Burning Man [UPDATED]

Does anyone catch a smell of human sacrifice?

And whose sins has Don Imus been chosen to die for?  What is going on here?   The reaction seems so disproportionate to the offense, which was, basically, an old white guy trying feebly to talk like a rapper.  Imunem.  (Pronounced "I'm an M."  That can be any M-word you want it to be.)

I mean -- I'm linking to it for the second time -- go read this and then come back and tell me Imus is a capital offender. He's just a jerk!  He should apologize and make amends to those basketball gazelles, sure, but why is he, of his whole populous class of offenders, getting his throat cut on the altar?  And Jesse Jackson getting all high and mighty about it, that's funny!

The selective sanctimony of our society is stupefying.

This is the third sudden, overwhelming wave of mass revulsion we've seen recently.  O.J. Simpson, James Frey, and now Don Imus.  The revulsion against O.J.'s vulturous book project was appropriate, and a relief; if people hadn't been able to feel outrage about that, it would've been scary.  Frey lied, nobody died, but the truth was the first casualty.  In each case, there was a sense of saturation, of critical mass about it:  people had had it almost up to their craws with celebrity entitlement and mercenary truthiness, and then, bingo:  a last straw.  This seems to be the same sort of phenomenon:  we've been swallowing so much crass, crude, rude, cruel crap for so long, it was just finally time to vomit, and Imus was the one who stuck his middle finger down our throat.

The outrage should be redirected from the hapless scapegoat to . . . what or whom?  That's the problem.  Who's to blame?  The spirit of the age?  If you burned it in effigy, who would it look like? Imus wasn't its worst mouthpiece, by a long shot.

(Watch reader_iam's space.  Blogger was down, for her and maybe others, so we talked on the phone.  She had heard, on MSNBC, a hint of what sounded an awful lot like monopolistic corporate collusion to censor speech, the big animals at the Peacock and the Eye getting together to seal Imus's fate.  She'll tell you more, I hope.)

-- Oh -- the thing that maybe freaked me out about it the most:  I heard someone, I think Tucker Carlson, say solemnly, in almost hushed tones, "Barack Obama said he should be fired," as if that had been the deciding factor, the nod that dropped the blade.  Who is Barack Obama all of a sudden?  God?  King Solomon?  Emperor Nero?  Ann Althouse has commented that she finds Obama bland, and I do think his shoulders look narrower and his voice sounds less resonant and authoritative the more of this absurdly outsized expectation is heaped on him.

Have we gone crazy?

UPDATE:  Now, of course, Imus has been dumped by CBS Radio as well.  Interesting:  I heard two black commentators on CNN, a man and a woman (I'm sorry not to have recorded their names; I'm trying to work, in the midst of multiple interruptions), both say that 1) they regretted that a more free-speech-friendly solution to this problem had not been found, and 2) they deplored the double standard that does not hold black rappers to equal account.  Bravo!!

[YAY!  Let out of school!  The editor of the article I'm working on just e-mailed, "It's your birthday??  Stop working immediately!  Especially since that article's probably getting postponed to the next issue."  LET"S PARTY . . . ]

Comments

[Tom Strong]

It's just a slow news week. Personally, I'm more interested in the David Sedaris "scandal."

[amba]

What David Sedaris "scandal"?

[XWL]

Who says you can't rely on Wikipedia?

In their entry on Sedaris, under criticism it has links to a TNR article on allegations of made up events in his non-fiction narratives. Sort of a Frey-lite controversy.

Footnoted wiki entries to credible sources are solid, the other entries, not so much.

Plus a lot of wiki vandalism happens, and sometimes it takes awhile for editors to correct.

Basically wikis fail where substance and controversy are a potential problem.

But for stuff like Sedaris, wikis rock.

And, Happy Birthday, having them always beats the alternative.

[amba]

Yeah, "better to be over the hill than under it!"

It really is a hill, that's the funny thing. When you're climbing it all you can see is the slope in front of your face and the peak you're striving for. It never occurs to you in the first half of life that there's a "down side" to it.

First half of life all you can think about is sex (oh, and maybe fame), second half all you can think about is death. Because you can see it waiting for you -- the hill isn't in the way!

[amba]

P.S., I always figured David Sedaris was at least exaggerating for comic effect. He never claimed to be telling the gospel truth, did he? Or did he?

[Tom Strong]

The full story is here.

(Apologies for the threadjack, BTW.)

