Double Standard or Racist???

Question

ok, the whole thing with Imus is unbelieve. but my question is...

is society made because Imus called them hos or are they made that it came from a white man?

Rappers say it all the time in their lyrics and for some reason, that's OK with society. The public buys their albums and helps promotes it. And that's ok. But here comes Imus, a WHITE man, and all of a sudden it's wrong.

Double Standard or Racist???

You decide!!

Answer 1

The Imus Issue has become a prime example of racism. Not white racism but black racism. Black politicians, talk show hosts and musicians can say whatever they want and use the 1st Amendment as their defense. However, a white person has a so called 'Unspeakable Word Dictionary' and in that book is a list of words that are deemed to be racist, sexist, and demeaning. Blacks have no such book. They say slut, ho, whore, cracker, dumbass whiteboy, and so on and so on. Where's the outcry? Not allowed. because whites are not allowed to speak freely. However, blacks are allowed to because it is their right by law. Racism? yes. Double standard? Of course.

Answer 2

First off let me state that any use of the First Amendment is completely incorrect. The First Amendment was made to stop the government from punishing a person for freedom of speech not an employer or any other individual. Too many people do not know that.



Second Don Imus was fired for financial reasons and if anyone else has anyother proof let me know. If his sponsers would have stayed they would have slapped his hands. As the rest of the Shock Jock nation!!



Third If you are going to go on a National Stage to defend yourself. At least submit your yourself respectablly including the language you use. You can not be taken seriously if you are "axing" for my backing.



Double Standard Yes, you think Special Interest groups are going after even one for the degradation of other races or sexes think again. It is all about the dollars, if there is no money in it why do it. That is your double standard!!



Remember outrage is subjectional what might bug you and want to cause you to riot someone else will shrug off their shoulders.

Answer 3

I have to go with double-standard.



Now, granted, if Imus had said the same thing in private with a crowd of known friends, black, white, Yao Ming, etc, they'd have all laughed and had a great time. The sensitivities, tho a little over done, are heightened when something like this is said on the "other-than-all-rap" airways.



Still, the good news is that, at least the more conscientious black civic leaders are fighting hard against such language even from black musicians (including rappers).



And, also, there's been a powerful coming together of all races in this country lately against illegal immigration. There are these bizarre groups who have tried to convince us that night is actually "day" in an endless barrage of propaganda that says "if you don't pity and encourage illegal immigrants - particularly those who refuse to speak English (but all speak one other language) and have a growing potential voting bloc- then you are racist."



Get real!









qwerty

Answer 4

I agree with the Don Imus firing it was a long time in the making and he had it coming.



Secondly i have been reading posts on here for the better part of the night and have to admit there is a massive Double Standard going on in the world today between Blacks & Whites



Sharpton & Jackson are complete asses and now that they got what they wanted with the Imus firing, they should head down to Duke Univ. and apoligize to the Lacrosse players who were wrongfully accused.



I have been reading posts and noticed people talking about how very qualified blacks are often rejected for jobs in favor for unqualified whites im not saying nor can i say it doesnt happen but it also happens the other way also, in Police Departments, Fire Departments and local city jobs, blacks are always looked at first disregarding the test scores etc.



i know i may have gone off topic but i just had to get it out

Answer 5

it is possible other races have it...what your dictionary defination doesn't tell you is the history behind the word.



Nappy was a word used just like the n-word and jiggaboo...another word used by Imus' sidekick during the same exchange....to insult and keep blacks feeling they were inferior during slavery. Theorists that kept slavery as a strong instutition knew that you had to keep slaves at a low self esteem and make sure they never were able to join together and rise up...that is why history only tells us of a few slave revolts.



Now is there a double standard? yes. The power is in one color now...green as in money....when rappers make their comments people have complained....Al sharpton and Jesse jackson among them...the problem is that when the albums come out people buy them..both white and black so they say whatever it takes to sell records and people buy it.



When Imus did it people were outraged...I was upset but then I went on with my day...its not the first thing that he's said.

People decided to hit him where it hurts in the wallet....by telling the sponsors no more...they had to listen and therefore Imus was out.



To stop rappers from doing this people have to stop buying their albums...and tell their labels to stop....no one wants to do this.



