the point is that imus is a rich white dude and the vast majority of his listeners are also white or conservative hispanics lol so you know it aint that cool. hes got guns. hes a gross dude im glad he lost his job. i hope snoop beats him up in front some tmz cameras.
werd!
But seriously, here's the real question. Does Whoopie saying it make it alright for Don Imus to say it? Context is key. No word has any meaning other than that meaning we agree it has, and the way it exists in relationship to other words.
Reality is subjective and the words we use to describe it form and shape it at least for ourselves as individuals.
I can't help pointing out tht Whoopie Goldberg is hardly the one to go to when you're discussing racial issues. Remember when she was with Ted Danson and the two of them thought it would be cute for him to appear in blackface?
"Danson, who starred opposite Goldberg in Made In America, cut loose with a barrage of sexual jokes, most of which dealt with Black stereotypes, and he used the term "n*****" more than a dozen times during the evening."
Whoopie's take on this?
"She pointed out that she helped write much of the material he used during the roasting and she also helped secure the make-up artist who painted his face."
Ted Danson said: "Words by themselves are not racist. Racism is a matter of intent. My intent was to amuse my dear friend, Whoopi, in what I thought was the privacy of the Friars Club.
"Words by themselves are not racist". That's an interesting way to look at it. But as a society we have agreed that certain words are negative and derogatory when spoken freely in public, and yet when spoken among people that know each other's intent they might be "amusing". Some people have a very difficult time understanding this.
Another way to look at it is that "nappy" hair is just a way to describe a particular condition, but calling someone a nappy headed ho is derogatory and demeaning. Same for many, many words.
For me, humor is judged mostly on whether or not it is actually funny. A lot of "offensive" "humor" is neither truly offensive nor humorous. It's just boring. But you can't sue someone for being boring. And we do live our lives according to what the lawyers and insurance companies tell us, so if this woman wins some of Don Imus' money and this causes some other idiot to think twice about what they say on television, radio, or print, in order to get a cheap racist laugh, then I'm all for it.
It shouldn't just apply to wealthy white males though. Everyone should think about what they are saying. With freedom comes responsibility. Words can be quite powerful, but not when you place a low value on the things you say by making stupid remarks.
It's interesting that this is connected to Chris Rock because I think he is very funny and the reason is because a lot of what he says is both "offensive" and honest. I don't think you'll ever see him saying he didn't mean something he said and was "just joking".
Anyway, if you're going to go around saying stupid things you're not going to be any kind of leader and you're not going to have any real respect. You'll be looked at as a fool, and maybe if you're lucky, a clown, but when the act wears thin, you'll just be a bore, like Don Imus. So he's really no one to emulate. In my opinion.
