Imus got exactly what he deserved!

Don Imus seriously messed his own sh*t up. He ruined his whole career for a few simple words. Let this be a warning to other media figures who want to be risque and offensive.

I believe even if Don Imus was black it would still be wrong for him to say such things.

Ever since the Kramer incident, celebs racist views are coming out the CLOSET!

he got what he deserved.

To me, this whole episode is counter-productive to the Black Community’s argument for personal and professional equality. It’s the equivalent of trying to kill an evil tree by chopping of a leaf, when the tree itself is rooted deeply within the Black Community.

Okay, so now what? Will there be any American or Chinese intervention in Darfur? Will Bush, or any future President, even bother to mention New Orleans in their speeches? Will the troops come home from Iraq? And most importantly, will we stop allowing Black people to stop disrespecting and humiliating Black people? And most importantly, you can’t blame white people for 90% of your problems when you give them 90% of your money. Be honest, we’re 90% of our OWN problems but we’re 100% of the solution if we choose to be!

Do yal even pay attention to how this country really operates? How many people do you think will get ANY punishment for their crimes against the American people and their crimes against the world from the Bush administration? Do you really think Imus won’t resurrect his career within a year on another station our on satellite radio? Yet, within one year, how many people think the Black community will be better off in one way, shape of form?

I hate to rain on your parade, but Imus was wrong for calling those young ladies a bunch of “nappy headed ho’s”, but our community reaction to this just made another million white people think we’re nothing more than a bunch of Ignorant N!ggas. We love to complain a lot about THEM, but do very little for OURSELVES, BY OURSELVES, and WITH OURSELVES.

Why? We’re totally reactive and over-sensitive to what someone says, but we’re totally tolerant and passive to what someone does, especially within our own race. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the past three years, we’ve had two Black children mob beatings where 15+ kids have killed two grown men on two separate occasions over stupid stuff. A group of 20+ black youth from ages 12-22 (and one 40 year old man) gang raped an 11 year old Black girl. Just a few weeks ago, a 14 year old black kid shot and killed a prominent white boxing coach at a gas station in broad daylight trying to rob him. And that was a week after another young black teen killed a black woman in daylight in front of a daycare center. Per capita, we have the lowest graduation rates for blacks in the country with the highest incarceration rate. We have an all black neighborhood where the annual household income is $8,000 while five miles down the road in River Hills, there annual household income is nearly $300,000. Milwaukee is less than 80 miles north of Chicago, but I haven’t seen or heard Sharpton, Jackson or Farrakhan grandstanding about the madness that’s occurring here (and I’m sure it’s worse in other places). We won’t be reactive, let a lone proactive, within our own communities, yet we think it’s a VICTORY for Black People when O.J. gets off or a White comedian or radio personality goes without a million dollar paycheck for six months? Get real, neither Don Imus nor Al-Qaida is in the Black populated “hoods” throughout America doing what we do to ourselves.

I’m a 24 year old Black man and I can officially say I’m DONE trying to excuse the inexcusable. Beyonce gets more headlines and comments within the Black community than Bush. I only heard lyrical responses from all of four rappers (Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Juvenile Mos Def) about what went down in Katrina, and only Jay-Z and Juvie had a full song about it on a commercially successful album. But Camron and 50 can make like three or four diss videos within two weeks?

Why doesn’t CL and all of these other blogs highlight the genocide in Darfur and it’s purely political and economic why the U.S. and China won’t do more to support the African Union? Why doesn’t CL and all of these other black blogs mention the fact that more people went into poverty last year to bring it to a record high even though these Republicans are saying we have a strong economy? What about income disparity between blacks and white, or imprisonment disparity between Black/Latino non-violent offenders and our White counterparts?

Yep, I’m done. I don’t expect or want ANY other race, culture, or ethnicity to respect Black Americans as long as we don’t respect ourselves. Yeah, WE won a small victory today, but we LOST the war when we laid down our arms, left the streets, and went home to watch BET after MLK died.

He’s been getting away with saying things like this for too long. He has definitely gotten what he deserved.

They players were just on Oprah.Very strong women.I never knew about his show and I don’t care.

I’m tired of people saying we do it to ourselves when in reality we don’t go out calling people “Nappy Headed Hoes” or “Jiggaboos.” If you really want me to agree go read what a damn Jiggaboo is,this has nothing to do with rappers or BET.

That’s just what he deserves! He wasn’t really sorry anyway!

Why does dude look like the cryptkeeper, WTF?!? I’m late with what’s been going on but I’m glad he got what he deserved

Oh well– one down, millions all over the planet to go…
and a victory for Al.

Damn, his career ruined by his own mouth.

He got what he deserved, but the issue is not resolved when it comes to the black community, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson need to start doing their jobs and stop coming out only when their is a race issue in the public and work on getting the black community back together.

he caused it on himself, he said a comment that is said at his home that he shouldn’t have said on the raido. when he speaks to the players they need to speak their mind, not yell but let him know what he said was jacked up and how it affect them, but don’t let him think he deep harmed you giving him an upperhand in some ways

Again, Jamie E., you’re right.

No one should be celebrating the fact that Don Imus lost his job. It accomplished getting him off the air for a while, but the real work and focus should be on ourselves.

Where do we go in correcting our actions, our words, our mindsets? Where do we go with our purchasing power? Who’s going to start creating EXCELLENT business that meet our needs? Who’s going to check their family and friends that are saying derogatory things, not only about black people, but others as well?

Imus was an example that blew the lid of a mindset that has existed for a long time, but we helped to create it. Now it’s time to change it.

Let’s use this thread to come up with suggestions and solutions… I started with checking your fam/friends on their language.

Come on, what can you do?

Well, I wont say too much because over the last few days since this incident first took place I have expressed my views and concerns. However, I will say this…..for those who think this is over…..it is far from over. It is a small victory in an ongoing war that we must not allow ourselves to give up on. Just because the limelight of it all dies, does not mean the struggle does with it. WE all need to be deligent and caucious of our actions and our words. Dont wait for another Don Imus situation to occur before you get riled up about something. Don Imus is not the only one out there people! BE PROACTIVE!

As for Mr. Imus….I do not feel sorry for him being unemployed. He totally deserved it.
Something tells me he is going to follow along the lines of Howard Stern and go broadcast his show on XM satelite radio and cash in.

I know I said I wasnt going to say much but hey..it’s like that sometimes……sorry.

Have a blessed evening ALL.

We need to get it together…and QUICK. As many others have expressed this has only opened up a whole can of worms. Everything from now on will be under a microscope. What will our excuse be in the future?

#4>>>Jamie E. I understand your pain brutha, however, this is an entertainment blog. I’m positive there are African-American blogs out there that deal with deeper issues such as Darfur, black-on-black crime, etc.

We can’t do anything about Prez Bush; he’s in office until next year and as far as Iraq is concerned, there have been wars since the beginning of time. They are there and there is nothing we can do about it. Do I want them out? Absolutely, but sitting around stressing about it isn’t going to make it happen. Prez Bush has dug his heals in and I’m positive he isn’t letting up.

Yes, black folks have a long ways to go. You have to understand we have years and years of conditioning that will not go away overnight. We have a lot of cleaning to do in our own backyard and Imus being fired isn’t going to make our community any better because believe me, there will be more Imus’ popping up. He was punished for saying such a vile things about these women and he was TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY OUT OF LINE. Get ready for the backlash people.

Now that Imus is gone Hiphop/Rap better watch out the backlash will be relentless….everything is going to be under the mircoscope.!

I am so glad whether it was by the power of the green or whatever that Imus got canned. This man has insulted blacks, jews, latinos, gays and anyone that was not white for far too long.

Now I am ready to go after the rappers. I am sick of their azzes talking about ANY woman like a dog. I want to see just as much fire power put forth to go after them. They are not “artists” they are trash. Plain and simple.

and when exactly will Sharpstown come out to declare a ban on all rap music that defames women? Or better yet, when will he go out and protect the civil rights of the Duke players. Oops, I forgot they’re white. He doesn’t care about them even though he claims to be a civil rights leader….

Of course what Imus said was despicable, but hey if you do it to him do it to Kanye, Luda, Eminem, 50…the list goes on. Hypocrisy at its best

#13 - JQUEEN

That’s the entire problem. The reality is that it’s TOO EASY to hop on the bandwagon and point your fingers at someone else, but it’s TOO hard to look in the mirror and “become the change that you wish to see.”

There has to come a time when we draw a line in the sand and face a reality. We have to admit at some point that the Black “COMMUNITY” doesn’t exist and we are nothing more than a collection of individuals who happen to be Black that live to fulfill our own self-interests. And if we do want to resolve issues as a COMMUNITY, then we have to begin the long and hard process of developing the WILL to empower ourselves to not only do what FEELS RIGHT, but do what IS RIGHT. So that we don’t think and act in a manner which only benefit ourselves, but so that it benefits other oppressed groups as well.

But it’s like a 12-step program. Step #1 is admitting that WE HAVE A PROBLEM, AND IT’S US! If 80% of the Black American community can’t get on the same page to that fact, then we are nothing more than a bunch of whiners who only live life to fulfill our individual self-interests. And how can we blame any other group that wants to do the same?

@ 4 - Jamie E

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m truly sad that this man got fired, not because he didn’t deserve it, but more importantly because, it really doesn’t change anything. Until we as a people, Black people, make a change within our community, within ourselves, the Don Imus’ of the world will always be there, and with alot more insensitive remarks to spew.

Tavis smiley said it best this morning on the Tom Joyner Morning show, CBS is firing Don Imus for all the wrong reasons.

And if I have to hear, one more time, Snoop Dog defend his use of the “HO” word versus Imus’ use of the “HO” word, I’m going to scream.

If Jesus can forgive; we can too!

In case you were wondering what SNOOP DOG had to say:

“It’s a completely different scenario. (Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about hoes that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing shit, that’s trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain’t no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we are in the same league as him. Kick him off the air forever.”

- Snoop dismissing comparisons between sexist hip hop lyrics and the recent sexist/racially charged remarks made by Don Imus

first thing first,and the easiest.

PEOPLE SHOULD START BOYCOTTING RAPPERS WHO USE PROFANITY IN THIER LYRICS, ESPECIALLY , “nigga”, “ho”,”bitches”, it is tired already.

if you cannot resist them, the least you can do is buy the explicite lyric FREE version.

when they see that people are buying that clean version, more than the ditry version, they will stop selling them. you know it is all about the money.

that is why i Love will smith, only one version and it is clean.

BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG, WE HaVE TO START RESPECTING OUR SELVES, IF NOT NO ONE WILL.

BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG
BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG

BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG, WE HaVE TO START RESPECTING OUR SELVES, IF NOT NO ONE WILL.

BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG
BOYCOTT SNOOP DOGG

dAMN SOME OF YA!

You damn if ya do and your damned if you dont. If the man had of kept the position you would have been ready to riot!!!

I MEAN THE MAN DESERVED TO BE FIRED. I have a black friend who works for the station and believe me if one of your co workers would have shown that side you would have expected them to be fired for that or you would have wanted that

AND PLEASE ALL BLACKS RESEARCH DARFUR….. AMERICA HAS A THING FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND ORE IS ABUNDANT THERE! WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING CARED FOR AND ALSO THAT THE PRECIOUS RESOURCES ARENT GOING TO BE TAKEN BECAUSE WE NOW ARE CONTROLLING THE COUNTRY. EVERYTHING HAS A BIG PICTURE. WHEN OUR TROOPS GO IN WE HAVE CONTROL OF THE LAND! WE AS BLACKS NEED TO START WORKING TOGETHER TO SAVE OUR MOTHERLAND. EVERY OTHER CULTURE HAS A HOMELAND TO GO BACK TO. WE SHOULD TO! AND WE SHOULD BE CONTROLLING IT!

AND JAMIE - I GET YOUR FRUSTRATION BUT I AM GLAD THAT HE WAS FIRED. WE ARE CONSTANTLY TAKING STEPS BACKWARDS MOSTLY BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE UNEDUCATED AND IF THEY ARE EDUCATED THEY MAY BE BRAINWASHED WITH THE WHITE MANS VERSION OF HISTORY. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST BE DONE? HOW CAN WE MAKE A CHANGE? I MEAN WE ALL NEED TO THINK ABOUT MAKING A CHANGE. MAYBE ANGEL.LA CAN MAKE A POST ON HOW WE CAN TRY AND CHANGE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GETTING OUT OF HAND. RAP LYRICS, VIOLENCE, SELF HATE, JEALOUSY,WAR!

#16 - Sassy

In terms of the “Black community”, entertainment is the platform in which we express ALL of our views. The only Black people that are treated with any amount of importance in American society are all entertainers. Oprah is wealthy because of a entertainment empire. Bob Johnson is wealthy because of a entertainment empire. Michael Jordan came from sports entertainment. Michael Jackson and Muhammad Ali were entertainers. Barack Obama became relative because he has the qualities of a greater entertainer (i.e. his power of speech) even though he still lacks substance and a true platform. The same can be said for Reverend Al and Jesse too.

And the reality is, we are so distracted by entertainment, that we don’t pay any mind to progressive Black blogs and commentary. Please tell me of one “Black blog or website” that primarily deals with social, economic, and political issues that is read by thousands of older and younger Blacks? When you hear the word “Shock Jock”, you only hear of Bill O’Reilly and Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh? Who is the Black counterpart? Doug Banks? Steve Harvey?

You mentioned how much we can’t do. I believe the Black community has well over $5 billion of spending power each year (I may be $10 billion off). Yet, how much do we spend on suppoorting political campaigns that represent our best interests? How much of that is going to equip the AU to deal with the situation in Darfur? How much is going towards small business loans and black grants? Yeah, if you’re saying we’re so powerless and we’re so long away when we’re spending some much money and time on trivial issues that don’t benefit us now, then you’re right. We can’t do anything. Only because we won’t.

So forgive me for crossing the picket line and joining the side of “Black People Cry Wolf Instead of Becoming Wolves” because like you said, “We can’t do anything right now.”

he’s gonna die soon anyway. hopefully, it will be miserable.

Now what are we going to do with the rappers?…

IMO I dont think he should have gotten fired…but since he did, we need not stop with Imus but continue on.

That’s right Lola Falana and Jamie E!

Although it’s not a popular thing to check our own, we must. On my family blog I told them that we cannot go after Imus with such passion and then continue to dance to the nonsense that has become rap music. Most of the rappers call black women bitches, ho’s, and everything else in their music all day everyday and we call it entertainment and free speech. And if your hair is too nappy, then you don’t even get mentioned and sho don’t get to be in the video. But I digress on that. Believe you me, when the backlash starts (and it will) the hip-hop culture is going to be attacked and it should be. I am just curious to see how many black folks stand up and tell the rappers that we aren’t going to take this anymore. It’s one thing to be disrespected by white folks and other races, but it’s a hurting feeling to be disrespected by someone that could be your cousin or brother. Been watching Roots all week on TVOne and as much as things have changed, they have stayed the same. Don’t believe me, watch it for yourselves.

