Imus Fired, US News & World Report, Mort Zuckerman

TOO SLOW TO CAN HIM?

Network Waited Too Long, Says Publisher







Did CBS actually wait too long to fire Don Imus?

As the debate continues over the network's actions in the now- infamous "nappy- headed hos" debacle, US News & World Report publisher Mort Zuckerman has weighed in with this new piece:

Why 'Ho' Is So Hurtful

By Mortimer B. Zuckerman
Posted 4/22/07

Don Imus surely never imagined that he would provoke such a widespread national conversation about race, sex, and culture. Some good may yet emerge from this squalid episode if we get beyond Imus himself.

Given his record, it was more than a slip of the tongue. Plumbing this new low, he should have been fired instantly by CBS (instead of waiting for advertisers to pull the plug). Such a swift repudiation of his assault on the admirable young black women on the Rutgers basketball team would have expressed the national revulsion. "I'm a woman, and I'm someone's child," said Kia Vaughn with moving restraint. "I achieved a lot. And unless they've given this name, a 'ho,' a new definition, then that is not what I am."

Imus, it has been said, was doing no more than spewing the language of sexual and racist aggression mouthed by African-Americans in rap and hip-hop (and talk radio, movies, TV, etc.)-and financed by corporations. If you look at the current top 10 rap albums they relish the "N" word and insult "ho's" and "bitches." That does not make the revealing language acceptable. In fact, it takes us back to a core issue: why the increasing stature of African-American females seems to have caused the male culture to demean them.


...


The failure to complete high school is almost the equiv- alent of economic suicide. Those who drop out have lives that are marked by increased rates of crime, drug use, and gang membership. The street culture not only reflects a deeply dysfunctional society but perpetuates what it celebrates. So it is imperative that we address these issues that so often manifest themselves in the attempts by black males to demean striving black females.

That is what we see in the language of the street, and that is what was regurgitated by Don Imus: When he had to call forth from his subconscious a way to react to the women of the Rutgers basketball team, he could only think of "nappy headed ho's."

Imus has helped reset the boundaries of acceptable speech. But we must go further, reawakening awareness of the unmet needs of our society.

Except on terrorism issues, Zuckerman is known to reside firmly on the left, which may explain his perspective in this piece.

While it's true the network did wait until advertisers had made their decisions, it seemed reasonable for CBS and MSNBC to spend a few day determining what course of action could be taken. With Imus In The Morning now dead and buried, Zuckerman's position seems excessive.

Or is it? Leave a comment below.


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