<<In the '60s there was reason to fight. There was reason to take to the streets and march. Now there is no excuse short of their own failures. >>
Surely you're not calling the Rutgers women's basketball team failures? They made it into a respectable university and finished second out of what must have been a couple dozen other teams at least. Still, they're ridiculed publically on national TV as "nappy-headed hos." The ONLY people I can blame for these insults are Imus and his sidekick, nobody else. Certainly not the team.
<<Furthermore, racism is kept alive ONLY by those giving it credbility. >>
Ludicrous. Racism is obviously kept alive by Imus and ass-holes like him, and his defenders. The team did absolutely NOTHING to provoke Imus' racist insult. To remain silent in the face of it, to allow Imus to continue to spew racist insults (this being far from his first) - - now THAT is certainly one of the ways to keep racism alive.
<<To use another legal reference: In a court of law, an unscrupulous attorney may raise in trial or motions a statement out of scope of the initial suit. If the other attorney acknowledges that sentiment in any manner, even if it is only to say its not true, if they say anything except objection out of scope-they have given the statement credibility and it thus becomes a triable issue.>>
That argument presumes that there was nothing racist to start with in Imus' statement and that only the protest against it as being racist has given it its racist character. That's patently absurd because to everyone (except you, apparently) the words "nappy-headed hos" applied to an almost all-black women's team are implicitly and obviously racist. Notwithstanding your ingenious and imaginative researches into dictionary and alternative meanings for the words. You seem to be under the illusion that all dictionary meanings of a word are equivalent in popular usage, that for instance if I refer to some James Dean wannabe as a "punk" that I have called him either an inconsequential or insignificant young hoodlum or a prostitute because the dictionary allows both meanings. What you fail to appreciate is that every time a word is used by a speaker, that speaker is not necessarily intending that that word be given ALL of its dictionary meanings, and that the listener understands that as well. The meaning of the word, from a possible range of all its dictionary definitions, is taken from the context in which it was spoken. In the context in which Imus was speaking, "nappy-headed hos" meant pretty much the same as "nigger whores" and would have been understood as such by virtually any listener without a political agenda.
<<Do you think it was white people selling the slaves from Africa to the U.S.? Do you think only white people owned slaves? There is much documentation on Blacks-particularly in black-friendly southern cities like New Orleans-owning slaves.>>
I'm sure the whites had their collaborators and their enablers, their Uncle Toms etc. but it was white merchants, white buyers, white ships and white armies that created and maintained slavery. Without the entire white support structure for slavery in place, the entire system wouldn't have lasted a minute.
<< Slavery was an economic principle THROUGHOUT WORLD HISTORY(suffered by every nationality in existence, nearly)that finally began phasing out prior to the Civil War. You know, the burden of ownership being what it is and all.>>
Well since your subject was the lazy, no-good African-American community and their whining about victimization, I don't see how a discussion of slavery in the Athenian silver mines is going to add to this discussion. The problems of today's African-Americans descends squarely from North American slavery, Jim Crow and lynch mob racism, and regardless of what problems remain today from ancient and international forms of slavery, their problems are strictly the "gift" of white male Americans and nobody else. Much as those criminal fascists and their defenders might like to spread the blame around on everyone else in the world, they aren't fooling anybody. They should grow up, face the music and admit what they did - - and pay reparations for it.
<<Your liberalism is making you sound silly. I could construe the above sentiment ["You think the Jews, Hispanics and Koreans don't insult the blacks as well? Or is it OK to insult the blacks because "they" insult Jews, Koreans and Hispanics? Who specifically did the Rutgers team insult racially that justified Imus' insults?"]to mean that only blacks can be offended or spew awful speech. But I won't. >>
Well, you couldn't, actually. It was a response to your complaint that blacks insult other groups. A totally meaningless and irrelevant comment. Some blacks insult others, just as some whites insult others. Hopefully ALL such insults are condemned by the majority of Americans. In no way could your statement exonerate Imus, give him a pass on anythng, or justify his continuing to pollute the airwaves with his racism.
<<I could also construe that if someone is "justified" by another actions than it is ok to make ignorant or inflammatory statements. But, again, I won't. >>
And again, you couldn't.
<<I do challenge you, however, to state with more clarity whatever it is your point had been.>>
I was rebutting YOUR point - - if it was a point. You pointed out that blacks have insulted Jews, Koreans and others. MY point was that this was totally irrelevant and furthermore may have been provoked (not justified, just provoked) by Jews and Koreans insulting blacks.
<<Hypersensitivity has really killed alot of the fun broadcasters were having years ago. Steve Allen's "Hebrew National Salami" bit would never fly today. >>
I agree with you about hypersensitivity in general, although I don't recall the Hebrew National Salami bit. I'm sure whatever it involved, Steve Allen did not call any specific group of Jewish girls or Jewish women in general the equivalent of "nappy-headed hos" (hook-nosed sluts?) or raise any insult of that level against anyone. And if he HAD, there would have been a shit-storm of protest and that would have been the last anyone ever heard of Steve Allen.
<<But, short of Lenny Bruce(older generations, help me out?) I can't think of anyone using the sort of language currently raising national news media discourse.>>
I can't recall anything like Imus' comments ever coming out of the mouth of Lenny Bruce. Don't forget, Imus was insulting a specific identifiable group of young college students, a group of only (I think) ten girls. Who had done absolutely nothing to provoke the insult except play basketball.
<<If my neighbor's house is torn down in a tornado, or affected by other means-I will help him rebuild it(actually, I'm a girl and I'm sexist so I would make my boyfriend do it, or have him hire it done ). If my neighbor is injured bodily and needs my assistance, I will offer it.>>
OK, so you're not ALL bad.
<< If my neighbor has low self-esteem, ocd, etc.-I will not help him. It is not my issue, nor am I qualified to.>>
What if your neighbour has low self-esteem and some guy who sells products you buy works on national radio, ridicules your neighbour by name, to an audience of millions, openly laughs at him, tells the world how ugly he is and calls him a sex pervert as well? What do you think THAT does for your neighbour's self-esteem? Would you not at least want to pick up the phone and tell your suppliers, "Hey that guy who sells your stuff is an ass-hole?" Wouldn't you want to ask, "Why do you want a guy like that representing your brand?"
I am having a real tough time understanding your total indifference to your neighbour's pain. To the cruelty of somebody who gratuitously without provocation insults your neighbour, low self-esteem or not. Having low self-esteem is not a crime. It shouldn't give anyone a licence to attack them and further lower their self-esteem. Why would you remain indifferent to this kind of bullying when with very little effort you could step in and make a difference - - set a precedent where this bully at least is stopped in his tracks and future bullys have to think twice before repeating his mistake. Oh, I forgot - - it's just not your problem. I gotta say it - - people like you just boggle my mind. I'm glad you're in the minority, even in your own country.