There are alot of double standards in this society unfortunately...until we decide to hold everyone equally accountable no matter what they will continue.

Answer 6

I don't think there was a double standard or that Imus was fired because free speech was denied him, I think he was fired because we all have free speech. You can't use the First Amendment to give him the right to say what he pleases and then deny the rest of us our First Amendment right to protest his words. Ultimately, he was fired because over 100 advertisers backed out of supporting the show. If I was an African-American woman advertising with CBS and heard him make those comments, why should I be pressured to ignore it and continue doing business with him? Free speech doesn't mean you are completely free from consequences, it simply means the government can't throw you in jail for speaking your mind.



Hopefully, the same thing will begin to happen to these idiot rappers being disrespectful to themselves, their families and their women. Hopefully their record sales will plummet and they'll just go away.



I only wish we had demanded by now that our President and his Veep be fired after some of the inane and irresponsible lies they've told.

Answer 7

If the black individual who made the racist comments, worked for MSNBC, they might have been fired. MSNBC has a picture to uphold and that they (like maximum different stations) do no longer condone racism. If he worked for Clearchannel or FOX, he does no longer have been fired. Rush Limbaugh and the team at FOX information make racist statements each and all of the time, yet human beings do no longer make a brilliant deal approximately it because of the fact this is predicted - every person already knows they're racist. David Duke has controlled to stay in politics and he a very open racist. He become arrested a pair of months in the past mutually as giving a speech to a white supremacist team in the Czech Republic.

Answer 8

Not so much racist as just sheerly derogatory and inappropriate. Although, it's coming from someone who built a career on being derogatory and inappropriate, by the way.



Definitely a double-standard. Which is a problem. Hypocrisy and inequity in our system is denigrating American society as a whole. Speech is never more dangerous as when it is censored and controlled. Hitler rose to power with hate speech, sure, but he was one of the few with the freedom of speech.



Despite society that was openly racist and free to speak such opinions, great men such as Rev. Martin Luther King (a real Reverand!) were able to forge the way for the civil liberties as all.



If you think someone or something is racist, the way to fight is with free speech and open discourse, not censorship and silencing. As long as we're not able to have the conversations, we will have problems.



Maybe this is our wake-up call. Time to start talking, not condemming.

Answer 9

Double standard and corporations ran Imus to the ground by political motives. That is a shame. A suspension was good enough and somewhere a real news outlet needs to get it that one should be able to say what they feel without censorship. It was bad, don't get me wrong; but, he did not have to be fired and I can't even stand Imus.

Answer 10

It's definitely a Double Standard, That still doesn't make what Imus said OK. He called those girls whores and that was wrong. I would of fired him just for that!

Answer 11

Double Standard. Whoppi Goldberg has a production company she calles One Ho so it is always the it's ok if "we" say it. It should be the words that are offensive not who says it so that goes to show the brain power being used. It is all lies, they don't care about the words they just want to make a stink and get more then is deserved.

Answer 12

There is a distinctive double standard.

BET = Black Entertainment Television.

FUBU = For us, by us clothing line,

The N word usage is strictly forbidden for whites while the black population accepts it as a mutual reference.



Double Standard AND Reverse Racism.

Answer 13

Double standard do you remember the murder of a new york stripper in where a black man was accused of the murder sharpton was all over the air waves saying that it was because he was black was the reason he was arrested then HE confessed to do it and rev al never said anything more about it

Answer 14

Let me get this straight. You guys are all pissed off because you can't use racist words in public? Or broadcast them over the radio and television? Let me explain something to you. There is a such a thing as in-group words only. But this is not unique to blacks only. I've heard good ol country boys in a bar refer to themselves and each other as red***ks. Had I used the term in this scenario I probably would be hanging from a tree somewhere.



Also, rap music does not have a lock on profanity. I've heard the same lyrics being used in heavy-metal. We all have in-group words that are not fit for public consumption. So if a double-standard exists, its that you accuse blacks of using language that you can not use, while doing the same thing yourself.



