Initial postings of doom!

Hello world.

After keeping up with the news the past few years, I find myself getting more and more frustrated with growing trend of political correctness that is sweeping the country. It takes form in countless ways, and now we as a people have to watch what we say and do like never before. This blog is simply meant as a way for me to chronicle the latest uproars caused by whatever careless remark has been made, and hopefully to encourage discussion on what is and isn't 'right' in America.

I'm going to say things that are going to rub some people the wrong way. Fortunately for me, chances are those kinds of people aren't going to be frequenting a blog bashing political correctness. If something I say offends you, please feel free to respond so I can feature it in my next post and further prove my points.

In any case, it would seem that a good way to start this blog off is a look at the latest offense du jour, Don Imus. For those who don't follow the news, (hopefully none of you, soon-to-be faithful readers) he's under fire for this exchange on his nationally syndicated radio talk show:

"That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos ..." -Imus

"Some hardcore hos," -Bernard McGuirk (Imus' producer)

"That's some nappy headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," -Imus

Imus was referring to the Rutgers Womens Basketball team, that had lost in the NCAA finals the day before. The team contains 8 black players.

So obviously there's been a whole big uproar, led by (guess who) Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Imus isn't a stupid man, and apologized two days later on the air, saying repeatedly that he isn't racist, and that the joke was inappropriate and went way too far. The radio station that he is based on has suspended him for 2 weeks, which I think is a fair punishment. Far more so than, say, the whole Rush Limbaugh on ESPN fiasco; the comments in this case are deserving of the punishment. Imus has also been very classy since, apologizing pretty much every 15 minutes, he's been in contact with the team and will be physically meeting with them soon, and he even went as far as to appear on Sharpton's radio show. Sharpton used the opportunity to repeatedly tell Imus that he should be fired, and also used the time to bash on the media in general. (the same media that bends over itself to make sure that he has the airtime he so craves)

However, there are still cries for Imus' termination, primarily from the Sharpton/Jackson camps. It's important to remember that this is a man who on his show has called Colin Powell a "weasel" and other times referring to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as a "fat sissy" and former Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, an American Indian, as "the guy from `F Troop.' However, as is common today, a joke at African-Americans' expense is front page news. I'll readily admit that a race joke is on a different level that, say, a fat joke. A person who calls a black man a 'nigger' with the intent on belittling him for his skin color is wrong. Period. I just don't understand why there are people who will jump on the soapbox the second they feel the least bit slighted, but are suspiciously absent when the content changes. For example, it's worth noting that you never hear about how Jesse Jackson called New York City 'Hymie Town' during his 1984 presidential run. Or how about Carlos Mencia, who makes his living insulting people based on race? Would he be as successful if he was white? No. (Not that I'm complaining. Mencia is my favorite currently active comedian; he is a funny, funny man.)

It's also interesting about how we don't hear anything about McGuirk, who was the one who brought out the 'ho' first. If I was was a part of the team, I think that would be the part that would insult me the most, because he's referring to the team as a whole, and kind of belittling the women's basketball sport in general. But nope, it's all about race. I wonder if any of the white players have anything to say about it, but you'll never know, because all that's being reported is quotes like the one from team member Matee Ajavon: 'It kind of scars us. We grew up in a world where racism exists, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. I think that this has scarred me for life.'
<(Edit)> After a little more reading, it seems that there are women's rights groups moving in. They only seem to warrant a line or two deep within the articles, so don't for a second think that this is becoming anything more than a race issue.

Imus' comment was wrong. However, I think its also wrong that certain people are after his head for a comment that, in the end, was said spur-of-the-moment in jest. I'll be watching very closely as to what's reported after he meets with the team later on. I don't believe that he'll be fired in the end, and that's good. But you can bet your ass that we'll be hearing about it for some time after the station passes its final word.