Friday, April 13, 2007

Did no one read my last blog entry??? I sent it to newspapers. I walked across the street to Al Sharpton's headquarters and gave someone there a copy to give to Big Perm (ahem, of course editing out the Big Perm references). So it seems no one cared to listen to my idea of a formidable punishment for Don Imus, and as a result, the man has lost his job. Do I think he should have been fired?? Hell No! Do I believe he should have had some sort of punishment?? YES! I don't believe the punishment fits the crime. I think I am one of the few black people willing to say this. I was in the locker room at the gym the other night, and conversation, of course, turned to this whole controversy. When I stated I didn't believe Imus should be fired, there was a brief second where I thought I was going to be jumped in my sports bra and yoga pants by a bunch of half naked women old enough to be my mother and/or my grandmother. They looked at me like I was the one to call them jiggaboos, and were about to whoop my ass for betraying them. However, I quickly explained that the only way to truly hurt a man is in his pockets. Wanna see a man cry? Take him to court, try to take all he got (yes, I paraphrased Biggie...LOL). Losing his job with the prospect of making millions more doesn't hurt him, it helps him in the long run. I explained to them that making him pay a hefty fine, or taking a portion of his earnings to donate to the Rutger's Women Basketball Team, was the better way to go. He will never forget that chunk of change that was taken out of his bank account because of his ignorance and what he believed to be funny. He will always remember it down to the last penny, and think twice about saying some foolishness again. Most men don't like to part with their money, unless it's for something that will benefit them. After I pleaded my case (did I mention that one woman stopped putting her belt through the loops of her pants when I initially spoke), they seem to come around to my way of thinking. They agreed that we needed to find better ways of dealing with situations, instead of demanding that he be fired, because that's the easiest and quickest way to handle the situation. One woman even said she was going to call Al Sharpton when she got home to tell him my creative solution. I thought, "wow, lady. You have Big Perm on speed dial. Are you his hairdresser??" But I kept my comments to myself for fear of the belt and undermining my point.

I truly believe we needed him to stay on the air, and get to the root of why he thought it was appropriate humor. How about forcing the networks to make his programming dedicated to the heart of the matter? Force an open and honest dialogue on racial and sexist attitudes in the country? We need to stop seeking these quick and easy bandaid solutions. We have to start thinking long term. If not, it will happen again and again without any real change.

I wonder when Don Imus lands that multimillion dollar contract with Sirius or XM radio (and he can get away with saying far worse than what he said without worrying about the FCC and other "nappy headed hoes" breathing down his back), how much of a percentage is going to Big Perm's Inaction Network??? I'm just curious.

1 comment:

rashad said...

i was expecting a different entry, but i like this one. and imus firing has only started the hype and buildup for his eventual return somehwere when things die down, and he'll be stronger than ever.