A vicious attack, whether physical or verbal, supercedes all good intentions - and as quickly and decisively as one lights a match.
Imus abused his privilege and great good fortune of his celebrity at the expense of millions - and at that moment, forfeited his right to defend his racist remarks with any number of previous good deeds. What he said was unabashedly vitriolic. We should not tolerate racism, sexism, or any other ism, in any shape, form, or color. And, if we have to pick them off, one by one, then so be it.
This is not an issue of Freedom of Speech. It is an issue of intolerance. It is an issue of a society that has become so mean-spirited and numb to the pain and suffering of others, that we no longer fully understand right from wrong. There are many far worse than Imus, and we know who many of them are. One can only hope that they will soon follow suit - and to the back of the unemployment line.
Call me uber-sensitive, but no woman or girl should be called a whore. Not on the street. Not on the radio. I can't imagine anyone with a daughter, a wife, a sister, who wouldn't feel some level of rage if their loved one was publicly called a whore - a fat whore, a skinny whore, an ugly whore - or any descriptive combination of derogatory bile.
And the continued debate that such degradation is commonly used by blacks, in rap, by others, does not mean it's right, or that Imus should have been handed a get-out-of-jail-free card. There should be no free pass for hatred. There is no excuse, for anyone.
It is incomprehensible to me that in 2007, we continue the charade that we have evolved into a non-racist society. Just yesterday, my MSN homepage ran an article about how it is no longer looked upon as "unacceptable" to be in an interracial relationship. How it is now viewed as the norm - just how "far" society has come. Well, I've got news for you, it ain't necessarily so. It might be better, but it is still horribly fractured.
Coming from California, and what does appear to be part of the norm these days, is to see many interracial couples of white and Hispanic, or white and Asian mix. However, it is far more uncommon to see white and black couples. The percentage of black and white interracial couples is significantly lower than that of whites with Hispanics and Asians. Black and white is still the often "unspoken" and ultimate, taboo.
Not long ago, I was part of that interracial mix and experienced firsthand, both here and abroad, how the world does not fully or comfortably embrace the coupling of black and white. The very fact that the MSN article could only point out a handful of black and white couples of "celebrity status," whether athletes, politicians, actors, etc., is rather telling.
When we can count on one hand, the number of in-the-media interracial couples, or those in our neighborhoods, our families or our friends, that, speaks volumes. We have a major problem - and society, as a whole is still not ready to tolerate such unions, at least not black and white.
A couple of years back, while traveling within Africa, and in a black majority country, my then black companion and I, were looked upon as something as an oddity. And not always in a good way. While at times we were embraced, particularly by younger Southern Africans, both black and white, amongst older whites, we were sometimes looked upon with disdain.
In the States, as well, we were the odd couple out - rarely did we see other like-couples, whether in suburban areas or in major cities - from San Francisco to Boston. We represented a tiny fraction of the American population. And fact is, many people today are still not wholly comfortable with it. Whether or not society voices these opinions, it is often clearly understood.
It is an undeniable fact; color is a major factor in nearly all facets of life - whether in relationships, housing, jobs, education, or incarceration - color is always front and center.
Those of color in this world, particularly blacks, will never get their fair share as human beings as long as society continues to see them as unequal to, unworthy of, or removed from our own personal comfort zones - our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, shopping malls, and our families.
The African continent will continue to struggle and millions more will unjustly go unattended, slipping beneath the radar of care and compassion. As long as the United States looks at African Americans as different or less than, global equality doesn't stand a chance.
Imus is only part of the problem. Nevertheless, holding him accountable is a start.
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