Linda J. Alexander http://www.lindajalexander.net
| |
Like everyone else not under a rock the last week or so, I've heard about Don Imus. I never liked him before & I like him even less now. Someone on Ryze said what comes out of one's mouth is what's in one's heart. I wholeheartedly agree. The majority of us wouldn't conceive of saying what Imus said. We don't talk that way. We don't think that way. The two go together.
Still, there IS an underlying issue that bothers me more. It's the way everyone reacts. We wouldn't have an issue in the 1st place if there weren't people w/such ugliness in their hearts. So why is it that we can't agree it's wrong? It is wrong. How is it that there are so many variations on how/why it's wrong? The Greaseman was fired a few years back for a similar issue. Howard Stern got canned for something not too different. Another shock-jock team was nailed for something that insulted the Catholic Church. All these guys are back on the air now, so what good did it really do to fire them?
The ONLY reason there is any nat'l outcry is because of money. Bottom line. It's the pocketbook. That's not to downplay the genuine emotional pain such commentary causes. It's to say that action isn't usually taken unless someone's pockets are in danger of losing green stuff, lots of green stuff. That's the really sad part.
When are we gonna stop being mean to each other? I'm bothered because I live in a world where other s'posedly "real people" hurt others just for the sake of their own bottom dollar . . . which equates thru popularity & promotion. All of it makes money.
If we're a public person we have greater responsibility whether it's Hollywood or Washington--or anywhere in between w/the power of a microphone. We've become a society that lives on shock value. Is Don Imus a "good person" as he continues to tell us? A "good person" that said a bad thing? Welp, he definitely said a bad thing. Only he & his God can look into his heart & see how good a person he really is. That's what he should be worried about. His heart is in need of overall repair. If he is a good person, he'll learn from this & STOP DOING IT.
He tosses the term "ho" around like it means absotively nothing. He even calls his wife that & she's a young, strikingly beautiful, educated speaker & author. He insults people for a living. He, or someone for him, writes this stuff ON PURPOSE. Why is everyone surprised he singled out women & blacks? He's done it before. Why is this time different?
it's not necessarily what he said. If there's to be a set of standards put out, let's stamp those standards on every public persona out there. I don't care if they're ig'nern't whites, rappin' blacks, or Carlos Mencia's "beaners" (his term, not mine). What Imus did is certainly no better but not a whole heckuva lot worse than what we hear in some of our music of today, or sometimes on cable TV. I can't in any way be certain--because obviously I'm quite a white woman to look at me--but I don't see how any black woman would appreciate being called some of the terms put out in rap (or other) music of today any more than they want to be called what Don Imus called the entire Rutgers basketball team, 2 of which are white.
If I had my druthers, I'd fire them all. I'd wipe out the entire "shock jock" industry, the "shock" music industry, & slap around a few TV execs. It's not a culture thing. It's rude. It's mean. It's hurtful. Period. However, according to the Constitution we have set up in this country, that would actually be censorship. Another question: why is it censorship when it's a public media figure, but it would be considered totally acceptable for, say, a corporate exec to fire an employee who would slander another employee in the same way?
We have to look to our own hearts. That's where this all comes from. That includes me, you . . . & Don Imus. How many enjoy his program every day, or that of Howard Stern? Or listen & groove to deameaning music? Or watch TV shows & movies w/characters that show women to be bobble-headed dingbats? Or even see what might seem to be an uneducated white man on a roadside & w/o any knowledge of who he is or where he's from, automatically nail him as a dumb redneck?
Situations are different. The concept is the same. the problem is bigger than Don Imus ever has been or ever will be. I'm curious about what y'all think. Obviously this is an issue making the rounds.
Blessings -- Linda
www.lindajalexander.net ** www.authorsden.com/lindajalexander
HOLLYWOOD & POLITICS - http://hollywoodpolitics-network.ryze.com/
http://www.talk2bev.com/valentine/linda_alexander_maryland.htm
Bev Mahone's '07 Valentine's Contest Essay Top 5 Winner!Private Reply to Linda J. Alexander http://www.lindajalexander.net (new win) |