We cannot have it both ways. We cannot justify “ho’s in different area codes” and “99 problems but a bitch aint one” and be mad at Imus. We need to be mad at EVERYBODY!

Peace.

DAMN WAS THIS MANS SHOW SNYDICATED?????? HE WAS ON MSNBC NBC BLA BLA

SassyTeri

SO WHAT ITS AN ENTERTAINMENT SITE! WE STILL NEED TO BE EDUCATED! AND HIS POST WAS RELEVANT TO THE ISSUE. THAT IS OUR PROBLEM HALF THE TIME READY TO TURN OUR CHEEK ON REAL ISSUES.

YEAH THERE ARE BLOGS DEALING WITH THOSE ISSUES BUT WHY NOT CREATE POSITIVE DISCUSSION INSTEAD OF WHO IS SEEING WHO AND WEARING WHAT.

I SWEAR THE SCHOOLS THESE DAYS MUST PLAY MUSIC VIDEOS AND MTV ALL DAY!

The next time Miss Jones calls Mary J Blige or anyone a “Bitch” on air or make racist comments about Asians; she should be held to the same light as Don Imus. When I heard about this story I thought about her.
We need to start respecting our people. I hate to say this person name (please forgive me) go back and read a post with Beyonce and see how many people referred to her as a Bitch. It does not have to be just this site but other black sites. I hope this is a wake up call.

that first girl look just like jay-z

They need to fire him. They was losing their sponsors. I mean multi-million dollar sponsors. So they had to fire him. But, it doesn’t matter what race you are. These words are hurtful. And the only reason for anyone to speak in this manner to cause ‘PURE HATRED’.

I don’t even listen to the radio anyways. Mainly, because these radio stations love to play the most deplorable, degrading, and racist lyrics known to mankind. Rather its Hip-hop. rap or rock.

It’s enough to harbor these ‘ignorant feelings’ within, but to pulicly make them known, you are looking for some type of validation or criticism. This is definitely bigger than Don Imus. We need to get this negativity out of our community/homes. What are we really teaching our children? It’s okay for us to cuss out each other, belittle each other, call names like children towards each other, but not them. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! It’s NOT okay. It never was right. It’s like the saying: DO as I say not as I do. Wrong. To set and example you need to lead by example . I don’t listen to this crap nor so I allow my child to listen to it. Cause it is NEGATIVE. It is just negative. The radio, media, television and so forth. They strive on negativity. I have cut off people in my life for being so negative and not have solution for anything. They just want to complain. I don’t have time for that. Keep it moving.

Please stop the negativity NOW! Or it will get worse. Cause everyong seem to have an excuse for it.

Hell, from what I can see, them sistas got they hair on point! ain’t nothing nappy in that pic!

Imus is history! He’s old enough to retire! Just go away Imus and take your supporters with you!

Jamie E., Get out of Milwaukee! Too cold there anyhow! You can do better somewhere else! The crime is high cause there’s a lot of poverty!

Imus is just like Humpty-Dumpty:

Don Imus sat on the wall!
Don Imus had a great fall!
All the sponsorers,
And MSNBC kingpins,
Couldn’t put poor Imus together again!

Obama will raise this issue over and over during the campaign, because one of the white homies has flipped and no one can help him…save Christ! I’m a Obama stans!!!!

Imus could go to work for Def Jam Comedy. I would watch him on cable! Yeah, let him go to work for Diddy or Simmons! That’s where his foolishness belong! lol! Other white comics have gone on Def Jam and crossed the line without regrets! There’s a time and place!

I don’t want to see Janet’s titties after Sunday services! And, I don’t want to hear Imus’s bigotry on public TV!

In three months he’ll be somewhere fishing and thinking about what he meant to say!! Don’t worry about him, he’s got plenty of money just like most white people who descent from former slaves and now lease or rent multiple properties to blacks! I’m talking old money!

#27 - We can change ourselves until we identify and understand the need to change ourselves. To me, it seems like 90% of the Black People know about the problems within our community, but only 9% want to publicly acknowledge them. The 9% fear being called “sell out” or somehow be called out for “revealing the hidden truth” when that truth is hiding in plain sight.

White, Asian, Arab, Latin and Black people already know we are hypocrites and lack the will power to change ourselves, so we can change the world to our benefit along with others. Does anyone really believe that the rest of the world give a damn about what Don Imus or KKKramer says about Black people when do say and do worse to ourselves?

Yes, what Don Imus did and said was terrible and he deserved to get fired. But if the Black Community doesn’t follow-up and now draw the line in the sand and hold other Black people accountable for promoting racial stereotypes and self-defeating behavior, then Don Imus is a saint in my eyes and we are the true sinners.

SOMETHING TO DISTINGUISH PEOPLE

MUSICIANS AND RADIO BROADCASTERS ARE TWO DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS. BROADCASTERS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THE STATION, LISTENERS, AND AGENCIES. MUSICIANS IS A DIFFERENT STORY. THERE ARE MANY THINGS (NOT JUST RACIST) THAT BROADCASTERS CANT SAY AND MUSICIANS HAVE FREE RANGE

STEVE HARVEY SUMMED IT UP SO WELL ON HIS SHOW YESTERDAY..HES ON 93.5 IN LA IF ANYONE WANTS TO HEAR IT ONLINE!

#28>>>Jamie E. I completely and wholly agree with you regarding the fact that we are distracted by entertainment and many of us don’t deal with the real issues because we are apathetic. My sister has attempted in the past to start website that deal with the issues you’ve mentioned, but no one bites. I feel you.

I know for a fact that we have a lot of economical power, but we choose not to exercise it. We are concerned with the latest fashions (i.e. Phat Farm and getting our hair and nails done). There’s nothing wrong with those things, but this issue has roots that grow far and deep and until we wake up, we’ll still be saying the same thing next year. I feel ya!

F&*! Imus. The repercussions from his remarks won’t go away after one appearance for those girls–so why does he have a problem with doing a talk show circuit to apologize? It’s the sense of entitlement and superiority that white media conduits feel that fuels this type of callous ignorant behavior. I say–Congrats girls, on handling such a loser with dignity and grace.Knowing who you are and the strength of your character is exactly what makes you competitors and champions and exactly what makes him a washed up drunk.LOL!

#37 - Meatloaf

I love Milwaukee, I’m staying in Milwaukee, and I’m doing well in Milwaukee.

And there’s no where in the WORLD where I can run and hide from the issues of being a Black American. I’m going to be associated with Snoop Dogg and Soul Plan as long as Snoop Dogg and Soul Plane is tolerated within the Black Community as a whole.

I’m not running, I’m not dying my skin or straightening my nappy hair. I’m staying here in Milwaukee and tell yal about yal until the day I die. I love Black People that much to be that honest with you!

i repeat what i said, boycott the rappers, they have to change their ways and start respecting us and theirselves. as a post ealier said, the world only sees blacks through entertainment, so we have to clean it up. even me, i am going to start watching what i type and say.

it has to start NOW!

1) boycott their album(at least buy explicit free versions)

2) stop watching those gargabe videos and stop voting for them on BET, LOL.

just look at that crappy BET, everything is all about dirty rap video, they dump respectable people in the midnight

i cannot never forget one video with who was that tool, fat joe or something resting a drink on a woman’s ass, like she was a table. what the hell? it needs to STOP.

CBS did the right thing canceling Don Imus’ show. They are sending a message of no tolerance for ignorance, although the public outcry is responsible for the cancellation. Still, we should all remember that there is more to uplifting Black people than policing what other people say about us. We must be more concerned with what is going on WITHIN the Black community than outside of it. Let’s work on saving our schools, neighborhoods, creating jobs for ourselves, owning business, property, respecting ourselves, loving ourselves, and it won’t matter what ANYONE says.

#39>>>SOHOTTOTROT, the issue to me is not who is allowed to say negative, destructive things, but whether it should be said at all. Yes, we have our First Amendment right, but some things are just not expedient. Words defile. Anyone that says, “Sticks and stones…” that is a lie. Words have power whether negative or positive. Raise a child from infancy and tell them over and over again that they are worth nothing and never will be worth anything. Don’t tell me that doesn’t stick with them. Many are in counseling because of some vicious thing a parent or someone has said to them. It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, it what comes out the mouth. Whether it’s a rapper, musician, Imus or whomever, we need to stop making excuses for bad behavior. We have become so vicious in our society and that has worked against us. Just my opinion.

Jamie,

MLK was an entertainer, one that was willing to DIE for his country after accomplishing the spotlight with his words that millions white, black and indifferent would revere. How dare you little boy. You sound like a black man who is on the conquered side of division my son. You sound soooo brainwashed as if someone has given you a script that you spew with ignorance. READ your history and know from whence you came and come to a better conclusion lest you be one of the black men who will unconciously be the cause of our demise as a culture. YOUR words have no substance, I beg you return to your history and reexamine your thoughts. I beg you see in front of you and comprehend at least on a high school level. Peace and Love. Doesn’t have to be tough and negative for a resolution.

well it’s about damn time! the shit he used to get away with, i’m glad he’s finally getting what he deserves.

Not that I condone Imus’s comments, but those chicks are pretty jacked up looking! Girls in the south are usually more appealing to the eye than broads from up north.

#48>>>What in the world do their looks have anything to do with it? They are legitimized if they were the Beyonce type? These are young ladies excelling and doing something for themselves and I’m sure on the basketball court, they are aren’t worried about being glam. Yes black folks, we have a long ways to go.

#19 is right! That damn al sharpton didn’t come to the rescue of those poor white boys accused of raping two women. He calls himself a civilrights leader, the nerve of that guy!

Why should sharpton seek to ban sexist rap lyrics, mostly being espoused by black men, but avoid attacking sexist lyrics espoused by other group’s of people in other musical genre’s? Furthermore, you can’t criticize him, on the one hand, for failing to defend the civil rights of white people and then turn around and attack him for failing to criticize a genre predominately controlled by black folk.

#46 - Alice

I’ll give you more respect than you’re willing to give me. But if you did study history, you’d know that Martin Luther King was relatively unknown outside of Atlanta and Selma when he got involved with the bus boycott. He was already deeply involved in the act of DOING way before he was nationally known and recognized for his accomplishments. MLK was a great with words, but he was even better with his actions. His, as well as so many others, actions brought about the 1964 Civil Rights Act and not simply their words.

And I’m partly responsible for our “demise as a culture”? If I’m responsible for the demise, then where is/was our peak? I’m sorry if I have high expectations for myself and “our culture”. I’m sorry that I care more about what “We Can Do For Us” versus what “They Can Do For Us.” I’m sorry that I wish there can come a time when ignorant White people can call us names and we can feel sorry for them instead of feeling victimized by them. I’m sorry if I’d like for us to deal with our problems before they happen instead of when they happen. And I’m sorry that you feel content with where we are, because I believe we can and should do so much better.

EVERYBODY LISTEN UP!!!!! Yall know that girl that had the “a girl like me” movie? Well she was winning last night but look what I saw when I tried to vote again today
“We have determined that the online voting has been corrupted as a result of one or more instances of tampering with the voting process by users. As a result, none of the online votes will be counted, and we will submit all three of the semi-finalists to our panel of experts for final judging and selection of a winner.

The winner will be featured in the August 2007 issue of CosmoGIRL!”

OMG IM SO PISSED THEY DID THIS! Yall knew they wasnt gonna have a girl who challened white beauty standards win! She was just starting to get in the lead to. Sorry for goin off topic but I know alot of yall spent your time and energy voting so I thought you should know.
Here is the site if you need proof http://www.cosmogirl.com/...ntertainment/film-contest

yesi’m glad he got fired, what he said was just flat out disrespectful,racist and sexist,but i also agree that these rappers and other entertainers need to be held accountable for using the same language. black or white calling someone a ho or a bitch is just plain offensive and it still makes me feel disrespected whether it’s coming from a white man or a black man,as a matter of fact i actually feel more disrespected when it comes from a black man because i actually expect that kind of thing from a white person but our men need to come a little better when it comes to respecting and cherishing black women.

#49, On the court or off, these ladies are not beauty queens. Clearly you failed to read the first portion of my post “I do not condone Imus’s statement”. But are we as a people so damn sensitive where you can’t call someone who is ugly, ugly? The last thing the black race needs is to become as sensitive as Jews are, You can’t even call a Jew, a Jew without being accused of being an anti-semite. Im sorry but the world is mean and tough and cruel, you either learn to handle it and rise above, or you can be a crybaby every time someone calls you something you don’t like!

#52

Oh hell nawwwwww! After I voted 5 times at work for that girl they are just gonna take it away. I agree with you that once they saw that black girl rising to the number 1 spot they just HAD to put a stop to it. I didnt read anywhere on the rules where it said blogs couldnt tell people to vote for a certain person, they are just makin this shit up.

#52, guess those little white girls couldn’t take the truth.

I dont comment on these types of issues for one they usually turn into something that has nothing to do with the topic at hand,Secondly most people on here cant respect anothers opinion as if their way of thinking is the right way (we all think diffrently). How can you hope for better when your not doing better ?(stop attacking each others opinions and agree to disagree) I can see where alot of you are coming from, from both sides. As I can see they are all beautiful girls.And oh give me a break with anything concerning Al and Jesse they are nothing more than attention whores!

@52, damn I know angel is gonna be pissed when she finds out! Cant beleive they just took it down with her in the lead, and tomorrow was the last day!!!! smh

my bad I thought my first post didnt go thru ignore please lol.

Imus, Just cause you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see don’t take it out on other people.

CUT IT OUT ABOUT THE RAPPERS!! Although I truly do not condone the way rappers refer to other black women, there is absolutely no comparison to make, no confusion or double-standard in this particular issue to me. People must understand that it is not so much as what is said, but also (if not more so) the place from which it comes from!! When a rapper uses the disrespectul terms he does most likely it is because of what he has seen and/or experienced is his life at some point. They speak of situations generically. Whereas, Mr. Imus used inappropriate terms to make specific reference to a team of intelligent, driven young black women that he does not even know! This was a personal attack that he had no right make. Furthermore, the way in which he used the terms came off as sarcastic and racist - end of story. White America still does not get that the sensitivy from black people on this issue is due to the origin of the use of some of these terms. It is history people. Make no mistake. If you do not know what something truly means (white people), then you should not say it at all and think it is justified because oh yeah, THEY SAY IT, SO WHY CAN’T I!

let this be a lesson to everyone…….just because rappers spew the image and language that they do, does not mean that the black community as a whole are okay with it.

There is a big difference between being offended by your own community/family and being offended by someone who doesn’t even know you or what you stand for.

