Truemors
Don Imus, the ex-radio host who just settled with CBS for 20
million, is now being sued by a member of the Rutger's women's
basketball team. She claims that Imus' remarks "damaged her
reputation". So here's a question: Is it possible to damage the
reputation of someone that, until the remarks were made, no one knew?
What Don Imus said may have been out of line, but can anyone really listen to that and call him a racist? It was clearly a
satirization of the culture. Not to mention that black guests
frequented the program and that kids of all races attend his camp. But
when he said those things, was it mean spirited? The answer is no.
So
now Imus is fired. I don't think he should have been. A suspension
would have been fine. I'm happy to hear that he's negotiating to get
back on the air. But this lawsuit is completely without merit.
We
need to learn, as a society, that we cannot hurl lawsuits against those
that offend us. That's just not the way it works. It's not your right not
to be offended. Everyone will be offended in their life. I won't even
get into the double standard, but i'm sure that some white folks have
been offended by the act of Dave Chappelle or Carlos Mencia.
But
I think both of those gentlemen are funny. I won't stop them from
satirizing white culture...because satire is funny and it's not mean
spirited. And restricting free speech (which includes satire or parody)
is most certainly not funny. That's something that shouldn;t be ignored.
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