Physician, Heal Your Damn Self

First of all, I want to be clear that what I say here should in no way be construed as any kind of mitigating statement for Don Imus. As a black man I have cringed plenty as the result of one or another of the statements, characterizations and "jokes" from the Imus in the Morning show. (I'm not even sure why I watched the show as often as I did - often before work in the morning, ironing a uniform, switching between CNN, MSNBC and FOX for breaking news. Perhaps my interest was piqued because of Imus' irreverent attitude toward Bush.) I think his employers were justified in more than just one way in firing him. And I think once Sirius and XM Radio are done fighting over him, Imus will be just fine.

For awhile now, there has seemed to me to be a need for more discussion about the role of black hip-hop artists and comedians in the context of the broader discussion about the coarsening of American culture in general, and the demeaning of some minority communities in particular. There have been the obligatory shots fired across the bow by white Americans, to the effect of "They do it to themselves, so why should Imus have to pay?" There has already been IMO too much discussion about the perennial lightning rods of racial media stories - Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton. Yes, they were in the midst of this story, but to focus on them is just as much of a diversion from the real and deeper story here as would be dwelling too long on the man at the center of this particular storm - Don Imus. To me, the real story about the Imus affair is that it was a reality check moment - a mirror moment - a unique and potentially growth-inducing moment for Americans. And that moment must take hold and be real for black Americans and other minorities first and foremost, or we can't really expect any one else to "get it".

We have been hesitant to point the finger of culpability at the P. Diddys and Russell Simmons and Dr Dres of the world. There is a heady siren song that befuddles the thinking of otherwise upright people of color, IMO. What is that song? It is the song that says "Money means success, and don't hate those who get theirs." And "At least they're getting theirs without banging and beating (being in gangs or crime related activity)!"

Don't get me wrong; the love of money might very well be the root of all evil for the whole human species, but I am talking here about how slow and timid the minority community has been in calling out the rappers and comedians for calling us bitches and hos and mot.herfuc.kas and punk.ass fa.ggots and nigga this and nigga that, and so on, ad infinitum. Some of it may be awe at the wealth produced by the filth. A lot of it might be because of some warped sense of loyalty. I'm not here to explain it so much, but to say that I think it is high time for more looking at ourselves.

I want to have a child with my wife-to-be. I would be ashamed and mortified for a daughter of mine to watch BET television in the evening, or, for that matter, MTV Raps or VH1 latenight, or latino videos late at night, or hear half of the top-selling hip-hop dvds, or a bunch of other things. It gets a little tiresome for me that we can get so outraged at Imus, but we give Nellie and 50 cent a pass. It is hard for me to admit, but I believe their influence on the culture and psyche of the minority community is just as, if not more, caustic than the racially retrograde attitudes of some of those in more traditional positions of power. My little girl would have been confused and hurt by Imus' comments, but how long can we actually keep pretending that seeing black women dressed like, acting like and being talked to and treated like whores on music videos won't be just as, if not more hurtful and confusing?

No, I'm here to tell you, we can't pretend that. Or we shouldn't. Because although I'm hopeful that some of this outrage and social movement energy might be directed at minority comedians and rappers, I'm not sure it will be. And although I'm not here to explain the inaction as much as to advocate for ending it, I think some of the reason for our failure to address "our own" is a pathological need to be victims of "the white man". After all, if we listen to the Bill Cosbys of this world telling us to police ourselves, to some folks' twisted way of thinking that might let "the white man" off the hook. (And let me acknowledge that there are black leaders who have consistently spoken out about the filth that minority "entertainment" has inflicted on itself. Just not enough. Or loud enough.)

So I'll end much the way I began. Please don't take this as some kind of commiseration with Imus or any other white public figure who gets caught being racist or sexist. Or some kinds of blanket condemnation of all black rappers or rap music or all minority leaders or anything like that. I just wanted to say I think we can and should be more aggressive about policing ourselves, and this latest thing with Imus brought that, among other things, forcefully home to me.