If Al Sharpton is good at one thing, besides for his being a shameless huckster in the race business, it's creating sympathy for someone who doesn't otherwise deserve it. When Don Imus' "nappy headed hos" flap first erupted, I didn't really give it much thought. After all, I was never a fan of his. While living in New York, I was partial to Howard Stern. Since returning to Detroit, my morning talk show favorite has been Drew & Mike. Imus just never interested me. He always struck me as angry and mocking. The controversy that he created therefore didn't really concern me too much.That was before Sharpton once again assumed the position of father confessor for all Americans of color. As I have previously written on the Zlog here, Sharpton repeatedly gets a pass on his own virulent racism. In fact, Sharpton's racist past is much more injurious to others than Imus' recent comment. Sharpton's actions have led to deaths and the irreversible trashing of good people's reputations. On the other hand, I doubt that there were many people who now think any worse of black women in general and Rutgers basketball players in particular than they did before Imus opened his big mouth.
2 comments:
I'm no fan of Sharpton's, but I did think the statements were somewhat out of line. Whenever I have on my Racist-O-Meter, I ask myself if I would have been offended if the person said something similar which would have been addressed towards my racial/religious issues. In other words, would I want Imus gone if he called someone I knew a "big-nosed JAP"?
The truth is that I wouldn't mind if Imus was suspended for two weeks and that would have been the end of it. But, I might be somewhat biased by the fact that he and his wife have done some great work for autistic kids.
Hey, you're really getting a hang of this posting comments thing.
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