[realpc]

I used to watch the Imus MSNBC show when something important was going on, because the people involved would call him. He was like Larry King, knowing everyone. When the other news programs were showing Anna Nicole Smith from every angle, hour after hour, you could get actual news on the Imus show.

i try to find out what's going on in the world while getting ready for work in the morning. Of course I listen to NPR while driving. Morning network TV news is all about American Idol or some new survivor show. CNN isn't too bad, but you don't hear the kind of real interviews Imus would get.

Imus wasn't a genius, just someone who had been lucky and was around for ages. He used his good fortune to marry a sexy young wife, but also to help sick children, I guess under her influence. She led him in a good direction, and he really cared about the things they were involved in. Like trying to find causes of autism, for example.

The show was informative at times, and some of the skits were funny. Sometimes it was terribly boring, and then I would change to CNN. Now CNN is the only choice. What can I watch when CNN fixates on the next Anna Nicole?

A lot of people are probably assuming Imus is some kind of right-wing bigot. Actually he has no extreme political views and is more or less a Democrat.

[Daniel DiRito]

Frankly, we are fast becoming the epitome of a Jerry Springer society. It seems to have become more important to have an audience and notoriety when confronting conflict than it is to attain resolve and mutual respect. That model seems to serve the needs of the exploited and those who seek to exploit; reinforcing all that relegates objectivity to the outhouse while making the frailty and imperfection of the human condition a spectacle that harkens back to the Coliseum.

This situation isn’t and shouldn’t be about whether liberals or conservatives, this race or that race, hip hop or honky-tonk, one group or another, are more offensive and therefore more responsible for all that is wrong with America. I am not capable of judging the whole of Don Imus nor am I capable of crafting a recipe to fix all of America…and neither are the countless pundits and partisans who have sought to frame it so.

I’m not a religious person…but I often find kinship with the imagery surrounding the portrayal of one called Jesus and his teachings of understanding and forgiveness. For all the banter I hear about the Bible and Christian values, it certainly seems to me that we are fast abandoning what many view as the sacred “tablets” in favor of the sacrosanct tabloids. If I’m right, all I can say is heaven help us.

Read more about the dynamics that lead a situation to become larger than the sum of its parts…here:

www.thoughttheater.com

[amba]

abandoning what many view as the sacred “tablets” in favor of the sacrosanct tabloids.

Touché!

[realpc]

[we are fast abandoning what many view as the sacred “tablets”]

Not all that fast, in my opinion. The Old Testament prophets had the same complaint, thousands of years ago. And our civilization is much more compassionate now than it was then.

[Danny]

I find the cancellation of Imus's TV show (the radio show stays...for now) surprising and hypocritical. My guess is that ratings were way down anyway and it was a good excuse for the network. Barack Obama should have commented on the topic if he felt like it, but refrained from decreeing that Imus should be fired. All of this recent hysteria about words uttered by public personalities scares me as much as the panic that ensued when Janet Jackson flashed her boob for two seconds. Our society is going bonkers.

That said, I can't stand Don Imus and I'm glad his show is off the air even though I think the "reason" is over-the-top. What he said about the players on the Rutgers team was appalling and he should have been criticized.

But the comments about the David Sedaris so-called controversy? Yikes, if it's a crime to embellish a few facts here and there when you're writing about your life, I think we all better turn ourselves in to the authorities. To me, it's all about the "spirit of the truth." What's truth, anyway?

[Tom Strong]

In case it wasn't clear, I think the allegations against Sedaris (also brought up here are both silly and boring.

Just not as silly and boring as the Imus "scandal."

[reader_iam]

Actually, the viewership for the Imus show on MSNBC had not been dropping. It had gained about 100,000 viewers over the past year, this past week not counted, when the audience recorded for, I think, Tuesday's show increased by something like 50%.

However, the show was only moderately profitable for MSNBC, which paid CBS about $4 million bucks to simulcast the radio show and spent something like 500,000 annually to produce the broadcast. But carrying the show had more to do with gaining a toehold for MSNBC and (ironically) reputation, rather than profits.

CBS's situation is different. Also, the radio show draws millions of listeners. Haven't checked out the profit/cost issue there yet.

[reader_iam]

Obviously, I finally gave up on getting into Blogger last night. Then I had to get to work this morning. I think my post got overtaken by events! But we'll see.

[reader_iam]

Bob Herbert has a very powerful column this morning (in Times Select jail). The question may be why Imus wasn't yanked before this. Herbert refers to a 60 Minutes piece from 1998.

MSNBC has been broadcasting Imus' show in the morning for 11 years, since the network's start.

