The wise and all-knowing council that I meet every morning at Peet's Coffee strongly suggested that I not waste my time writing about the Don Imus fiasco. It is one of those issues where reasonable people need not spend many hours musing over whether Imus' statement crossed the line.
After all, in the 21st century he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." Case closed. But with all due respect to my omniscient council this story is too salacious to pass up.
The Imus affair reminds us of the dangers when one mixes privilege, arrogance, and ignorance--it can produce social toxins, as in this case, racism and misogyny. He has over the years offered up inflammatory, politically incorrect statements to titillate his many listeners.
I disagree with those who naïvely hold out that the incident could be the genesis of ongoing dialogue about race, class, and gender. If the aftermath of Katrina did not birth such talks why would the Imus affair be any different?
Beyond the statement itself, Imus may have demonstrated his insensitivity more by failing to comprehend the gravity of his reprehensible remarks by taking two days to apologize.
He could afford to be quite cavalier with the humanity of the women in question without having to pay any price--or so the thought. He saw them as nobodies, certainly beneath his perceived rank in life, definitely posing no threat to his syndicated shock-jock talk show.
I also found a bit of comedic irony in that Imus apologized on Al Sharpton's radio show. Imus' apology, be it forced, unrepentant, or inauthentic still trumps Sharpton who has yet, to my knowledge, publicly apologized for the 1987 media circus known as the Tawana Brawley affair.
What should happen to Imus going forward? Should the two-week suspension he received suffice? Or should he be fired? Two weeks hardly seems sufficient for one who has made a living with periodic insults that clearly cross the lines of decency.
But Imus is unique in that he attempts to walk the unstructured line between serious journalism and shock-jock. He uses well-known media figures of the chattering class to grant him legitimacy as he engages in all of the trappings of AM shock-jock talk radio.
I find the fate of many shock jocks to be reminiscent of drug dealers. Just as the fate of dealers often ends in prison or violent death, the shock jock, always in competition to outdo self, will ultimately cross the line of what is acceptable once too often.
But what is to be gained by firing Imus? I understand the visceral cries for his dismissal, but I fear this would only serve as a short-term measure that would soon fade from our collective consciousness.
Practically speaking, someone would hire him and he would no doubt add martyrdom to his list of accomplishments. The final outcome needs to be lasting--something that Imus, his followers, and other shock-jocks would remember.
I would like to see Imus attend every home game for the Rutgers women's basketball team next season. In addition, he should commit time each week on his syndicated radio show featuring the players, what life is like on the Rutgers campus, their challenges as well as their successes as student athletes.
In short, he should profile their lives on and off the court. His legion of devoted listeners should be given of heavy dose of Rutgers women's basketball next season.
Why this as opposed to firing Imus?
Among his many infractions was the dehumanization of a group of young women who just completed an improbable season that left them one victory short of a collegiate national championship. Blinded by his own arrogance he saw these young ladies as defenseless pawns that could easily be served up on a platter of banter to his early morning listeners.
Furthermore, it requires more time to restore someone's humanity than it does to carelessly tear it down. Given that Imus has spent years destroying his own humanity at the expense of others a simple apology, a two-week suspension, or dismissal may not do the trick.
Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and syndicated columnist.
E-mail him at byron@byronspeaks.com or leave a message at (510) 208-6417.