Roker: Not In My House
Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:25 AM by Jaclyn Levin
(From Al Roker)
I don't think I've ever had more response to an online journal than yesterday.
As you may know I called for the firing/resignation of WFAN/MSNBC morning host Don Imus. This after he and his morning "Crew" referred to the Rutgers Women’s basketball team as, among other things, "nappy-headed hos." Ugly racism and sexism at its worst.
Based on the passionate responses we got from people on both sides of the issue, it seems we still, after all this time, have a long way to go in our country when it comes to race.
And, by the way, it's not like I hold a deciding vote at CBS, Inc., Mr. Imus' actual employer, or at NBC Universal, the company that owns MSNBC, and my place of employment, NBC News, as to whether Imus and company stay or go.
I was expressing an opinion, not as a member of NBC News, but as an individual online.
My freedom of speech was questioned. Some of the complaints that came in fell in that same category; I was denying Don Imus his freedom of speech. Far from it. Don Imus has the right to say whatever he wants, however hateful, stupid or uncaring. He DOES NOT have the right to say it on public airwaves or on the cable broadcast of a publicly owned company. That is a privilege, just as you do not have the right to have a license to drive a car. It is a privilege. Privileges can be revoked if certain criteria are not met.
Another point some of my critics raised was that I was holding Don Imus to a different standard than the rappers and African American comedians who traffic in the same kind of language.
Guess what? I think their speech is hateful, too. I don't condone it. Don't allow it in my home. Don't use the words. Don't go to those concerts. Those companies that profit in the demeaning of women via musical lyrics, whether rap or rock, should be put on notice, as should the radio stations that play the music. Others who have used hateful language have recently been fired from prominent radio jobs. They have been held accountable. African-Americans who believe certain elements of rap music, music videos and popular entertainment need to be more respectful toward our own should speak out and repudiate that element. I know I have, and many others have as well.
A slippery slope, to be sure, deciding what should be heard or not heard. But the difference again is, where it is heard and who is saying it and what is their intent.
A team of young women, striving to excel academically and athletically surely does not deserve to have all that they worked for, all that they sacrificed for stripped away in the name of a "comedy show," in the words of Don Imus.
Mr. Imus misspoke when he told Matt that if all we could come up with was a few instances of racial intolerance in the span of a 30-year program, it was, in essence, not that big a deal.
Not so fast, Don. On a regular basis, African-Americans, no matter who they are, were generally portrayed in a "pimp" or "Aunt Jemima" voice. People of color were routinely denigrated. There was an atmosphere of intolerance going under the guise of comedy. Imus would have you believe this is an isolated incident. It is not. Maybe not to the extreme such as was the case last week, but It exists, thanks to Don Imus, Sid Rosenberg and Bernard McGuirk.
People have written in asking why haven't I spoken out against others who have made similar transgressions. The answer is simple; one that I'm not particularly proud of: It wasn't in my "house" and it wasn't so profoundly blatant.
Don Imus broadcasts under the NBC News banner via MSNBC. This is a reflection of my company. I won't stand for the idea that someone who has the privilege of working under the aegis of NBC News could damage this organization with the taint of racism and sexism.
And a word about this organization. There has been a lot of soul searching going on, both publicly and privately. And it is the strength and character off the management of NBC News that gives me a source of pride. Our president, Steve Capus, has been about as transparent in his dealings with this as anyone could be. It visibly pains him, as it does all of us here, both people of color and white, that we are going through this. His support, and the support of Jeff Zucker has meant a lot to the people of this company.
It has been a good process and a necessary one. One that we hope we can help foster both inside and outside of NBC News. This can make us all better people and treat each other with more respect.
No doubt there's going to be more about this in the days and weeks to come. Advertisers are bailing out of the Imus broadcast and the marketplace. In the end, this may decide his fate.
In the meantime, I hope that the debate over this can be civil and meaningful, not one of name-calling and anger.
