"She's dark and lovely and passionate. And very, very kind."
"And exclusive as a mailbox," I said." Raymond Chandler
"killing a nigger is just a misdemeanor" Raymond Chandler
"Men want a woman whom they can turn on and off like a light switch.” Ian Fleming
"That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that..." Don Imus
I was really busy this week. Periferally I'd heard that DJ Don Imus had said something racist and offensive- I wondered why anyone was suprised- it was like saying Howard Stern had made an "off-color remark". They both sprang from the same fertile fields (like the back of the elephant tent at Ringling brothers...) at WNBC. I never found them funny, but they each had a following and my little transistor radio had an "off" switch. No sense wasting a good 9 volt battery.
In later years Imus diligently worked to divorce himself from the shock jock image portrayed by Howard Stern, currying favor with the Washington power elite and being a socially incorrect, crude, rude political commentator. An intellectual with a 'tude.
Then he said what he said, and 2 days later I read it... I also saw that Jessie Jackson was protesting- which I was happy about, since without a protest march he is sort of a rootless politician without a post- a reverend without a church. He needs a platform- even if it is a sidewalk on 47th street, with a nice proximity to a TV station....
And Al Sharpton. Screaming "Racial Injustice!". It has been 20 years but every time I see Al Sharpton I think of Tawana Brawley and his shameless perpetuation of her teenage prank, for lack of better words, into a federal case. From that day to this he is like a civil rights pyromaniac, fanning the flames of the tiniest incident so that he can launch himself into the public eye. He does not exists without racial unrest, so he works assiduously to keep it in the media spotlight and himself along with it.
Both of them seem to be much more interested in promoting their own political aspirations over racial harmony and equality.
I miss the determined, focussed agendas of people like Martin Luther King, or the grace of Rosa Parks. I do not think either of these men come anywhere close.
As you read above, we all know that at one time Racism and Sexism had a place in popular culture- an accepted norm. Both Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler wrote books for an audience that consisted mostly of men, and their language, attitude and subject matter reflected the personas they glorified- Phillip Marlowe, James Bond. I love to read these books, for me they are as much a period piece as Shakespeare or Bronte, but I do not wish to wear an Elizabethan corset on a daily basis or wander the moors looking for Heathcliff.
When a modern day white man elevated to a public media with sponsors like General Motors paying the ticket believes he can refer to any race in a denigrating manner or to any woman as a "ho"- the reaction should have been, and was- swift. And for this I am glad. As an aside- no man that far distanced from ever using conditioner should cast aspersions on any other hair texture and furthermore- he is paid to do what he does on air and when he was no longer attractive- he was kicked to the curb like trash by his sponsors... not so comfy realizing that he cannot distance himself from the "ho" identity himself.
I read an interesting quote by civil rights lawyer Constance Rice ( a cousin to Condoleeza) she said:
"More to the point, Imus should only be fired when the black artists who make millions of dollars rapping about black bitches and hos lose their recording contracts. Black leaders should denounce Imus and boycott him and call for his head only after they do the same for the misogynist artists with whom they have shared stages, magazine covers and awards shows.
The truth is, Imus' remarks mimic those of the original gurus of black female denigration: black men with no class. He is only repeating what he's heard and being honest about the way many men — of all races — judge women."
She also referred to Don Imus as a "good-natured racist". Yikes.
I know Don Imus has done good works and yes- there are lots of minority comics and rappers using all sorts of ignorant terminology. But it does not make things better and should also not be tolerated. We don't need to laugh at or sing along with words of hatred and stupidity.
"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan. Martin Luther King
:) X
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