That should be a no brainer! It makes me think that these people just want any excuse to sound off with racist rhetoric.

So because snoop and other OG rappers have lived in the hood where women are bitches and ho’s he gets a pass? Come on that man has been out of the hood for decades, he should be growing instead of staying in that mentality hehad when he was a troubled youth. I think that is probably where all the problems stem from. Non of these rappers that made it big are growing as individuals, in fact they brag about still being “hood” and still being willing to kill a nigga when in fact, they are living the life of luxury and have every advantage to get ahead imaginable. Why is it sooo cool to act like a ignant teen when you are in your 30’s? Im done, and angel please post #52’s story cause people need to know.

I agree with everything u have to say Jamie E. Imus didn’t make a difference or didn’t affect me in any way, so what’s going to happen? his firing won’t stop the racism, it’ll make em aware that the companies don’t play around, but the real reasons behind it was out of money. If the advertisers didn’t remove themselves Imus would still be alive and talking. I don’t understand why we are so quick to blame other people instead of ourselves. Al sharpton and Jesse Jackson are fighting the “racism” cause but blacks are still living in poverty in this nation and are prone to not getting the education that they need.
Of course Bush won’t care about the situation in Darfur, but same with black people too, black people could care less what is going on in the motherland unless if it’s something to do with South Africa, because they have too much to deal with here.
Now if Bill O’reilly was fired from his job…

We really need to get away from criticizing Sharpton and Jackson–at least these brothas are in the game, advocating for the rights of all. I don’t believe these men are hypocrites as someone mentioned earlier–these men are always involved in various human rights issues, not just racial ones. However, the media loves sensationalizes stories like these because it portrays these guys as racist zealots and helps to cause division in our nation. But Sharpton and Jackson can’t be expected to take all of this on by themselves–it’s up to all of us to get involved. Not just talk about it but BE about it. And certainly not be critical of those who are.

oh didnt mean to sound demanding angel (just noticed it sounded kinda rude), but if you are reading it would be great if you could post it.

Don Imus got Fired ???
Wow..that’s too bad….

Nuh uh, how come sharpton or jesse (dont remember which one) was quoted as saying the men in the duke case were still guilty in his eyes because they made a black woman strip for them and that they should be punished? Now yall know if it were black men that were proven not guilty he would have been screamin “I TOLD YOU SO I TOLD YOU SO” to any and everyone that can stand to listen. jesse jackson and Al sharpton are not for black people, they just want that publicity that goes along with making brash and hypocritical statements.

on Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 7:47 pm

65. Tonya said:
——————————————————————————–

We really need to get away from criticizing Sharpton and Jackson–at least these brothas are in the game, advocating for the rights of all. I don’t believe these men are hypocrites as someone mentioned earlier–these men are always involved in various human rights issues, not just racial ones. However, the media loves sensationalizes stories like these because it portrays these guys as racist zealots and helps to cause division in our nation. But Sharpton and Jackson can’t be expected to take all of this on by themselves–it’s up to all of us to get involved. Not just talk about it but BE about it. And certainly not be critical of those who are.

Bill Said:

Preach Tonya !!
I CoSign 101%

At Least Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson are doing SOMETHING to uplift the Black Race !!!

on Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 5:28 pm

10. RNB*MJ said:
——————————————————————————–

Damn, his career ruined by his own mouth.

Bill Said:

Yup..Basicaly he did..

He did himself in by the words that came out of HIS own mouth…

#33>>>Too Tot, I was just saying he wondered by deeper issues weren’t discussed on this blog. My point was that it is an entertainment blog and maybe its creator wanted something light-hearded and not deep. That’s all I was saying. I wasn’t downing the brotha. I have no problem discussing issues pertaining to us.

Bill did you hear that the “A GIrl Like me” documentery was wining only to have the voting takin away? I was shocked when I heard it.

Had to go underground for this one, because I work at one of the entertainment entities.
Make no mistake, CBS had to address this correctly. For one thing, CBS is owned by Viacom, which also owns BET. BET and CBS share office and studio space, in fact all of BET’s New York based studio shows are shot at CBS Studios. Also, apparently people forgot that CBS broadcasts the Final Four. They do not broadcast the women’s game it is broadcast by ESPN, owned by ABC-Disney. But since valuable advertisters starting running from Imus, they had to to capitulate to that quickly so that it didn’t even start to interfere with one of their sports cash cows.
Jamie, thank God there is at least one young brother who thinks like you do. I applaud you. Maybe you are the one that can start that blog.
But let me tell you all this - what rap acts are saying and doing is absolutely central to this situation. A white 66-year-old man would not even have known the words nappy-headed or ho without some familiarity with black vernacular which he probably absorbed along the line from black pop culture. Many people who are not in our community have adopted our words and terms, including “ghetto” “nappy” “nigga” etc. I don’t have time to pull up all the examples but they are numerous. That is why you have people like the college kids (some of whom were attending LAW school) who chose to use MLK day as a day to pose in blackface, with 40 oz and Aunt Jemima scarves on to have a “black” party. This is waaaay more than just Imus it is the way that our contribution to global culture has allowed people to view us. Don Imus felt comfortable saying what he said because he did not think anyone would come to the defense of dark-skinned athletic black women to keep it all the way real. He is probably surprised that anyone came to black women’s defense at all. It’s a damn shame that Vivian Stringer, who is the most prominent black woman in college basketball and has been for years, gets national exposure in this way when she’s been shaping women for 25 years. It’s a damn shame the the Rutgers team who came from nowhere with five freshman and lost to powerhouse Tennesse, got more atttention for this than for the championship game. But at the end of the day, this is about black women and their degradation by black men which allows white ones to feel like they can do it, too. Now maybe the white men know better. But what about the black ones who continue to perpetuate and get celebrated for the worst fucking images of black women of any group in the world? For those of you who can’t grasp the connection get a goddamn clue.
Lastly, everyone continues to complain bitch moan etc. about these rap acts and what they do. Then who the hell is buying the records, watching BET, supporting the radio stations and paying to see the concerts? I can tell you with absolute certainly that the majority of black people who work for BET, Universal, Atlantic, Jive, Sony, Vibe, The Source etc, would love to have better quality artist and projects to promote and sell. If the public did their job and stopped supporting this bullshit, then more of us inside the industry would have the ammunition we needed to create some change.

Anybody upset at the racial degregation of that girl who did the documentary “a girl like me” ???!!!! I mean who cares about this old yt man he is fired and thats that, what about the young sista that is gonna lose her scholarship because yts dont want to see a black girl talk about black beauty?! She was WINING and all of a sudden they want to take it to the judges because “people” were messing with the voting system. Lets be real the only thing that was wrong with the voting system is that THE BLACK GIRL WAS WINNING! we need to leave this yt man in the past and focuss on the injustices of cozmo girl magazine!

OMG how long can we drag this out before its dead?! The black girl from the cozmo scholarship contest was RACIALLY RAPED of her scholarship!! When are we gonna take interest and action on that subject? I feel like this man is doing our community a diservicee because all of our time is consumed with him, what about takesha and her racial battle? We worked hard to get her to the number one spot and theb yts toke it away from us. Whats next are they gonna RAPE YOU NEXT?!!

PLEASEN sombody MUST have an opinoin on the injustices of tameka jordon! the girl was ROBBED of her scholarship, now she will probably not attend college!!!!! She had the best film and people finally realized it so she started winning why cant the justice system provail when we least expect it??!! How is this any different from the mel gibson case? They practically took the scholarship from her hands and alienated her from the protection of true reality! This is the recourse we must attack at will.

#54>>>Woode29, I can read very well thank you very much. I read what you said about not condoning what Imus said, but my point is: Who cares if they are attractive or not. Trust me, it’s not about being sensitive at all. You missed my point, dear. My question is what difference does it make whether they are “ugly” or not. What relevance does that have?

Maybe if we stop focusing on shallow, insignificant things such as peoples looks (which, by the way, they had nothing to do with) we might be a better nation. Being mean doesn’t help our society. Take it as you may.

#63>>>I agree. We still give them a pass.

ok crunk ho chill the phuck out! u havin a fit baby cause aint nobody can understand that shit you was sprayin. Yes what they did to that girl was wrong but that is NOT the subject at hand. Wait for Angel or Tianna to post, then u can “attack the recourse at will” all the phunk you want lol!

75. crunktastik said:
——————————————————————————–

OMG how long can we drag this out before its dead?! The black girl from the cozmo scholarship contest was RACIALLY RAPED of her scholarship!! When are we gonna take interest and action on that subject? I feel like this man is doing our community a diservicee because all of our time is consumed with him, what about takesha and her racial battle? We worked hard to get her to the number one spot and theb yts toke it away from us. Whats next are they gonna RAPE YOU NEXT?!!

^ Breathe!

Jamie E, for a young 24y.o. brother, you got it! You are very articulate in your points about what’s really going on. I say keep on keepin’ on in Milwaukee or Timbuctoo (sp?) or whereever your brainpower, heart and common sense take you. Stay committed to change and a change will come.
I also agree, that the firing of Imus was a band-aid resolve to a bigger issue we have in our community. Look very carefully at the interviews with Sharpton in the last few days, watch how he sidesteps the issues of confronting the rap industry with the same fervor.

i am so happy they fired him, what would make him think that was okay to say in the first place.

Also, his racist rhetoric is central as to why Howard Stern can’t stand his ass (although he is no better). In Howard Stern’s book, he goes into detail about how when he and Imus were working in the same building, whenever Imus would pass Howard Stern’s sidekick, Robin Quivers (who happens to be black), he would call her all kinds of racist names.

How can Don Imus, who has been spreading his racist rhetoric for 40 years, just learn of racist words from rap music when rap is LESS than 30 years old?

Some of you defenders of this bastard are amazing….

BET aired a great special tonight about the contreversy and how we use the N word etc, and how we need to stop and look at how we use the word. I hope BET takes a look at themselves and changes some things about the network.

on Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 7:56 pm

72. crunktastik said:
——————————————————————————–

Bill did you hear that the “A GIrl Like me” documentery was wining only to have the voting takin away? I was shocked when I heard it.

——————————————————————————–
Bill Said:

Yeah..I just found out about that.

She was in first place only to have it taken away from her….

White people ran that contest..They did exactly what we expected them to do

on Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 8:01 pm

74. crunktastik said:
——————————————————————————–

Anybody upset at the racial degregation of that girl who did the documentary “a girl like me” ???!!!! I mean who cares about this old yt man he is fired and thats that, what about the young sista that is gonna lose her scholarship because yts dont want to see a black girl talk about black beauty?! She was WINING and all of a sudden they want to take it to the judges because “people” were messing with the voting system. Lets be real the only thing that was wrong with the voting system is that THE BLACK GIRL WAS WINNING! we need to leave this yt man in the past and focuss on the injustices of cozmo girl magazine!

Bill Said:

I care and yes I AM concerned….
But you need to know who’s in Power here in America.
Cosmo Girl is a WHITE OWNED PUBLICATION !

THE DON IMUS SITUATION IS JUST THIS SIMPLE…

When you are a DJ on terrestrial radio you a list of things you cannot say or do. As someone who is a verteren DJ Don Imus knows what he can not say or do. He said something he should not have said. His sponsers decided to pul their ads and his bosses decided to fire. This happens to radio DJ’s EVERYDAY, Don Imus is no exception.

Comparing this situation to rap music, no matter how offensive it may be, is like comparing apples and oranges. While I agree we need to raise the standards for rap music, rappers create a product that is packaged and sold to consumers at their own free will. And just like Imus, when their music is played on terrestial raido it is TOO censored.

I think it’s important for us to stop allowing rappers to speak the way they do, however that situation is much more complex than the Don Imus situation. He’s someone who broke the rules at work and got fired…the same way people get fired every day. If we want to fire rappers we can just stop buying their music.

Also, I agree with whoever defended Rev. Al. While I sometime disagree with his politics and his showboating, when we have people from our generation like Jay-Z boycotting luxary champaign bottles, at least he’s addressing real issues. Don Imus aside, Rev. Al has been very active in the Sean Bell shooting her in NY and he has built a lot of momentum in the black community here around that issue. That’s more than I can say for a lot of people.

on Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 8:53 pm

86. chillin in ny said:
——————————————————————————–

THE DON IMUS SITUATION IS JUST THIS SIMPLE…

When you are a DJ on terrestrial radio you a list of things you cannot say or do. As someone who is a verteren DJ Don Imus knows what he can not say or do. He said something he should not have said. His sponsers decided to pul their ads and his bosses decided to fire. This happens to radio DJ’s EVERYDAY, Don Imus is no exception.

Comparing this situation to rap music, no matter how offensive it may be, is like comparing apples and oranges. While I agree we need to raise the standards for rap music, rappers create a product that is packaged and sold to consumers at their own free will. And just like Imus, when their music is played on terrestial raido it is TOO censored.

I think it’s important for us to stop allowing rappers to speak the way they do, however that situation is much more complex than the Don Imus situation. He’s someone who broke the rules at work and got fired…the same way people get fired every day. If we want to fire rappers we can just stop buying their music.

Also, I agree with whoever defended Rev. Al. While I sometime disagree with his politics and his showboating, when we have people from our generation like Jay-Z boycotting luxary champaign bottles, at least he’s addressing real issues. Don Imus aside, Rev. Al has been very active in the Sean Bell shooting her in NY and he has built a lot of momentum in the black community here around that issue. That’s more than I can say for a lot of people.

——————————————————————————–

Bill Said:
Selah & Amen
I coSign 101 %

his ass aint got much time left in him anyway as far as ruining his career

anyway i wouldnt want to talk to him if i were on the team, and they are not kids

48, thats just as irrelevant as imus’ comment

@ 77 Sassyteri, i agree with you. Why should those girls looks matter??? now you see what is wrong with the world. The fact of the matter is that this SOCIETY(I really mean the world) is so shallow and superficial. Not to mention the other problems and conflicts that this world has. Just sit back and look at the world and look at what is happening and what you see on the news. We live in a broken and imperfect system. When God created earth he intended for creation to be perfect and for mankind to manifest itself. Everything wrong in this world and the reason why things are the way they are and people think the way they do is a direct effect of SIN. I keep thinking about everytime I watch tv, or listen to the radio, or go to the movies. The cause of sin and the effect of sin and why the world is the way it is, all go hand in hand. I am not trying to be religious, this does not have anything to do with religion, but the simple fact that when we see conflicts like this or epidemics or social issues, ect. they are all part of a bigger problem.

I may get some ppl riled up with this comment, but I think this issue is being blown waaaaay out of proportion. So if he calls you nappy headed hoes and you know you are not, then what is the problem? I could care less if someone called me that, because I know I am not.

Besides, let’s face it. Many of those girls are butt ugly.

