As a general rule, I try to stay focused on Florida and its politics when I write here but I am astounded that so many people are getting caught up in looking only at one line of Imus' racist comments that I have to say something.
From Media Matters (who posted the entire transcript of the exchange), here's the only part getting publicity:
IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --
McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.
IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there.
On the face of it, this is racist. It's not just some outrageous, off-color comment. It. Is. Racist.
But, Imus didn't stop there and this is why he MUST go. The next sentence he utters is this:
I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from
Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know.
Like straight hair in their 3 star players (2 black, one white).
And then McGuirk makes the comparison that should get him fired and Imus goes right along:
McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.
IMUS: Yeah.
McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had.
While he doesn't come right out and say it, McGuirk infers a comparison of the Rutgers team to jigaboos.
Answers.com says this:
jigaboo ( ) n. Offensive Slang. Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.American Heritage Dictionary says this:
[Origin unknown.]
NOUN: Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.
Here are some more definitions.
The totality of these comments is racist. Period. Imus started a conversation that was racist and enticed others to join in to a racist, bashing conversation about african-american women who don't look white. This is the cancer that racism is.
My word: the whole show should be gone - all of them.
If you stand in the face of racism and do nothing when it rears its head, you are complicit in the event. That means you, CBS and MSNBC, as well as the advertisers who haven't bowed out.
To Proctor & Gamble, Bigelow Teas, Staples, General Motors and Sprint Nextel: Thank you for taking a stand.
Update: Atrios says AmEx, Ditech (a GMAC company) and GlaxoSmithKline have all bailed.
