpton's witch hunt has only begun, one can only hope that most intelligent people won't give in.
Ann Coulter has written an excellent piece on the whole controversy. Here are some excerpts, the last paragraph made me laugh out loud:
English speakers in America need a rule book to tell us what people can say what words when, and under which set of circumstances. The rule book will be longer than the Patriot Act and will require weekly updates as new words and circumstances are added. Perhaps a Nasdaq-style ticker would be more efficient.
Depending on which TV show you tune into, what Imus said was wrong because: 1) His show goes out on FCC-regulated airwaves; 2) he regularly interviews people like Sens. John Kerry, John McCain and Joe Biden; 3) he spoke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner a few years ago; or 4) he's not black.
Imus should apologize to the Rutgers women – and those women alone – send them flowers, and stop kissing Al Sharpton's ring.
This wasn't an insult to all mankind, and certainly not an insult to Al Sharpton. Now, if Imus had called the basketball players "fat, race-baiting black men with clownish hairstyles," well, then perhaps Sharpton would be owed an apology.