Okay, ppl are going to hate me for this, but ol well. What this man said, is no different than what we say about those who we think are rough looking, or nappy headed, he did not say the N word. The only thing that I disagreed with, was him calling them hoe’s. Other than that Im going to work, and while Im there I’m going to call one of my co workers nappy headed and see if I get suspended and lose my job.

Oh yea and another thing… Rappers degrade females, waaaaaaaaaay worse than this man just did.

Black ppl, let’s pick our battles. We dont need to start marching for every little thing. After a while, no one will take us seriously.

@ #93 Yes, take a look at the Sandra Rose blog and see a pic of Snoop with females on a leash on the red carpet. Now we wanna march? F*ck outta here!

Only the girl in the middle is cute.

@Crunktastic

Are you sure about that because I have been checking the polls from the very beginning and she was always in third place? I don’t recall her ever even making it to second place.

This proves that you should be careful about what you say and do to people because what goes around comes around!

Now lemme say that as a African American, we need to begin “polishing” up our culture. We are a beautiful race! LETS STOP DEGRADING OURSELVES!! WE must be the ones to SET THE EXAMPLE! Lets us stop calling ourselves such low and pathetic names! Lets stop disrespecting our women!

I understand that some of you were angry by this man’s comments. But remember, if we come back at him in a racial manner, then we are doing the same thing he did!!!!!!! IT BEGINS WITH US!! ITS TIME WE UPGRADE.

Glad he was fired

Well, we done f*cked this one all up. If some of those Rutgers girls are from the Brick City, they been called worse.

He got a trach or something in his throat? Why he look so stiff in the neck area? Like he can’t turn his head all the way.

He got what he deserved.

@ 65. Now you know that Al Sharpston and the rest like him basically advocate double standards. When we get a real civil rights leader like the great MLK maybe some of the injustice will fade away. But all I’m saying is if the Duke players had been black and the stripper white, Sharpston/Jackson would have been all over the white girl and the media talking about how everything is unfair. Mmm… For all the good they do, they really disappointed me. I was watching CNN yesterday and I mean when Sharpston was asked why he didn’t go so hard on the RAPPERS who use this kind of language, he danced around the question and gave some formal speech he’s likely to give, never gave a real answer.

Now I appreciate those guys trying to help solve the Imus situation because what Imus said is intolerable BUT you can not just stick him with it. You must include others. You can bet if Imus had been black, this whole mess wouldn’t be such a huge…mess because that’s what the black community seems to be now (or what the media puts out there). I don’t get how it’s not OK for Imus to do it but it’s OK for blacks to do it. Why because we’re black? Then we really don’t want to be equal at all. If we wanted everything to be equal like we’re always complaining about, then we’d have 50 and Luda and Kanye off the radios forever just as we’re TRYING to do to Imus.

–ok im done.

I DON’T THINK IMUS IS SORRY FOR WHAT HE SAID, I THINK HE IS JUST SORRY HE SAID IT.

F*** him he’s not even sorry for what he said ol oogly ass

A jounrey fo a thousand mile start with a single step. Balck folks, that the first step taken to rid ourselves of these racists.

“of”

HAHA..THATS WHAT HE GETS…HE SHOULD’VE ALREADY KNOWN THAT WE,AS WOMEN,WOULD’VE GOT OFFENED…*SMH* AND THE CAUCASIANS CALLS US DUMB.THATS WHY HE GOT SUSPENDED FROM HIS JOB.

@ 52, Jessica Spears,
Girl you beat me to it. I swear I was about to post that up!!! I couldn’t believe what I was reading. That is some MAJOR BS right there. How convenient. SMDH @ the fact that she really might not even get a fair shake in front of the “judges.” I mean CosmoGirl is still run by Hearst Publications right? So let’s see. This is also the same publishing giant that puts out Town and Country, Redbook, Esquire, Seventeen, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, etc, etc…and oh yeah, that lone publication with that black chick on it. I think it’s called ‘O’ or something like that.

Oh yeah, Kiri is definitely got this contest sewed up.

#90>>>Salty, thank you. You are so right. I cosign with you 100%. We live in a fallen world. It was predicted in the Bible (not trying to sound preachy), but it’s true. We do not live up to higher standards anymore and it’s “to each his own.” What happened to decency and treating people with respect.

I guess we haven’t seen anything yet. I hope this is a catalyst to come together.

@ 104 - You are right.

86. chillin in ny said:

THE DON IMUS SITUATION IS JUST THIS SIMPLE…

When you are a DJ on terrestrial radio you a list of things you cannot say or do. As someone who is a verteren DJ Don Imus knows what he can not say or do. He said something he should not have said. His sponsers decided to pul their ads and his bosses decided to fire. This happens to radio DJ’s EVERYDAY, Don Imus is no exception.

Comparing this situation to rap music, no matter how offensive it may be, is like comparing apples and oranges. While I agree we need to raise the standards for rap music, rappers create a product that is packaged and sold to consumers at their own free will. And just like Imus, when their music is played on terrestial raido it is TOO censored.

I think it’s important for us to stop allowing rappers to speak the way they do, however that situation is much more complex than the Don Imus situation. He’s someone who broke the rules at work and got fired…the same way people get fired every day. If we want to fire rappers we can just stop buying their music.

Also, I agree with whoever defended Rev. Al. While I sometime disagree with his politics and his showboating, when we have people from our generation like Jay-Z boycotting luxary champaign bottles, at least he’s addressing real issues. Don Imus aside, Rev. Al has been very active in the Sean Bell shooting her in NY and he has built a lot of momentum in the black community here around that issue. That’s more than I can say for a lot of people.

THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK
THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THATHANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANKNK U THANK THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANKTHANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK

kind

WOAH
4. Jamie E. said IT ALL!!!!

Everyone’s so quick to blame or wanna go after the rappers..Any person with common sense knows there a difference between a black woman,and bitches and hoes..2pac made some of the most powerful music hip hop has ever heard.But even he way sayin bitch and hoe as well..If you’re gonna call out the rappers,u might as well call out the film directors,just ban the words all together..It’s no different than women calling men dogs,or what have u..There are plenty of rappers that do spit positive shit,but that’s not whats getting the play..These white owned labels and cooperations only wanna push the negative..I admit there’s alot of dumb ass songs out right now,but we’re the ones dancing to it and supporting that shit,so of course they’re gonna keep doing it..If more support was put int othe more positive rappers,then everybody would start rapping positive after while

I KNOW DON IMUS AINT TALKING ABOUT THEM BEING “NAPPY HEADED HOS”, WHEN HE HIMSELF NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT DAMN BIRDS NEST ON TOP OF HIS HEAD.

I MUST say! I own Ludacris’s “Release Thearapy” Album. The album has many REAL MESSEAGES besides sex, money and jewerly. But at the same time, he’s saying the n-word.

I really like the CD but it’s still the same thing going on that we are talkin’ about here! I refuse to be a hypocrite!!! I probably sound like I have issues, but what should I do with my albums.

Its more than just a cd. If I am willing to make a change it has to be 100%. Not half way! The problem is that it really is a good cd with important messages! Any Suggestions with what I should do?

Well, Imus was wrong for calling the young ladies hoes HOWEVER…y can’t women of color be HAPPY to be NAPPY?!?
When a white person says something about blacks, we get so upset and so outraged that we are willing to protest…y not protest the rappers and singers who do the same???
IMUS is an old white man who probably thinks what a lot of white people think about blacks, the only thing is he VOICED it. Now that he’s fired, it will be talked about for another week and then its over until another white person says it again, just like Kramer-he said what he said, and now its over. BUT REALLY ITS NOT OVER! Imus should be accountable for his actions, leave him on the air and make him respond to people who have questions about it. I just don’t get it! GO buy the latest c.d about “US” nappy headed hoes but let a white man say it and all HELL breaks loose?!?!?!

As a Black female who actually attended and graduated from Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, I was offended by Imus’ comments.

The offended me as a woman, a Black person, and a member of the Rutgers Community.

1. Rutgers hasn’t done well in sports in ages, so this was a great moment that was tainted by Imus’ ignorant comments. As a Rutgers alum, it’s offensive because the moment of bittersweet glory (although they lost, they came VERY far) was severely detracted from due to Imus’ comments.

2. The sexist and racist parts are pretty apparent.

3. Imus, unlike the rappers, etc. (who deserve to be chastised for their ignorant messages and further perpetuating stereotypes) has been revered by many in the media as a bright intellectual commentator….

4. Don’t think for a minute that Al Sharpton or the feelings of black people had anything to do with Imus being fired. Rutgers is a very old school and the connections to the Good ‘Ol Boys network are tight! There are some deep pockets and serious connections. Point number one is a major issue. By default, Imus cast Rutgers in a poor light and the big boys weren’t having it. Know that. Al who?

73. Onthe Inside finished with:

Lastly, everyone continues to complain bitch moan etc. about these rap acts and what they do. Then who the hell is buying the records, watching BET, supporting the radio stations and paying to see the concerts? I can tell you with absolute certainly that the majority of black people who work for BET, Universal, Atlantic, Jive, Sony, Vibe, The Source etc, would love to have better quality artist and projects to promote and sell. If the public did their job and stopped supporting this bullshit, then more of us inside the industry would have the ammunition we needed to create some change.

I AGREE 110%
I stopped working in the music industry because I lost interest in promoting acts like Ja Rule, Christina Milian etc (Def Jam UK circa 2001). HIP HOP is dead but HIP POP is alive and kicking…& is tearing the black community apart as music is a HUGE part of our cultural expression and major aspect of our visible contribution to WESTERN society!

The Don Imus story is a scratch on the surface of a much deeper and complex issue that has its roots in hundreds of years of history. I don’t think any one individual has the answer but can we at least try to come up with something? Whilst I’m not a fan of Al Sharpton et al., I appreciate their efforts. What in the world is going to happen when he and Jesse Jackson exit planet earth? Who is going to accept the baton, cause we haven’t arrived yet and the relay race (no pun intended) for equality will be going for some time.

Why are young people looking at hip hop videos to shape how they define themselves? We definitely need to promote alternative perspectives and promote education and cultural awareness and pride in being AFRICAN!!! Yeah I said it!! There is an AFRICAN in African American. If you look at the typical black woman on TV, she takes little pride in looking like he AFRICAN herself! (c.f. A Girl Like Me) Long Weaves, blonde highlights…anything to look like her Western counterparts. I understand why it happens, the more you look like the white majority the more accepting they will be of you (& the less likely they will be to call you a nappy headed ho) which make you more population thus financial viable. However the crazy thing is that black people are more accepting or find value in those of us that look more European than African!!! *shudders*!!!! Shit I’m guilty of it too but I am aware of the reason why and check myself when I revert to that way of thinking! Yes if I had to say who was more beautiful Beyonce or model Alex Wek, I’d say the former!!! You probably would to, that would be fine if the vote was split but it would probably be 90% in favour of Beyonce! We are all ACCOUNTABLE and until we decide to free our mind of the mental shackles which still remain, the legacy of slavery will continue. Black America and blacks all over the western world need to strip themselves naked because everything we do is defined using Western/European standards and as we are neither there is always going to be a disconnect in how we relate to the world. The materialistic nature of black people is a symptom of the problem we don’t find value in ourselves so we need weaves, designer clothes and jewellery to make us whole. Instead of developing our wardrobe or mp3 collection how about we develop our attitudes towards one another. People in general should have more pride in being a positive member of their communities, then being the flossiest!

I could go on forever but I won’t because I too am only scratching the surface but I’d like to thank all those contributing to this post because it’s good to know that we aren’t all happy with the current status quo and big props to those who identified that we need to address the problems in the Diaspora, because getting one white guy fired is hardly a victory in uplifting an international community of millions because like it or not young black people across the world are heavily influenced by African American culture. I am and I live 4,000 miles away from the US.

& I’m out.

yes “A girl like me” was in the lead last nite (by like 10-20 votes). I think thats what ticked off the white folks at cosmo cause she went from bein waaaaaaaaaaaay behind to bein the first. When you think about it you shouldnt be surprised cause lots of black blogs and websites have been posting her movie and telling people to vote. I first voted at “nappturality.com” and that site gets thousands of hits, not to mention concreteloop and other people who were emailing friends and such. Im guessing that cosmo doesnt think its “fair” because so many people online were promoting her, but really I dont see how that goes against the rules.

And crunktastic please calm down. You are makin this out to be more dramatic than it is, devote all that negative energy to something positive sweety.

meant to say I first voted when I saw it at nappturality.com

Aye concrete loop, why don’t you make a statement by not featuring whack music on your blog, poisonous “artist” and be apart of a new advancement of our people. I think if we want a change, we have to do it ourselves, cause they aren’t going to give us an opportunity, and that’s real. I know some don’t wanna hear that, but you just too comfortable with being just another negro. If you agree with me, make the point. It has to start somewhere. Enough voices can be heard.

I WONDER WHEN THEY WIL FIRE ISAIS WASHINGTON??

Hi and thank you everyone for voting for Kiri. I sent an email to the company and you can send one too. Lets make some noise! Copy and email my letter if you want.

Dear CosmoGirl,

Would you please issue a statement to the Internet Community about the nature of the tampering that you have reported concerning the Take Action Hollywood film contest? Many of us worked hard to distribute and promote Kiri Davis’ video and the contest over the internet and we would like to know what has happened and why you are not counting the votes we worked so hard to obtain. According to recent voters, Kiri Davis was in the lead with votes and we would like a detailed account of the alleged tampering and why measures had not been taken before hand to prevent such tampering. This is surely a disappointment to all of the girls involved because instead of listening to the voice of your readers and the public, you have decided to ignore us and use a panel of judges who you have chosen. Furthermore, we would like to know who the judges are, their credentials, and if members of the African American community will be represented. We, the Internet Community look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Bronze Trinity

To send an email to our Editor-in-chief, Susan Schulz, please send an e-mail to susan@cosmogirl.com

For questions about cosmogirl.com, please email webmaster@cosmogirl.com.

I”M SURE EVERYONE HAS SAID SOMETHING ABOUT ABOUT MINORITIES WOMEN I KNOW PLENTY OF BLACK DJS THAT TALK ABOUT WHITES AND ARABS ALL THE TIME SO IF HE GOT FIRED WE ALL SHOULD GET FIRED>

FIRING HIM ISN”T GOING TO SOLVE THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM JESSE JACKSON AND AL SHARPTON NEED TO SIT DOWN THEY TRYING TO BE GREAT BLACK LEADERS OR WHATEVER

NOW PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET ISAIAH WASHINGTON FIRED AND TRYING TO STIR UP THAT WHOLE ORDEAL AGAIN.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS FREEEDOM OF SPEECH AND IT MAY OFFEND PEOPLE BUT AFTER A WHILE WE WON”T BE ALLOWED TO SAY ANYTHING> THAT”S SCARY.

