"Nappy Headed Ho's"
Don Imus, syndicated talk radio show host, has been recently suspended for referring to the Rutger's women basketball team as "nappy headed ho's." People like Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have called for him to resign or be fired, along with an outcry from portions of the public denouncing his show.Ugh...let me try to tackle this one. The cast of Imus's show were in a discussion on the basketball teams in the NCAA women's finals, calling them all tough, then using the term "nappy headed ho's." Maybe these comments were out of line, but this man does not deserve the level of criticism and hate he has gotten from the likes of Al Sharpton and his followers.
Don Imus went on Sharpton's radio show to try and clear the air...but it turned into nothing more than an opportunity to badger and ridicule Imus, ending with the demand that he resign. Sharpton even had his college-aged daughter come on air to face Imus while he was lectured him on his comments: "You see this young lady right here? She is not a 'nappy headed ho,' she is my daughter." Imus stated on the program that "our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far."
He continues to tell critics that his show is filled with comedy that touches many people, regardless of race, religion, sex or creed. Imus or his co-hosts have called Colin Powell a "sniffling weasel," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson a "fat sissy," referred to Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado (an American Indian) as "the guy from F Troop," called Hillary Clinton an "old bag" and stated that the New York Knicks are a group of "chest-thumping pimps." Al Sharpton has called for advertisers of Imus to boycott his show.
Leave the guy alone. Not only does he feel terrible that some people took his comments in a negative way, he is apologizing endlessly and feels "embarrassed." He wasn't being racist on his show and didn't intend to insult anyone. The fact that a guy like Sharpton go's after him so hard, and even bring his daughter into the mix to try and make the Don feel even worse is beyond me. Seems to me that there is a double standard since Sharpton can say what he wants about anyone else (whites, police officers, etc.), but he'll attack anyone that mentions anything remotely close to an African American reference.
Another point: Any hip-hop star can get away with saying the nastiest things about women or "ho's," but they never catch any flak despite the fact that those comments are much more damaging, offensive and in much larger circulation than Imus's one liner.
Watch the video at CBS and decide for yourself if Imus deserves the heat he's catching. In the meantime, here is the exact exchange of comments from the "controversial" show:
DON IMUS: So I watched the basketball game last night between a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.
SID ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night, seventh championship for Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by thirteen points.
DON IMUS: Some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they've got tattoos and --
BERNARD McGUIRK: Some hardcore hos.
DON IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there, I’m going to tell you that. Man, that’s some -- ooh! And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so -- like kind of like a -- I don’t know.
BERNARD McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.
DON IMUS: Yeah.
BERNARD McGUIRK: The Jigaboos versus the Wannabes --
DON IMUS: Yeah.
BERNARD McGUIRK: That movie that he had?
DON IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough --
CHARLES McCORD: Do the Right Thing.
BERNARD McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
DON IMUS: I don't know if I’d have wanted to beat Rutgers or not. But they did, right?
SID ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.
DON IMUS: Well, I guess, yeah.
LOU RUFFINO: Only tougher.
UPDATE
4/12/2007, 10:33pm
Imus has officially been let go by CBS and will no longer be broadcasting his radio show. For an incident that didn't even produce one complaint to the FCC and has been pushed by the likes of Sharpton, Jackson and the high and mighty media, I cannot believe that this has happened. I am, however, looking forward to Imus's potential return to radio. Whether I agree with what he says or believes, he has been wronged and deserves another shot. I, personally, hope he gets signed elsewhere and banks big time.
posted by Carl Soderberg at
9:55 PM
27 Comments:
I believe that Imus shouldn't have to apologize for being Imus. And I don't see what apologizing to Al Sharpton does to improve anything.
I'm not sure how popular Imus is with the African American population, (I am white and not an Imus fan), but he's just like anyone else on the radio or television. If you don't like what he has to say, change the channel.