[reader_iam]

Apparently, the Imus show is worth about $15 million in annual revenues to CBS.

[reader_iam]

Apparently, that $15 million isn't enough.

CBS has fired Imus.

"There's been much discussion about what effect language like has on young people..."

[karen]

There was a cartoon in our paper that had a dude in bed- his radio alarm went off w/the words *nappy-headed*(underneath it said *Free Speech*). The dude reached over and shut his radio off(under which read *Free Choice*).

[realpc]

I feel sorry for Imus and his family.

[Matt]

All right... Forget the work and PARTY! Happy b-day...!

[Melinda]

First half of life all you can think about is sex (oh, and maybe fame),

Uh-oh...no more sex and fame? Darn.

Sex and death. What's that line? "After death, you're not nauseous."

Happy belated birthday!

[Pastor_Jeff]

Juan Williams on NPR this morning also pointed out that civil rights leaders have been quick to condemn Imus but noticably silent about the same "offensive, demeaning and dehumanizing" words in rap music.

How about if we just all agree to condmen the glorification of "thug life" no matter where it comes from?

[realpc]

Pastor Jeff,

It's very different when it's a rich old white man making the comments. I can, sort of, understand the outrage.

On the other hand, they should have considered that Imus is not a racist, did not mean anything hateful by the comment. I'm sure most people who never saw the show are assuming the remark was made in anger, but it wasn't.

Imus is rich and famous mostly because of his gnarly personality, and some of the show's comedy involves hurling insults around. I guess they got carried away.

Rap singers shouldn't be so vulger, but it isn't racism to insult your own race. Of course, they are terribly sexist and no one complains about that.

This incident demonstrates how suddenly a public figure can fall, even after 40 years. I find this kind of puzzling. How did he go for so long without going too far?

[Randy (Internet Ronin)]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBA!!!

Put down the mouse, back away from the computer and go have a marvelous time doing whatever it is you want to do today.

[Pastor_Jeff]

It's very different when it's a rich old white man making the comments. I can, sort of, understand the outrage.

I totally agree with you. I just wish Jackson and Sharpton could spare some of their outrage to talk honestly about the corrosive effects of rap. Where did Imus learn to call women "ho" in the first place?

[karen]

"Rap singers shouldn't be so vulger, but it isn't racism to insult your own race."

What IS it called when people of the same race insult e/other over their origins in this country? Whether geographically, topographically or geneologically(nice, eh?) same race racism is there.

My daughter goes to school w/a racist kid- he's always downing blacks- and he's black(or should i P/C as Afro-American?). She calls him the black racist kid. He's funny(thinks he is?Trying to be?), but- what does he expect to get out of it? Others to talk as he does which will confirm something to him? Isn't that what Borat did- as a spoof and folks went along?

[realpc]

As I said, I have watched the Imus show now and then over the years. I think most of the people who are angry at him never saw or heard his show. I never had the impression that he's racist or sexist at all.

I just read an article at The Nation saying the Imus show was the best serious news show on commercial TV, and I agree. I am the kind of person who loves dry discussions on public TV and non-fiction books. I don't like popular culture very much. And I found that the Imus show was the most interesting news I could watch during my morning exercise.

He's like Larry King in that he knows just about every powerful famous person, having been around so long. John Kerry is a close friend, for example. They would call his show and talk about serious subjects.

Imus was against the Iraq war from the beginning, by the way. He is thoughtful and moderate politically. I never heard anything on the show that I thought was stupid.

It was not always interesting, but the other morning news shows are so incredibly bad (unless you really want to see Anna Nicole's dead body day after day after day).

Imus is not a snooty intellectual. His persona is a miserable grouchy old guy with a good heart and a dynamic young wife to keep him in line. He and his guys play the insult game, and they're pretty good at it. They love country music and insults -- you could probably find the same scene in millions of bars across America. It's normal life mixed with serious politics.

[Tom Strong]

PJ,

I don't know about Sharpton - well I do, he's pretty funny - but Jesse Jackson has "spared some of his outrage" to criticize misogyny in gangsta rap.

I also think those who would criticize rap as a genre need to be more careful to not criticize all of it. There's a lot of good hip-hop out there, both musically and ethically. Yet the whole genre gets subjected to this sort of criticism, which is ridiculous. How many people go around talking about the "corrosive effects of rock n' roll" nowadays?

[GN]

Consider Al Sharpton and his history.

Consider Jesse Jackson and his history

Consider Imus and his history

Each is looking for recognition, strokes and bucks.

We are giving it to all of them.