To me, this whole episode is counter-productive to the Black Community’s argument for personal and professional equality. It’s the equivalent of trying to kill an evil tree by chopping of a leaf, when the tree itself is rooted deeply within the Black Community.

Okay, so now what? Will there be any American or Chinese intervention in Darfur? Will Bush, or any future President, even bother to mention New Orleans in their speeches? Will the troops come home from Iraq? And most importantly, will we stop allowing Black people to stop disrespecting and humiliating Black people? And most importantly, you can’t blame white people for 90% of your problems when you give them 90% of your money. Be honest, we’re 90% of our OWN problems but we’re 100% of the solution if we choose to be!

Do yal even pay attention to how this country really operates? How many people do you think will get ANY punishment for their crimes against the American people and their crimes against the world from the Bush administration? Do you really think Imus won’t resurrect his career within a year on another station our on satellite radio? Yet, within one year, how many people think the Black community will be better off in one way, shape of form?

I hate to rain on your parade, but Imus was wrong for calling those young ladies a bunch of “nappy headed ho’s”, but our community reaction to this just made another million white people think we’re nothing more than a bunch of Ignorant N!ggas. We love to complain a lot about THEM, but do very little for OURSELVES, BY OURSELVES, and WITH OURSELVES.

Why? We’re totally reactive and over-sensitive to what someone says, but we’re totally tolerant and passive to what someone does, especially within our own race. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the past three years, we’ve had two Black children mob beatings where 15+ kids have killed two grown men on two separate occasions over stupid stuff. A group of 20+ black youth from ages 12-22 (and one 40 year old man) gang raped an 11 year old Black girl. Just a few weeks ago, a 14 year old black kid shot and killed a prominent white boxing coach at a gas station in broad daylight trying to rob him. And that was a week after another young black teen killed a black woman in daylight in front of a daycare center. Per capita, we have the lowest graduation rates for blacks in the country with the highest incarceration rate. We have an all black neighborhood where the annual household income is $8,000 while five miles down the road in River Hills, there annual household income is nearly $300,000. Milwaukee is less than 80 miles north of Chicago, but I haven’t seen or heard Sharpton, Jackson or Farrakhan grandstanding about the madness that’s occurring here (and I’m sure it’s worse in other places). We won’t be reactive, let a lone proactive, within our own communities, yet we think it’s a VICTORY for Black People when O.J. gets off or a White comedian or radio personality goes without a million dollar paycheck for six months? Get real, neither Don Imus nor Al-Qaida is in the Black populated “hoods” throughout America doing what we do to ourselves.

I’m a 24 year old Black man and I can officially say I’m DONE trying to excuse the inexcusable. Beyonce gets more headlines and comments within the Black community than Bush. I only heard lyrical responses from all of four rappers (Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Juvenile Mos Def) about what went down in Katrina, and only Jay-Z and Juvie had a full song about it on a commercially successful album. But Camron and 50 can make like three or four diss videos within two weeks?

Why doesn’t CL and all of these other blogs highlight the genocide in Darfur and it’s purely political and economic why the U.S. and China won’t do more to support the African Union? Why doesn’t CL and all of these other black blogs mention the fact that more people went into poverty last year to bring it to a record high even though these Republicans are saying we have a strong economy? What about income disparity between blacks and white, or imprisonment disparity between Black/Latino non-violent offenders and our White counterparts?

Yep, I’m done. I don’t expect or want ANY other race, culture, or ethnicity to respect Black Americans as long as we don’t respect ourselves. Yeah, WE won a small victory today, but we LOST the war when we laid down our arms, left the streets, and went home to watch BET after MLK died.

——————————————————————————–
Wow! You took every word out of my body! I 110% absoloutely agree with you. Shit they might as well shut this particular blog down because you killed it! On point! Good Night!

MUSIC IS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH THEY SHOULDN”T HAVE TO MONITOR WHAT THEY RAP ABOUT.IF YOU DON”T LIKE IT DON”T LISTEN TO IT>

ITS OKAY FOR US TO MAKE RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER MINORITIES AND WHITES AFTER A WHILE EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE AFRAID TO SPEAK THEIR OPINION BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MONITORING WHAT YOU SAY

SO WATCH WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ARABS

SHOULD ISAIAH WASHINGTON BE FIRED???? WHEN THAT HAPPENED NO ONE ON CL CARED BUT WHEN IT IS A BLACK PERSON EVERYONE IS ALL UP IN ARMS??

I sent a letter, Bronze…. hopefully there will a reply.

I told my White friends that whenever a Black DJ say something Offensive about Whites or ANY other race GET HIM FIRED>>LOL.

*cart wheeling, somersaulting, jumping up and down in the air*

Good riddance Imus! Good riddance!!!!!

Puh LEASE He’ll be on Sirius Satelite

1. While I agree with 99% of what JAMIE E. said, I believe Imus deserved to be fired and that is not counter-productive. Hadn’t he been fired, what would have happened? People would have witnessed another case of “this is ok to call them hoes”, and let’s get clear, they weren’t called hoes cause “he call women hoes”, HE CALLED THEM hoes because they were black. That’s racist in itself and he got what he deserved.

2. A lot of y’all downing Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, I have a question for you, what the fuck are you doing? Are you doing something better for your community? Have you started a movement? Have you protested? What have you done? Show me a list of the things you’ve done before complaining.

3. About Darfur, although this is an entertainment blog, could CONCRETELOOP.COM PUT A LINK TO SITES ABOUT THE GENOCIDE (like the one that my name links to) LIKE ONE OF YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS ON THE SITE??? Black people are being exterminated by arabs only because they’re black in Darfur, it has been going on for almost FOUR FUCKING YEARS, GEORGES CLOONEY HIMSELF went there with his father to shoot with cameras what’s happening and ask the government to do something, what are WE BLACK PEOPLE DOING FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE?

4. RAP MUSIC. What yall need to do is STOP watching their videos on BET, STOP requesting them on HOT 97. STOP BUYING THEIR MUSIC. STOP BUYING THEIR CLOTHING LINES BECAUSE YES you’re putting more money in their pockets to spend it on producing another album. Stop going to their concerts. But I’m wondering, if 80% of gangsta rap consumers are WHITE aren’t we already boycotting somehow? The 20% non-white need to boycott. And if we are already boycotting something who doesn’t seem to die, how can this movement die? >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Look, we’re MILLIONS OF BLACKS. If all of us concentrated on COMMON/TALIB/MOSDEF and all those productive and positive cats, they would top the charts ad outshine the others. Common’s “Finding Forever” comes out THIS YEAR. If 5 million of us bought ONE copy (no bootleg) he would outsell ALL THE GANGSTA RAPPERS, think about it, and it would start a movement, the media would be all over him. If you don’t find the copies in stores ORDER THEM ONLINE! Request him on RADIO stations and on MTV/BET. If you bought 2 copies, one for you and one for your teenage cousin/child/niece, the album would sell like crazy!! That would open doors for more conscious cats!

Lauryn Hill is a movement we started, as a conclusion she sold over 20 millions worldwide with Miseducation. Let’s do this with COMMON, start THE MOVEMENT NOW!!! Black blogs bombard your blog with ads about COMMON, Have you read is interview with Bellafonte?? HE IS WHO CAN SAVE THE GAME. Don’t let it die but resurrect it by giving all your attention to the positive cats.

COMMON “FINDING FOREVER” IN STORES JULY 1Oth!!! GET THE MONEY READY.

Woode, that comment about their looks was just plain uncalled for. Not once did you mention what they accomplished in the championship game. Those young ladies have handled themselves wit dignity, grace, and chose to puit their INTELIGENCE on display, NOT their looks.

Hey, Bill, did you hear about Gov. Corzine getting into a very bad accident on the way to the Imus/Rugters bball team meeting?

One thing I think people forget is that Don Imus has done alot more good even w/ though he made stupid comments it wasn’t meant to be racial , he disses everyone black , white , green yellow, he doesn’t just target one group. If you don’t believe Imus has done good just check the Tomorrows Childrens Fund and the support groups he got to WFAN to save many childrens lives, read up on that before you comment on him like he is Satin.

As a black man I don’t believe in Sharpton or Jackson , they also have yet to apologize to the Duke Lacrosse team but were the first ones to push for a major trial. Those 3 students are currently schooless and have lost valuable time in college education. They also now have a rap sheet for a crime they were proved that they didn’t commit, where is the apology the I’m sorry for getting Duke to kick you out of school. And to everyone on CL I’m not defending what Imus said and I believe he should have been suspended then his show needed new employees but w/ his firing it will affect the sponsored events that benefit the childrens fund.

What does his firing really do ? You still have gangs that’s not Imus’s fault, we still have crimes again not his fault, what happened here is freedom of speech used to make a bad punch line then it turned from a bad punchline to an injustice, then from an injustice to the Lady Rutgers to racial slurs and no one gave a damn about it or even acknowledge it until Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson started blowing smoke to the fire created. Atleast if you are happy about this understand there is a bigger picture tonight and please make a donation to the Tomorrows Children Fund.

http://www.aolcdn.com/aol...-003b2-04a89-c7bcbccd.jpg

WHO LOOKIN LIKE A MONKEY NOW….NICKA ????

Jamal….is not black…

Sorry people we give these name calling too much power to tell you the truth the sh#t is funny. You know deep down those girls look like hell this is going too far why go threw all this with the mans job? He looks like he is already on deaths door. When i got the news even still today I was falling out my chair laughing look at them makeup anyone perms anyone did they even win the game lol

*intelligence…my bad

oh my fault because I don’t curse when I discuss shit , cause I actually listen to that station, since this is a sensitive subject I wanted to talk about it in an educated way as the college student I am, would you rather I talk about it Brooklyn style? the Bullshit that I got to hear w/ this topic and my fault if I actually know some people from that foundation that were given support by that company, I also know Sharpton and Jackson just be lookin for the camera, my fault famz if I got a damn heart , that’s as far as I’ll go I ain’t getting into back and fourths debate w/ you about my blackness.

If you want to make an issue of who’s black look in the mirror because it sure as hell ain’t bullshittin’ me. I’m outz anyway make a donation if you give a damn.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton didn’t say ANYTHING about ISAIAH WASHINGTON.

DONT THE FIRST BLACK GIRL ON THE LEFT LOOK LIKE JAY-Z LOL LOL LOL…. JUST TRYIN TO MAKE LIGHT OF A SERIOUS MATTER

A nationally syndicated show that reaches millions of listeners and viewers daily with a host who interviews the people who enact the laws of our nation, important people, has clout with the everyday folk. When he, and his dispicable staff (who are really vile with their jokes and frequently cross the line) disparage and belittle a women’s basketball team that finished second in a national college tournament by slurring them, he negates an accomplishment that should’ve been celebrated/congradulated. He belittled blacks with a slur based in racist stereotyping, and he belittled women’s endeavors in athletics. If you ever listen to sports radio (a white male dominated industry) you will eventually hear opinions insulting to the women who compete in any field of athletics, women who take their efforts as seriously as any man does. The thing is these women are not public figures, they don’t have a forum with which to defend or respond to the insult, they have no means to fight back. That makes Don Imus a bully, which IMO is a typical trait of a lot of white men.
Don Imus and his crew do things like this as a matter of habit, and it was his turn. To compare his position to the likes of Isiah Washington, rappers is simply stupid, said by people who are picking one aspect without the full context just to make their idiotic points. Those who have a problem with Al Sharpton’s and Jesse Jackson’s involvement due to their past indiscretions, I say if not them, then who would satisfy you then?

THE DON IMUS SITUATION IS JUST THIS SIMPLE…

When you are a DJ on terrestrial radio you get a list of things you cannot say or do. As someone who is a veteren DJ, Don Imus knows what he can not say or do. He said something he should not have said. His sponsers decided to pull their ads and his bosses decided to fire him. This happens to radio DJ’s EVERYDAY, Don Imus is no exception!

Comparing this situation to rap music, no matter how offensive it may be, is like comparing apples and oranges. While I agree that we need to raise the standards for rap music, rappers create a product that is packaged and sold to consumers at their own free will. And just like Imus, when their music is played on terrestial raido airwaves it is TOO censored or better yet not played at all. Secondly, Black people aren’t the only ones buying rap music. I can’t tell you the last time I bought a rap album. I find the shit a lot of rappers say offensive as do many of my black friends. Contrary to popular opinion MANY black people don’t condone what is said in rap music. Especially those from my parents and grandparents generations. There is outcry on the black community against hip hop…it just doesn’t make front page news!

Don Imus is someone who broke the rules at work and got fired…the same way people get fired every day. He’s a big boy, he’ll be fine.

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN HAPPENING (ie Imus attacking blacks, women, etc.) THE FACT THAT SOMEONE PUT A STOP TO IT MEANS SOMETHING!

DO YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT SLAVERY? SO IT WAS A PRECEDENT LETS KEEP IT GOING. YOU CAN CHANGE THINGS WHEN YOU HAVE THE POWER TO. THE BLACK DOLLAR (BILLIONS) IS MORE POWERFUL THAN IMUS’S AND HIS GROUP OF SUPPORTERS WHO FEEL IT IS OK TO DEMEAN WOMEN WHO ALREADY HAVE IT HARD ENOUGH TO BE HERE.

There is no double standard. DOublel standard? Where are all the black socialites? Oh yeah our grandfathers were probably picking cotton while the Hiltons and FOrds were building empires for their herpes infested generations to come.

Blacks are still making small strides…

WE DONT EVEN CONTROL WHAT GETS PLAYED ON THE RADIO. THERE IS PLENTY OF GOOD POSITIVE MUSIC OUT THERE THAT RADIO EXECS CANT MAKE MONEY OFF OF. SO JUST AS RADIO EXECS PUT THAT IGNORANT RAP OUT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST IMUS WAS PULLED IN THEIR POCKETS BEST INTERESTS. mOST BLACKS DONT USE THOSE WORDS THAT I KNOW. WE DONE CONDONE REPUSIVE MUSIC. WE DONT BUY IT. BUT WE IN NO WAY HAVE THE MANPOWER TO CONTROL THE MAINSTREAM AND WHAT THEY ARE FED

Just because a few black women allow themselves to be disrespected doesnt mean its a race issue. I am a black woman , I have black friends, coworkers, family, and we dont condone it! That is a handful of people. Just like all white people arent white trash like Anna Nicole or Pete Doherty. Dont generalize and say black people allow it. US black people are not the bigwigs. A few of us have come up and made a name for themselves but in no way are we at a level where we can control how the media manipulates and portrays us and how FEAR of black people is used to make people feel uncomfortable and ok to demean us. So just becausre you see rap videos with girls shaking their booty and BECKY wants to copy donth think that represents us a a people. Becky needs to watch a Jill Scott or Indie Arie video or look at Raven Simone and other black women who arent that way. OUR community is hurting and we NEVER had a chance to heal so dont DEFEND acts of racism because our community is still behind economically, spiritually, mentally,….willie lynch was a cold son of a byitch and so is American History. Educate yourself before you go saying its ok because some idiots of a particular race do it. THEY DONT REPRESENT THE WHOLE RACE

DOES every white MOM LIVE IN A TRAILER? WELL DIDNT EMINEMS? THAT TYPe OF DUMB GENERALIZATION IS HOW U SOUND…I MEAN THATS HOW STUPID YOU SOUND MAN!

i pray things go good for ol’ man imus, he’ll land on his feet….maybe rutgers’ needs a new head janitor or a cafeteria worker, OR….. he can be one of those street performers who yells @ everyone for no apparent reason, has a cat and dances on a flat cardboard box for spare change

From Chante: “Lauryn Hill is a movement we started, as a conclusion she sold over 20 millions worldwide with Miseducation. Let’s do this with COMMON, start THE MOVEMENT NOW!!! Black blogs bombard your blog with ads about COMMON, Have you read is interview with Bellafonte?? HE IS WHO CAN SAVE THE GAME. Don’t let it die but resurrect it by giving all your attention to the positive cats.”

