Let's Call a Spade a Spade

In cards, a spade is a spade. In real life, a bigot is what a bigot says. Imus has been getting away with his borderline semantic shenanigans for years. I stopped listening to him when he admitted he was a fan of former Senator Santorum, a true throwback to antebellum Southern ideals of happy slaves and big plantations.

Now the veteran radio broadcaster has dug himself a hole even his die-hard followers can't haul him out of--He referred to the Rutgers women’s basketball team as "nappy headed hos" last Wednesday. Now it's true he did apologize on air. And it was a thorough and complete apology. So I still think he should "resign," as is the courteous reference to being thrown out of your job on your ass.

It's about time in this great land of ours that those among us with the character to resist our prejudiced natures call for a zero-tolerance on bigotry, racism, and any kind of anti-humane treatment and refernce to any group of people who are either in the minority, and/or are not hurting anyone. This especially goes for the commonly-accepted and tolerated put-downs and denigration, both socially and legally, of homosexuals. And it includes immigrants from anywhere in the world, since we are all members of that quasi-group, unless one is a descended Native American.

And Imus should be done. He's over, history, old news, and bad news. That much negativity on the airwaves put out into the universe is--too much. As Al Sharpton so simply and eloquently put it--"I accept his apology, just as I want his bosses to accept his resignation."
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UPDATE 4/12/07:

Newsweek today -- (you do the math...on why Imus won't be fired)

Imus' show is syndicated by Westwood One, which CBS partly owns, and draws an estimated audience of 2.25 million, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing the trade publication Talkers. According to the Journal, the “Imus in the Morning” show accounts for 25 percent of the revenues of WFAN in New York—or roughly $20 million, The New York Times reported. That figure swells to more than $50 million when ad revenue for affiliates and cable outlet MSNBC are added, according to the Times.