Imus comments

I never listened to Imus I found him to be a pompous butt.

But everyone has a simple device on their tv or radio it's the on/off
and tuner buttons.

If people are offended and tune him off he will go off the air.

You know I am so tired of the double standards there is.

I hear black comedians refering to whites as crackers and all kinds of
other racist remarks, and what happens? Not a dang thing. Blacks
refer to themselves with the "N" word and that is normal, and
accepted.

There are special shows on TV for blacks only. All is accepted. If
whites had a show only for whites, you would never hear the end of
it.

Anytime a white person makes any kind of negative comment about
blacks, here come Jesse Jackson, AL Sharpton, and a slew of others to
the rescue!! Give me a frickin break!

If your going to chastise whites for this, you need to look in the
mirror first.

Can you play the race card anymore?? Things need to be equal.

Another Thing I was in a WALMART and I have heard a particular
employee, Gail make racist remarks and without being fired....bad
stuff like the joke about "how to Baby sit a ___ Lick his lips an
stick Em to A Wall"

I recall IMUS on 66NBC said "Im Dedicating This Song to Dr Rene
Richards" Then he played "A Man Ill Never Be" by BOSTON ....no one
complained

Imus is just like Howard Stern in that his act has not changed since
the beginning of his career. Why is it that he has been fired for
saying the same crap hes been saying forever now? I don`t agree with
him and don`t watch his show and really all this does is show how
spineless msnbc has been for so long if this comment gets him fired. I
also don`t think he should have gone on the apology tour that he was
forced to go on by the ever racist likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse
Jackson. Can`t we all just get along? Damn and tell a joke or two.

All I can say is if the Rutgers team is that fragile to be emotionally
scarred and hurt by a few mere words then they are in for a rough life
after college.

I am sure all of us on here have been called worse and I am fairly
sure most of us have not overreacted or played the victim card.

People wrongly think that freedom of speech means the right of an
individual to say anything they want...and to some extent that is
true. But it also means that sometimes we have to listen to things we
don't want to hear. Yes, the man was wrong. But in a way, we have
learned valuable lessons about racism and ignorant behavior. We have
learned NOT to be or act like Imus. Shutting him down only sets a
precedent to silence individual voices. Better to let him rant for
all to see and reject him based on his obvious stupidity! Open forum
creates a stronger America. We the people...are smart enough to
recognize crap when we hear it!

I agree. I am tired of people saying racist things just because of
freedom of speech. that is NOT what freedom of speech means. Imus is
just one of so many who think because they are "celebrities" and I use
that word loosely, they can say pretty much what they want and that
needs to be stopped immediately. But look at how we have progressed
tv-wise. Now they are allowed to say "bitch", they advertise
"erectile dyfunction", how to "stop" your period, etc. what's next,
orgies on prime time? ugh, I am disgusted with what is going on in
television today and it can only get worse unless the consumer
complains diligently.

Liane, just call Don Imus white trash. give him a taste of his own
medicine. Freedom of speech can't stop him from using raial slurs so
express your freedom of speech and call him something he will not
like.

Good bye free speech. Hello hypocrites like Jackson and Sharpton doing
anything they want because if you disagree they will call you racist
and try to destroy your life.
I wonder what would have happened to Imus had he referred to New York
as Hymie Town. I guess some people are free to say what ever they want
because of the color of their skin, but others must be held to a
higher standard because they happened to be born white.
Anyone who disagrees with this, please feel free to explain why Jesse
Jackson is allowed on television and radio after "Hymie Town." -Don't
bother, we all know there is a dobule standard.

text of a letter i wrote to my local newspaper:

This is regarding the matter of Don Imus. I've thought it over and
have come to the conclusion that the decision to fire him was correct.
But. But we haven't finished the job. We are outraged when Imus makes
his comments, yet we allow rap artists to spew profanity, sexism and
racism and no one bats an eye. Bigotry sounds the same whether it
comes from a white mouth or a black mouth. Decent people of all races
should put an end to all trash talk. To pick and choose and single
out this one man is to be guilty of the very thing we say outrages us.
"Double standard" is an ugly phrase, but it applies in this
situation.

