Cycloptichorn wrote:Thomas wrote:OCCOM BILL wrote:Because this time the customers got mad. Seems like a simple business decision to me. Less popular= less valuable. They acted accordingly.
I'm not arguing with this. But why is it that this time the customers got mad? That's what I'm not getting. Where they so stupid it took them 11 years to noitice that Imus said offensive things? Where they so insensitive it took them 11 years to start being bothered? That's what I'm not getting.
But, was it actually the customers themselves who got mad? I can't find any evidence that this is true unless you extrapolate 'customers' to mean 'a bunch of people who don't identify themselves as Imus listeners.'
His customers probably have known his behavior for a long time - and had no problem with it.
Cycloptichorn
Right again!
A trend?
Unless one defines his customers as his advertisers.
Listeners of his show tune in to hear the very sort of comment that has gotten him in so much trouble. Anyone who tries to argue that all of the other comments were OK but this one was over the line is disingenuous at best.
This one took him down because Jesse Jackson, and, more importantly, Al Sharpton called for his scalp. The irony is delicious, but the effect is a bit disturbing.
As large a couple of hypocrites as Jackson and Sharpton may be they certainly have every right to call for the firing of Don Imus. This is not censorship just as it isn't censorship when parents call for the firing of some flaming Liberal professor who applauds a plane flying into the Pentagon.
It's disturbing because if our collective skin is so thin as to find these comments intolerable then we are in danger of bleeding out from rubbing up against a cotton ball.
Why does anyone care what Don Imus says? How is he capable of ruining the moment for the Rutgers' women's basketball team?
He's not a public official. He's not a recognized private citizen of heroic proportions. He's not someone anyone should want their child to grow up to become.
He, like so many Rap Stars, is an entertainer.
I may have missed it, but I don't think either Sharpton or Jackson have led any movements against rap stars whose lyrics make the comments of Imus seem like a nursery rhyme.
OK, let's stipulate that African-Americans somehow have the right to use racist terms because they, as Blacks, are the targets of racism. However they also seem to get a free pass on their sick misogynistic lyrics. How so? They ain't "Hos" themselves.
I don't, for a minute, feel sorry for Imus. Become a millionaire by the sword, get fired by the sword.
I admit that I enjoyed listening to him from time to time. He was a Liberal Redneck, and a self-absorbed ass, but he has a sharp wit and I get a kick out of raw humor. One need not be in favor of violence to appreciate Punch & Judy.
I never got angry over what he said anymore than I have ever gotten angry over what Rosie O'Donnell says.
They are paid clowns, both of whom believe they are more substantial than any sane person could ever imagine.
Allowing their inane comments to effect one's life is not favorable testimony to the vitality of that life.