I was sitting in the Atlanta Airport this morng, waiting for my flight to Baltimore. CNN, otherwise known as “news channel that used to be good” was covering in detail the story of Anna Nicole Smith’s child and the DNA test proving boyfriend #4a was the father. Thankfully, after 10 minutes of that coverage, they moved along to Don Imus and his unconscionable attack on the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.
If you haven’t been listening to the news for the last week, you won’t know that Don Imus, radio talk show host syndicated by lots of people and employed by CBS, described the NCAA tournament-winning basketball team as “…nappy headed ho’s.”
CNN’s coverage this morning is almost entirely dedicated to famous people who have jumped up to defend Mr. Imus for his inappropriate remark, including Rudy Guliani, Bill Maher, and Jeff Greenfield. Some guy who’s name I missed was playing the religious redemption card saying (approximately) “every man deserves a chance at redemption.”
Absent the chistrian-centric overtones of that comment, I agree; every person deserves a chance to rectify mistakes that they have made. The caveat is that they don’t need to rectify that mistake in the same job.
A public persona such as Don Imus has a responsibility to think before he speaks. An egregious remark such as the one in question should be grounds for immediate reassignment, if not dismissal, for a talk show host. Like yesterday’s posting about a blog code of conduct, “I will take responsibility for my own remarks.” That should apply to Don Imus
And don’t get me started about Rush “The Biggest Liar in the whole world” Limbaugh.*
*P.S. I can’t stand Michael Moore, either.
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