Get Over It, Nappy-Headed Hos
Since I can't focus on the drama that is my own personal private life right now, I'd like to say a few things about that which has been all the buzz on NPR today--Don Imus' comments and the public outcry that follows.
On my way to work this morning, I listened to the President of the National Association of Black Journalists carry on about something Imus said to such an extent I thought surely the deejay in question must have uttered such a statement while publicly stabbing a baby harp seal (or some equally horrific act). On and on he went about the "racist" and "sexist" remark from Imus, and about how we, as responsible Americans, could not allow such remarks to set a precedent that racism and sexism are acceptable when masked as "comedy."
Wow, I thought. I've never listened to Don Imus' program, but I know who he is, I know what he's famous for, and I could only imagine what he may have said to have caused such a state of malcontent. People want him fired. And they're demanding this with such ferocity, it would almost seem they also want his head on a platter.
So when yet another news bit about the situation came on NPR as I drove home for lunch today, I listened. I turned up the volume. And I heard that Imus apparently referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
Come again?
Nappy-headed hos.
?
For a minute, I'm thinking I must have misheard. People are screaming for this man's position, calling him "racist" and "sexist" and various and sundry other things, over "nappy-headed hos?"
Are you for real?
Say what you will, but I just don't get it. I don't see how "nappy-headed ho" is a racist or sexist slam. It's not nice. It's not complimentary. But racist and sexist? I just don't see it.
I guess Imus' critics are implying "nappy-headed" refers specifically to blacks? As a white girl with naturally curly hair living in a climate that is prone to humidity, I can assure you, "nappy-headed" does not discriminate based on race, religion, creed, sex or national origin. And "ho" as a sexist term derogatory to women? I can recall quite vividly a recent episode of "I Love New York" wherein New York's mom and one of her man-skanks went on and on about a "butt nekkid ho," and they weren't (believe it or not) talking about New York--they were talking about a dude. So "ho" can apparently refer to a female OR a male.
Are the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team nappy-headed hos? I don't personally know, as I don't follow basketball, period--men's, women's, or indifferent. I don't know if their hair is nappy or if they have loose sexual morals. I do know that I've been called a lot worse than a "nappy-headed ho" by much more important people than Don Imus. In fact, if Don Imus referred to me as a "nappy-headed ho" on his show, I'd probably be flattered that he considered me worth mentioning on the air. After all, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? All this backlash will probably do the same thing for Imus as it's done for shock jocks and celebrities and politicians since the dawn of time--make him even more popular than before.
But let's say it doesn't. Let's say the politically correct police get their way, and Imus loses his show and his paycheck. Does a man (or a woman) really deserve to be ruined over the term "nappy-headed ho?" Imus didn't stab a baby. He didn't beat his wife. He didn't burn a cross in Al Sharpton's yard. He said some stupid shit. They're words. Words. When did words become so powerful? I say stupid shit on an almost daily basis. I hear and read the stupid shit other people say on an almost daily basis. Should we all just shut the fuck up for fear of offending someone and being labeled "racist" or "sexist" or "size-ist" or "anti-this-that-or-the-other?"
But, they say, as responsible and concerned citizens, we can't allow people like Imus (i.e., I guess, public figures) be allowed to perpetuate the ignorance supported by ignorant people who believe statements like Imus' are true and accurate. Huh? Do a bunch of redneck dumbasses in A State or Twelve I Cannot Name For Fear of Being Labeled "State-ist" really hold so much power that any of us really give a rat's red ass what they believe to be true and accurate? Aren't we making mountains out of molehills by getting our panties in a twist over what some morning deejay has to say about some college athletes?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but how many times are parents told the best way to discourage any behavior is to IGNORE it? Wouldn't the people most incensed by Imus' comments make much more of a statement by saying nothing, shaking their heads and smiling that condescending "oh, you poor stupid fool" smile we all know and love and probably use frequently? Wouldn't the message then become, "we don't agree with you, Mr. Imus, but we don't think you or your comments are important enough for us to be bothered with?" Aren't there times when a non-reaction is more powerful than a knee-jerk reaction?
I don't know. Maybe I'm not seeing the big picture. It just seems we as a nation have much bigger fish to fry than getting all bent out of shape over a shock jock calling a basketball team "nappy-headed hos." He didn't call them "psychotic fucking cunts," and even if he had, who gives a shit? The man makes a living getting on the radio at 5 a.m. and pushing people's buttons--is what he says REALLY that important?
Is what ANY of us says really that important, for that matter? I just got upset last week over things that have been said by certain members of certain socio-economic classes that put me in a snit. But I didn't start a campaign to have these women stoned, for fucking out loud. I merely noted my disagreement with their opinions, asked to be informed immediately if I ever started sounding as judgmental as they do, and left it at that. I didn't publicly or privately attack any of these people. I just won't read their shit anymore. Because it's my prerogative not to--just as it's THEIR prerogative to keep writing it.
The First Amendment--remember that? Maybe we should all reach around and pull those big sticks out of our asses and find something really worth getting worked up about.
On my way to work this morning, I listened to the President of the National Association of Black Journalists carry on about something Imus said to such an extent I thought surely the deejay in question must have uttered such a statement while publicly stabbing a baby harp seal (or some equally horrific act). On and on he went about the "racist" and "sexist" remark from Imus, and about how we, as responsible Americans, could not allow such remarks to set a precedent that racism and sexism are acceptable when masked as "comedy."
