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April 12, 2007

Imus in the Mourning

By Froma Harrop

At first, I thought Don Imus would emerge from his racist comment little scarred. The radio/cable "shock jock" would take his two-week suspension, during which he might cut deals with African-American ministers now demanding his head. He might also make peace with the Rutgers women's basketball team he had maligned.

Apologies exhausted, he'd then return, possibly stronger than before. After all, this booster shot of publicity put his name before people like me, who had forgotten his existence.

But then the sponsors started looking for the exits. Staples and Procter & Gamble pulled their ads from his syndicated radio show, which is simulcast on MSNBC. Other advertisers began to hint about reopening their contracts.

This is serious business. This is about money.

It would be educational to examine the line Imus walked over. In recent years, racially charged remarks have become easier to make on broadcast radio -- and sexist ones cause barely a ripple. Pushing the boundaries is extra attractive to aging white men, who need a certain raffishness.

Several years ago, Imus went unpunished for referring to Gwen Ifill, a black woman and one of America's premier journalists, as "a cleaning lady." He got away with this because Ifill was a seasoned veteran, who could brush him off -- and did.

But calling the Scarlet Knights "nappy-headed ho's" was a slur too far because of his targets' youth. That this occurred the day after the Rutgers team had valiantly played for the national championship compounded the offense. When Knights guard Essence Carson responded to the insult with grace and strength, I was not alone in thinking that Imus doesn't deserve to kiss her hem.

Our reverence for free speech protects offensive talk, but American decency still demands a safe haven for children. We may defend the right to make and watch pornography, but not when it involves girls.

In the world of Rush Limbaugh, personal attacks are generally part of the entertainment and of little consequence. But Limbaugh turned stomachs when, early in the Clinton administration, he asked on his television show, "Did you know there's a White House dog?" then flashed a picture of a 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton.

It's true that the Scarlet Knights are college students and no longer children, but they are still definitely young people. And they are not Britney Spears, who made herself a public spectacle and therefore not subject to protection.

I used to tune in to Imus. He offered sophisticated political discussion and a troupe of hilarious comedians. But the endless promotions of his family/ranch grew tedious. And the servility of his political guests -- John McCain, Joe Lieberman and the rest -- with their joshing references to Imus' genius, made my skin crawl. There was too much dead time waiting for Larry Kinney to crack me up with his Jack Nicholson impersonation, and I departed for NPR.

That what Imus said would have been unremarkable coming out of the mouth of a black rapster is of little import. Woman-hating "gangsta rap" is a plague on black America, and not something to be taken up by middle-age white men.

The political and media stars who have frequented Imus are clearly hedging their bets on the show's future. McCain and Rudolph Giuliani have already curried favor by tempering their criticism with offers to return.

But whatever's left of the Imus show in the future -- if there is one -- won't be what was there in the past. When a show's sponsors leave with their money ... that's all, folks. Radio and cable stations are in business, and, thankfully, smearing talented young black women doesn't help the bottom line. Let the market take it from here.

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