I read some of the comments regarding my post on Imus. No surprises
there. I was struck by a few "It's a black thing and you can't
understand" posts. I thought the whole idea was that I could
understand. That's why we're bothering to discuss this.
In spite of that, some good articles in the Times op-ed, particularly Robert Wright in Saturday's paper. Wright writes about the
inevitability of this periodic moral venting we see in our culture. We
take Imus out and shoot him because he happens to be doing his thing
precisely at the time that some influential, opportunistic or (in the
case of the Rutgers team) wholly innocent and undeniably aggrieved
party says "Enough!"
Wright, Frank Rich and countless others mention Mel Gibson, Sascha
Baron Cohen, Ann Coulter. A little time in the penalty box here and
there. Some heat and kvelling from Kazakh ministers, perhaps. But no
firings. Everyone in show business knows it's a crap shoot. Les Moonves
fired Imus and South Park is just as outrageous and offensive as
anything Imus did. Yeah? So? Hollywood is the international
headquarters of moral hypocrisy. Make that joint headquarters. The East
Coast office is Capitol Hill.
Add another name to that list. The United States Department of Defense.
Let's chat about how the Army exploits economically deprived minorities
and offers them careers in the military. Cash, clothes, a car. (Don't
hold your breath for that armor plating, though.) Some of these men
have criminal records, which the Army, in order to meet recruitment
numbers, has chosen to increasingly overlook. The Army is pitched as a
chance to start your life over. To do something meaningful. To be
somebody. To be a part of something where guns and aggression and codes
of honor are taken out of the illegal gang arena and shifted over to
"serving the American people."
Don't get me wrong. We need an army. Sometimes, we need to fight to
uphold what we believe. To defend what is ours, fair and square. But
this Imus crap is just another distraction from what really matters.
The Attorney General may be a corrupt, lying hitman for the Bush-Cheney
junta. The war is a disaster that is being prolonged in order to
potentially embarrass Democrats in 2008. Global warming is now
recognized as a major and looming emergency by literally everyone on
Earth but the White House. And Republicans have a couple of real
doozies on deck to run for the presidency. And remember...electing
presidents is what Republicans do better than Democrats overall. When
they put their shoulder into it and the stars line up, they could elect
a gay sheep if they really tried.
Enough about Imus. It's over. He's gone. You feel better now?