I vow to do this but I need people’s help. I don’t have a list of rappers who do not degrade women but I am not sure which ones don’t use the N-word. If you know of rappers who have positive lyrics, please let me know and I can get other bloggers involved in promoting them for free. We can brainstorm some ideas like choosing 5 positive rappers and having everyone agree to buy 1 or 2 to keep or give as gifts to young people. We can do lots of things so lets keep this going.

@#73 ON THE INSIDE

I Co-sign with a difinitiveness! Pardon the new word…

Dong dong the brick is dead, but to paraphrase an earlier comment, you can cut off a branch but another WILL grow in it’s place. White people are saying these things because we say them to each other, and although they know it’s not alright to say it, they will and they’ll use that as an excuse. and throw it back at us. Clearly, it did not work in this case, but believe me, it there are many cases where it just might. AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE MEDIA!! I don’t know if anybody noticed, but the day after the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS had humiliated Imus on the its front page, they splashed a picture of the black woman who accused the lacrosse team of rape with the title, DUKE LIAR, or something to that effect. Remember, there will ALWAYS be some sort of backlash effect; that’s just how the media game is played.

There are too many contradictions and mixed messages within the black commmunity, and we have to make a definitive stand. Either we support banning these words and terms (or at least stop glorifying them in public forums), or stop bitching.

You hear Hispanics running around calling themselves spicca, or Asians referring to themselves as chinkas, do you. And no, putting an “a” at the end of the n-word doesn’t change the meaning of the word no matter how hard anybody tries to convince me otherwise.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have on occasion used the word publicly and as recently on these boards used the term “nucca”. Is that just as bad? The jury’s still out on that one, and it’s obvious that I have my own issues to work out with regard to this matter. But it’s clear where we’re headed as far a celebrities paying the price for shooting off their mouths when it comes to race.

I was personally SHOCKED that Imus was fired. I really didn’t expect that one. But as it had been posted above, he was fired for a combination of reasons, not the least of which was FINANCIAL. I am an optimist though, and will hold on to the fact that he was fired because he was being an insensitive, racist son-of-a bitch and got what he deserved.

Nevertheless, we are biggest perpetrators of negative self image in our community, especially in the music and video field, and we MUST take a look at that. Today, that is where we are actions MOST accessible and visible to other cultures.

So where do we start………..?

I meant you DON’T hear Hispanic, etc.

….and I meant OUR actions….

I’m sorry but everytime i hear him say nappy headed hoes i keep seeing the scene in the 40-year-old virgin…”she was a hoe…for sho” lol.

tough break IMUS there’s always Sirius satillete radio

I wasn’t suprised to find out that he was fired. However, it wasn’t because of what he said, but more likely because of sponsorships being pulled. It’s all about money to these corporations. Now what will be funny to me is if and when the corporations that pulled their sponsorship will begin to use their “moral” act to sell more of their products to African Americans. In response to someone who posted earlier about Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton actually doing something while we are not, I tend to disagree. As a college student there are those who aren’t doing anything, but at the same time there are a lot of people my age who are striving to put themselves into positions to create waves of change. I think that this whole Don Imus being fired situation will produce some interesting dynamics between African Americans and caucasians. For instance, the whole double standard of us denegrading ourselves, and then getting riled up when someone else does it is quickly becoming played out. Also, I’ve been disappointed at the fact that neither Jessie, nor Al have publicly apologized for condemning the lacrosse players from Duke. I guess I’m just not a big fan of playing the race card if and only if it’s convenient to yourself.

First of all I am black woman, and from MISSISSIPPI.

The comment I am about to make is just as simple as this.

#1 What Imus said in reality he has a right to his own opinion, just like people have a right to disagree with him.

#2 Black people have been surrounded and will continue to be surrounded by this type of mentality until our dying day.

#3 He should have not been fired but his suspension should have been longer than two weeks.

#4 People have been calling women hoes and etc. for years. But you fail to realize that men are hoes and etc. too.

#5 Right now someone is reading my comment and saying I can’t believe this BIT** wrote this.

#6 If you are secure about who you are, what somebody say about you; should not matter because NO ONE IS BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.

AND

#1 Women are not being degraded on Videos or in Music Lyrics.

#2 If you don’t like what’s being said DON”T LISTEN.

#3 If you don’t like what you see DON”T LOOK.

This world would be a better place if people would stop trying to tell people what they can say or do. Because when its all over you have to give in account for what you do not anybody else.

52. Jessica spears said:

EVERYBODY LISTEN UP!!!!! Yall know that girl that had the “a girl like me” movie? Well she was winning last night but look what I saw when I tried to vote again today
“We have determined that the online voting has been corrupted as a result of one or more instances of tampering with the voting process by users. As a result, none of the online votes will be counted, and we will submit all three of the semi-finalists to our panel of experts for final judging and selection of a winner.

The winner will be featured in the August 2007 issue of CosmoGIRL!”

OMG IM SO PISSED THEY DID THIS! Yall knew they wasnt gonna have a girl who challened white beauty standards win! She was just starting to get in the lead to. Sorry for goin off topic but I know alot of yall spent your time and energy voting so I thought you should know.
Here is the site if you need proof http://www.cosmogirl.com/...ntertainment/film-contest

____________________________________________________

Jessica Spears, thanks for pointing this out. I truly hope that everybody watches this video! To think that these young black women can point out the disparities in society and how those messages are even getting to young children…That girl should win and she should be put on Oprah so that the whole world can see that!

I agree with #4. I still don’t think that ignorance of rapper can excuse the ignorance of Don Imus but this was my whole point with the R. Kelly situation. This man has married a teenage girl, has recorded sex acts with multiple teenage girls and yet people still buy his shit! Most of the Black Community stood behind O.J. despite the fact that he was never Black when he needed to be (especially during the civil rights era) but sure as hell was Black when he had nearly an entire community praying and supporting his murdering ass. But with Rap music, it’s not entirely a cancer, there are just major changes that need to be brought about in Hip Hop Culture but those changes will only be evident when reform African American Culture.

Black men have got to stop going to jail! We need your help to educate & empower people within our race so that we might be able to do more to help Blacks globally, as with the Darfur situation!! We need to provide more positive role models for our youth. We need to stop defending them when they do something wrong. The black household should have two parents instead of one woman stuggling to support her family paycheck to paycheck. We need to teach financial literacy to our people who live in low income areas and help them to understand the reprocussions of welfare so that they might be encouraged to do more for themselves.

I totally agree with Jamie E. -

We need to boycott rappers/r&b/latino’s or anyone in the entertainment industry that uses this type of language. They make their money off of us and the white community. Kids/adults buy this stuff, listening to this negative language depicting women, men, neighborhood, etc. and then when we hear some one outside our race saying it, we get all upset and wonder why? But we say it, sing it and make videos about it, and we wonder why? Come on people. We are the problem and we cannot expect others to respect you/us when we ourselves are feeding this stuff to our own communities and others. We need to boycott some of these people and show them that we mean business and that we want them to take responsibility for their actions and see how it is destroying our people.

@ 149. BronzeTrinity
First off thanks for your entry on your website, that’s a good start!! 5 people I can think of who don’t degrade women and have NOTHING BUT positive, constructive and progressive lyrics :
1. Common
2. Lupe Fiasco
3. Talib Kweli
4. Mosdef
5. The Roots

BONUS :
6. Jean Grae (she’s Talib Kweli’s protege!! Phenomenal femcee)
7. Pharaoe Monch
8. Dilated Peoples

Blogs could promote their albums by adding ads (even for free, come on yall do it for the cause!) and USING RADIOBLOG or ODEO to have their music playing on the blogs. Black blogs could encourage people to request them on radio and tv, bombard radio stations/music magazines/tv chanels with emails at least once a day THE WEEK OF A SINGLE AND ALBUM RELEASE for them to be more seen on Tv and magz and played on radios. We did it with Lauryn Hill, and black blogs didn’t even exist, the internet wasn’t used as much as today by musicians and labels. We have much more power than we think.

CONCRETELOOP YALL HAVE POWER, YALL SHOULD USE IT!

@ KEKE

You’ve made some very valid points, especially with regard to my surprise at Imus being fired. I really though too, that they would just extend the suspension. But what’s done is done, and karma’s a true bytch.

However, as far as videos and music, it’s not just as simple as “if you don’t like it, turn it off”. That’s fine if you’re a sophisticated adult, but what about impressionable youth who are being programmed and fed these images on a daily basis, and begin to consider the materialistic and misogynist images as the norm? What about other cultures (read:white) who aren’t particularly offended by these images and take them at face value? To you, I guess the portrayal of women in these videos is relative, but I beg to differ. Perhaps you might even be a video dancer or, perhaps, a republican.

Or maybe we’re not seeing the same things, but the majority of videos I see on BET are shallow, empty, materialistic messes, with no sense of story arc, and the obligatory champagne glass waving playas, close-up rim shots and stripper moves. WHICH IS OK. BUT, when the overwhelming majority of v’Mideos are providing the content, it gets boring real fast. Then I’ll change the channel. Would a 12-16 year old practice such restraint?

I don’t mean to sound holier-than-thou, but when I see the effects on the younger ones in my family, I have to step it up and educate tham abouit what they’re being exposed to.

@ #138 BadCherrie, you know I said the same thing when I read his post. Most of the time, on posts such as this one I can usually tell whether the person is black or not.

Jamal said: “One thing I think people forget is that Don Imus has done alot more good even w/ though he made stupid comments it wasn’t meant to be racial , he disses everyone black , white , green yellow, he doesn’t just target one group. If you don’t believe Imus has done good just check the Tomorrows Childrens Fund and the support groups he got to WFAN to save many childrens lives, read up on that before you comment on him like he is Satin.”

First and foremost, I don’t care how much “good” someone does, you have to reap the consequences of your actions. That goes for everybody. Imus is not exempt. And just because he doesn’t just target blacks that means he shouldn’t have some kind of ramification? GTFOH!

Jamal also said: “And to everyone on CL I’m not defending what Imus said and I believe he should have been suspended then his show needed new employees but w/ his firing it will affect the sponsored events that benefit the childrens fund.”

If this was a huge deal to Imus he would have been more careful in what he said on the air instead of speaking without thinking. This is not the first time he has ridiculed people by making racists and deragotory remarks at his own expense. I’m pretty sure the childrens fund will be okay. He doesn’t care about the children anyway. Hell he mocked a whole college basketball team on TV! They could’ve had children watching. He didn’t care then.

Jamal being ignorant: “What does his firing really do?”
It sets an example the next time some racist mofo want to spew hateful and disrespectful remarks publically. Boy I tell ya. Ever since Kramer, whites are coming all out the wood works thinking it’s ok, thinking we forgot about Kramer. Nah mofos, we haven’t forgot about that $hit. Or at least, I haven’t.

I think as black people we need to check ourselves because no one is protesting all of the rappers that use this word “ho” so why now are we making a big deal out of what Don Imus said. don’t get me wrong, I think what he said was TERRIBLE. And Jesse and Al, I am really sick of them because these “Ambulance Chasers” they only come around when issues are in the spotlight. Also, they don’t speak for the black community as a whole, at least not for me anyway…hell to the no!

I MEAN YEA THEY DO LOOK ROUGH BUT SO DOES IMUS AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE THERE IS NOTHING NAPPY ABOUT THEM…AND THEY ALL WEARING REAL HAIR!

@KeKe, from your post, I am really ashamed to be from the South right now. You and I both know racism is exhibited openly down here. On the jobs, in the schools, in restaurants, police force…everywhere.

You said: “#1 What Imus said in reality he has a right to his own opinion, just like people have a right to disagree with him.”

We NEVER said he didn’t have a right. I don’t care that he’s a racist. However, I do care that about him making that statement publicaly in front of thousands (maybe even millions) of people including children. And making it about a group of people who are actually doing something positive with their lives and are trying to make something out of themselves is inexcusable.

“#2 Black people have been surrounded and will continue to be surrounded by this type of mentality until our dying day.”

Maybe you’re right. So because of that we have to continue to be publicly humiliated over and over again?

“#3 He should have not been fired but his suspension should have been longer than two weeks.”

And what would’ve been accomplished by this? Suspension so he can come back and continue to do the same thing over and over again like he has been doing for years?

“#5 Right now someone is reading my comment and saying I can’t believe this BIT** wrote this.”

Oohh Oohh *raising hand screaming ME, ME, ME!!* (except for the b!tch part)

“#1 Women are not being degraded on Videos or in Music Lyrics.”

That’s a load of the stankest bull$hit I ever seen. You have got to be kidding me. Please say you were just playing. I like rap music (Tupac, TI, Scarface, UGK, Outkast, Boosie) but that’s all alot of rap artist do these days. When was the last time YOU saw a video? I am shocked that a female would even make that statement. Are you dumb? Or just plain stupid?

Even though I don’t approve of Imus’s comments, blacks are just as racist when they insult or poke fun at other ethnic groups. So you actually co-sign on such behavior as this when you often mock or mimick asians, caucasions, spanish, etc. Racism is wrong regardless of who it’s coming from. It’s easy for whites to insult us when they hear us insulting them and other ethnic groups through comedy, conversation, etc. To them, this behavior makes it ok, as well as blacks degrading themselves with the “N” word and other derogatories .I’m bi-racial and have experienced severe racism within the black community and therefore believe that racism can end and begin with any and all of us. Think before you speak.

@ whoever called them ugly…
just because you think these hardworking people are ugly doesnt mean they need to be insulted.
ignorant piece of shit!

dont imus look like an ex-slave owner???
with those thick ass eye brows

Now that Anus is gone I say we switch up our vocab people!!!!!