For those of you who gave me the thumbs down read DJ's answer below. He just proved my point exactly

Answer 15

It sounds like a double standard to me, but whether it is or not it was wrong for CBS to let him go. What he said was at least very tacky. And he has said a lot worse, but up to this point he has been rewarded for that behavior. Now the cowards at CBS won't stand up for their employee. CBS enabled his behavior, because they never called him on it. Now that it is a media specticle and because Sharpton and Jackson want it to be so, they let the guy go. CBS and MSNBC need to grow a pair.

Answer 16

DOUBLE STANDARD,, yes we white people have different sayings then the blacks or the chinese or the indians,, but my god get over the racist " bull*****chit" We are all americans no matter what are skin color, and slavery ended in the 1860s, so none of the blacks of today were slaves,, and im tired of feeling like us white people owe them anything,, just get over it,,,RACE shouldnt even be an issue anymore

Answer 17

Double Standard... next thing you know you'll be hearing a rap song called "what up my nappy?"... get over it, their are more important things going on then how people feel about being called the NEW "N" word........

Answer 18

I believe it is a group of issues that this public outcry is addressing:



1 - There seems to be a general attitude that it is okay to denigrate, debase and degrade women in this society, with the commercialization of sex, sexism in film, media, obsessiveness with youth and sex in general;



2 - Members of the black community, in particular, have been trying to address the Hip Hop and Rap culture which continues to promote mysoginistic views in their portrayals of women in music, videos and film;



3 - And yes, I believe that there is a hypocrisy with regard to whom is allowed to use various staples of the Rap and Hip Hop culture vernacular -- such as those words used by Imus. It is more than apparent, that certain words, in certain contexts, is considered "ok" to use by those within that culture or race. But anyone outside of that culture or race, is, effectively, taking his or her life in her hands.



The bottom line, is that none of it is okay. It should not be acceptable for anyone in our culture, to use terminology that is denigrating to women, or any particular race in the public news media, whether it is an "entertainment" media or not.



There is most definitely, a double standard in our culture with regard to race, gender, age, and many other things.

Answer 19

Most definitely a double standard.



The interesting thing about it is if you try to fight back, you are labeled a racist, not a civil rights leader like Al and Jesse.

Answer 20

i don't think it had much to do with race and you are completely correct. rappers(mostly BLACK) degrade women all the time and everyone LOVES them (except me-yay) and then here comes Imus and suddenly everyone wants him to die.so for the most part, i think it's double standard

Answer 21

Double standards are a part of our society now.Its a disgrace that Sharpton and others are allowed to function in the negative ways they always do.........Who holds them accountable??

Answer 22

There's always a double standard. If my white friend calls me a honky redneck mother, I know he's joking because he's one too. But if someone of a different color calls me that, my assumption is it's not friendly.

Answer 23

Double standard, double standard, double standard. It's time for white people to take their medicine for all the benefits they have gained at the expense of people they have exploited. Hence the saying, "don't **** where you eat".

Answer 24

Of course it is a double standard. Black comedians make fun of white people all the time. We just can't make fun of them.

Answer 25

This is pathetically incorrect!!! Don I mus is a good man, his wife, even better.... we must not have alot to talk about in our nation, I want to know if we say something in our home and even if we whisper are we o.k. Please!!!! get over it I hear more than what he said at the grocery store! we are becoming a nation of Farenheit 's does anybody remember that ??? Go forward Mr. and Mrs. I-mus we are behind you !!!!

Answer 26

Double standard

a word is a word and should be able to be used by all or none simple as that!

Answer 27

You hit the nail on the head, it makes you wonder why the rest of the world can't see it.

Answer 28

Double standard!!! We need to start fighting back!!!!

Answer 29

IF YOUR A NONBLACK AND SAY THESE THINGS YOUR A RACIST. IF YOUR BLACK AND SAY THE SAME YOUR AN IGNORANT FOOL FOR SAYING IT. ACTUALLY BOTH BLACK AND NONBLACK WOULD BE IGNORANT FOOLS BECAUSE

RACISM IS IGNORANCE. JESUS DIED FOR EVERYONE.

YOU CANT HAVE CONTEMPT FOR ANYONE JESUS DIED FOR.

Answer 30

I think it's because he called them "Nappy" headed hos. Which is uncalled for and racist.

Answer 31

Double standard...Iman was okay...this is all wrong