Justice was served, but it must not stop here
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by user DRE-LO
Yesterday's firing of Imus from CBS as well as his firing from his simulcast on MSNBC was a major signal that a change in our society is ahead. For far too long, insensitive and disgusting remarks have gone unpunished and largely noticed with no accountability for those who are so quick with the tongue. Where do I begin? Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh have made so many racial disparaging remarks that to name each and everyone of their incidents would require another article and an increased chance of carpal tunnel for me. Think it's just the am dial? Try switching to Power 105.1 in New York City and hearing morning DJ Star at about this same time last year and hearing him making a threat to rape the 14 year old daughter of DJ Envy in rival NYC hip-hop station Hot 97. Or how about Hot 97's Miss Jones and her morning show making light of the tsunami tragedy in Southeast Asia with an extremely insensitive parody of the situation. Enough noise was made to get Star off the air, but Miss Jones is still on the air.
For years, the corporations and the media at-large have been getting no-more than light slaps on the wrists for statements that had gone WAY over the line. And that was only if enough noise and outcry was made.
So it was no surprise to me that his original punishment was a 2-week suspension from both MSNBC and CBS Radio.
Oh no.......Public Outcry, Public Outrage, another slap on the wrist.... Deja vu. Injustice wins out again....
But the outcry and debate grew and grew. Defenders of Imus justified his comments based on similar comments made by rap artists and in the name of free speech. I'm a great believer in the Constitution but I'm also of the belief that what you say has a price tag, good or bad. Words hurt. Ask Essence Carson. Ask Kia Vaughn. Best of all, ask coach C Vivian Stringer who dealt with the bouts of racism and sexism her whole life. Ask them about the impact of words.
But actions speak louder than words. And the actions by CBS and MSNBC to fire Imus saw Mr Justice make a sweet and overdue comeback. It was a signal that enough is enough. A signal that racism and sexism could not, would not and should not rear it's ugly head on any media outlet and that shock jocks and media personalities need to take responsibility for their personal conduct on the air. This is the main reason why certain media personalities which will remain nameless have cried foul over the firing of Imus. The firing of Imus goes against their own best interests in entertainment. Now they will have to make adjustments and actually think before talking or risk meeting the same fate.
The next form of justice now is to put an end to the offensive language in general used against women used in rap music. It's acknowledged that this truth was a piss-poor excuse used by those who defended Imus throughout this controversy. Nevertheless, it's still a black mark in our culture and our generation which needs to be erased now.
So hats off to MSNBC and CBS for putting corporate interests and their profit motive aside in the interest of justice. And the biggest kudos of all goes to the Rutgers woman's basketball team and their Hall of Fame coach who exhibited class, dignity and represented all women proudly throughout the week. It was 2 weeks ago in which their amazing season ended just short of being national champions on the court.
Now they're champions of a nation.
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