STOP PUTTING WOMEN DOWN AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY DOWN BY CALLING EACH OTHER THE N-WORD, THE B-WORD AND THE H-WORD!!!!!! IT IS NOT CUTE AND IT IS NOT BRINGING US UP AS A PEOPLE!!!!!!! IT IS BRING US DOWN!!!!!! IT’S EXTRA WEIGHT MAN, LETS BURN IT OFF!!!!

Imus deserved what he got, but what about other issues that are systematically eliminating our community. ie. poverty, homelessness, health issues, education, crime, and the sytematic way to destroy our race by locking 1.2 million of our man away, for very long periods of time, in some instances life (for non violent drug offenses). Now that’s a way to get rid of a race of people, eliminate their ability to pro create. I have heard only one website (black america web) even mention the upcoming congressional hearings on sentencing disparites between powder and crack cocaine. I have not heard any black radio stations, t.v. stations, news outlets, or any web or blog sites even acknowledge these hearings. Why not jump on one of the aforementioned subjects, something that will really change our lives for the better.

Lets see how many rappers Al Sharpton intends to go after now that Imus is unemployed.

Time to check ourselves people, this is hardly a victory.

And Snoop……break out your baton and beat yourself with it for your ignorant explanation of why it’s okay to say “ho” if you’re in the hood.

This story has become irritating to me.

Can we turn this into a national conversation about racism and sexism?
Can we talk about what you can and can’t say in a public forum, and whether this suppresses free speech?
Can we talk about how women and minorities of all stripes (due to ethnicity, sexuality, etc) are portrayed in the media?
Can we talk about how hip-hop “artists” denigrate countless black and hispanic women in both their songs and videos?

To me, it’s all related. A friend of mine sent me a link of a little girl dancing provocatively as an adult, possibly her mother, applauded. I don’t care about what’s become common. It’s about what’s right and it’s about how our own choices lead to the acceptance of the status quo.

Even on these boards, black women put down constantly, and I’m not talking about when we talk about them looking a mess; to me, that’s stating the obvious. If we’re disrespecting ourselves constantly, how can we expect others to respect us?

So, the myth is that blacks are buying negative rap, when in fact it’s the white kids who’s keeping Snoop and nem in business! I don’t buy it!

Wait! A bootlegged copy of the song, “Slow Motion Fa Me” just came on my media player and I never realized how negative it is! WOW, I see why they call it the “Dirty South”!

There are parental advisory warning on negative CDs. Usually, there’s a adult version and one for children to fill in the blanks!

Nonetheless, white kids are the biggest consumers of this smut! And Marv Albert and Imus didn’t learn about pimps and hoes from Snoop, Missy and Lil Kim! Let’s not forget about the women rappers who have amassed fortunes from negative talk!

At any rate, we can move on to the rappers and other shock jocks who keep it stirred up!

Al Sharpton said his next step will be the rappers. You can’t compare what Imus said to what rap artist say. In my eyes, that is two different situations. However, I do believe that we need a change in our music. I am so sick and tired of this nonsense bull$hit that are being put out nowadays. The real true artists can’t be supported because not enough people support them. The DJ’s are not playing artist like Common because all these dayum kids wanna hear nowadays are things like popping pills, shooting, smoking, sexing females, money, cars etc. I see alot of people on this blog want this music stopped well if the majority wants it stopped then who the hell are supporting this mothaphuckers? Hell, I barely even listen to my radio nowadays.

i don’t see the problem. it was ignorant but certaintly didn’t warrant him being fired. Are we going to take Steve Harvey off the air for making cultural remarks and differienations among cultures? Or Comic view or other shows? He’s no more wrong than we are when we comment about black people this vs. white people that. He should feel silly but matrying him isn’t going to fix anything.

Anyone wonder where he picked up ignorant terms like that. I bet I can guess. But we won’t be sensoring bet, vh1 and mtv anytime soon or sanctioning Rappers everytime they use the MOST offensive slur for of all. In my opinion, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Black america criticizes those who critizie the disrespectful image of black women promoted, MAINLY, by Black male muscians. But we want to get in an uproar when a white man repeats what we say? Talk about a double standard. THis is all BULL. They need to give that man his job back!

171. ethiopian_princess, people know what they can and can’t say in public! I don’t think we need to spend time telling Imus what he should or should not say. He already knows just like Kramer and Snoop know what to say and when to say it! You have to jump over a few hoops to hear negative rap! They don’t just play that smut over public radio like Imus’s talk show!

And, on the subject of black women getting put down constantly on CL…well, the biggest offenders of that stans is other black women! We even had a Midol summit last week, because black women on CL were calling each other bitches early Monday morning!

Also, when Missy or Lil Kim start talking about they coochies and asses, they validate the male rappers! Shock jocks and shock rappers are all in it for the money! Without his willingness to offend people, Imus would not have made it this long! The offenses, shocks and racism are the reasons why people tuned into his show! Not so much for his political views, but for his bitter words!

jumping up and down, screaming and applauding #4 speak the truth. nuff said i can’t even speak on it after that! too bad its likely to fall on MOSTLY def ears as soon as 106th N’ Park comes on we’ll be sitting in front of the televison numb and dumb…all POWER to the people…

Bill O’Reilley you next buddy..

174. ladonna, Imus is history…get over it! White people can not get on public TV and through racial slurs at us!

Stop trying to divert the attention away from Imus onto Steve Harvey and Lil Kim! They along with all the smut rapper are sellouts! Imus on the other hand, chose to associate himself with Presidents and heads of state!

Imus is the Wall Street Journal! Eminem and nem are Playboy! There is a place for smut, but not on public TV! The adult section is in the back room! Stop comparing XXX-rated content to PG-rated! Snoop has to put a warning on his labels! Anyone can tune into Imus in the mornings! And, Steve Harvey is a comedian, not a political analyst like Imus!

When did white people start naming their children Ladonna?

177. Sharonda…yup, he’s guilty too, but he knows how to jump from the car just before it crashes! Imus knew too, but he must of had too much to drink the night before!

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176. ladonna, what happens on 106th N’ Park that offends you or violates you as a person??? I don’t watch it, but I’ve seen the spring break and it looks like the modern day American Bandstand!

Do they use the words “bitches and hoes” on 106th N Park???

Meatloaf said: “When did white people start naming their children Ladonna?”

First, let me take a second out to LMAO at your statement.

Second, I asked myself the same dayum question!!! She need to take that white sheet off her head.

Meatloaf, Imus is not history. He will be on satellite radio. I’m not happy about it, but he’s a cashcow.

Also, yes, white kids buy rap albums. Black kids still listen to it or watch the videos. White kids watch BET. I babysat for my neighbors years ago and it was MTV and BET all day, every day. What message does that send to white kids about how women, specifically black women, are to be treated?

People clearly don’t know what to say and not say. Imus has been saying racist, sexist and homophobic things on the radio DAILY for the last 1/4 century!

Yes, there are black female entertainers who exacerbate the problem.

I am 24 years old and I cannot watch music videos on MTV and BET because so many are so insulting. I use to watch that stuff daily all through high school. What is shown or said in a public forum represents the standards of a society. Ours are very low. Basically, there’s a list of words you can’t say. You can’t show genitalia. You can’t show women’s nipples (unless it’s the Discovery Channel shooting indigenous people).

You don’t just support this by buying albums. By watching these shows, we’re bringing advertising dollars to the network. If the show stops getting advertisers, the network will change the content or drop the show.

Also, there are far too few positive black characters in the media to counteract the effects of the many negative images of black people. Why do so many of my black, latina and asian friends watch Girlfriends? Because even if they can’t relate to the characters, they see the rare positive (but not impossibly perfect) depiction of black women. Why do all my family members and I watch Run’s House? Because it shows a close, loving black family unit.

Why did Halle Berry take a role in this bad movie with Bruce Willis? Because there are so few strong female leads that come along, esp. not for a black woman, Oscar le. or no Oscar. She won the award for playing a negative role and I think she’s at least attempting to remedy that.

157. Sandy said: “…I totally agree with Jamie E. -

We need to boycott rappers/r&b/latino’s or anyone in the entertainment industry that uses this type of language. They make their money off of us and the white community.”

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There will always be a market for porn rap music! Why you think Penthouse and Playboy been around so long? I’m sure you already boycot the filth! It didn’t take this incident to get you to stop buying smut rap!

The rap producers are ready for that war, and they will endure like Iraq! However, there is something that decent people can do:

Stop repeating everything we hear! Imus had no business speaking that crap from his mouth! That’s nobodies fault but his…not the rappers! Why do white folks always want to blame black people when they screw up??

It’s not what goes in a man that defiles him…rather it’s what comes out of him! (sm) The tongue is a unruly evil and people who talk for a living need to set their limits before they go on the air and they should also retire before they get old and senile like Imus, O’Reiley and Bill Cosby!

White kids and their parents are the ones behind the rap movement! Its funny, white people don’t patronize black businesses or churches, but they’ll buy the hell out of some negative rap! Its so no wonder that Snoop and 50 cents often perform their concerts before all white audiences! WTF???

Imus been listening to that ish!

181. ethiopian_princess, satellite radio is where he should be! Do you realize the step down from his public forum to a pay to listen satellite! He won’t have access to presidents and heads of state on satellite! They don’t do satellite! And, the ones that do, don’t get heard! No sweetie, this is a major fall!!! On satellite, he’ll be at the mercy of the First Admendment! It’s like going from the NBA to the D-League! His professional career as we know it is over! He even said, he’s fighting for his life, now! Three months!

I’m glad you see the truth about Halle’s past! That being said, parents have to be responsible for what their children are exposed too! And, sitting them in from of MSNBC should be a safe bet, but Imus proved that’s not the case! MTV, VH1 and nem all have to meet FCC standards for public TV. They push it to the limit, and parents know this! These programs have a impact on young minds, but that’s no excuse for old ass Imus! The negative limits on BET can be used to teach right from wrong! What parents sits there and lets their children watch these shows without giving them any guidance!

Nonetheless, Imus will probably walk away before he does satellite. As long as he’s off of public forum, he’s history in my book, because I ain’t spending one red penny on that stans!

Very well said, Jamie E. #4. I agree 110%. We have to build up ourselves with positivity and help each grow, instead of remaining like sitting ducks. We encourage “Open Season” on the black race when we don’t react and pro-act to injustices in a constructive manner.

Well, Snoop isn’t the greatest person to ask, but it does bring to discussion some of the issues that this incident will shed light upon.

Will youth understand why this was so wrong, and even further will those that produce these so-called “artists” begin to think twice about “what” they are producing. Preaching your lifes’ experience and souls interpretations are one thing, but when you demoralize a whole generation, and youth adopt this attitude, you are not serving those around you, artistically.

Shock sells, no doubt. We all see how much of a hip-hop nation this has become and hip hop is a great outlet, but when it is at the cost of our youth, it begs for responsibility in publication. And I mean from black producers! Are we really excepting those that bankroll the degradation of our people, only because they are black?

So, here we go again, is it ok to say the “N” word if you’re black? Hell no! And it definitely isn’t ok to say it, if you’re NOT black! We can’t have it both ways. But folks we all know it is not “us” - the few people that are outraged - that understand what this is all about, aren’t those who patronize this media - for the most part.

Again, is it about our youth, the lack of strong role models, positively active parents, and our sense of self. Discuss it with young folks around you. Teach the deeper meaning of self-respect (by earning it), share your life experience with them. Hopefuly at some point, it’ll sink in.

185. Hillari, you’re on to something! Please continue!

All that black leaders can do is encourage the “sellouts” to stop with the negative message! All the people can do is stop patronizing it! No one, especially Imus, should be repeating it!

Now, the FCC can place tighter restriction on the rating categories, so that nothing has to be bleeped and the sexual nature of videos is controlled! Once we clean up public TV, everything else can be censored!

The N-word usually comes up in R-rated or higher! If it has to be bleeped, it shouldn’t be on public TV! We can’t force “deadbeat” parents into raising their children to read books and clean house! There will always be a negative element in this sinful world!

But, civil people can vote to control what appears in their livingrooms as oppose to what they pay to see! That would protect the First Admendment rights and clean up the public forum! MSNBC and CBS did their part in firing Imus! Now, the FCC should do their part along with parents!

We can’t close down every strip joint, but we should be able to keep them out of our neighborhoods! There’s enough air space to let the wheat and the tare grow together!

Developing…!

185. Hillari said: “…We have to build up ourselves with positivity and help each grow, instead of remaining like sitting ducks.”

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The Rutger women weren’t sitting ducks….they were soaring eagles! They were building themselves up with positivity! I just love it when y’all make general statements!

Making it to the NCAA finals shouldn’t encourage “Open Season” on the black race! Don’t lose sight of the issues! The Rutger team were innocent victims! How can you be any more pro-active when you’re five star, straight “A” and at the top of the class?

Imus goes duck hunting like Dick Chaney did when he “accidentally” shot Harry Whittington face, neck and chest with bird shot! No excuse!

uncle jed, really needs to check him self next time. maybe he will think twice before he speaks cause this aint the sixties, and he just may git his ass whooped next. lolololol we all make mistakes and life goes on.

# 187 thats the best comment ive heard on here in a long time. to the point AMEN

Meatloaf…

I’ll ignore the rest of your addresses to me after i correct your obvious inability to read. if you read my posts and statements you’d see where i made the statement we and us in conjunction with black people, combining that with my name you might have figured out i am BLACK! thanks…have a good day…

Actually…
i will comment on your question about what’s wrong with 106th n park….1) its NOTHING like AMERICAN BAND STAND. Its content is as degrading in terms of the videos it plays as Imus’ comment….

Political commentator, comedian ,etc…what they do isn’t as important as what they say. what gets said, be it out of black, white, red or green mouths, be it a president, a doctor, a lawyer, a public figure period, or a private citizen…racially discriminating against people is wrong. We can’t complain about the very thing we do to others.

And if we’re going to attack a situation let’s hit it at the root. Imus is nothing but a branch steeming from a tree implanted by ignorant black entertainment venues talking and acting crazy in the public sector.

I guarantee you if white and hispanic folks started coming after us for our discriminatory behavior the way we go after them we’d be confused as to what we did wrong and think it silly…

Either we need to learn, as a group, to be sensitive, or stop being so sensitive…can’t have it both ways…

And regardless of your preconcieved notions of what is allowable and not allowable on the basis of career paths (ie. Steve Harvey is a comedian so its okay for him to be racially insulting but IMUS is a political radio personality so he should be censored), freedom of speech knows no color and that argument wouldn’t stand in a court of law.

You know what? With all the hate mail and hate blogs from I-Mess fans and those who are not, true colors are going to be flashing from the black and white community. Reminds me of the movie “They Live”. Dayum

I know that dude isnt talkin about someones hair!!! Dude looks like a damn Corpse!!!!!!!

