Here I go again with some pointless rambling...
Freedom of Speech. It's something that we have here in America, but not everyone who has this right realizes that with this freedom comes responsibility. A responsibility to not say things that can cause damage. As I tell my munchkins, Thing 1 and Thing 2, calling names is just like hitting, only with words.
Case in point. The North Carolina stripper, who with mere words accused some Duke University Lacrosse players of raping her. She did this a year ago, and a zealous District Attorney went after the accused as if they were guilty, which good zealous DA's ought to. But there was no truth behind her words, and the lives of these innocent young men have been an effective hell for the last year. Not to mention the coach that was fired, the program that was suspended, the jobs that were lost, and the lives that were otherwise impacted by the allegations and subsequent witch hunt. All over what she had to say. And the last I heard, there were to be no charges filed against her, when it was she that caused the most amount of hurt and emotional trauma. It turns out that she raped them in the end.
Another case in point. Don Imus. I see that he got fired today over referring to members of the Rutgers University Womens Basketball team by some rather degrading terms. One of the players commented in the media that they have been scarred for life. Don Imus was fired today, apparently after it CBS figured out that it would not be able to attract enough sponsors for his radio show.
Should Imus have been fired? Yes. Freedom of Speech does not grant him the ability to do what he did any more than the Freedom to Bear Arms grants him the ability to sit in a hotel window with a sniper rifle and shoot people. He needs to be held accountable, and I am glad that he was. A 2-week suspension would have only been temporary, but quickly forgotten. His action should not be forgotten. I'm just disappointed that it was because of money. I am quite certain that if this issue could have blown over quickly, he'd be right back in the saddle, driving the cash dump truck for CBS.
But part of me also thinks that his use of these derogatory terms should just be ignored. Why? Because they're not true. They only hurt someone if they CHOOSE to be hurt. Consider Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern. When someone talks like such an ass, people tend to ignore them because they see them for what they are. So when Imus throws out some racially and gender insensitive comments, it merely identifies him as a jackass who says stupid stuff that just isn't true.
As far as the girls on the team are concerned, I feel for them, and I can only imagine what I would feel if I were in their place. Fortunately I'm not. But if I was informed that Don Imus had just insulted me on national TV and radio, my response would have been "Who?" And why would I choose to give that jackass the power to make me feel less of a human than I am. They are not what Don Imus says they are, even if he called the Rhodes Scholar Astronauts. These girls are among the best female basketball players in the nation, and probably world.
The point is that Imus' words did not have to hurt anyone in the same way the alleged rape victim's words did. So when he does confront them, he should apologize if they chose to take offense, and point out to them that he is indeed an ass, and they should not let his words control their lives.
[ tangent ]
And while I'm ranting, I also think that there is an incredible double standard going on when Don Imus gets fired for saying something that many rap artists say in their explicit lyrics. Why is it OK for a black man to call a black woman a whore, but not for a white man to do so. This is extremely racist. I do not favor anyone calling anyone a whore, unless she factually is one. If we are not to be racist, then it should be equally NOT OK for any man - white or black - to call any woman a whore. I'm just saying.
Edit 4/13: Looks like they're ahead of me, again: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/imus_rap
[ /tangent ]
Ah well. Probably the best thing that could have happened for Michael Richards.
PS Not sure why I'm including this, but I was happy to learn today the NFL instituted a 5 yard penalty for any player who spikes or throws the ball after a play, if it is not a touchdown. C'mon, if they worked in an office, they wouldn't dance after finishing their TPS reports. It's their job to run and catch the damned ball. They're not landing on the moon. No class at all.
