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Quote of the Moment
It
is not always easy to diagnose. The simplest form of stupidity - the
mumbling, nose-picking, stolid incomprehension - can be detected by
anyone. But the stupidity which disguises itself as thought, and which
talks so glibly and eloquently, indeed never stops talking, in every
walk of life is not so easy to identify, because it marches under a
formidable name, which few dare attack. It is called Popular Opinion...
~Robertson Davies~
"Can A Doctore Be A Humanist?"
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2:26 PM...I wanted to stay silent...But, in lieu of the last week's goinz on, I probably shouldn't.
 I
really didn't want to get in on the whole "Don Imus" action. I figured
every single LJer would at some point. But, after an entire week of
soaking things in, listening to what people have had to say, and
finally, watching (of all people) Bill Maher last night, I decided I
needed to finally go ahead and get out what has been going on up in my
head.
Let me see if I can break this down...
The First Ammendment:
Alrighty,
a lot of people will try to bring this little thing up. However,
there's a saying I've always loved, "Your freedoms end where mine
begin." Unfortunately for Mr. Imus, he stomped all over the rights of
these young women to their rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness." Oh, and did I mention that his statement of "Nappy Headed
Hos" could be construed as hate commentary? There are laws against that
- it's all part of that whole, Civil Rights legislation. Pesky things,
those.
Humour:
Okay, look. I know Mr. Imus is
considered to be a "shock jock" type humourist. So is Howard Stern. I
also would put Jim Rome in there (yeah, a girl who knows who Jim Rome
is...how hot is that fellas?). However, I can't stand any of these men.
So, what do I do when it comes to the 1st Ammendment and Humour? I
change the damn dial.
Now, as far as just humour, look at all the
great comedians...they point out the flaws of society, of
government...basically, the ludicrousness of life in general. They do
not prey upon the weak, the suffering, or the truly deserving. You have
never seen a comedian go on a USO tour and take potshots at the troops.
Why would any true humourist then, take shots at a deserving group of
young, teenage women?
The Media:
Really not making
things much better. Most of these young women probably hadn't heard of
Mr. Imus until someone pointed out what was said. Like Bill Maher said,
we are living in a "gotcha!" society, between YouTube, the paparazzi,
and watchdog groups (ie: the PTC), nothing can be said anymore. Look at
what happened to Michael Richards while doing a small standup gig? Who
would have known about that? 15 years ago, it would have been some
random thing to random guy #52 - "Hey, that guy who plays "Kramer" on
Seinfeld went apeshit on stage man." That would have been the end of it
for the most part. Now, we have pictures of Britney Spears vagina on
the television while she goes crazy and shaves her head.
These
young women are not the demographic for Mr. Imus. Yes, what he said was
hurtful. Yes, it was wrong. But were it not for watchdog groups and our
crazed media culture, it would have gone relatively unnoticed. I hate
to say this, but our young people today are almost too sensitive. We
live in a world that is being sanitized, sterilized, and
antibacterialized. If they don't hear it now, when they are 30, and are
shocked when they travel and someone drops the "N" bomb on them, what's
going to happen? How will they react?
I will not defend Mr. Imus.
But I will say this, previous generations have fought harder and longer
and against bigger adversaries, dealing with much more terrifying
situations. I really don't want to hear bitching and griping over
someone who gets called a name on a playground that can easily be
walked away from.
The media has made too much of this. They needed
a juicy story and they found a great one, particularly with the help of
the "Reverends" Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, neither of whom I see as
being anything but people out to further their own careers...kinda like
ambulance chasers out to build up their firms. They are even jokes
within their own community. I really don't want to hear any more from
them.
The Players Themselves:
These young women should
fear nothing at this point. I can say nothing bad about them. For one,
they were all smart enough to get into Rutgers. I doubt Mr. Imus can
say the same. Not only were they smart enough to get in, they also have
the ability to balance their school work with their team schedules and
work outs at one of the most esteemed universities in the country. This
is something that the media has conveniently left out in lieu of
repeating the phrase, "Nappy Headed Hos" over and over again, making
the wound deeper. If Mr. Imus is a "shock jock," what then does that
make the media, who refuses to acknowledge the skills of these young
women, on and off the court?
All in all, I would say that
there is a time coming when we will have to figure out our priorities
where it comes to our entertainment. Do we want the "realism" we love
so much on television? We love watching people be hurt, both physically
and emotionally on "reality TV," but if a person makes a statement
using some sort of "trigger word," such as "faggot," "nigger," or
"slut," then immediately, they are red-flagged as being a bigot,
regardless of the context of their words.
It happens all the time
ladies and gentleman. And the media latches on, quickly. As
individuals, and as a community as a whole, we need to start deciding,
do we want THEM to tell us what we want, or should we start figuring
out what is right and wrong for ourselves?
Last time I checked,
everyone was always so strangely patriotic, but no one can remember the
Bill of Rights or the Constitution. And seeing as how everyone is so
goddamn patriotic, why don't you start acting "American" and utilize
those rights you have and stop letting the government run your
lives...before we end up like so many other "democratic" countries in
Europe (oh that's a whoooole other blog...but, for the record, see:
FRANCE, banning of religious outter wear). |