First of all, how many people feel the presence of leadership within the Black Community? Al Sharpton? Jesse Jackson? They like attention…..I have never seen either one of them in my neighborhood….until channel 9 news shows up. Then it’s “WE are outraged!!!! WE will not rest until WE have justice!!!!! Please……they just like to complain…. To be honest, I was under the impression that we were deprived of leadership after the 50’s and 60’s. Then the 70’s came in with “the every man for himself” mentality and the rest is unfortunately our history.

You can’t blame rappers because there is a WEALTH of CONSCIOUS HipHop Music out there and if YOU don’t know about it,and the TRUE music artist that support the elevation of HipHop then YOU don’t have the right to complain. Just like Porn movies, ridiculous music exist but you don’t have to buy or watch them because there are movies that fit every lifestyle. As far as what you see on TV? Name something on TV that IS intelligent? Besides a few things on the Discovery Channels. It is AMERICA!!!!!!!! SEX, MONEY, VIOLENCE!!!!!!!!! AMERICA LOVES IT!!!!!!! It’s not a black thing. It’s an American thing. The problem is control. We are letting people outside the culture define the culture and on top of that, SO CALLED BLACK LEADERS WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE AND DON’T WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE, CHOOSE TO GO AT THE CULTURE!!!!! But thats a whole other blog…….

But most of us don’t truly know our history beyond the American slave era. Most us aren’t cognizant of an era that took place before immigrants of Britain THOUGHT they discovered america. For thousands of years, mediterranean whites intermittently came in contact with African blacks in commerce and war, and left a record of these encounters in art and in written documents. The blacks–mostly Kushites, Ethiopians, and Nubians–were redoubtable warriors and commanded the respect of their white adversaries. The overall view of blacks was highly favorable. In science, philosophy, and religion….. color was not the basis of theories concerning inferior peoples. Some in early Christianity saw in the black men a dramatic symbol of its catholic mission.

For those who want to know more about their ancestry beyond slavery in america, an author by the name of Frank Snowden, Jr. would be a good start. However he only talks about the Greco-Roman interactions. But the point is research, research, research. Learn about the history of the blood that flows through your veins. The research of ones true history is essential in defining ones path to acheivement and success in ones future.

The Don Imus issue is a complicated one. For those of you defending him, let me remind you all that people lose their jobs every day for much less than what he did. One of the broader issues this raises for me is how many people feel like what he did was “no big deal”. Had he called a group of white young ladies “fat sluts”, all kinds of groups would be calling for his head, from women’s rights groups to the CEOs of Jenny Craig. However, we need only look at Linday Lohan’s movie “Mean Girls” to see an example of how often whites, both males and females, refer to white females as “sluts” and “skanks” in the realm of enertainment. Do you think the same people blaming hip hop would blame equivalent forms of entertainment in such a case? I THINK NOT!!

I feel like this situation, and the rather cold and unsympathetic response among so many non-blacks in this country, is a reflection of how many of them don’t perceive the same level of humanity in us as they do in others. Something that happened at work today truly bothered me, and while I hate to risk my anonymity, I feel that it must be shared. I am a physician, and I have seen countless examples of how blacks just don’t get the same “benefit of the doubt” in situations that sometimes mean life or death. Once case at hand today involved a black college student, about my age (yes, I finished school VERY early), who presented with symptoms that CLEARLY warranted certain treatments for a potentially life threatening condition. Instead, several precious hours were wasted, because, in the words of the primary treating physician on the case, my COLLEAGUE, “alot of times when these people come in this way you just chalk it up to drugs.” By the grace of GOD this patient survived, but the potential consequences included permanent paralysis, speech deficits, and a very HIGH likelihood of death. This could have been my little cousin, or my baby sister, or ME. Because of his condition, this patient was not in a position to speak for himself and give any indication that he was something besides the stereotype they felt comfortable embracing and expecting. I see too many instances of these types of assumptions made by some of the most highly educated and intelligent individuals on this Earth, and it equates to lives in danger. Blacks come to the ER and are tested for drugs for no reason, when non-blacks with similar presentations are not, and the acutal underlying conditions are ignored. I have taken a stance by cancelling many of these tests when I feel they are not warranted, but this should not be necessary. I can tell you about a patient who had a heart attack in front of one of the senior physicians who did NOTHING because he mistakenly assumed it was “cocaine-induced chest pain.” I have seen so many black men and women, from teenagers to 80 year-olds, have to suffer at the hands of some of my colleagues who refuse to provide appropriate pain medications that are given freely to white patients, because the black patients “just seem like drug-seekers.”

Now I must be honest. I can’t imagine that anyone would see me and use the word “nappy”, and I would hope that they would not use the word “hoe.” Nevertheless, I am highly offended because his insult was disparaging to my race and my gender. Maybe the firing of Imus was drastic, but we cannot allow the underlying message, that it is okay to disregard our humanity, to go unchecked.

190. ladonna said: “…I guarantee you if white and hispanic folks started coming after us for our discriminatory behavior the way we go after them we’d be confused as to what we did wrong and think it silly…”

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When is the last time you saw a black person refuse a job to someone white or hispanic? You have to hold back something or show preferential treatment to discriminate!

You can’t discriminate if you to control nothing! Whites have America! And, Hispanics have Mexico! They have the power, so the standards are different!

Whites and Hispanics don’t even patronize black busineses! And, we buy their $#!T everyday! Same for Asians! Every black person on here eats, pizza, tacos, pasta, shrimp fried rice, steak house and hamburgers! But, soul food resturants close every 6 months! Now, whites and mexicans will buy black rap music!

So, don’t preach to me about discrimination until you know what it really is!

194. cafeaulait529, Thank you!!!!!

I hope some of these black people take the time to read what you said! Unfortunately, anything over 5 lines does not get read by most CL scholars!

Ladonna, I especially hope you read post #194! Black doctors don’t discriminate!!

193. Damien, why are y’all still trippin on Al and Jesse? All they do is articulate the problem! We need people like that! They’re preachers, not Gods! Nobody’s expecting them to walk on water! They’re not the ones on trial here…Imus is the perpetrator!

Let Al and Jesse do what they do best!

I do believe that one has to the right to believe in there own opinion! But when we sit here and call these women ugly, it shows how superficial and materialistic our society is!

They are playing basketball…..who dresses up for that!!!!?

# 145-forgoodnessakes i see you like to cute & paste from other sites….i’m flattered

CAN’T PLEASE YOU LADIES HUH IF SHARPTON OR JACKSON DIDNT SAY ANYTHING EVERYONE WOULD OF BEEN SAYING WHERE’S JESSE JACKSON AND AL SHARPTON ON THESE MATTERS THEY DONT CARE ABOUT BLACK WOMEN.CAN ANYONE ANSWER THIS ? WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING AL SHARPTON HASNT CONDEMED RAP ARTISTS’ FOR THEIR LYRICS,HE’S BEE DOING IT FOR THREE YEARS,JUST BECAUSE THE WHITE MEDIA WASNT GIVING HIS CAUSE NO AIRPLAY DOESNT MEAN HE WASNT DOING IT.AND FAR AS THE GANGSTA RAP ARGUMENT IS CONCERNED YOU HAVE TO BE RETARDED TO FALL INTO THAT TRAP,WHEN SNOOP DOGG SAYS HOE IN HIS RECORD WHY DO BLACK WOMEN ASSUME THAT HES TALKING ABOUT ALL BLACK WOMEN HE’S TALKING ABOUT HO’S AND IF YOU ARE OFFENDED YOU MUST BE ONE.IF DON IMUS CALLED DIVINE BROWN A NAPPY HEAD HOE NO ONE WOULD OF CARED BUT HE CALLED A GROUP OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATED BLACK WOMEN HOS SUGGESTING THAT NO MATTER WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISH IF YOU ARE A BLACK WOMEN YOU ARE STILL NOTHING BUT A NAPPY-HEADED HO.ITS NOT THE FACT THAT HE SAID NAPPY HEADED HO THAT CAUSED THE UPROAR ITS WHO HE CALLED A NAPPY HEADED HO

Is it just me..but why is everyone including the media summarizing hip-hop as the definition of what the African-American community is?? Just so I am clear..it seems that anyone that views hip-hop seems to think that all black people are exactly what those videos portray…I do not think the African American community as a whole deserves to be blamed for what rappers or other ignorant individuals feel the need to say. In my opinion no WOMAN should be called a bitch or a hoe… I only read 75 of the comments posted so if someone had already pointed this out.. forgive me..no harm meant..I got upset after reading post after post that African Americans are to blame for what the world feels about us….I am an African American woman and I do not listen to alot of hip-hop for the very same reasons IMUS used those FU**** UP remarks!! I do not say the N* word because I think it is just as worse!! I try explaning these things to some younger African American individuals and they do not listen.. so until people can start growing a brain and realize these words are hurtful I dont know what to say..But AGAIN WHITE SOCIETY and everyone else needs to STOP saying a WHOLE community is to blame for a few STUPID expressions!!! ANY insight Jamie E ???

196. Meatloaf said

“193. Damien, why are y’all still trippin on Al and Jesse? All they do is articulate the problem! We need people like that.”

I agree…….They make excellent spokesmen. But spokesmen can’t be considered leadership. They have the gift of Gab, but to be a leader you have to have solutions and direction as well as charisma. You have to be willing to sacrifice. Be willing to give everything for what you believe in. You’re right, they are not gods. But I’ve seen Al Sharpton in action and he ain’t on the level of the black leadership we had during the rise of the civil rights movement either. In terms of his views about rap? His mission should be to bring to light the intellectual music of the culture. Not to bring more attention to the irrelevance in it. A lot of youth consider themselves HipHop and leadership must be apart of that community. To be honest I feel these gentlemen are too old to be leaders. They’re are not intouch with the youth. That is why they identify the young black community as a whole through what they see on TV. Anyone who does that…..Anyone……”Is articulating the problem” and not coming with a solution……..The future of the black community is the youth. You must start there.

This is horrible!!! People seem to be relishing in this attack on this old guy, who if you check his resume has done the following:

Donated MILLIONS to create a camp for children who lost their families in Hurricane Katrina.

Donated MILLIONS to sickle cell research (a disease that afflicts blacks in LARGE numbers)

Hmmm I don’t ever recall Sharpton OR Jackson doing anything like that…

Also who the hell delegated Sharpton as the voice of “the people?”

Now what?? Are we also going to demand that:

Snoop, Jay Z, Ludacris, Ying Yang Twins, 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Lil’ Kim, Dr. Dre, Cam’Ron, Lil Wayne (shall I go on?)

get fired from their record labels for calling women.. BLACK women… bitches, ho’s, big and black (Lil’ Kim said that) … these are word smiths paid for their so called talent and they coon dance in front of white folk on a daily basis calling their women every derogatory name under the sun!

I doubt seriously there would be posts demanding they be fired…

We’d rather comment on Jay’s relationship or Ludacris’s hair or Lil’ Kim’s outfit last night.,…

People need to pay attention to a PRESCEDENT being set right now… we are supporting an end to this man’s livelihood???… why??

and for the record.. I am a black woman.. I think what he said was disrespectful,but I accept his apology… he’s a bigot? “BIG SHOCK” shit at least NOW he is out with his… (I an bit really sure he is) the true VICTIMS were the women he specifically targeted and that was the basketball team… at the end of the day… THEY should determine the punishment… THEY were the ones who were wronged…

Long Live Imus and PREE SPEECH…

yes this is a small victory in a war on people who dont respect black women, and that includes black men

Why do we need to wait for Al, Jeese and Louis to make moves?? Like Ghandi said, ” YOU must be the change that you want to see in the world.” Until we take responsibility of what is going on in our communities then we can’t point the finger at anyone not even these “defenders” of the Black community…

201. DAMIEN said: “…But I’ve seen Al Sharpton in action and he ain’t on the level of the black leadership we had during the rise of the civil rights movement either.”

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You should get a copy of Al Sharpton’s speech at Rosa Park’s funeral! He may not be everybody’s leader, but God is definetly using this brother to deliver some strong messages!!

I know you want to short change Al and Jesse, but my beliefs fall in line with them on many occasions! Al has that “by any means necessary approach” and Jesse tries to be the great orator!

Listen, the day of civil rights leadership is long gone! The leader today is anyone who will stand for civil justice! And, for me that could even be someone with blonde hair and blue eyes!

Martin’s dream was that civil rights be given to all people! Since his great speach, there have been many white men and women who have devoted their lives to his cause! If Jimmy Carter wants to build houses in poor black communities…then he’s my leader! If Oprah uses her money to build schools in poor countries, then she’s my leader! If Hillary Clinton wants to insure health care for all citizens, then she my leader! And, if Al and Jesse want to call for the dismissal of someone who calls our sisters and daughters “nappy-headed hoes”, then their my leaders!

In other words, the modern day leaders are those who stand up for the cause of justice!

All you napy headed idiots relaize he didn’t do anything wrong. Al napy headed Sharpen is the one who does nothing to help anyone but himself, same goes for Jessie Jack__f. We will never eleminte Racism in this country until we quit talking and seperating the color of People when it comes to statistics and crime rates and everything else used to Seperate US. We are all the same, just some ass heades mixed into it, which are all colors…….

I am referring to #164 Foxxy380

I don’t care about Imus statement because I know who I am and I know my self worth.

As for his statement effecting children. We as parents have to raise our children to know BULLSH** when they hear it and to be comfortable in their own skin and to know their own self worth. Then when they hear statements or any other derogatory words concerning their race then they will know how to handle the BULLSH*%. Just like when we send our children to school to get an education well its job to make sure that they are educated about racism.

You can not change the way people view you no matter how you dress it up you will always be a nappy headed, colored, n-word, & etc. in their eyes and mind. You being from the SOUTH should know that.

No I’m not saying you sould be humiliated over and over again. I’m saying that this SH#! will still be going on as long as we live. No matter how much we protest against it; It will still exist. Rather they are saying it out loud or in their minds. The mentality is here to stay and you being the person you are have to raise above it and just be you.

Imus being suspended haven’t prove anything and no matter what a person says or do, you should never wish bad on anybody rather you agree with their views, behavior, or whatever the case maybe. We have to be the better person to LET GO and LET GOD.

I watch videos all I see is women doing what they have a right to do, is make their own decisions to participate in those videos. I’m not here to judge what anyone chooses to do to survive, have fun, or get exposure.

I love TUPAC, TI, UGK, NELLY, LUDACRIS, RICH BOY and a few others. In reality what they say about some women are true. There are women who are bit%$es, hoes, and etc. I know many women who are like that and that is their CHOICE to behave like that. What a woman chooses to do is her right. Who am I to look down on her and say she is not to do that. That WOMAN is GROWN. Just because women do and say things that other people CHOOSE not to do doesn’t mean their being degraded.

No I’m not dumb I’m just a woman who believes that no one is holding a gun to these women heads making them participate in videos. Let us not forget that MEN are bit$*es and hoes too.