Physician, Heal Your Damn Self

...and they did it marvelously well, I thought.

That was exactly how it evolved. All this talk about their feelings being hurt, Imus earning redemption, are the women going to forgive him? Meeting with him to talk about it and how they will decide whether or not to forgive him... Why would he need forgiveness unless they were presenting themselves as victims of some wrong?

Wouldn't it have been great if they had come out laughing and talking in an upbeat way about how Imus doesn't know anything.

HAAAA! Jason Whitlock (Kansas City Star / AOL) is on CNN right now saying exactly what I'm saying and that we have given Imus too much power ... Imus doesn't define us. Has he been reading my posts?

And hopefully he doesn't define US.

True, Snood. Now going back to your original post, I think that black women (and men) need to rail against the stereotypes that are perpetrated by the black rap culture. The way to do that is with their wallets. If they stop buying that junk, black misogynists won't get rich off the hatred of some.

If all people of good will, whether white or black, male or female, protest that demeaning women is offensive to everyone, then little black boys won't grow up believing that women are bitches and hos.

This, I think, is dead on.

Control of language is a powerful thing. Politicians know it, Shakespeare knew it, now Don Imus knows it.

A lot of focus has been put on black entertainers, but there are certainly a lot of examples of misogyny in the rest of the media as well.

Try watching Boston Legal.


And there are members of the black community fighting back. Female rappers, in particular.

Thanks, DrewDad - it's important in addressing this not to lose sight of those who have been fighting the good fight all along, and continue now...

I certainly agree with my bride to an extent but EVERYONE is a victim at one time or another and everyone has the potential to become a victim just any old time.

The Irish aren't victims but in turn of the Century America they were... shanty white trash looked down on by everyone and relegated to **** positions and poverty. Mexicans? Victimized right now as we speak. Plain old white people? Look at your history. sliced, diced, raped and pillaged in England by every country and peoples on the Eurioean continent, including the Moors. The Druids were wiped out in a DAY. We all get our turn in the barrel. Chat with an American Indian.

As far as teaching people how to treat us, that is true to an extent but some people are born to situations where they are never given a chance to teach people anything positive about themselves, because basically no one gives a ****.

When I was young I watched Kojak and Naked City therefore thought that if I were to go to there I would surely be mugged or shot while walking down the street or God forbid stepped on to a subway. of course, that's nonsense. Most people in new York city spend their entire lives there and nothing more happens to them than happens to me in my little affluent section of North Raleigh.

Go to the Mid West and (East St Louis aside) you'll see less black people in a day traveling the state of Missouri than I see at the mall here in Raleigh on a Saturday afternoon. Even more disproportiante the farther West you go I would think.

So where do all these caucasian youth get their impression of what black people are about? Television, popular music, and magazines that feature money, pussy and bling as the things to aspire to. What do you expect?
And blacks who wish to empower themselves perpetuate this stereotype ON PURPOSE.... in partnership with white publishing and record executives in many cases. These rappers are selling their own people just like some African tribal leaders did 400 years ago.

When rap first came on the scene I liked it. It was rebellious and it was black youth finding and expressing themselves and their angst and anger, and so what? We listened to Led Zeppelin and look how well we turned out. But then it went from rap music to "Hip Hop Culture" and individuals saw there was a tremendous amount of money to be made, especially if it could be crossed over and marketed to the white kids. So, like everything else it was taken to it's lowest common denominator and now we have bitches, hos', and wiggers. Problem is, even black kids are laughing at these pathetic little dj Trevors running around with their hats to the back and tying to pose as inner city black thugs.

plain truth is, given the opportunity EVERYONE is hateful and racist, and at different times in history someone is the F**ker and someone is the f**kee. Let me add that there are people who have evolved past that. We usually kill them.

I have said on these threads before that I was brought up a minority white kid in a slum area and the black kids beat me up and called me a white bitch at every opportunity and the white kids in the neighborhoods that bordered mine told me to go back and hang with the rest of the niggers when I attempted tointeract with them. People, all people are a lovely group and that certainly seems to cross all lines of race, religion etc.

The thing being completely overlooked here, the number one problem and the biggest problem I have with Imus, Mencia, Ludacris, whoever, is that their schtick is just stupid. Someone was going to get nailed for this **** and it just happens to be Imus. Could have been someone else. there will be another week or so of discussion and then things will return to status quo, people will continue to make stupid jokes at the expense of others and nothing will change really.

Unless we try to stop being stupid and realize that the majority of black people are not crack addicts and thus, and the majority of white people are not confederate flag flying redneck crackers, that all Mexicans aren't illegal immigrant welfare cheats, and that all Middle Eastern people aren't Al Queida sympathizers.

but hell, what if we stopped being stupid? That wouldn't sell any records, magazines, fashion or boost media ratings.... and without media ratings... no advertising revenue.

Will we ever wise up? I doubt it. Not collectively. But if everyone would just TRY, just DO THEIR BEST, to wise up individually, then that would certainly go a long way to changing things. In fact, it's the only way really.

BPB:



Word



As a rule, I'd agree, but this latest episode (sort of like the effect Obama's candidacy has on me) actually has me hoping for substantive change.


Someone else said this earlier. something to the effect of "That's all the kids want to listen to, Snood." And I know what you mean, and I know there's a lot of truth in that. But that's not going far enough, IMO. the same could be said about those who thought Imus and Mencia are oh-so-witty. "That's all they want to hear" just doesn't cut it for me.



Word

When the white bitch is right, the white bitch is right.

I take offense at that attack on whites and women, DD.

I see the effects of the misogynistic gangster culture everywhere, most prominently in elementary school. We pulled my daughter out of her first pre-k class (pre-k!) because two boys were chasing her and grabbing her butt (among other things). They were just kids, but who taught them to do that? She was clearly confused -- wanting to make friends and be liked but not sure where the boundaries were or what was acceptable for her or for them. The teachers weren't paying enough attention nor were they discouraging it. Rather, because she's a "tough girl" they thought she could hold her own. Well, I certainly want her to be able to hold her own, but I don't want her having to deal with gender issues at the ripe old age of 4. This is where I really relate to what Snood had to say about having a daughter and I really feel sorry for little kids whose parents don't have the resources to find them a better learning environment.

I think I know what you're saying. He says "it's not about white people..." and then "white people own hip hop". Is that it? Saying let's take responsibility in one breath but it's the white man's fault in the next?

Exactly, FreeDuck.

How about "we have to take responsibility for ourselves, AND it's a fact that the hiphop moguls are white." I can live with both assertions.

Sure.

This isn't whole fact. There are a lot of big rapper names who started their own companies to get away from the "white man". Dr. Dre and Jay-Z to name a few. It is these guys who are running a majority of the big names in rap today. While I'm sure the big record companies have a part in the production of what goes on, they don't have the same level of control as they used to. It is the rappers of old who are the new producers and promoters of the young kids of today.

actually Larry, Death Row records, while owned by dre and suge knight, was part of the interscope group, distibuted by no less a white mogul than David Geffen among other white partners.

Snood
I tip my hat to you.

I've never been able to understand why slander--even topical, up-to-the-moment-slander--is supposed to be thigh-slapping funny.

Of course, I'm an elitist. I believe there is such a concept as Poor Taste and that Poor Taste should be unacceptable.

I'm all for free speech--but I also support civilized discourse.