I agree that he should be fired, what he said was atrocious, foul,
ignorant, vicious etc. But I also have a question. He said comments
refering to African Americans in a degrading way. But how often do
you hear rappers on MTV or young kids calling each other the N word or
talking about b--- and h-e. When is other types of media going to
take responsibility for this. Here are rappers such as 50 cent and
Ludacris blaring these comments all the time, and what do they get for
it? A grammy or an MTV music award? Imus get's fired. Yes, I
understand that Imus is white, They are black. I get that. But when
will people stop saying that it is okay for one group to say
something, and another not. The words are degrading, vulgar, and not
a postive comment to say. So why should one race be reprimanded and
the other praised? The words are awful no matter who says them. And
it is time that we recognize that. These comments do nothing but
spread stereotypes and ignorance. And I say that it is time that
African American's. Caucasian's. Latino's, Jew's, EVERYONE stop
endorsing ignorance and sterotypes. Go Rutgers!!!!!

He did it. I don't agree with what he did but he did it. It was a
horrible insensitive thing to say. He is getting his due pay now but
there will always be another venue he can go to because he has
contributed much in other ways including with autism. It will be
interesting to see what happens, and how this moves forward. I hope
this negative can bring about more positives in the end.

All I have to say is that I think Republicans are happy with this Don
Imus situation. It gets the News channel's focus off of actual
important stuff such as the war in Iraq. While people are talking
about Don Imus, the whole Anna Nicole crap, and other random
entertainment stuff, they forget about what's really important. I
swear, it's been over a week and we're still talking about it. Sure
what Imus said was wrong but we just need to get over it!

I have never been a fan of Don Imus. I watched him a bit a few years
ago when he was broadcasting remote from NH when the presidential
primary was held. I found him to be an equal opportunity
insulter--lights on but in the dark.

That being said, I do not feel he should have been fired. If I don't
like a TV broadcast, I know how to operate the remote.

More importantly, I'd be willing to make a wager: 99.9% of the Rutgers
women's basketball team had no IDEA who Don Imus was--until Sharpton
and Jackson entered the fray. I'm sure Janell will disagree, but I
feel those two create dissention among us, even in our own race. They
presume we lack the intellect to think for ourselves, thus should
blindly follow their 'preachings.'

Don Imus will find his firing to be a blessing in disguise. He'll
sign onto satellite radio and rake in more $$$ than when with
CBS-MSNBC. Case in point: Howard Stern.

An aside: When I saw this letter posted, I had to click on PFB's
Mission Statement again. I don't quite see how it fits in with what I
read. But I guess this falls again under the 'freedom of speech'
mantra. :)

Personally, I dont think he should have been fired. Ofc, I also didnt
believe that Bill Mahr should have been fired when he said that the
911 terrorists werent cowards and that lobbing missles from thousands
of miles away was more cowardly. People are hired for these positions
BECUASE they are controversial. They're coddled, supported and
encouraged to be outrageous in order to draw in and keep
listeners/viewers and then, when they go one step too far in some
people's eyes, they're yanked off the air, fired and hushed up. And
yet people like Ann Coulter (who truly is evil incarnate and deserves
nothing but misery in her life) are being blasted onto us from every
corner, because as evil as her opinions are, they fit into the mindset
of the ruling party of the moment. BUt, as much as I detest her, I
dont think she should be fired either. THey're sensationalists and
nobody with any brains takes these shock jocks' words as truth. But
you can't push someone to be outrageous one moment and then throw them
out the next because you got what you asked for.

If Imus is fired how come all the other assholes on the news aren't
(Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, etc etc)?

"I wish I'd taped the phone conversation I had today with the editor
of the Sunday Times in London when I had to explain exactly what
"nappy-headed hos" were. He had images of garden tools crowned with
diapers."

Imus.... What Price should he pay?

Rev Al, perhaps you should cast the 1st stone, just as YOU did
regarding your comments of the Yale Soccer Team.
Rev Jessy, you the second stone... as your marriage vows meant
nothing, with your romp in the hay.

CBS.....How many must die for YOU to support "THE CONSTITUTION". You
decision was based solely on economics ! Nothing more Nothing Less !

I have listened to Imus once...didn't care for him then, and don't
care for him now. However as a Vietnam Veteran, I supported his rights
then, and I support his rights NOW!

CBS ....You R Wrong !!!

That someone who looks like Skeletor should not be calling ANYBODY
names!

