Posted by
Mike on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:10:29 AM
The recent radio comments of Don Imus for which he received a two week
suspension are far less offensive than visual images, song lyrics and
verbal epithets routinely delivered on cable and network TV as a way to
make money. Examples too numerous to mention include the common
disrespectful words uttered against women with particular hatred toward
the Blessed Virgin, and the recent disrespectful portrayal of Christ in
an animated cartoon mocking Bill Donohue. Don Imus did the right
thing in making an apology. His words were ill-considered as were
those of Rush Limbaugh pertaining to black athletes. The slang
expression "ho" is apparently a ghetto colloquialism pertaining to a female prostitute
and is therefore disrespectful to women with obvious sexual
overtones. I take it that "nappy-headed" means something like
frivolous or dull. Some call this racism. In reality, "ho"
is often used in rap music recordings to sell CDs and increase
corporate profits. It is no less disrespectful in this context
than it is in an off-color remark regarding female basketball players.