He is a racist and should be fired. This is a level of bigotry that cannot be allowed to touch innocent Americans, and you sir are no more than an accessory to this crime.
Only someone with a certain mindset would utter something as painful as "nappy headed hos," and there is only one word for it...it isnt comedy, it isnt just a "bad thing," its racist.
This is yet ANOTHER point when Al Sharpton just wants to hear his own voice. For all of those that cry racism and the need for racial equality, YOU MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE!
Ok so maybe Imus said a few things that went a bit too far on the 'Sharpton' scale, but for crying out loud, it happened, people got pissed, let it go.
But oh my gosh, if it is pissing you off or upsets you, take a look at your radio. There are these things called knobs. It doesn't cost you a dime to change the channel! Go ahead, twist the knob, I promise it won't hurt, and you won't need to piss off others out there that are sick of hearing minorities cry out at EVERY time someone slips up and misquotes something, in this case a Spike Lee 'joint' (what the hell is that anyway? Spike is too edgy to call them movies?), he comes out as looking like an idiot on the news. And of course when a news anchor (99% of the time a black news anchor when it’s a racially-motivated story) will get a boner when he or she gets to report the fact that Don Imus is a racist pig.
This just in: Kanye West's next album will be called "Don Imus doesn't care about black people."
And to Rev. Al Sharpton, if you are a damn Reverend, I'm sure you know of this guy Jesus? Yeah, that guy, Jesus Christ? Yeah he told you to forgive your fellow man. So when you take the man and shoot him down on your 'awesome' radio show, making the poor guy feel even more like crap with all the media attacks he's getting, you are NO BETTER! C'mon Al, I'm sure you won't lose any respect if you were to accept his apologies and move on to talk about other things not racially motivated....wait never mind, because then you'd be out of stuff to talk about.
And there is no need to bring up Jesse Jackson in this debate. He called NYC Hymietown, which is in regards to him being sick and tired of hearing people talk about the Holocaust. Well guess what Jesse? Lets have a quite SAT-style analogy:
(Q) Imus: nappy-headed hos as Jackson: (?)
(A) Hymietown.
So for everyone out there thinking that Don Imus is a racist, a hater, a bruise to society; those 'smelling-like-a-rose' Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are just as bad, but of course the topic of discussion is Don Imus as a racist bastard.
And by the way, take a look at any video of Rutger’s players celebrating the game. In the exception of #21, Heather Zurich, those players throw up gang-signs, pumping their chests, screaming out loud, and doing that thing when they have a towel in their hand and spin it around like a helicopter. Not very lady-like.
But no, Don Imus, he’s the one sending the wrong message.
What if eddie murphy said the same yhing or dave chappell
IMUS rules! As a white person, all rappers and niggers that use the "ho" word should all be fired or resign from their jobs.
Seems like double standard.
Once we get rid of racism we will all be throwing spears again. Look how untouched black civilizations have progressed in the world.
WHEN AL SHARPTON AND JESSIE UM JACKSON START PICKETING THE LIKES OF ALL THE FILTHY MOUTHED RAPPERS AND HIP HOP ARTISTS I WILL BELIEVE THAT THEY TRUELY ARE CONCERNED FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE NOT TO MENTION THE MILLIONS OF TEENS WHO LISTEN TO THIS CRAP ON THEIR IPODS AND CAR RADIOS 24/7. LET'S SEE AL AND JESSIE CALL SONY RECORDS AND ALL THE BIG LABELS ABOUT THE REPUGNANT VILE LYRICS THE RAPPERS PRODUCE AND THE KIDS LISTEN TO.
I think the Rutgers girls should embrace heartily what Imus said. "Yes! We're the Nappy Headed Ho's!" and henceforth calll their team that as a mascot name. I can see now. All the fans screaming "Go Ho's, Go Ho's" It would do so much to reconcile this nation and get the cactus out of everybody's britches.
The Rutgers fan base would increase tenfold and Imus would be a hero and lead them onto the court to thousands of smiling faces.