I was raised to believe that noone has the right to say something
derogatory about another human being and no where in our Constitution
does it say that we can do that. So why do all of these people that
use derogatory terms towards another human feel that they have a right
to do that and we are violating their first amendment rights to
interfere in someones else pursuit of happiness and cause them misery.
Those young women were pursuing what made them happy, playing
basketball and Mr. Imus decided he wanted to take that away. Now he
has no right to do that, spread his misery around its is in our
Constitution for every to pursuit what make them truly happy. He is
just jealous that he can't be as beautiful as those young ladies. Or
shoot a basketball like they do. When you are an old ugly acting man,
you treat everyone like you think of yourself, a nappy headed hoe.
Yeah I seen his hair,its tangled,oops forgive me full of naps. And he
must be a little on the promiscuious side and wants to dropping them
tighty whities for every pretty woman he can see. He only told the
world what he is and how he feels about himself and it ain't pretty.
He needs some behavior modification, serious psychiatric help.
Ignorance can kill and cause you death in more ways than one. It
killed his show and caused that nice paycheck to wither away and die
and if he was as smart as he thought he was he wouldn't have never
ever said that.
I hope he learns to pursue happier, positive conversations and
thoughts and quit spread misery around.

Don Imus is a nappy-headed ho.

My opinion of Imus as a talk show host - Boring and uninspiring.

My opinion of his comments - disgraceful and ignorant.

However, with that said, him getting fired and all of this press is
just silly. Does CBS and MSNBC have the right to fire him? Certainly.
Do people have the right to protest what he said? Certainly. Does
the first admendment apply here? Not really. It's a job. No one is
stopping him from calling them the same name out on the streets.

His comments were wrong, and as I said, ignorant and disgraceful. I
still can't help but feel that the "reaction" by the players and coach
was not played up a great deal by the media coverage and the need to
hold a press conference.

As other have said - where is the out cry when rappers and other
idiots sing to the masses about the same or worse. They often speak
about killing cops, beating wives/girlfriends, etc. Oh yes, I forgot,
they are an entertainer and often of th same race, so it's a free
pass.

As for Imus, who really was an idiot, I suppose he should stop letting
minorities with cancer come to his ranch.

I still don't like the guy, never did, but I hate hypocrites even
more.

I disagree with you on what's wrong with the comments.

If these women were not students, were not athletes, were not the sort
of young women who are telegenic and who are valued by a large chunk
of society, they would still not deserve to be spoken about that way.
They don't have to be physically strong and good at tests and
hard-working and beautiful and regular volunteers and dutiful
daughters and loyal friends and all that in order to deserve to be
spoken of with respect. It's not that there are some people it's okay
to demean and others it's not. There are still people in the world
who are routinely talked about in demeaning terms to the point that an
awful lot of people who can immediately see that these specific
comments are not appropriate don't even recognize that the language
they use is demeaning.

And yes, I am speaking in the moral sense here when I talk about
what's okay. I am not calling for government censorship.

This comment a few days afterwards made me think twice. Obviously he
was comparing his situation to Michael Richards in that comedy club.
Actually it made me think once, and I didn't like it. What he did was
on a par with Richards, IMHO.

I was a fan of Imus, but I freely admit the long established
shortcomings people have voiced here. I also belive that what he said
was way over the line. His firing was deserved. I personally found
him very entertaining, and the guy he had on posing as Clinton, Dr
Phil, and that Bo security guy (which developed into having the real
Bo Dietl on the show) was super. I also liked the phone interviews
with politicians, sports figures, etc. It was nice to hear thsse
people sound like regular Joes, instead of playing to the media or a
political party.

The bottom line is he will find a home somewhere - satellite radio
probably. What to do now at 8am?

This whole uproar about his comments is only because he was a
caucasian saying it. I am pretty sure if it was someone like Richard
Pryor who said it nothing would have come from it.

CBS fired him only because they were going to lose major cash from
sponsors pulling ads.

I am glad they fired Imus but the thing is many other people have said
controversial remarks and not just shock jocks. Many singers and
actors have said them too. The thing is the Ist Amendment
unfortunately allows people to say things on their mind, even though
others may disagree. however, the Ist Amendment does not protect
people from the consequences of things they say. CBS has just as
everyright to fire Imus just as he had every right to say what he
said.