Wow, I thought. I've never listened to Don Imus' program, but I know who he is, I know what he's famous for, and I could only imagine what he may have said to have caused such a state of malcontent. People want him fired. And they're demanding this with such ferocity, it would almost seem they also want his head on a platter.
So when yet another news bit about the situation came on NPR as I drove home for lunch today, I listened. I turned up the volume. And I heard that Imus apparently referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
Come again?
Nappy-headed hos.
?
For a minute, I'm thinking I must have misheard. People are screaming for this man's position, calling him "racist" and "sexist" and various and sundry other things, over "nappy-headed hos?"
Are you for real?
Say what you will, but I just don't get it. I don't see how "nappy-headed ho" is a racist or sexist slam. It's not nice. It's not complimentary. But racist and sexist? I just don't see it.
I guess Imus' critics are implying "nappy-headed" refers specifically to blacks? As a white girl with naturally curly hair living in a climate that is prone to humidity, I can assure you, "nappy-headed" does not discriminate based on race, religion, creed, sex or national origin. And "ho" as a sexist term derogatory to women? I can recall quite vividly a recent episode of "I Love New York" wherein New York's mom and one of her man-skanks went on and on about a "butt nekkid ho," and they weren't (believe it or not) talking about New York--they were talking about a dude. So "ho" can apparently refer to a female OR a male.
Are the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team nappy-headed hos? I don't personally know, as I don't follow basketball, period--men's, women's, or indifferent. I don't know if their hair is nappy or if they have loose sexual morals. I do know that I've been called a lot worse than a "nappy-headed ho" by much more important people than Don Imus. In fact, if Don Imus referred to me as a "nappy-headed ho" on his show, I'd probably be flattered that he considered me worth mentioning on the air. After all, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? All this backlash will probably do the same thing for Imus as it's done for shock jocks and celebrities and politicians since the dawn of time--make him even more popular than before.
But let's say it doesn't. Let's say the politically correct police get their way, and Imus loses his show and his paycheck. Does a man (or a woman) really deserve to be ruined over the term "nappy-headed ho?" Imus didn't stab a baby. He didn't beat his wife. He didn't burn a cross in Al Sharpton's yard. He said some stupid shit. They're words. Words. When did words become so powerful? I say stupid shit on an almost daily basis. I hear and read the stupid shit other people say on an almost daily basis. Should we all just shut the fuck up for fear of offending someone and being labeled "racist" or "sexist" or "size-ist" or "anti-this-that-or-the-other?"
But, they say, as responsible and concerned citizens, we can't allow people like Imus (i.e., I guess, public figures) be allowed to perpetuate the ignorance supported by ignorant people who believe statements like Imus' are true and accurate. Huh? Do a bunch of redneck dumbasses in A State or Twelve I Cannot Name For Fear of Being Labeled "State-ist" really hold so much power that any of us really give a rat's red ass what they believe to be true and accurate? Aren't we making mountains out of molehills by getting our panties in a twist over what some morning deejay has to say about some college athletes?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but how many times are parents told the best way to discourage any behavior is to IGNORE it? Wouldn't the people most incensed by Imus' comments make much more of a statement by saying nothing, shaking their heads and smiling that condescending "oh, you poor stupid fool" smile we all know and love and probably use frequently? Wouldn't the message then become, "we don't agree with you, Mr. Imus, but we don't think you or your comments are important enough for us to be bothered with?" Aren't there times when a non-reaction is more powerful than a knee-jerk reaction?
I don't know. Maybe I'm not seeing the big picture. It just seems we as a nation have much bigger fish to fry than getting all bent out of shape over a shock jock calling a basketball team "nappy-headed hos." He didn't call them "psychotic fucking cunts," and even if he had, who gives a shit? The man makes a living getting on the radio at 5 a.m. and pushing people's buttons--is what he says REALLY that important?
Is what ANY of us says really that important, for that matter? I just got upset last week over things that have been said by certain members of certain socio-economic classes that put me in a snit. But I didn't start a campaign to have these women stoned, for fucking out loud. I merely noted my disagreement with their opinions, asked to be informed immediately if I ever started sounding as judgmental as they do, and left it at that. I didn't publicly or privately attack any of these people. I just won't read their shit anymore. Because it's my prerogative not to--just as it's THEIR prerogative to keep writing it.
The First Amendment--remember that? Maybe we should all reach around and pull those big sticks out of our asses and find something really worth getting worked up about.
posted by Mitzi Green at 12:03 PM
2 Comments:
From what I could tell "Nappy-headed hos" got him suspended. His sponsors pulling out got him fired. It's all about the almighty dollar.
I came over from My Own Life House. It's nice to meet another outspoken gal!
I did watch Imus for years, as a matter of fact his show and Hardball were the only thing on MSNBC worth watching. Now Imus is gone and Hardball's host Chris M. is never on his own show so the network can just go off the air. Don Imus helps a lot of children and he raised the money for a hospital for our troops. I don't get how people who never watch him or listened to him can get him fired. I may not agree with everything he said but I do love the way he helps children with cancer and what he has done for research of SIDS. I miss his show, and those airheadeds they have on air, what can I say, they call that news??? Tell me where a person can get news that is the truth not a bunch of gossip about some person who was famous for awhile and died. News isn't news anymore it is a show for entertainment. What makes them think we want to here that junk day in and day out? I want to know what is going on in the world not in someone's bedroom or what they said on the phone.
Freedom of speach, we lost that along time ago and the so called press has no backbone, it's all about money.
Sorry....I didn't mean to go on.
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