Think about it. It would be on par with the Ramblin Wrecks but better. Everyone would love the Nappy Headed Ho's of Rutgers. They'd be reknown.
I can't believe all the press this is getting. What is wrong with this world. Those girls at Rutgers should be ashamed of themselves. What a bunch of big babies. Grow Up. Why would anyone get so angry at this. Maybe the reason is they really are nappy headed ho's and they have been exposed for what they really are.
I wouldn't blame the Rutgers players, I blame the media that has blown this whole situation out of proportion, with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson at the head of it all. Now everyone else in the "drive by" media is making this out to be some huge ordeal, taking comments out of context and such.
The author here is right, Imus may be a jackass, but he isnt a racist. Leave the man alone if your not going to apply your rants to everyone in society, regardless of how they are born (I would rather we all dont go after one another, cause then all the fun in freedom of speech goes out the window).
Santa been saying "Ho Ho Ho!" all these years.... What on earth is a "Nappy Headed Ho"???
Unbelievable! I'm not an Imus fan (by any stretch), but isn't this type of comment precisely what his entire career has been built on? Is it not what the majority of his listeners tune in for? Is this not what the American public EXPECTS from him? I've made the choice not to listen.. his sense of humor is quite simply not amusing to me.. but he has every damn right to do his thing his way. Don't like it, don't listen.
OK.. some of his comments might not sit well even with some of his listeners.. surely it hits a little too close to home with some from time to time.. but it's perfectly funny when it doesn't, isn't it? They love it then, don't they?!
Give me a fookin break. We've taken this political correctness thing waaaaaayyyyyyyy too far in recent years. I'm all for sensitivity and respect, but we've reached a point where people are afraid to say what they really think about ANYTHING, or have a little laugh about about even the MOST OBVIOUS things!
Has Imus gone a little too far this time? Maybe. But people are acting as though he just shoved a Jewish family into a gas chamber. He apologized. Move on!!!
I have better, more productive and fun things to do with my life than listen or care what Imus say's and what the Misleading Media decides is important for us to know.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievences" There they are folks, probably the 45 most-important words in this grand experiment called America. Look, simply put, you can NOT have a first amendment such as ours AND also have the right to not be offended. You do however have options, among them; turn down the volume, change the station, leave the room, voice a contrary opinion. However, you must remember your choices end where my First Amendment right begins. All this nonsense about getting people fired for excercising their constitutional rights is exactly the kind of bullying the founding father wanted to avoid. I will not even get into the selective outrage of some of the self-described black leaders who themselves never seem to be accountable for any of the racially motivated comments. Nobody should want Sharpton or Jackson fired either, it is their right to say what they want and expose their own ignorance just as much as it is Imus' right to do so.
The "outrage" is more outrageous than what the dumbass said. To fire him or pull advertising is more offensive than anything that man could say on the air. Get a life!
what is a nappy-headed ho? it sounds vaguely insulting but unless i'm missing something being a ho with a nappy on your head means you could be black or white (im from the UK and maybe in the US there is something racist about the words)??? I don think this guy should be vilified for this at all!
SaganRand: The entire Bill of Rights is a contract between the government and the people. The First Amendment concerns that relationship. It does not mean everyone has the freedom to say what they want when and where they want. If you don't believe me, go into work and climb up on a desk and scream "nappy-headed ho's"! and see what happens. This issue is entirely a private sector issue. You need to learn more about what the Constitution really is.
I have a question...
What exactly IS a "nappy headed ho"...? I mean, calling a girl a ho, that's mean-spirited and insulting. But like some of the other posters already mentioned, rappers do it all the time. What exactly does "nappy headed" refer to?
According to Snoop Dogg, this is what a "ho" is...he also weighs in on the whole situation:
"It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh*t, that's trying to get a 'n*gga' for his money. These are two separate things...First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them F*ckers say we in the same league as him."
Insightful, huh?