Well,

CBS fired him.

Because I tire of people talking about "rights" and "freedom of
speech" where this is concerned, I feel the need to clarify something.
The first amendment guarantees that Congress shall pass no law
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. That's it. That's
what it guarantees. That does not mean that you can say whatever you
want wherever you want. Don't believe me? Go to work and call your
boss an a**hole. Then waive the first amendment in his face after he
fires you and see how far that gets you. Or swear at someone or call
someone a name in a Planetfeedback.com discussion thread. Or come to
my house and call my daughter a nappy headed h* (I dare you). In all
three cases, you'll quickly find that there are limits to what can be
said in certain situations, and this is a good thing. If Imus wants to
join the neo-Nazis marching through my hometown on April 20, he has
the right to do so and scream what he wants while doing it. Similarly,
MSNBC has the "right" to decide they will not allow verbal attacks
against private citizens on their public airwaves. I'm not sure why
this is hard to understand.

okay... this guy is obviously an idiot... but he is well protected by
the same rights as the rest of us.

While I personally think Don Imus is a disgusting pig, I can't say
that I agree with the notion of firing him.

His entire job centers around him saying things that push the envelope
- thats why he's labeled a "shock jock." Shock jocks boost ratings
and make the TV or radio stations money. More people talk about what
he does, more people tune in, more money comes in to the tv or radio
stations.

& Trust me, this 2 week suspension is just a handslap from NBC as a
show of contrition. They are behind him all the way - look at all the
publicity they got out of such a rude and idiotic comment!

Let me put it like this, if the case is that Imus shoud be fired for
his blatant ignorance, then why shouldn't Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh,
Bill O'Reilley and Larry King get fired as well? Each of them has
suffered from an acute case of foot-in-mouth syndrome over the span of
their careers. Yet each of them is still quite gainfully employed.

Again, while I think Imus is about the dumbest level on the
intelligence quotient, as an American, I am protected by the First
Amendment to be able to say that about him publicly because it is MY
opinion.

Thats the thing people don't seem to understand. Freedom of speech is
freedom for EVERYBODY, not just a select few. There may be someone
who is utterly offended that you are calling for Imus to be fired, but
you still have the right to say what you feel because that right is
protected.

but I do agree with you 110% that the guy is vermin with little
redeeming social value, but I can't begrudge him his right to speak
his mind, no matter how tiny that mind may be.

I have no problem with their corporate decision.
However, moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the same
punishment is dealt to the likes of Dave Chappell and others that use
the same terms with much more regularity and tenacity.

DON IMUS DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG AT ALL
JUST LISTEN TO TO RAP MUSIC HOW THEY CALL ONE ANOTHER
NAMES AND HOW WHAT THEY CALL WOMEN IF THIS IS THE CASE LET'S DO
SOMETHING WITH THE JEFFERSON'S HOW SHERMAN HEMSLEY CALL THE WHITE MAN
A HONKIE YOU SET AND WATCH IT AND THEN YOU LAUGH.GET REAL. MORE POWER
TO THE I-MAN

Ironically, I would bet if Imus had the option of doing it all over
again, I bet he would.

The same people who have complained and required his firing, have made
him more popular than he could have dreamed.

Think about it. A week ago many of you never knew who he was. Now
he's a celebrity that almost everyone knows. MSNBC may have allowed
him out of any agreement he was in, but he is as popular now as Howard
Stern and equally in demand.

He will now get money and notoriety from this you would not have
imagined a week ago.

Imus may or may not be remorseful, but he is not, nor should he be,
sorry.

MSNBC dropped him today.

Is anyone else bothered by the players and coach repeatedly using the
word "hurt" to describe how they feel? C'mon, girls! Be pissed! Not
hurt! There's no crying in basketball!

I fought like heck not to respond, but I wouldn't respect myself in
the morning if I didn't.

A group of intelligent, successful young women were unfairly and
viciously attacked and maligned by a aged broadcaster who should have
known better. Period. If you are attempting to defend him by whining
that "Everybody does it" or "Here come the THOUGHT POLICE" or "See?
Black people are trying to rule the world once again" I ask you to
sincerely examine both your sentiment and your motives. Imus'
comments were indefensible, and I'm saddened that's being argued.