The subject of "free speech" is an important one ... way too important to be wasted on any of these three guys .... and I am an Imus fan.

All three have done some rather disgusting things in the public view; all three have done some rather wonderful and gracuious things in the public view. All three have profited in one form or another from the good and bad. None of the three are really worthy of being the centerpiece of a freedom of speech debate.

I think, that if MLK, had breath again ... he would waste none of it on this debate as a vehicle toward freedom oof anything.

All of the players here, including the network (cable and radio) are being enriched by this farce. The best actors in this play have been the girls from the B'Ball team.

[reader_iam]

"Rap singers shouldn't be so vulger, but it isn't racism to insult your own race."

The adjective has taken over the noun. Is no one else noticing the [exclusivist] framing? That works, perhaps, in terms of racism. But ... but ... but ... what about the other word ... the noun?

Interesting to watch this debate over the course of this week. Marked more diversity in terms of race on cable news, at least. But not in terms of women (that may have gone in other the direction, but that's just impression, so take that caveat as the major one it should be).

This is well on its way to being framed as entirely a racial issue. (And, make no mistake, I'm not saying it's not a racial issue. Of course it is. And... ?)

What does that leave out?

Who benefits?

What problems does that solve?

[Danny]

What?? I don't know who realpc has been listening to, but every time I found myself watching Don Imus's TV simulcast I was horrified at his hideous sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. Sure, maybe a lot of that was part of his shtick but it was ugly, ugly stuff. His comments about Hillary Clinton alone were so vile I usually couldn't take much of it. Does he really believe she is "worse than Osama bin Laden?"

I DID believe his apology about the Rutgers comment was sincere but I'm taking back my opinion that he shouldn't have been fired over it. If he'd been arrested for his comments, then it would have been a free speech issue. But he wasn't arrested, he was fired from his commercial job, which his employers had EVERY RIGHT to do. Sure, the media and political feeding frenzy was hypocrisy at its best, but let's not start passing the hat for Mr. Imus. He made his own bed.

[realpc]

"I was horrified at his hideous sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. "

If that were true, I would have noticed. I am Jewish and have always been terrified of anti-semitism, having grown up at a time when it was scary. I am a non-traditional female, so sexism is also dangerous to me. And I have close relatives who are gay.

So how could I possibly have missed all of that?

On the other hand, it's true that I despise exaggerated political correctness. I think I can usually tell the difference between comments that are innocent jokes and comments that are vicious and hateful. I think there are a lot of people now days who can't tell the difference.

On the other, other hand, the "nappy headed hos" comment was not funny, and was out of line. When you have a live show and you specialize in hurling insults around (and Imus was as often the target as the source of the insults), I guess this kind of comment can slip out.

I am not defending Imus, just trying to show a different angle, from someone who actually watched it many times.

[karen]

Ludacris: i got this off malkin's blog- she posted on what B'Obama had to say about all this.

I don't know if it's appropriate w/out clean-up- but, this is how she posted it:

[Repeat 1x]
"Ho" came out in 2000. Then there's that other Ludacris classic, "Move Bitch." Here's the chorus and first verse of that:

[whistling]

[Chorus 2x: Ludacris]

Move bitch, get out the way
Get out the way bitch get out the way
Move bitch, get out the way
Get out the way bitch, get out the way

[Ludacris]
OH NO! The fight's out
I'ma 'bout to punch yo...lights out
Get the fuck back, guard ya grill
There's somethin' wrong, we can't stay still
I've been drankin' and bustin' two
and I been thankin' of bustin' you
Upside ya motherfucker forehead
And if your friends jump in, "Ohhh gurrlll", they'll be mo' dead
Causin' confusion, Disturbin Tha Peace
Since not into lution', we run in the streets
So bye-bye to all you groupies and golddiggers
Is there a bumper on your ass? NO NIGGA!
I'm doin' a hundred on the highway
So if you do the speed limit, get the fuck outta my way
I'm D.U.I., hardly ever caught sober
and you about to get ran the fuck over

[Pastor_Jeff]

Jesse Jackson has "spared some of his outrage" to criticize misogyny in gangsta rap.

Tom, I'm glad to hear it. I wasn't aware of the info at the link -- although the mention of Jackson's gansta-rap criticism was from 13 years ago.

I liked Jackson's quote: "Anyone, white or black, calling our women bitches and our people niggers, will have to face the wrath of our indignation."

I guess I haven't heard that language from Jackson recently. If that's still his focus, then good for him, and I'm sorry I misspoke.