I agree with the blogger,
I'm a fairly young black female nyself, and while his comments were harsh and out of line, I don't think that he should be fired over it.
People say the wrong thing all the ime, but this is ridiculus. I don't necessarily support im, but I do feel sorry for him and I'll be praying for Mr. Imus.
Although, with all that has happened I think he must have done something really wrong in the past to reap something like this.
Anyone that thinks that he should be fired over a comical remark is a fucking idiot. Don't listen to his show if you don't like what he's saying, the fact he even apologized for what he said and was still fired is just idiotic and shows that the freedom of speech is just a thing of the past.
Not a Imus fan...
Don't care what he says....
Nappy-headed or not
Ho or Ho Ho Ho or Not...
Firing this guy just says some minority bunch of screwy-headed overzealous opportunistic hypocritical politicians got their way to score points... and to scare the shit outta CBS/NBC top management
I mean, what the hell is going on?!
Give the old man a break!
And about the rappers... just ain't got nothing good to say, or rap, it's all about shit, ho, nappy, nigger, fuck, kill, rape, drugs... don't call it soul stuff, if that's the kinda stuff coming from your soul, then you'd better call 911, send your soul to hospital and stay at the ICU for good.
Ho Ho Ho!
He shouldn't be fired, he seems sincere, Sharpton and Jackson have been given redemption for equal transgressions, Jackson wouldn't even apologize today for charicterizing the Duke lacrosse players as guilty.
Meanwhile hispanics are becoming America's 2nd biggest ethnic group, and don't seem to be the least bit interested in this debate.
1) Isn't it interesting that Imus gets nailed for "Nappy headed ho" but McGuirk's much more objectionable use of "Jigaboo" has gone essentially unnoticed
2) You know, people born at the crest of the equal rights movement just turned 40. As in FORTY. That means that people who were essentially indoctrinated into a world of government mandated equality are well into adulthood. Can we please act like we've had 40 years of understanding and not jump off the rails at stupid piddly crap like this?
3) Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will ruin my career and invite lawsuits.
4) I heard a black commentator on NPR yesterday talk about the power of the black community and their ability to control "racial hatred" with commerce. Imus steps over the line and GM pulls funding. I've got news for you commentator, that's not black control, that's white guilt in action. Most of the people who power the idiotic racial gestures like the removal of the Aztec as the mascot for a California college team are powered by vocal upper middle class white people acting on their well indoctrinated feelings of white guilt. Its stupid thinking like yours (commentator) that gets "Caution! Hot!" stamped on styrofoam cups of coffee.
5) The media is trotting out all the old horses for show... like the disparity in salary between whites and blacks, the poor performance of minorities in schools...etc. The "you're oppressing me" card expired 20 years ago. Its time for the ocean of people in the U.S. to take responsibilitiy for their own destiny. Be your own man. Be your own woman. Quit trying to get a hand up when you're standing on a ladder that is plenty tall enough.
6) As a member of the ERA baby demographic, I could care less about race and gender... in the workplace or in the world at large. What I do discriminate against are communities of idiocy. I hate people who take advantage of welfare. I hate people who come to this country illegally and demand things from our government. I hate people who play the race/slavery/sexism card when they have always lived in a world where the government protects against unfair treatment. I hate religious groups that retard scientific progress. I hate religious groups that retard social progress. Finally, I hate the people who get their news from the headlines and react aggressively without bothering to research before they rant. Sadly, that means there is a lot to hate in the world...
Why is it ok for a black rapper to use the phrase "nappy headed hoes," but when a white man uses the quote, he is called a racist? It is ridiculous that he was fired...
Another small step toward becoming a minority in our own country. Can't exersize free speech anywhere but on an anonymmous post. Stupid niggers stirring the pot and wondering why they will NEVER earn true equality in the US.
Umm:
Don Imus saying "nappy headed ho".
Whatever.
People posting comments making free use of the word "nigger."
Are you kidding? *you* should be fired.
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