And yes he has the right to say them. Just as groups like Prussian
Blue have the right to make neo-Nazi hate music and distribute it
widely. But we're not talking about some guy sitting around with a
beer and a confederate flag spouting nonsense in his shack on the
Mississippi. We are talking about a nationally syndicated radio host
who, as such, is held to certain standards of professionalism and who
should face the consequences when he so egregiously violates them.
Imus wants to practice his right to free, racist speech on defenseless
young girls? Fine. MSNBC shouldn't be the place to do it. My
classroom atmosphere is pretty relaxed, but if I angrily called one of
my students a, oh I don't know, slanty-eyed h*? Pale-faced h*?
Towel-headed h*? I'd expect to be kicked out on my rear, and
rightfully so. And yes, I'd be calling for Tavis Smiley's resignation
if he temporarily lost his mind and uttered similar nonsense as well.

Black people aren't trying to "take over," and the insinuation of such
is evidence of complete lack of reason, and worse, fear. If any of
these girls were your daughter, regardless of your race, you'd be
calling for his job as well. And rest assured, I'd be right behind
you.

" I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your
right to say it." - Voltaire.

Thanks to the wonderful, glorious First Amendment, Imus has the RIGHT
and the FREEDOM to say what he wants, regardless of who agrees or
disagrees with it. Frankly, I will take the rantings of a racist and
sexist donkeyhole over being arrested by the "thought police" and
thrown into jail where I would be tortured and brainwashed into being
a good little drone of the Fascist States of America. This is our
future if we continue to make these sorts of demands. Freedom has
it's price, my friends, and this is it. Hatred is taught, not inbred.
Teach your children that saying this sort of thing isn't right, but
that the freedom to say it is right.

I'm sorry, but freedom of speech these days only seems to apply to the
"right" things to say. Had a white person been spoken about, nothing
would have been done. But, once again - though they speak of equality
- the black community wants MORE than equality. I say it's high time
we get over our issues of worrying what is said and get down to the
basics of caring about each other with reservation - PERIOD! This is
the new era and I think we have much larger issues at hand. Not that
I'm a great fan of Don Imus, but he does have the right to say
whatever he wants and whenever he wants. I do feel, however, that the
"pin-him-to-the-wall" attitude and talk of firing him is a huge
overreaction, all of course in the vein of racism. Good grief!!!!!

If Imus had not apologized, I expect we would be hearing and reading
complaints about how, "If he'd just apologize...".

The day when an apology is unacceptable is the day when civility no
longer matters, just retribution.

So... here's my view in a nutshell.

Media uses racism to make money all the time. They stereotype Asians,
Caucasians, Blacks, Middle Easterns and every other race in America.
They portray the French as cigarette smoking, American hating
romantics. Italians are hairy chested, gold chain wearing mafia
morons. Asians are always smart and either geeky or sneaky.
Caucasians are either afraid of the black man or wants to be like one
while the black man either wants to kill their neighbor or things the
cops want to kill him because the cop is white. Sadly it is a part of
our society. Do I agree with what he said? No. Do I find humor in
it? No. Were there members of his audience that did? Absolutely.

Had a black man said this, would anyone care? I don't think so and
that right there is the saddest of them all.

Bottom line, he apologized. He went on Al Sharpton's show and spoke
about the issue with him. I think it's time we got passed this. If
you want to end racism then do it on a widespread level instead of
worrying strictly about one race.

How can I put this...

Don Imus has the ability and the "right" to say these types of things
because he is protected by the first amendement. That will be his
argument. Do I think he was right in saying what he said? No. I mean,
he called a group of girls "nappy-headed hos" and then a week later
said that "it was not said with malicious intent." Sorry, but that
seems pretty rude and malicious to me. I don't know anyone that would
take that as a compliment.

Don Imus will probably not be fired. A lot worse is said on TV, on the
radio (by dj's and in music) and that type of stuff is still on the
air. While I don't condone this behavior, he does have the right to
say it. Should he have said it? Nope. He said it to cause a stir. He
is a "shock jock" for a reason. I have heard worse come out of Rush
Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Ton Leykis and many other people, yet they are
still around. That, unfortunately, is the reality of it all.

Liane, I disagree on firing him. Imus draws ratings that equal money.
His comments were not the best but that Girls team is not the most
classy look lot with all those Gang tattoos.

You're no better than Imus.