No Imus in the Morning

This blog is covering the current version of the Salem witch trials here and here. Now Don Imus has lost his 30-year radio program, famous for the poor taste exhibited by its foul-mouthed host, for saying “some nappy-headed hos” about women who clearly weren’t, even though this New York liberal apologized for what he said repeatedly and profusely. What is going on?

Here’s what really happened. Imus lives in the liberal, multicultural world of New York entertainment. What’s cool in that world, and has been for all of Imus’ years on the radio, is black music. Blacks are the cutting edge of the culture that dominates New York radio. Imus, as a white guy, has the wrong color skin to claim that world, but the black vernacular understandably slips into his talk. He wants to be cool. He tries to be cool. So he talks black on occasion. I mean I get it, and I live 5,000 miles away.

If Imus had said about the Rutgers team, "some BAAAAD women," not only would there have been no adverse reaction, but also the team would have felt praised. Imus erred. "Ho" doesn't currently have the meaning or cache of "bad." But you get the point.

Oh, no, no, you don’t call ordinary women “hos”, and you don’t refer to the hair of a black person. Well, you can if you are black, but not if you are white. So it’s racial. Imus lost his job because of his skin color. Political correctness.

Is it fair that black men call black women “hos” and “Niggas”? Hey. I don’t make the rules. What is popular music about? It’s about pushing the envelope. The cultural coarsening of America “advances” generation by generation. Young black entertainers have to go beyond where their elder brothers are, or someone else replaces them. The older generation is shocked, but often, the older generation tunes out. Until, that is, Imus talks. Then it’s a national outrage.

Don’t do it if you are a white male. And watch out liberals. You're beginning to eat your own.