The question, to me, is not whether Imus should have been fired for his comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball players; it’s why he was fired for these comments in particular–or rather, why he, and countless other shock-jocks like him, weren’t fired sooner for any number of other immoral comments and “jokes.”
Let’s be clear: spewing insensitive and hateful invectives was Imus’ job. The tools of his trade are comments that are focused on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc., etc., etc. You almost feel bad for the guy. I’m guessing he genuinely has not clue why these comments were over the line when everything else he’s said a million other times were somehow OK. I suppose the consequences this time had to do with his targets–inspiring student athletes, rather than reviled politicians or trashy tabloid starlets–and the way the media works and how stories get picked up and amplified. But that doesn’t change the fact that Imus represents a part of our culture of which we should all be ashamed. The truth is that our talk radio waves are no place for decent human beings–and yet we’ve turned those voices of indecency into megacelebrities.
And the problem is not just the Howard Stern-wannabe morning shock jocks like Imus. Perhaps more insidious are Rush Limbaugh and his political talker ilk, people who can hide behind the veneer of focusing on high-minded public-policy and values issues while dehumanizing and degrading their targets. The careers of these political shock jocks are no less based on insult and hate than Imus’ and Stern’s. Both groups are paid to provoke–one to provoke laughs, the other to provoke indignation–but nowhere is there a value on provoking thought, dialogue, and curiosity. In her Idol Chatter piece, Nicole Symmonds blames rap music for ruining the minds of a generation of children, making vulgar talk and crude behavior mainstream among young people; I’d blame (in part only) talk radio for helping to similarly damage a generation of adults.
I am most definitely not opposed to art, or even discourse, that is edgy, potentially offensive, or unpopular; not everything needs to be affirmations and lollipops. But crass has moved from the margins to the mainstream; it is the default, the expected, and that’s where the problem is. Edgy has no edgy anymore and we are desensitized to the supposedly shocking. Imus’ show was a popular forum for respectable, mainstram politicians. There was a time in this country when political discussion was not an oxymoron; when crassness was edgy (when done cleverly) and something to be a bit embarrassed by; when members of a political party could hold diverse views–even disagreeing with their party leaders–and not be derided for it; when we could talk about the issues that divide us without painting the other as evil, resorting to distortions to put down those with whom we disagree.
The end of civility is not only the fault of talk radio, to be sure. I hate to shoot fish in a barrel by blaming the media, but the endless drivel on cable television–just a visual version of talk radio–and the noxious lawlessness of the blogosphere play their roles, along with a million other factors. But talk radio–in its political and its shock-jock forms–seems to be the granddaddy of them all, paving the way for its TV and web-based cousins to push the line even further away from anything recognizable as decency.
The defense is always that free speech protects their comments–true enough, no argument there–and that the marketplace, the money-making massive popularity of these shows is its own proof of acceptability. But our lowest common denominators shouldn’t be bar for judging community standards, nor does surrendering to our bases instincts define our morality. Now that Imus’ show is history, let’s stop the holier-than-thou condemnations and look within at the ways we’ve all contributed to the atmosphere that took the shock out of shock jock and allowed Imus–and Stern and Limbaugh and so many others–to thrive. And let’s use this moment to start a national dialogue–a real one, not a talk-radio insult-fest–about what we really want from our media.



posted April 13, 2007 at 11:20 pm
One thing I think we’ve overlooked is the feelings of the 11 young women who were ambushed by Imus’ and his colleagues’ insults. They’re feelings were hurt. They experienced pain. Although Imus has freedom speech, he should not be allowed to hurt others without understanding the pain he caused. In thinking about the brutality of the radio team’s comments, remember the line from ‘A Time to Kill,’”Imagine if [they were] white.”
posted April 14, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Well done, Mr. Kress. The endless stream of political hate speech was made possible by the rescinding of the “Fairness Doctrine”, which required hatchet-hackers like Rush Limbaugh to provide equal time for the characters he assassinates to defend themselves. There are free-speech issues here, to be sure. But why should our public discourse be dominated by the opinions, slander, and outright lies of those with the deepest pockets? It’s clear where this has led (or perhaps better, misled) our nation. We have allowed ourselves to be dumbed-down to sound bites, wedge issues, and the 1 hour news cycle while we miss the Big Picture and our nation rots from the inside out. It’s no mystery why top figures in the Executive Branch have turned to Rush Limbaugh to get their message out; he is an obedient servant to their propaganda.
posted April 15, 2007 at 4:26 am
My My My Look the liberal little weasels are coming out of their holes and starting to squeel!!!!
posted April 17, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I would put it to you that the “weasels” are those who make personal, baseless, and vicious attacks for the sole purpose of undermining thoughtful discussion and promoting their own agenda. Gee whiz, Jay. I just described YOUR post!
posted April 17, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Liberals cannot compete in the free market system of ideas. If they did Air America would be doing great, but nobody would listen. PBS is your only strong hold and that is because it is Government funded. Government is your answer to everything. NBC and the other major networks along with the major newspapers are loosing business because they are not balanced, People will not listen, and sponsors will not pay, then liberals get layed off. What a great system!!!!!
posted July 9, 2007 at 1:46 pm
HOW DARE YOU ADD RUSH TO YOUR PEOPLE LIKE IMUS & STERN.HE MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT HAVE A FILTHY MOUTH AS THOSE TWO DO.
posted October 18, 2007 at 11:38 am
It has always been a huge mistake to fire the (I MAN).When Mr Sharpton has made brutal Racial comments towards White and Jewish people and more!He wasn’t fired his sponsers or radio show wasn’t interupted either!MSMBC FOLDED UNDER FALSE PRESSUE! What needs to happen is not give Rev Jackson and Sharpton a Hipacritcal platform for attention they don’t deserve!MSMBC should have excepted Imus apology and moved forward and ignored everyone but the Basetball team!